The four candidates for this years Dubuque Community School Board will take part in a forum. The Dubuque League of Women Voters forum will go from 7pm until 9pm on Tuesday, September 2nd at the Forum on Chaney Road. The event will run on City Channel 8 prior to the election. The four candidates running for the two seats are Craig Beytein, Adam Mennig, David Patton, and Lesley Stephens.

NICC LEVY RENEWAL
On 9/9 ballot

Northeast Iowa Community College will seek to renew its support levy in the September 9th election. Currently the levy stands at 6-cents and after residential rollbacks would amount to 3-dollars for a property valueation of 100-thousand dollars. The funds are to be used for instructional equipment only. NICC officials say the instructional programs, especially in technical areas require new and up-to date equipment.

FREE PRE-SCHOOL
200 openings

Parents of pre-school kids still have time to take advantage of the free pre-school program at schools in the Dubuque Community School District. There are still 200 open spots for 4 year old pre-school kids. The only requirements are the child must be 4 years old by September 15th and they must be an Iowa resident. If accepted the child will receive 10 hours of free pre-school instruction each week. Parents can call the preferred pre-school to enroll.

FEMA In Town
Agents going door-to-door

Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency met with members of the Dubuque County Board of Supervisors this week. FEMA officials are urging residents in Dubuque County and the city of Dubuque, who believe they suffered water damage from flooding earlier this year, that time is running out to file a claim. Supervisor Donna Smith says FEMA agents have been going door-to-door in unincorporated parts of the county and learning that a lot of people are unaware that they have significant mold damage in their basements. Smith says claims are not limited to mold or mildew damage. The deadline for the private sector to file a claim with FEMA is September 29th. To do that, call 1-800-621-3362

DYERSVILLE GETS IDED FUNDS
Business Investment money

Dyersville was one of the five Iowa Cities to receive part of a 228-million-dollar business investment from the Iowa Department of Economic Development. VeraSun Energy's ethanol plant, that's under construction in Dyersville, received tax benefits from the High Quality Job Creation Program. Thirty-seven of the 57 jobs to be created at the new 157-million dollar plant obtained the award. The plant is slated to produce 110 million gallons of ethanol annually. The other Iowa cities receiving benefits are Boone, Cedar Rapids, Galva and Roland.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A second supervisor arrested after a massive immigration raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville has pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the harboring of undocumented immigrants. Martin De La Rosa-Loera appeared in federal court on Wednesday in Cedar Rapids. He was arrested in July following a raid at the kosher meatpacking plant two months earlier. Federal officials say that 43-year-old De La Rosa-Loera assisted others in harboring illegal immigrants. Last week, another supervisor at the plant, Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to hire illegal immigrants and one count of aiding and abetting the hiring of illegal immigrants. A sentencing date for De La Rosa-Loera wasn't immediately scheduled. He faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Nearly 400 people were arrested at the Agriprocessors raid.

CONGRESS FLOODING
Democrats confident relief money headed for Iowa

DENVER (AP) - Democratic lawmakers say they believe Congress can pass a package of financial flood aid by the end of September. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told the Des Moines Register on Wednesday that they are committed to taking up disaster relief when Congress reconvenes after the August recess. Durbin, an Illinois Democratic, declined to estimate the amount of money Iowa could expect in aid for housing, roads, levees and agriculture. Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has put the figure as perhaps exceeding $5 billion. Pelosi is scheduled to tour flood damage in Iowa on Sept. 8, with visits to visit Des Moines, Waterloo and Cedar Falls.

REPUBLICANS FLOODING SESSION
GOP lawmakers call for special flood session

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A group of GOP house members from areas wracked by severe weather this summer say a special session of the Legislature is necessary to help spur recovery. The lawmakers are also sharply criticizing Gov. Chet Culver. Rep. Kraig Paulsen, the House minority whip, says Culver is forcing the state to play a "guessing game" about the status of a special session. He says constituents need help now and can't afford to wait. Culver and other Democrats have said a special session wouldn't be held until mid-September at the earliest, after a panel appointed by Culver issues recommendations for flood relief legislation. That would mean a session less than four months before the regular session is scheduled to convene.

JOHNSON CONVENTION
Olympian Johnson to lead pledge at DNC convention

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Barack Obama's presidential campaign has announced that Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson will lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday. Obama is expected to give his acceptance speech Thursday night at Invesco Field in Denver. Johnson, 16, won four medals at the Olympics in Beijing, including a gold in the women's balance beam competition. She begins a 40-city gymnastics tour next week.

