Pokemon car crashes; mom has 3 twins in 26 months; Caterpillar phone
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Odd and interesting stories from the Midwest.
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LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Potter Park Zoo's newest exhibit is a moose habitat.
The Lansing State Journal reports (http://on.lsj.com/2aacLGH ) the exhibit made its debut in June. It is home for Willow and Meeko, who were previously housed in another exhibit.
The exhibit at the zoo in Lansing features a large, deep pond and a barn for shade. The moose can be separated into two sides of the exhibit, if needed.
Willow and Meeko were both Alaskan moose calves born in the wild but separated from their mothers. Acquiring the moose and building the new exhibit cost $750,000. The moose, about 100 pounds when they arrived at the zoo, now both exceed 800 pounds.
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Online:
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Information from: Lansing State Journal, http://www.lansingstatejournal.com
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ALLIANCE, Ohio (AP) — Fundraising is underway for repairs to a 111-year-old landmark building designed as a castle in northeastern Ohio.
The Alliance Review reports (http://bit.ly/2a3nsYu ) $75,000 was donated in the first few days of a campaign launched this summer aimed at raising $1.5 million for Glamorgan Castle in Alliance.
The goal is a new roof, new air conditioning and heating system and a functioning elevator for the structure.
The building was home to local industrialist William Henry Morgan upon completion in 1905.
Glamorgan Castle was designed to resemble castles in Wales, the homeland of Morgan's father.
The Alliance Board of Education acquired the building in 1973.
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Information from: The Review, http://www.the-review.com
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BAY CITY, Mich. (AP) — A Norwegian ship described as the largest Viking vessel in the world remains docked in Bay City after a four-day festival.
The Bay City Times (http://bit.ly/2abQIz9 ) says the ship, known as the Draken, had planned to sail the Great Lakes after the festival, which ended Sunday. But the unexpected cost of hiring a pilot has put that plan in jeopardy.
The U.S. Coast Guard said federal law requires a privately hired pilot on the foreign vessel. The cost is $400 an hour. The Draken had planned to go to Chicago, Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota, but can't afford it.
Shirley Roberts, executive director of BaySail in Bay City, didn't know if the Draken would be offering deck tours. Another ship, the El Galeon, is offering tours.
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Information from: The Bay City Times, http://www.mlive.com/bay-city
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WOODHAVEN, Mich. (AP) — Two teenagers accused of killing a guinea pig in front of lacrosse teammates at a Detroit-area high school were charged with felonies in an incident that wasn't a "youthful prank," a prosecutor said Monday.
The guinea pig's throat was cut before the animal was beaten with a small bat before an April 30 game, Grosse Ile Township police said.
Tanner Coolsaet, 18, and Michael Roth, 17, both of Grosse Ile, were charged with killing or torturing animals and conspiracy. The maximum penalty is 4 years in prison.
Coolsaet and Roth appeared in court in Woodhaven and were released on bond. Roth's attorney, James Sparrow, declined to comment on the case but said the teen graduated from Grosse Ile High School after the alleged incident.
Coolsaet's attorney didn't return a phone message seeking comment. Coolsaet was a senior and team captain.
"The alleged facts in this case illustrate much more than a youthful prank or a pre-game antic," Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy said. "We must take these cases seriously."
The killing didn't happen on school grounds and not all members of the team were present. The team was kept off the field as authorities investigated and word of a possible animal cruelty became public in May.
"They let a lot of people down: teammates, people in the community, school. They let themselves down," coach Butch Ryan said.
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — In a plea agreement with federal prosecutors the bookkeeper for an Iowa credit union has admitted to embezzling nearly $2.5 million from her employer over 37 years, an act that forced the credit union into insolvency.
Linda Lee Clark of Corydon faces 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine and must pay restitution after pleading guilty Friday to embezzlement from the SCICAP (SEE-cap) Credit Union in Chariton.
