KWIT: Regional News for 8/11 (2008-08-11)

In Iowa...

NEW HARTFORD, Iowa (AP) - A tornado delivered the first blow.
Then came the filthy flood water to heap on the misery.
Tiny New Hartford - a town with just 659 people and 260 houses -
has struggled to recover from a summer of natural disasters. Mayor
Richard Young says the damage to the town from a tornado and then
flooding has put stress on the town's residents. He says 95 percent
of the town had water in their homes during flooding this spring.
But as the town begins to rebuild, residents, including Jack and
Lola Davis, say there's no way the town won't survive.
Jack Davis says the town has been in place since 1856 -- and
there's no way it won't survive.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Officials with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency say they will give preference to local suppliers
as they gather bids for manufactured housing for flooding victims.
The joint decision by FEMA and Governor Chet Culver was
announced on Saturday. Officials say they it is the first time FEMA
will buy manufactured homes off the lot since it instituted indoor
air-quality standards earlier this year. Previously, FEMA shipped
stock mobile homes from Arkansas and Maryland.
FEMA spokesman Vicent Clark says 887 Iowa families are eligible
for direct housing. As of Thursday, 170 of those families were
living in FEMA mobile homes deemed safe. Clark says FEMA was
scrambling to try to place more people over the weekend.
Clark says FEMA hopes that getting homes locally will help speed
up the process.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) - The Cedar Falls City Council is set to
consider a vote on where Federal Emergency Management trailers can
be located.
Two weeks ago, a council committee agreed to consider placing
FEMA trailers on eight private properties that were damaged in June
flooding. The trailers have to be placed above the 100-year-flood
plain.
As part of the proposed guidelines for allowing the trailers, a
stipulation mandates that the property be under repair or
reconstruction. Other property owners within 330 feet of the
property in question sign a petition granting consent to have the
trailer on the property.

In South Dakota...

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The South Dakota Health Department says 88
percent of the 24- to 35 month-olds in the state are appropriately
immunized, bringing the state closer to its goal of a 90 percent
childhood immunization rate.
The department plans an awards luncheon Aug. 20 to honor the
clinics that have helped achieve that rate.
The 88 percent rate comes from the latest assessment of
immunization coverage levels by the South Dakota Immunization
Information System.
The Health Department says 259 clinics take part in the system,
along with seven Indian Health Service facilities and 193 schools,
universities, tribal colleges and Head Start facilities.
The system includes over 530,000 patient records with more than
5 million individual shots.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - Wind Cave National Park is working on a
draft management plan for the park's elk herd.
The herd has grown too big for the park in southwest South
Dakota. The elk often leave the park and go onto private land where
they damage fences and eat grain and feed meant for livestock.
No hunting is allowed in the park, but officials hope increased
hunting outside of the park will remove 200 or more animals from
the herd. Part of that would involve lowering sections of the fence
around the park so elk can get out -- then raising the fence so
they can't get back in.
Park officials have held public meetings on the proposal and are
taking public comment until August 18th.
The goal is to reduce the herd to 475 elk or less. Last winter
it numbered 650 to 700.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - Bagging a ringneck could be more expensive
this fall -- especially for those pheasant hunters who fly to South
Dakota.
The higher price of fuel has prompted airlines to charge more
for tickets and for extra baggage like guns and hunting dogs.
Last year's pheasant season attracted 103,000 nonresident
hunters.
Sioux Falls Regional airport manager Mike Marnach (Mar'-nahk)
says there might be more cases this year where a hunting party
sends one person ahead by car with the dogs and the guns, while
everyone else flies.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The head of the Farm Service Agency in South
Dakota says farmers and ranchers who are attending a series of
meetings on the new Farm Bill are most interested in ongoing
disaster programs.
Steve Cutler says he spends much of his time at the meetings
explaining details of programs that provide help when bad weather
ruins crops, kills livestock or results in a loss of livestock
forage.
He says farmers and ranchers want to be sure they will qualify
for assistance in those instances.
Cutler says bankers and crop insurance agents also are attending
the sessions.
Thirteen meetings on the Farm Bill were scheduled across the
state, ending September third at Howard.