UNDERAGE ALCOHOL
Council says alcohol in body is possession

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) - Police could begin to use a breath test to enforce a new measure that would punish underage drinkers for having alcohol in their bodies. The measure won preliminary City Council approval Monday. It says that any underage person who registers a .02 blood alcohol content in a breath test is deemed to be in possession of alcohol. The measure passed the City Council unanimously. It must be approved twice more to become law. Those convicted of possession of alcohol by a minor face a fine of up to $500. The Fort Dodge assistant police chief had previously told the council that police had no authority over an underage person who appeared to have been drinking but wasn't holding a container of alcohol.

WATERLOO NUDE DANCING
Waterloo votes to allow full nude dancing

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) - A nude-dancing bar wins out a three-year legal battle that allows dancers to perform completely nude. The Waterloo Board of Adjustment voted 3-0 Tuesday to approve an adult entertainment permit for the Fantasy Theater Live. Board members held a closed-door executive session before voting to grant the permit, with a number of stipulations that limit the bar's hours from noon to 5 a.m. and dictate that the business' exterior signs can't include anatomical areas or depict sexual activities. The Fantasy Theater Live is a so-called "juice bar," so named because many nude dancing establishments sell juice as mixers to customers who bring the alcohol. The owner had been battling the city since the board rejected his original permit application in July 2005.

WISCONSIN-TRAINS
More and more Wisconsinities are taking the train

APPLETON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsinites are riding on trains at a record-setting pace. That's pushing demand that could help the state expand train service into the Fox Valley. The popular Amtrak Hiawatha service that takes passengers between Chicago and Milwaukee had 607,000 riders in the last 10 months. That's up nearly 25 percent. The state also reported an all-time monthly record passenger count on that track in July, with more than 78,000 rides. Because of the high demand, there's a push to extend service into northeast Wisconsin. Right now, the tracks are limited to Milwaukee and the western edge of the state. One plan calls for trains to connect Milwaukee to Green Bay, with stops along the way in Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, Neenah and Appleton. It would also connect Milwaukee to Madison and the Twin Cities.

MADISON-HOMELESS
Madison alderwoman seeking to stop cops from ticketing the homeless

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Madison alderwoman Brenda Konkel plans to introduce an ordinance change that would keep police from fining the homeless for public urination and sleeping in parks. Konkel says she'll introduce her plan at a City Council meeting in September. She hopes to spark a discussion about how the city treats the homeless with limited shelter space and no new city programs for the homeless population coming in 2009. She says that the nighttime closure of bathrooms at a park on the south side was one impetus for the changes. The closures were a response to complaints about the homeless population at the park.

VOTER CHECK
Elections officials vote against voter penalties

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - State elections officials have refused a state Republican Party request to force voters who fail identification checks to cast a provisional ballot this fall. Federal law requires each state to build a statewide voter registration list and cross-reference names with other state databases to verify identity and address. It's up to the states to decide what to do with people who get red-flagged. The state Government Accountability Board hasn't established penalties for prospective voters who get red-flagged and ignore requests to correct their status. The state GOP had asked the board to either remove them from the eligible voter list or allow them to vote by provisional ballot. But the board voted yesterday to let everyone vote and sort out the problems after the election.

UW STUDENTS KILLED
Car crash kills 3 UW-Madison students

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Three University of Wisconsin-Madison students are dead after a car crash. The Dane County Corner's Office identified the victims as 22-year-old Daniel Myers, 23-year-old Lindsey T. Plank and 22-year-old Richard H. Putze. All three victims were from Madison and killed when their car struck a tree just after early yesterday morning. University officials say Plank and Putze were seniors majoring in chemistry. Myers was not enrolled for the fall semester, but completed his degree requirements this summer in music performance. Madison Police spokesman Howard Payne says alcohol may have been a factor in the crash. Dean of Students Lori Berquam says the timing of the tragedy is particularly hard just before the new semester begins.

FAA-COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
Air-traffic glitch becomes national headache

CHICAGO (AP) - A software glitch in an FAA flight-plan computer south of Atlanta this week has illustrated how easily a single, seemingly isolated snafu can trigger disarray across in the country's aging air-traffic system. The FAA says the problem Tuesday delayed around 650 flights in the East and Midwest, including Chicago. The chief operations officer for the U.S. air traffic system, Hank Krakowski, says the computer's now operating normally. But he says the disruptions were frustrating. He says it shows that just upgrading the network piecemeal isn't good enough. He says what's needed is whole-scale modernization. The air traffic controllers union says it also supports modernization. But it accuses the FAA of being too fixated on future technology and of not maintaining existing equipment well enough.