Prosecutors say the 68-year-old Clark admits she took customers' money and kept it secret by maintaining two sets of records.
Sentencing is Nov. 15.
The credit union was federally insured. Assets were transferred to an Ottumwa credit union.
SCICAP is an acronym for the South Central Iowa Community Action Program, a non-profit human services organization the credit union was founded to serve.
- By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials have come up with a way to give a northern lakefront parcel to one of Gov. Scott Walker's key donors that they hope will save them another round of stinging criticism.
The agency plans to give Elizabeth Uihlein the 1.75 acres along Rest Lake in Manitowish Waters she wants so her condominium complex will have lake access, DNR real estate director Doug Haag said Monday. Uihlein and her husband in return will give the agency 42.7 private acres the couple is close to buying within the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest boundaries. The land includes 2,100 feet of frontage on Mann Lake, Haag said.
The agency had drawn criticism after announcing plans last year to sell the Rest Lake frontage to Uihlein for $275,000, less than the $384,000 it was appraised at in February 2015. A June 2015 appraisal put the value of the land at $238,000.
The state forest land that Uihlein will give the agency was appraised at $470,000 in January and at $250,000 in February by separate companies working for the DNR, Haag said. He didn't know how much the owners are asking for the land but said the Uihleins will have the title to the land "any day."
"I do think it's an equitable trade for the department," Doug Haag, the DNR's real estate director, said Monday.
The DNR board is set to sign off on the swap during a meeting Aug. 3 in Ashland.
Uihlein and her husband, Richard Uihlein, donated nearly $3 million to Walker's president super PAC and Our American Revival, Walker's now-defunct nonprofit group that helped promote his presidential bid.
The sale drew heavy criticism from Democratic lawmakers as well as the state's Chippewa tribes. They called it a sweetheart deal for one of Walker's key backers, questioning why the sale price was $100,000 below the higher appraisal and warning the deal would deprive outdoor lovers of access to a public lake.
A message left with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, which handles the Chippewa's off-reservation treaty rights, wasn't immediately returned Monday. Sen. Robert Wirch, a Kenosha Democrat who was one of the most outspoken critics of the sale last year, also didn't immediately return a message left at his Capitol office.
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Follow Todd Richmond on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trichmond1
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Dane County Sheriff's deputies say two people crashed their cars this past weekend while playing "Pokemon Go."
The sheriff's office issued a press release Monday saying around 2:30 a.m. Saturday a 25-year-old Madison man crashed into a tree in the town of Verona. He was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and cited for drunken and inattentive driving.
Around 6:30 a.m. that same day a 26-year-old Fitchburg man drove his car into a tree in the town of Verona. The car caught fire but the man was able to escape. He was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. He was also cited for drunken driving, not having insurance and driving left of center.
Both drivers acknowledged they were playing "Pokemon Go."
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ALLOUEZ, Wis. (AP) — Officials say an inmate threw a pot of scalding water in the face of an employee at the Green Bay Correctional Institution.
The Brown County Sheriff's Office says the victim of Monday's attack is a correctional officer.
WLUK-TV (http://bit.ly/29Pvm5m ) reports the employee is being treated at a burn center. A second inmate, who was not the intended target, suffered burns on his back and was treated at the prison.
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections says the prison is on temporary lockdown while the attack is investigated.
The assault comes less than three weeks after an inmate stabbed two employees and injured a third at the prison. The inmate was found dead five days later.
Department of Corrections Secretary Jon Litscher plans to visit the prison soon to meet with staff members.
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Information from: WLUK-TV, http://www.fox11online.com
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CORYDON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana authorities warned people not to leave food outdoors Monday while they monitored the movements of a black bear spotted near a southern Indiana hospital and commercial area.
The second black bear confirmed in the state in the past year was spotted Sunday night and again Monday around Corydon, about 20 miles west of Louisville, Kentucky, then Indiana Department of Natural Resources said in a news release.
