KWIT: Regional News for 9/8 (2008-09-08)

In Iowa...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - The Cedar Rapids Public Library that
was flooded out in June faces a long climb back, with a preliminary
estimate of about three years.
Despite a FEMA grant of $18.7 million to the library, library
officials say that is a preliminary figure and the actual amount
needed to fund the library's rebuilding is still an unknown.
The two major questions facing the library are how much money
will be available once a final cost estimate is done and what the
city will do with its levee system and flood protection plan when
it does rebuild.
The library is built close to the Cedar River, and a library
spokeswoman says she doesn't know if the city's flood mitigation
plan will allow the library to rebuild in its current spot.

NASHUA, Iowa (AP) - Iowa's leading grain marketing specialist is
more pessimistic about the state's corn and soybean production than
the federal government after this summer's record flooding and a
poor start to the growing season.
Chad Hart of Iowa State University says the days when farmers
could predict the market are over, and said to expect the current
trend of volatile prices on the Chicago Board of Trade to continue.
The country's store of corn bushels is predicted to drop by 500
million this market year, and the projected soybean drop is
predicted to be even more harsh.
Iowa is the country's No. 1 corn and soybean producer. Hart said
Iowa farmers who bet the market correctly could profit handsomely,
but the downside is more drastic with the uncertain market.

POSTVILLE, Iowa (AP) - Postville's police chief says he's trying
to add another officer to his staff as crime has risen in the city
after an immigration raid in May.
The Agriprocessors meatpacking plant was raided May 12, when 389
people were charged with being in the country illegally. Most were
also charged criminally.
Postville Police Chief Michael Halse says the workers who have
come to replace those picked up in the raid are temporary. He says
he doesn't know their backgrounds or where they came from.
Halse says he hopes life will return to the way it was before
the raid, but predicted that normalcy could be years away.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) - Sand and skimpy swimwear will be the
order of the day at the University of Northern Iowa this January
when the Association of Volleyball Professionals brings a beach
party to the McLeod Center.
Tickets range from $30 to $65 for the three-hour round-robin
tournament on Jan. 31, which will include AVP athletes and about
200 tons of sand as part of the 2009 AVP Crocs Hot Winter Nights
volleyball tour.
The tour is scheduled for snowy cities nationwide, including
arenas in New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon and Utah.
The UNI event is the only Iowa stop on the tour.

In Nebraska...

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) - Democrat Scott Kleeb tried to gain
ground against Republican Mike Johanns by criticizing his time as
agriculture secretary in a debate yesterday in downtown
Scottsbluff.
Kleeb sharply criticized the former governor for his positions
on energy, health care, immigration and federal spending.
But Johanns said Kleeb misrepresented his views. At one point,
he rehashed the old Ronald Reagan line: "There you go again."
After the debate, Johanns said some of Kleeb's claims had become
"reckless."
The two are competing for the U.S. Senate seat held by
Republican Chuck Hagel, who isn't seeking re-election.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A judge has rejected a challenge to Omaha's
smoking ban.
Douglas County District Judge Mark Ashford denied Big John's
Billiards' request for a temporary injunction against the smoking
ban. In a ruling Friday, Ashford said the business failed to show
substantial harm caused by the ordinance.
The state Supreme Court in May overturned the city's exceptions
to the ban, including one made for businesses with keno.
Lawyers for Big John's argued that the elimination of the
exemption created an uneven playing field because people can smoke
in pool halls and bars with keno in nearby Ralston and La Vista.
A statewide smoking ban goes into effect next June.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A possible threat to Nebraska's ash trees
has been confirmed in Missouri and Wisconsin, ever nearer to the
Cornhusker State.
Eric Berg of the Nebraska Forest Service says the Missouri
sighting shows the beetle can travel on infested firewood and find
a new home a long way from other known populations.
Emerald ash borers can kill all native ash species.
Experts say the bugs are commonly spread with firewood that is
taken from spot to spot. That's why people are urged to gather or
buy local firewood at their campsites and not take any home with
them.
The bugs have been detected in nine states and have killed more
than 50 million ash trees.
Nebraska has an estimated 2.2 million ash trees in towns and
cities.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Higher corn prices have been blamed this
year for part of the increase in food prices.
Corn prices have dropped by about $2 per bushel since this
spring. But the Nebraska Corn Board says it doesn't expect to see
much, if any, decrease in food prices because of it.
The Corn Board says energy prices and the cost of transportation
play a much larger role in food prices than grain prices do.
The Corn Board's executive director Don Hutchens says the food
companies are trying to blame farmers for the increase in food
costs when it's the companies that are raising prices.

In South Dakota...

HOWARD, S.D. (AP) - Although the 2008 Farm Bill maintains
current programs, the head of the South Dakota Farm Service Agency
says it's important for farmers and ranchers to learn about a $3.8
billion disaster payment system.
Steve Cutler, who is holding a series of Farm Bill sessions
across the state, says the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program
is a drastically different approach to disaster payments from the
previous method of asking Congress for special help.
The new method requires crop insurance or noninsured assistance
program coverage on all of a farmer's acres in order to be eligible
for disaster payments.
Cutler says farmers with more than a 50 percent crop loss or
farms that are in or next to officially declared disaster counties
will be eligible for disaster payments.
A September 30th deadline has been set to purchase crop
insurance for some 2009 crops, including alfalfa, winter wheat and
rye.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The rumble of Harley-Davidsons and other big
bikes has barely abated, but planning for next year's Sturgis
Motorcycle Rally Director is about to begin.
A meeting of the Sturgis Rally Departent will be held Monday to
review the recently ended rally and begin making preparations for
the 2009 event.
It's estimated that 445,000 people attended this year's rally,
which ran from August 4th through the 10th.
That's 62,000 fewer people than last year.
High gas prices were blamed for the reduction.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - Horse-racing regulators and representatives
from 11 states, including South Dakota, will gather in Deadwood on
Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss issues and challenges facing the
industry.
Traditional horse-racing topics, such as uniform rules, safety,
and legislation affecting pari-mutuel racing are on the agenda.
South Dakota Gaming Commission Executive Secretary Larry Eliason
(ee-LY'-uh-suhn) says media relations will also be discussed.
Racing officials and interests from Colorado, Delaware, Iowa,
Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Texas and Wyoming are expected to attend the conference.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
is encouraging people to weatherize their homes before cold
temperatures hit.
PUC Chairman Gary Hanson says air leaks are common and can be
sealed with caulk, spray foam or weather stripping. He says places
to search for air leaks are around electrical outlets, switch
plates, window frames, baseboards, doors, attic hatches and wall-
or window-mounted air conditioners.
The PUC also suggests getting furnaces professionally inspected
to ensure they're working properly and efficiently.
PUC Commissioner Dusty Johnson says the best investment could be
adding insulation, which can reduce energy bills and make homes
more comfortable. He says heating needs can be reduced 10 percent
with proper insulation and sealing air leaks.