KWIT: Regional News for 7/31 (2008-07-31)

In Iowa...

OSCEOLA, Iowa (AP) - The prosecution has rested in the James
Bentley sexual abuse trial.
The prosecution ended its case after witnesses testified that
they heard Bentley talk about abusing 10-year-old Jetseta Gage.
A former cellmate of Bentley's, Sam Dunn, testified that Bentley
told him he was "going to get away with it" because Jetseta
couldn't testify against him.
Another witness, Scott Rawson, was in a cellblock next to
Bentley's in April 2006. He testified that he heard Bentley say he
was going to take it to court because the girl was dead.
Gage was kidnapped and killed by Bentley's brother, Roger, in
March 2006.
The defense is expected to begin its case on Thursday.
James Bentley is currently serving a 100-year sentence for
sexual exploitation and child pornography for taking explicit
pictures of Gage and a 1-year-old girl.
The case was moved from Benton County to Osceola because of
pretrial publicity.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Environmental groups in Iowa and eight
other states have asked the federal government to set and enforce
pollution standards in the Mississippi River basin and the Gulf of
Mexico.
The group's petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
followed Monday's announcement that the dead zone in the Gulf of
Mexico was the second largest to date.
The dead zone is an area of water where oxygen levels are too
low to support marine life. It's caused every year by nitrogen and
phosphorus pollution that flows into the gulf from the Mississippi
River.
The conservation groups from states bordering the Mississippi
say the EPA has ignored its duties under the federal Clean Water
Act to limit pollution in the river.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A grain expert says Iowa could see a
decent harvest despite this year's devastating flooding.
Iowa State Extension analyst Chad Hart on Wednesday told a state
panel that Iowa should harvest about 93 percent of the corn
planted. That's more optimistic than earlier estimates, when state
officials speculated that 20 percent of the corn crop and 10
percent of soybeans were ruined.
Hart spoke to the Rebuild Iowa Commission's Agriculture and
Environment Task Force. He based his estimate on figures from the
National Agriculture Statistics Service.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - A Sioux City man accused of abducting a
7-year-old girl from a park and sexually assaulting her has been
found guilty.
A jury on Wednesday found 24-year-old Armando Orozco guilty of
first-degree kidnapping.
He was charged with abducting the girl from a park in Sioux City
last December and taking her back to his apartment where he
sexually assaulted her.
Orozco faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Senator Tom Harkin says more than $10
billion in disaster aid, including $182 million for a new federal
courthouse in Cedar Rapids, has the backing of the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
Harkin says not all of the money is earmarked for Iowa, but
since the state was the hardest hit by flooding last month, much of
the funding will be directed here.
Harkin says the numbers are tentative because congressional
leaders have delayed action on disaster assistance until after
their August recess.
Harkin says he's disappointed that the money was not approved
before Congress' August recess, but says he is pleased that a
number has been set.

In Nebraska...

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) - A proposed ordinance targeting illegal
immigration in Fremont is dead, but those involved say the
discussion of the problems fueling the debate is just getting under
way.
Fremont Mayor Don "Skip Edwards" cast the deciding vote late
Tuesday night against a proposal that would have banned renting to,
harboring and hiring illegal immigrants
Fremont is the first Nebraska city to attempt such legislation,
and is one of many facing marked demographic changes in recent
years.
City Councilman Bob Warner says he knows other Nebraska cities
are facing similar issues based on the phone calls he's received.
City officials are unsure what's next for the city council, but
Edwards says Fremont needs to pressure federal officials to act.

SUPERIOR, Neb. (AP) - Superior's new superintendent of schools
will be leading a statewide advocacy group for rural schools.
Charles Isom took over July 1 in Superior.
Isom says that this school year he will serve as president-elect
of Nebraska Rural Community Schools Association. He'll take over as
association president, 2009-10.
The association has nearly 200 members.
The group lobbies the Legislature and is a liaison with the
Nebraska Department of Education on issues affecting rural schools.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The Omaha Police Department has two new crime
fighting tools - Segways to bear officers around town.
An officer already made the department's first Segway arrest in
June during training. Now officers are patrolling on Segways during
day and evening shifts.
Police say officers are more approachable on a Segway than in a
vehicle. And they navigate easily places cars can't go, including
on sand, gravel and grass.
The Omaha Downtown Improvement District Association bought the
Segways for about $14,500 each. They can go travel up to 13 miles
per-hour and run on a battery charge that lasts about 24 miles.
The two new Segways will be unveiled Thursday morning.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) - Lincoln County officials are
investigating the theft of 500 gallons of diesel fuel and warning
farmers to take precautions.
Someone stole the diesel recently from a farmer who had a fuel
tank sitting in his field.
Lincoln County Sheriff Jerome Kramer says diesel thefts are
become more common in rural areas, so farmers need to protect their
fuel.
Kramer says farmers should consider locking up their tanks or
disabling the pumps when farmers are not near their tank.
Kramer says if a farmer can easily transfer fuel to their
equipment, then a thief can easily transfer the fuel to a portable
tank.

In South Dakota...

FORT PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - Led by sure-footed mules pulling a
wooden wagon fitted with bucket seats and seatbelts, a wagon train
slowly wound its way out of Fort Pierre today on a 200-mile trek
across rugged prairie to historic Deadwood.
The 17-day trip marks the 100th anniversary of the last wagon
trains to travel the route from the Missouri River to the
gold-laden Black Hills.
After gold was discovered in 1874, one of the shortest and
easiest routes for people and freight was overland from Fort Pierre
to Deadwood.
Some areas of the prairie still have deep scars from those
ancient wagon wheels.
About 300 people, on horseback and in wagons, signed up for the
annivesary trip.

CHAMBERLAIN, S.D. (AP) - Officials are trying to determine the
reason for a fish kill on Lake Francis Case south of Chamberlain.
The Game, Fish and Parks Department said hundreds of dead carp,
catfish and paddlefish were found from the mouth of the White River
downstream several miles to the Elm Creek area.
The GF&P and the state Department of Environment and Natural
Resources are investigating.
Fish kills can occur naturally because of high water
temperature, low oxygen levels or bacterial and viral infections.
They also can be caused by toxic substances entering the water from
human activity, such as industrial or agricultural runoff.