Conservation officers established a perimeter around the bear and were tracking it from the air with helicopters and a drone, Conservation Officer Jim Shreck said in a telephone interview. They also have a bear trap.
"Our ultimate goal is to try to capture the bear without harming it," Shreck said.
However, the DNR said later in a news release that wildlife biologists will monitor the bear to determine whether to allow it to remain where it is or to trap it and relocate it. That decision will be based on whether the bear exhibits nuisance behavior and continues to come into close contact with humans, it said.
"It's best if people just leave the bear alone and let it be a part of the natural environment," according to Josh Griffin, with the Division of Fish & Wildlife.
The bear was first reported around 9 p.m. Sunday by a Harrison County homeowner who said it was going through the caller's garbage. On Monday morning, the bear was observed by several people, including conservation officers, in areas near State Road 62 and later in Corydon, the DNR said.
The bear is most likely wild and swam across the Ohio River from Kentucky, which has an expanding bear population, the DNR said.
"We've anticipated this possibility and our staff has been preparing," said Linnea Petercheff, a staff operations specialist with the Division of Fish & Wildlife.
The latest sighting comes roughly a year after a black bear wandered into northwest Indiana from Michigan. That bear was the first verified presence of a bear in Indiana in more than 140 years. After spending several weeks in Indiana, the bear returned to Michigan, where conservation officers euthanized it in April.
South-central Indiana is hilly and heavily forested with large tracts of public land, including Harrison-Crawford State Forest, O'Bannon Woods State Park and the Hoosier National Forest.
Black bears are shy by nature, tend to avoid human contact and rarely attack people, the DNR said. Black bears are not aggressive in most instances and prefer fleeing from humans when given the chance.
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METAMORA, Mich. (AP) — A 32-year-old man who may have been tangled in vegetation has drowned at a state park in Lapeer County.
The sheriff's office says Pattamas Johnson of Swartz Creek suddenly disappeared Sunday afternoon while outside the marked swimming area at Metamora-Hadley State Park. He was with his girlfriend, family and friends.
Efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. The sheriff's office calls it an "unfortunate tragedy."
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WAVERLY, Ohio (AP) — To the chagrin of local Democratic Party leaders, their nominee for Congress in southern Ohio's 2nd District is once again a truck driver who lives with his mother, does little campaigning and doesn't like politics.
William Smith has won the Democratic nomination in the heavily Republican 2nd Congressional District in two out of the past three primary elections. He went on to lose the general election the first time.
Despite his aversion to campaigning and relative lack of recognition, Smith continues getting votes. Party leaders suggest Smith's simple-sounding Anglo-Saxon name is partly responsible along with a mysterious robocall during the 2012 primary.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports (http://cin.ci/28Jn69T ) that the Pike County resident has said he wants to address political corruption and issues facing the middle class.
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This story has been corrected to show that Smith lost in the general election the first time, not that he went on to lose in the general election each time.
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Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer, http://www.enquirer.com
- By MATT BUEDEL (Peoria) Journal Star
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PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — With the retail debut last month of the Cat S60 Smartphone, the device joins the ranks of countless Caterpillar Inc. products that aren't big, yellow, iron and made to move dirt.
The phone — built to be rugged like other Caterpillar-brand cellular devices but unique among all mobile phones in that it has a thermal imaging camera — instead aims to insert the Caterpillar brand into customers' lives off construction sites.
But the device, like entire lines of apparel, luggage and other consumer goods, isn't available at all in the United States. And when it makes its estimated third-quarter domestic debut, it will only be available in limited numbers from a small set of cellular carriers.
One reason for that type of distribution of Caterpillar cellphones is technical — the company licensed to manufacture the phones created the devices using cellular technology that is standard elsewhere in the world but not widely used in the United States.
The main reason entire catalogs of Caterpillar clothing, bags, shoes, gloves and other accessories are widely distributed abroad but not at home, however, is perception, said Kenny Beaupre, Caterpillar's brand advocacy and licensing manager.