STATE BUDGET-LAYOFFS
Ill. comptroller announces layoffs, furloughs

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes plans to lay off employees and has instituted unpaid days off and a hiring freeze to deal with budget cuts. Hynes spokeswoman Carol Knowles says the number of layoffs hasn't been determined, but the office's personnel budget has been reduced by $1 million. Non-union employees making at least $60,000 a year have to take five unpaid furlough days before next June 30th. Knowles said yesterday (Wednesday) the office will also offer buyouts. Statewide leaders are cutting back after Governor Rod Blagojevich slashed $1.4 billion from the annual budget. Earlier this month, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (jeh-NOO'-lee-ehs) laid off six employees and

ILLINOIS FLOODING-FEMA
FEMA approves $15.4 million in Ill. flooding aid

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved more than $15.4 million in disaster aid to help Illinois residents and businesses recover from this summer's flooding. Federal officials yesterday (Wednesday) said about 3,300 homeowners and renters from the 18 designated counties have applied for disaster assistance. The money pays for home repair, temporary rental assistance and property loss. The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved 153 disaster loans for businesses. That equals about $7.8 million. Flooding in June and July caused widespread damage in parts of Illinois. Some of the hardest hit were Rock Island, Winnebago and Henderson counties.

PRIEST ABUSE LAWSUIT
Jurors find for plaintiff in Belleville abuse case

BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) - A St. Clair County jury has awarded $5 million to a man who sued the Diocese of Belleville, saying it covered up alleged sexual abuse by a priest in the 1970s. The jury yesterday (Wednesday) found the diocese "fraudulently concealed" James Wisniewski's (wihs-NOO'-skees) claims. Wisniewski, of Champaign, filed a civil lawsuit in 2002. The Belleville News-Democrat says he called the verdict great for him and other abuse victims. The 47-year-old Wisniewski says the Reverend Raymond Kownacki molested him when he was an altar boy. Former Belleville Bishop Wilton Gregory testified that key documents about Kownacki were kept from him. Gregory removed Kownacki from the active ministry in 1995. Kownacki isn't charged criminally. The diocese didn't immediately return messages.

NIU SECURITY
NIU adds 16 officers to security staff

DEKALB, Ill. (AP) - Northern Illinois University officials say the school has added 16 full-time security officers. NIU Lieutenant Todd Henert says the Public Safety Department now has 59 full-time officers. NIU Police Chief Don Grady says security guards have also been hired, mostly to serve on a late-night bus service. He says the school is working on other security changes, but declined to talk about them because he says they're still in the planning phase. A former NIU graduate student opened fire in a Cole Hall classroom on February 14th, killing five students before committing suicide. Earlier this month Governor Rod Blagojevich signed a bill that requires all Illinois colleges and universities to plan and practice for emergencies.

SUN-TIMES-JOBS

Chicago Sun-Times eyeing more cuts with ad drop

NEW YORK (AP) - The Chicago Sun-Times says it is considering an unspecified number of job cuts, blaming declining advertising revenue. Any reductions, which could be announced next week, would follow the January announcement by the paper's union that the Sun-Times had laid off 17 reporters and editors and eliminated another 12 newsroom jobs through voluntary buyout packages. In a memo to his staff, Sun-Times Editor Michael Cooke said the newspaper's circulation has been acceptable, but advertising revenues are awful.

DENVER (AP) - Barack Obama will accept the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night at an open-air rally that's expected to draw up to 75,000 people. He's already made history as the first black American to head a major party ticket. He made a surprise appearance in the convention Wednesday night to thunderous applause. Barack Obama was nominated by acclamation Wednesday, with his former rival Hillary Clinton interrupting the roll call in what she called "the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory." Later Bill Clinton delivered a ringing endorsement of Obama, saying Obama is "ready to lead America and restore American leadership in the world." In his vice presidential acceptance speech, Joe Biden told delegates that the nation requires "more than a good soldier" in the White House. He said Barack Obama is a wise leader who can deliver the change the nation needs.

LIVING THE DREAM
Obama: History in the making, first black nominee

DENVER (AP) - Martin Luther King III says Barack Obama's nomination "is a monumental moment in our nation's history" and will become even greater "if he's elected." Obama will accept his nomination as the first black person to head a major party ticket, on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Junior's "I have a dream" speech. He becomes a huge name in the history of the country that includes slavery, emancipation, lynchings, Jim Crow, lunch counter bigotry, voting rights, integration, oratory, intermarriage, black pride, assassination, riots -- and now a nomination. Edwin David, who served with the famed World War II unit of black fighters known as the Tuskegee Airmen is 83 now and pleads: "Just let me live 'til voting time in November. In my lifetime, we just might get to see the first African-American president."

