KWIT: Regional News for 9/10 (2008-09-10)

In Iowa...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Iowa attorney general's office has
filed child labor charges against the owner and managers of the
Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in Postville.
The complaint alleges more than 9,000 violations of Iowa's child
labor law at the plant. It says children were exposed to dangerous
chemicals and worked long hours using equipment such as meat
grinders and power shears.
The violations involved 32 children under age 18, including
seven who were younger than 16.
The attorney general's office says the violations occurred from
September 9th, 2007, to May 12th, 2008, when the plant was raided
by federal immigration agents.
Nearly 400 people were arrested in the raid, making it one of
the largest single-site raids in U.S. history.
Charged are plant owner Abraham Aaron Rubashkin; former plant
manager Sholom Rubashkin; human resources manager Elizabeth
Billmeyer; and Laura Althouse and Karina Freund, management
employees in the company's human resources division.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - About one of every four Iowans has
suffered financially from this summer's floods and tornados.
That's according to a University of Iowa Hawkeye Poll released
on Tuesday.
According to the poll, Iowans were also pleased with the
response of state and local officials to the summer's disasters.
Five percent of the poll's respondents said their pocketbooks
were very much affected by the floods and tornadoes, and 18 percent
said they were somewhat affected.
The Hawkeye Poll was conducted by phone Aug. 4-13. The results
include responses from 709 of registered Iowa voters, with a margin
of error of plus or minus 3.7 percent.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - The University of Iowa will use a $8.9
million federal grant to study hearing loss in preschool children.
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication
Disorders awarded the five-year, $8.9 million grant to study the
communication challenges of children with mild to moderate hearing
loss.
The grant will fund University of Iowa researchers as well as
researchers at Boys Town National Research Hospital in Nebraska and
the University of North Carolina.
The research will focus on whether educational and audiologicial
services and aids can help youngsters with more mild hearing
disorders.

In Nebraska...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - As a rule, presidential candidates haven't
had to stump in Nebraska for decades.
That's because this Republican stronghold has given its five
electoral votes to the GOP candidate in every presidential election
since 1964.
But Democratic candidate Barack Obama has opened an office here,
trying to take one of those five votes this year by focusing on
Omaha, the state's biggest, most diverse city.
It's a scenario that's only possible in Nebraska and Maine,
because they're the only states that can split their electoral
votes, although it's never happened.
The Obama campaign started canvassing Omaha neighborhoods last
month, and John Berge was hired as director of Obama's Nebraska
campaign. He said that while some resources will go into the rest
of the state, they'll be focused on the 2nd District.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The Omaha Public Power District is proposing
to raise electricity rates by an average of more than 14 percent
starting in January.
It would be one of the largest rate hikes in the utility's
history.
Company officials say the increase is necessary to cover
increases in its coal and coal delivery costs.
The adjustment would be around 1 cent per kilowatt hour of all
customers. For the average customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per
month, the adjustment would add around $8.73 to the monthly bill.
The utility serves 340,000 customers in all or parts of 13
counties in eastern and southeast Nebraska.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska coach Bo Pelini says his team
might have a bit of an advantage over New Mexico State, because the
Cornhuskers have two games under their belt.
The Aggies haven't played yet. Their season opener against
Nicholls State was canceled because the Louisiana team couldn't
travel because of Hurricane Gustav.
Pelini said his Huskers have gotten a "fastball look" by
playing Western Michigan and San Jose State. He says New Mexico
State will have to adjust to the speed of the game Saturday night.

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York state attorney general says eight
student loan companies have agreed to pay $1.4 million and adopt
broad reforms as part of a settlement over deceptive marketing
practices.
The attorney general's office said yesterday that the companies
marketed products to appear to be federal loans, pushed
higher-interest private loans and used bait-and-switch strategies.
The attorney general's office says the companies settling are
Nelnet Inc., Campus Door Inc., GMAC Bank, NextStudent Inc., Xanthus
Financial Services Inc., EduCap Inc., Graduate Loan Associates LLC
and MRU Holdings Inc.
Nelnet is based in Lincoln, Nebraska.

In South Dakota...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Higher energy costs will cut into a
program that helps pay heating bills for low-income families in
South Dakota.
State Social Services Secretary Deb Bowman expects federal
funding for the Low Income Energy Assistance Program to match last
year's figure of $10 million. But she says it won't go as far
because the cost of propane, natural gas and heating oil is so much
higher this year.
Payments are based on household income and size. Each
household's allotment is paid directly to the fuel supplier.
Bowman says there's been no big surge in applications -- an
indication that qualified households have used the program in the
past.
Just over 18,000 households received assistance last year.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - Gov. Mike Rounds is asking that all flags in
the state be flown at half-staff tomorrow to honor those who died
during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
A White House proclamation asks governors and officials of all
units of government to direct that the U.S. flag be flown at
half-staff on Patriot Day.
The proclamation also calls for a moment of silence at 7:46 a.m.
CDT.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union has
announced that it will open a new office in South Dakota.
In recent years, the ACLU has done its work in South Dakota
through an office located in North Dakota. ACLU officials say the
new office will allow a significant expansion of the organization's
work on civil liberties in South Dakota.
The ACLU's executive director in South Dakota will be Robert
Doody, who has been working for the St. Francis Mission. The
attorney also has worked on American Indian's rights in tribal,
state and federal courts.
The ACLU has won a number of South Dakota voting-rights lawsuits
in recent years.