"People in Illinois and Peoria don't realize how we're perceived outside the United States," Beaupre said. "It's very urban, not tractors and dirt."
So while Caterpillar's line of industrial clothing — generally heavy duty items such as boots, gloves and reinforced workwear — sells well in the domestic market because of the company's association with rugged construction equipment, the brand evokes other attributes abroad.
"We're known for our industrial products, our workwear, so that's what you see in the U.S.," Beaupre said. "In the U.S., we don't have a lot of the lifestyle products."
Among those lifestyle offerings are an entire line of denim jeans and a 200-piece luggage collection, along with 300 different footwear and 500 different apparel designs cycling through stores every six months.
The company licenses more than 60 manufacturers and their distributors to attach the Caterpillar name to products tailored for specific regions. Beaupre said license agreements mandate the same quality and safety standards Caterpillar demands of its own facilities and products.
There are more than 100 stand-alone Caterpillar-brand stores around the globe, with Caterpillar-branded products available in more than 100,000 locations in about 150 countries. Global retail sales of Caterpillar licensed products total about $2.25 billion every year.
"Our primary reason is to generate awareness of our brand — and to extend our brand to new people and reinforce it for people who know us," Beaupre said. "People want to display their passion for Caterpillar, but you can't put that D11 (bulldozer) in your pocket."
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Source: (Peoria) Journal Star, http://bit.ly/28Zy35T
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Information from: Journal Star, http://pjstar.com
This is an AP-Illinois Exchange story offered by the (Peoria) Journal Star.
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DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office says a toddler pulled from a septic tank in Two Harbors is hospitalized in critical condition.
Deputies were called to a property Sunday about 7:30 p.m. where the 3-year-old boy had fallen into the tank. Authorities say he was unresponsive when he was lifted from the tank and taken by air to a Duluth hospital.
The sheriff's office identified the boy as Mick Johnston.
- By MIKE EMERY (Richmond) Palladium-Item
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RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — Firefighters perform a variety of tasks while doing their jobs.
That's something a dozen middle-schoolers learned this week during the second Richmond Fire Academy. The campers who are entering sixth through eighth grades experienced putting out a fire, yes, but they also learned about emergency medical service, extrications, search and rescue, hazardous materials, dive team, rappelling and more during a busy 40 hours.
"I actually thought, before I ever came to the camp, I only thought firefighters just put out fires, but I learned that they do other stuff like search and rescue, cutting apart cars, helping with the EMS stuff," said Katelyn Meeks, a 13-year-old who attends Seton Catholic. "I think it's a good experience so that you can learn basic skills in an emergency."
Meeks and Jason Glass were lieutenants of two of the four three-person engine companies to which campers were assigned.
"I like this camp; it's a wonderful camp," said Glass, a 12-year-old who attends Northeastern Middle School. "It definitely teaches you team-building skills, but it also teaches you how to put out a fire, search and rescue, water rescues — we did a little diving and got in a boat."
Mike Davis, Richmond Fire Department's chief of fire prevention, organizes the hands-on camp to realistically portray what firefighters experience and the work they do. He said even children of firefighters are surprised by what the job encompasses.
"They've been around it because of their dads, and they're still blown away by the stuff we do in camp," he said. "They see it and try to understand why Dad's so tired."
Campers don gear, and participate in activities such as climbing an aerial ladder, cutting cars, rappelling from Station 1's second level and putting out a training fire. They also become familiar with fire equipment and vehicles, including the LifeLine medical helicopter, and they visit 9-1-1 dispatchers and Reid Health's emergency room.
"What I like about the best was that the LifeLine helicopter came, because that's kind of a one-time deal," said Meeks, who led the Engine 1 company.
Davis said the campers experienced the extreme heat of a fire Monday when they were able to visit a training burn. They put out small fires, then watched as the department burned down the house, seeing how the fire acted and how heat was released when the roof collapsed.