TROPICAL WEATHER
Gustav nears Jamaica; New Orleans keeps watch

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Tropical Storm Gustav is on its way toward Jamaica this morning. A day after stalling off Haiti's coast, the storm is moving on a west-southwest track and is expected to pass very close to Jamaica. Forecasters expect it to start slowly regaining strength, and it could become a hurricane again by tomorrow, and a major hurricane later this weekend. The latest update has maximum sustained winds near 45 miles-per-hour. So far Gustav is blamed for 23 deaths on the island of Hispaniola. Meanwhile residents in New Orleans are nervously watching, since forecasters have Gustav eventually making its way into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. They say it could make landfall anywhere between Texas and the Florida panhandle this weekend.

TROPICAL WEATHER-DEPRESSION
New tropical depression forms in Atlantic

MIAMI (AP) - The National Hurricane Center says a new tropical depression has formed in the Atlantic. The depression formed early Thursday and has maximum sustained winds near 35 mph. The depression is centered about 355 miles east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands and is moving toward the west-northwest near 5 mph. The new tropical depression comes as Tropical Storm Gustav is churning through the Caribbean and threatening to hit the New Orleans area as a hurricane.

AFGHANISTAN
Bomb kills US coalition member in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The U.S.-led coalition says a roadside bomb has killed one of its members in southern Afghanistan. A coalition statement says the the soldier was killed during a patrol on Wednesday. The victim's nationality and the exact location of the blast have not been released. Separately, the coalition says its troops killed a militant and detained two others during a raid in the eastern Paktika province. It says the militant was killed by small-arms fire as the troops searched compounds on Wednesday. More than 3,500 people, mostly militants, have died in insurgency-related violence so far this year according to an Associated Press tally of figures provided by Afghan and Western officials.

PAKISTAN-VIOLENCE PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - Nine people are dead after suspected Pakistani militants bombed a bus carrying prisoners in the tribal northwest. The powerful blast left a massive crater in the middle of a bridge, while the burnt-out vehicle is completely mangled. The dead include police officers and prisoners. No one has claimed responsibility for today's attack yet, though police say Taliban militants are the likely culprits. The Pakistani Taliban are becoming increasingly bold, claiming responsibility for a wave of suicide bombings and gun attacks in recent weeks. And Fighting has spread to new areas in the tribal belt along the Afghan border. Hours before the bus attack, security forces drove off a Taliban attack on a fort. Troops also pounded another band of militants who were holed up in a health center. As many as 49 insurgents were reported killed in separate attacks.

GEORGIA DRONE DESTROYED
South Ossetian official: Georgian spy plane shot down

TSKHINVALI, Georgia (AP) - The interior minister of the separatist-held Georgian region of South Ossetia says his forces have shot down an unmanned Georgian spy plane. The minister says the drone was shot down over South Ossetia by local forces today. He says it had crossed into the unrecognized republic from the south meaning it was of Georgian origin. A Georgian official denies the country sent any drone over South Ossetia. A spokesman for the Georgian Interior Ministry says the South Ossetian minister is "seeing things."

LEBANON-HELICOPTER ATTACK
Lebanese army helicopter hit by gunfire, 1 killed

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Security officials say a Lebanese army officer was killed when gunfire struck a military helicopter in the country's south. Details about the shooting were sketchy. The officials say the helicopter made an emergency landing Thursday in the highland region of the Iqlim al Tuffah province, southeast of the port city of Sidon. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations. A bus bombing earlier this month in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli killed 18 soldiers and civilians. Authorities blame that attack on Islamic militants.

THAILAND-POLITICAL UNREST
Thai protesters defy court order to leave compound

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - In Thailand, thousands of demonstrators, some armed with golf clubs, batons and bamboo sticks, are defying a court order to end their occupation of the prime minister's office compound. As many as 10,000 protesters are inside, and many are vowing to remain there until the Thailand's leaders resign. Outside the compound, more protesters are standing guard as the first defense against a police raid authorities say will come if the protests continue. The People's Alliance for Democracy wants to force Thailand's government to step down. They say it's corrupt and only serving as a proxy for a former prime minister ousted back in 2006. He's now facing several corruption cases.

BABY BASSINET-WARNING

Government warns Simplicity bassinets are deadly

WASHINGTON (AP) - A government safety group says parents shouldn't use a Pennsylvania company's baby bassinets after two babies were trapped and strangled in the product. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says infants can slip through the bars and suffocate in the "close-sleeper/bedside sleeper" bassinets, made by Simplicity Incorporated of Reading, Pennsylvania. Simplicity's 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets contain metal bars spaced farther apart than federal standards allow. SFCA Incorporated acquired Simplicity's assets in April, and the CPSC says they've "refused to cooperate with the government and recall the products." SFCA denies any responsibility for products previously made by Simplicity.