KWIT: Regional News for 7/15 (2008-07-15)

In Iowa...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Immigration reform advocates and
religious leaders from across the Midwest are planning a rally in
northeast Iowa.
The July 27 rally will come about two months after a raid at a
kosher meatpacking plant in Postville ended in nearly 400 arrests.
The rally was organized by Jewish and Catholic groups from Iowa,
Illinois and Minnesota. It is expected to draw hundreds of people
to the town of about 2,200 residents.
Organizers say they are using the raid at the Agriprocessors
Inc. plant on May 12 as an example of what's wrong with the
nation's immigration laws. Federal officials have called it the
largest single immigration raid in the nation's history.
An Agriprocessors spokesman didn't immediately respond to a
request for a comment.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa (AP) - State corrections officials say an
inmate at the prison in Mount Pleasant has killed himself.
John William Martin was found Sunday afternoon, hanging by a
sheet in a seated position. The sheet was tied to a ceiling air
supply vent.
Corrections officials say the 58-year-old was in a segregation
unit pending a disciplinary investigation.
Martin was serving a 20-year sentence from Des Moines County for
third degree sex abuse and possession of a controlled substance.

SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa (AP) - A volunteer firefighter from
Sergeant Bluff has been arrested and charged with first-degree
arson.
A criminal complaint and affidavit says that Heath Erickson
allegedly set fire to a home in Sergeant Bluff. Erickson was
arrested last Thursday by the Woodbury County Sheriff's Office.
The complaint says Erickson left the scene but returned to
observe the fire. Erickson then allegedly called his wife to report
the fire and responded to the blaze.
Erickson has been charged with one count of first-degree arson.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Governor Chet Culver wants Iowa to rock
the weekend of August 30th.
Culver has signed a proclamation designating the weekend of
August 30 through September 1st as "Iowa RockNRoll Weekend."
The state is recognizing Iowa RockNRoll Music Association's Hall
of Fame introductions. This will be the 12th year of inductions.
Two concerts have been planned in conjunction with the
proclamation. The first, on August 30, will feature the IRRMA Hall
of Fame Induction Awards Ceremony. It's to be followed by a reunion
of two performers from last year's concert, Mario Ramirez, Ritchie
Valens' brother, and Richie Lee, from Des Moines.
The concerts will be at Arnold's Park.
Tickets are available at www.iowarocknroll.com

In Nebraska...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Democratic Senate candidate Scott Kleeb seems
to be finding fundraising traction in this heavily Republican
state.
Kleeb brought in nearly $700,000 in the latest reporting period
and bested Republican Mike Johanns for the first time.
Johanns reports nearly $683,000 raised between April 1st and
June 30th.
Johanns still has a hefty advantage overall, bringing in more
than $2.7 million in the election cycle.
But Kleeb made some headway with his best fundraising quarter
yet. He's nearing the $1 million mark for the cycle, with at least
$964,000 raised.
The candidates are vying for the seat being vacated by
Republican Chuck Hagel, who isn't seeking re-election.

ASHLAND, Neb. (AP) - Eight Nebraska National Guard soldiers are
back home after a year in Kosovo.
The eight were welcomed back to Nebraska by friends and family
on Sunday morning at Camp Ashland, which is west of Omaha.
The Guard says the eight are journalists, members of the
Lincoln-based 111th Press Camp Headquarters.
They had arrived at Camp Atterbury in Indiana last week for
processing to leave active duty.
The journalists had been in Kosovo as part of a public affairs
mission.

CHADRON, Neb. (AP) - A 26-year-old Chadron man has won the 32nd
annual World Championship Buffalo Chip Toss.
The event was part of the annual Fur Trade Days celebration in
Chadron on Saturday.
Ryan Higgins heaved a hunk of dried bison manure 140 feet, 8
inches on his last turn. It soared more than 15 feet farther than
the longest toss by his closest competitor, Ryan Wells of Axtell.
The winning toss last year was 145 feet, 10 inches, and the
official world record is 186 feet, 7 inches.

In South Dakota...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - South Dakota's top law enforcement
officer released a report yesterday disputing an earlier federal
study on crime among American Indians.
Attorney General Larry Long says it appears the Bureau of
Justice Statistics didn't include federal cases in its report. He
says his concern is -- if the numbers are wrong, the resulting
court decisions, laws and rules also could be off.
But one of the authors of the federal report, Steve Perry, says
federal numbers were a part of the study. He says it wasn't
intended to tell the local picture but rather be a national
snapshot of the situation.
He says the real problem is -- there's no one source of data but
rather a multitude of tribal, state and federal agencies
responsible for law enforcement on reservations.

LAKE ANDES, S.D. (AP) - Petitions have been filed favoring and
opposing creation of a county zoning ordinance in Charles Mix
County, where Iowa-based Long View Farm is building a large-scale
hog-raising operation.
County commissioner Carrol "Red" Allen of Lake Andes says the
most recent petitions were turned in last week.
But Allen said it's the commission, not county residents, who
will decide the zoning ordinance. He says residents can't put such
an ordinance to a vote.
Interest in zoning was rekindled this year when the hog farm
issue made the news. It's on private property and next to tribal
land about four miles north of Marty, headquarters of the Yankton
Sioux Tribe.
Many tribal members oppose the farm, which could produce 70,000
pigs a year. Construction on the farm is moving fast, and Allen
says it could be done by the first of September.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - While warm weather is helping South
Dakota's row crops and small grain stands, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture reports that crops and hay in some parts of the state
are showing signs of moisture stress.
Topsoil moisture in the adequate and surplus categories dropped
by 17 percentage points from last week, and the crop report also
says subsoil levels are getting drier.
The U.S. Drought Monitor says just over 18 percent of South
Dakota is abnormally dry. The affected areas are in the northeast,
northwest and southwestern corners of the state.
The corn height of 37 inches is still 14 inches behind the
five-year average.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - The Team USA women's softball squad --
gearing up for the Beijing Olympics -- plays tonight in Rapid City.
Team USA plays the Black Hills Gold, a team of South Dakota all
stars, at Pete Lien (LEEN) Field.
The first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. (Mountain time).
Sixteen extra sets of bleachers have been set up in the outfield
and along the baselines. Officials say 3,800 people will be able to
see the game in a park that normally holds a few hundred people.
A borrowed fence has been set up in front of the outfield
bleachers.