"We were actually able to put out some live fires," said Glass, the lieutenant for Engine 3. "We saw a house burn down, and that was really fun."
Madison Antoine, an 11-year-old who attends Hibberd Middle School, said she'd like to work in an ambulance.
"It helped me a lot, because I didn't know what EMS really did," she said of the camp. "It's fun. I get to learn different experiences."
The way Davis divided the campers into companies mirrors RFD's actual setup. The lieutenants had all participated in last year's camp, and they were charged with leadership responsibilities, such as making sure their company members ate and drank enough and assigning tasks.
"Every day, I give them challenges as a team to do," Davis said. "They have to use the resources in the team. The lieutenants returning from last year truly help guide and lead the new people."
Glass, who said he might like to be a firefighter, especially on a dive team, said being a lieutenant was not too much different from being in the company.
"It's kind of the same, but also you can assign tasks to people based on their skills," he said. "Like if you have someone tall, then you can assign them to reach something that's high."
Learning teamwork is one of the primary goals Davis, who said the week went very well, sets for the campers.
"I try to push them beyond what they think they can do and so they realize how important the team is," he said. "They have to work as a team."
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Source: (Richmond) Palladium-Item, http://pinews.co/29Lq6Rb
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Information from: Palladium-Item, http://www.pal-item.com
This is an Indiana Exchange story shared by the (Richmond) Palladium-Item.
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana hunters donated more than 1,300 deer to charity groups to feed the hungry during the 2015-2016 season.
Indiana conservation officers announced the final tally last week. That's more than 67,300 pounds of venison that were ground into 2-pound packages of burger and donated to food banks.
The donations were made through the Sportmen's Benevolent Fund and coordinated by Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry, Indiana Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry and the Dubois County Sportmen's Club.
The fund began in 2008 and started receiving public funding in 2013. Hunters received a state grant that permits them to coordinate with licensed deer processors.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Nearly 500,000 low-income Ohioans have received mental health and addiction services under the state's Medicaid expansion since the program began in 2014.
The Columbus Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/29Ud3jh ) the expansion has brought more than 950,000 people onto the rolls and more than half were treated for mental health and addiction issues. About 100,000 of the new beneficiaries were diagnosed with severe mental illnesses, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Officials say almost all of the newly enrolled clients with mental health or addiction issues had been uninsured prior to the expansion.
Greg Moody is director of Gov. John Kasich's (KAY'-siks) Office of Health Transformation. Moody says the expansion is part of a redesign of the state's behavioral health system designed to sustain services.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Potter Park Zoo's newest exhibit is a moose habitat.
The Lansing State Journal reports (http://on.lsj.com/2aacLGH ) the exhibit made its debut in June. It is home for Willow and Meeko, who were previously housed in another exhibit.
The exhibit at the zoo in Lansing features a large, deep pond and a barn for shade. The moose can be separated into two sides of the exhibit, if needed.
Willow and Meeko were both Alaskan moose calves born in the wild but separated from their mothers. Acquiring the moose and building the new exhibit cost $750,000. The moose, about 100 pounds when they arrived at the zoo, now both exceed 800 pounds.
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Online:
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Information from: Lansing State Journal, http://www.lansingstatejournal.com
ALLIANCE, Ohio (AP) — Fundraising is underway for repairs to a 111-year-old landmark building designed as a castle in northeastern Ohio.
The Alliance Review reports (http://bit.ly/2a3nsYu ) $75,000 was donated in the first few days of a campaign launched this summer aimed at raising $1.5 million for Glamorgan Castle in Alliance.
The goal is a new roof, new air conditioning and heating system and a functioning elevator for the structure.
The building was home to local industrialist William Henry Morgan upon completion in 1905.
Glamorgan Castle was designed to resemble castles in Wales, the homeland of Morgan's father.
The Alliance Board of Education acquired the building in 1973.
