KWIT: Regional News for 8/6 (2008-08-06)

In Iowa...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Iowa Labor Commissioner's Office
announced yesterday that it has uncovered dozens of child labor
violations at the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in
Postville.
Labor officials say their investigation, which spanned several
months, had uncovered 57 cases of child labor law violations.
The types of violations included minors working in prohibited
occupations, exceeding allowable hours to work youth and working
with prohibited tools
Iowa Labor Commissioner Dave Neil says the investigation brings
to light egregious violations of virtually every aspect of the
state's child labor laws.
The attorney general's office says it could not comment on what
penalties are possible. State officials declined to release details
on how many children may be involved or their ages.
About 400 workers were arrested during an immigration raid at
the plant in May.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa officials are proposing new rules
that would prevent people from using food stamps to pay deposits on
water jugs.
Officials with the Iowa Department of Human Services say they
have asked the federal government to consider the changes.
A spokesman for the state agency says people could still use
food stamps to buy the water, but they would have to pay the
deposit themselves.
Spokesman Roger Munns says some people have used food stamps to
pay for 5-gallon jugs of water and the deposit on the containers,
dumping out the water in the parking lot and returning the jug for
a cash refund. He says they then use the money for items not
allowed under the food stamp program, such as cigarettes and
alcohol.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - State officials estimate the cost of
repairing recreational trails damaged by flooding to be at least
$10 million.
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation officials say the widespread
damage to the trails is a setback. It comes after years of slow but
steady growth to develop a statewide network of more than 1,000
miles of multiuse recreational trails.
The trails are seen as key to improving the state's quality of
life and attracting young adults who enjoy outdoor recreation. City
leaders often support them as tools to attract development and
skilled workers.
Officials say it could be months or until next year before
sections of trails can be reopened to hikers, bikers and other
recreational enthusiasts.

In Nebraska...

HAY SPRINGS, Neb. (AP) - Divers have recovered the body of a man
who went missing while riding a personal watercraft on a northwest
Nebraska lake.
Sheridan County Sheriff Terry "Homer" Robbins says the body of
24-year-old Charles Ryan of rural Chadron was found in the private
lake Monday afternoon.
Ryan had been riding a personal watercraft Sunday evening at
Isham Dam, north of Hay Springs on Beaver Creek, when he
disappeared.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) - A 26-year-old Fremont man accused of
drugging a woman's drink with cold medicine has begun a six-month
jail sentence for the crime.
Aaron Freeman pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of
misdemeanor assault. He had been charged with second-degree felony
assault.
Freeman began a six-month jail sentence on the conviction
Friday. He's must also pay $2,000.
Prosecutors say Freeman laced a woman's drink with cough syrup.
Court documents say that he had wanted the woman to get high, but
she instead became violently ill and ended up in the hospital.
She has since recovered.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A bicyclist is in the hospital with serious
injuries after being hit by an Omaha city bus.
Authorities say the collision happened Monday evening in east
Omaha.
Bus driver Larry Dixson says he saw the accident coming as he
was turning onto 30th Street and the bicyclist pulled out of a
driveway, but could do little to avoid it. Dixson says he slammed
on the brakes, which locked up.
Dixson says the cyclist hit his head on the bus' door and flew
off the bike. The bike then skidded under the bus.
No passengers were on the bus at the time of the crash. Dixson
was not injured.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - The Nebraska State Patrol says troopers
found 225 pounds of marijuana after pulling over a minivan for
speeding.
Troopers stopped the vehicle with Ohio plates Monday on
Interstate 80 near Grand Island.
Deb Collins of the Nebraska State Patrol says 30-year-old Madai
Zapta Marquez of Phoenix and an unidentified, 29-year-old passenger
are being held on a charge of possession of marijuana with intent
to deliver.
Collins says the passenger's identity has not been confirmed,
but he is believed to be an illegal alien.
The patrol says the minivan was registered to a Phoenix man who
remains in federal custody after being indicted on marijuana
charges.

In South Dakota...

ELK POINT, S.D. (AP) - A South Dakota state geologist says he's
not worried by an aquifer that underlies all or most of the site
for a planned $10 billion crude oil refinery north of Elk Point.
Derric Iles says a team that's been drilling test holes has
found a highly impermeable protective layer between the Lower
Vermillion-Missouri Aquifer and the surface. He told the Sioux City
Journal that the layer would make it difficult for substances to
leak through it.
Iles says ground water monitors need to be installed. He says
the monitors will provide data showing whether his opinion is
warranted.
Drilling started in mid-July but was interrupted by an equipment
breakdown. It's expected to continue for another week.

WASHINGTON (AP) - South Dakota Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth
Sandlin is having a baby boy.
Herseth Sandlin announced last month in an e-mail to friends and
supporters that she is pregnant. She married former Congressman Max
Sandlin of Texas, also a Democrat, in March 2007.
She told the Aberdeen American News yesterday that she is having
a boy. Her spokesman in Washington confirmed the news.
Herseth Sandlin, who was elected to the U.S. House in 2004, said
last month that the new baby "will be a primary factor in a whole
host of decisions." She has not ruled out running for governor in
2010.

YANKTON, S.D. (AP) - A member of a committee exploring the idea
of allowing broadcast coverage of South Dakota circuit courts says
he has no doubt they eventually will be opened to electronic media.
Yankton County Sheriff Dave Hunhoff says it's just a matter of
setting the details.
A state law that took effect July first repealed a ban on
broadcasting and photos in South Dakota's circuit courts. But it
does not say coverage will be allowed.
A 22-member committee made up of judges, lawyers, media
representatives, law officers and others has been appointed to
study the concept.
The committee has met once, in June, and Hunhoff says it is
taking a cautious approach.
He says some people, especially lawyers, are urging a go-slow
approach.
The committee expects to meet again in October.

STURGIS, S.D. (AP) - Figures from the South Dakota Highway
Patrol indicate drug and drunken driving arrests are down so far at
the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. But the total number of citations is
up over last year.
There were 101 drunken driving arrests as of Monday, compared
with 107 at the same point of the 2007 rally. And the patrol
reported 95 misdemeanor and felony drug arrests, compared to 113 at
the same point last year.
But there were 611 total citations, compared to 471 last year.
Twenty-six injury accidents and two fatalities were listed.
The figures cover the Sturgis, Rapid City, southern Black Hills
and Badlands areas.