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Information from: The Review, http://www.the-review.com
BAY CITY, Mich. (AP) — A Norwegian ship described as the largest Viking vessel in the world remains docked in Bay City after a four-day festival.
The Bay City Times (http://bit.ly/2abQIz9 ) says the ship, known as the Draken, had planned to sail the Great Lakes after the festival, which ended Sunday. But the unexpected cost of hiring a pilot has put that plan in jeopardy.
The U.S. Coast Guard said federal law requires a privately hired pilot on the foreign vessel. The cost is $400 an hour. The Draken had planned to go to Chicago, Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota, but can't afford it.
Shirley Roberts, executive director of BaySail in Bay City, didn't know if the Draken would be offering deck tours. Another ship, the El Galeon, is offering tours.
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Information from: The Bay City Times, http://www.mlive.com/bay-city
WOODHAVEN, Mich. (AP) — Two teenagers accused of killing a guinea pig in front of lacrosse teammates at a Detroit-area high school were charged with felonies in an incident that wasn't a "youthful prank," a prosecutor said Monday.
The guinea pig's throat was cut before the animal was beaten with a small bat before an April 30 game, Grosse Ile Township police said.
Tanner Coolsaet, 18, and Michael Roth, 17, both of Grosse Ile, were charged with killing or torturing animals and conspiracy. The maximum penalty is 4 years in prison.
Coolsaet and Roth appeared in court in Woodhaven and were released on bond. Roth's attorney, James Sparrow, declined to comment on the case but said the teen graduated from Grosse Ile High School after the alleged incident.
Coolsaet's attorney didn't return a phone message seeking comment. Coolsaet was a senior and team captain.
"The alleged facts in this case illustrate much more than a youthful prank or a pre-game antic," Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy said. "We must take these cases seriously."
The killing didn't happen on school grounds and not all members of the team were present. The team was kept off the field as authorities investigated and word of a possible animal cruelty became public in May.
"They let a lot of people down: teammates, people in the community, school. They let themselves down," coach Butch Ryan said.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — In a plea agreement with federal prosecutors the bookkeeper for an Iowa credit union has admitted to embezzling nearly $2.5 million from her employer over 37 years, an act that forced the credit union into insolvency.
Linda Lee Clark of Corydon faces 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine and must pay restitution after pleading guilty Friday to embezzlement from the SCICAP (SEE-cap) Credit Union in Chariton.
Prosecutors say the 68-year-old Clark admits she took customers' money and kept it secret by maintaining two sets of records.
Sentencing is Nov. 15.
The credit union was federally insured. Assets were transferred to an Ottumwa credit union.
SCICAP is an acronym for the South Central Iowa Community Action Program, a non-profit human services organization the credit union was founded to serve.
- By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials have come up with a way to give a northern lakefront parcel to one of Gov. Scott Walker's key donors that they hope will save them another round of stinging criticism.
The agency plans to give Elizabeth Uihlein the 1.75 acres along Rest Lake in Manitowish Waters she wants so her condominium complex will have lake access, DNR real estate director Doug Haag said Monday. Uihlein and her husband in return will give the agency 42.7 private acres the couple is close to buying within the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest boundaries. The land includes 2,100 feet of frontage on Mann Lake, Haag said.
The agency had drawn criticism after announcing plans last year to sell the Rest Lake frontage to Uihlein for $275,000, less than the $384,000 it was appraised at in February 2015. A June 2015 appraisal put the value of the land at $238,000.
The state forest land that Uihlein will give the agency was appraised at $470,000 in January and at $250,000 in February by separate companies working for the DNR, Haag said. He didn't know how much the owners are asking for the land but said the Uihleins will have the title to the land "any day."
"I do think it's an equitable trade for the department," Doug Haag, the DNR's real estate director, said Monday.
The DNR board is set to sign off on the swap during a meeting Aug. 3 in Ashland.
Uihlein and her husband, Richard Uihlein, donated nearly $3 million to Walker's president super PAC and Our American Revival, Walker's now-defunct nonprofit group that helped promote his presidential bid.
The sale drew heavy criticism from Democratic lawmakers as well as the state's Chippewa tribes. They called it a sweetheart deal for one of Walker's key backers, questioning why the sale price was $100,000 below the higher appraisal and warning the deal would deprive outdoor lovers of access to a public lake.
A message left with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, which handles the Chippewa's off-reservation treaty rights, wasn't immediately returned Monday. Sen. Robert Wirch, a Kenosha Democrat who was one of the most outspoken critics of the sale last year, also didn't immediately return a message left at his Capitol office.
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Follow Todd Richmond on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trichmond1
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Dane County Sheriff's deputies say two people crashed their cars this past weekend while playing "Pokemon Go."
The sheriff's office issued a press release Monday saying around 2:30 a.m. Saturday a 25-year-old Madison man crashed into a tree in the town of Verona. He was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and cited for drunken and inattentive driving.
Around 6:30 a.m. that same day a 26-year-old Fitchburg man drove his car into a tree in the town of Verona. The car caught fire but the man was able to escape. He was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. He was also cited for drunken driving, not having insurance and driving left of center.
Both drivers acknowledged they were playing "Pokemon Go."
ALLOUEZ, Wis. (AP) — Officials say an inmate threw a pot of scalding water in the face of an employee at the Green Bay Correctional Institution.
The Brown County Sheriff's Office says the victim of Monday's attack is a correctional officer.
WLUK-TV (http://bit.ly/29Pvm5m ) reports the employee is being treated at a burn center. A second inmate, who was not the intended target, suffered burns on his back and was treated at the prison.
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections says the prison is on temporary lockdown while the attack is investigated.
The assault comes less than three weeks after an inmate stabbed two employees and injured a third at the prison. The inmate was found dead five days later.
Department of Corrections Secretary Jon Litscher plans to visit the prison soon to meet with staff members.
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Information from: WLUK-TV, http://www.fox11online.com
CORYDON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana authorities warned people not to leave food outdoors Monday while they monitored the movements of a black bear spotted near a southern Indiana hospital and commercial area.
The second black bear confirmed in the state in the past year was spotted Sunday night and again Monday around Corydon, about 20 miles west of Louisville, Kentucky, then Indiana Department of Natural Resources said in a news release.
Conservation officers established a perimeter around the bear and were tracking it from the air with helicopters and a drone, Conservation Officer Jim Shreck said in a telephone interview. They also have a bear trap.
"Our ultimate goal is to try to capture the bear without harming it," Shreck said.
However, the DNR said later in a news release that wildlife biologists will monitor the bear to determine whether to allow it to remain where it is or to trap it and relocate it. That decision will be based on whether the bear exhibits nuisance behavior and continues to come into close contact with humans, it said.
"It's best if people just leave the bear alone and let it be a part of the natural environment," according to Josh Griffin, with the Division of Fish & Wildlife.
The bear was first reported around 9 p.m. Sunday by a Harrison County homeowner who said it was going through the caller's garbage. On Monday morning, the bear was observed by several people, including conservation officers, in areas near State Road 62 and later in Corydon, the DNR said.
The bear is most likely wild and swam across the Ohio River from Kentucky, which has an expanding bear population, the DNR said.
"We've anticipated this possibility and our staff has been preparing," said Linnea Petercheff, a staff operations specialist with the Division of Fish & Wildlife.
The latest sighting comes roughly a year after a black bear wandered into northwest Indiana from Michigan. That bear was the first verified presence of a bear in Indiana in more than 140 years. After spending several weeks in Indiana, the bear returned to Michigan, where conservation officers euthanized it in April.
South-central Indiana is hilly and heavily forested with large tracts of public land, including Harrison-Crawford State Forest, O'Bannon Woods State Park and the Hoosier National Forest.
Black bears are shy by nature, tend to avoid human contact and rarely attack people, the DNR said. Black bears are not aggressive in most instances and prefer fleeing from humans when given the chance.
METAMORA, Mich. (AP) — A 32-year-old man who may have been tangled in vegetation has drowned at a state park in Lapeer County.
The sheriff's office says Pattamas Johnson of Swartz Creek suddenly disappeared Sunday afternoon while outside the marked swimming area at Metamora-Hadley State Park. He was with his girlfriend, family and friends.
Efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. The sheriff's office calls it an "unfortunate tragedy."
WAVERLY, Ohio (AP) — To the chagrin of local Democratic Party leaders, their nominee for Congress in southern Ohio's 2nd District is once again a truck driver who lives with his mother, does little campaigning and doesn't like politics.
William Smith has won the Democratic nomination in the heavily Republican 2nd Congressional District in two out of the past three primary elections. He went on to lose the general election the first time.
Despite his aversion to campaigning and relative lack of recognition, Smith continues getting votes. Party leaders suggest Smith's simple-sounding Anglo-Saxon name is partly responsible along with a mysterious robocall during the 2012 primary.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports (http://cin.ci/28Jn69T ) that the Pike County resident has said he wants to address political corruption and issues facing the middle class.
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This story has been corrected to show that Smith lost in the general election the first time, not that he went on to lose in the general election each time.
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Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer, http://www.enquirer.com
- By MATT BUEDEL (Peoria) Journal Star
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — With the retail debut last month of the Cat S60 Smartphone, the device joins the ranks of countless Caterpillar Inc. products that aren't big, yellow, iron and made to move dirt.
The phone — built to be rugged like other Caterpillar-brand cellular devices but unique among all mobile phones in that it has a thermal imaging camera — instead aims to insert the Caterpillar brand into customers' lives off construction sites.
But the device, like entire lines of apparel, luggage and other consumer goods, isn't available at all in the United States. And when it makes its estimated third-quarter domestic debut, it will only be available in limited numbers from a small set of cellular carriers.
One reason for that type of distribution of Caterpillar cellphones is technical — the company licensed to manufacture the phones created the devices using cellular technology that is standard elsewhere in the world but not widely used in the United States.
The main reason entire catalogs of Caterpillar clothing, bags, shoes, gloves and other accessories are widely distributed abroad but not at home, however, is perception, said Kenny Beaupre, Caterpillar's brand advocacy and licensing manager.
"People in Illinois and Peoria don't realize how we're perceived outside the United States," Beaupre said. "It's very urban, not tractors and dirt."
So while Caterpillar's line of industrial clothing — generally heavy duty items such as boots, gloves and reinforced workwear — sells well in the domestic market because of the company's association with rugged construction equipment, the brand evokes other attributes abroad.
"We're known for our industrial products, our workwear, so that's what you see in the U.S.," Beaupre said. "In the U.S., we don't have a lot of the lifestyle products."
Among those lifestyle offerings are an entire line of denim jeans and a 200-piece luggage collection, along with 300 different footwear and 500 different apparel designs cycling through stores every six months.
The company licenses more than 60 manufacturers and their distributors to attach the Caterpillar name to products tailored for specific regions. Beaupre said license agreements mandate the same quality and safety standards Caterpillar demands of its own facilities and products.
There are more than 100 stand-alone Caterpillar-brand stores around the globe, with Caterpillar-branded products available in more than 100,000 locations in about 150 countries. Global retail sales of Caterpillar licensed products total about $2.25 billion every year.
"Our primary reason is to generate awareness of our brand — and to extend our brand to new people and reinforce it for people who know us," Beaupre said. "People want to display their passion for Caterpillar, but you can't put that D11 (bulldozer) in your pocket."
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Source: (Peoria) Journal Star, http://bit.ly/28Zy35T
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Information from: Journal Star, http://pjstar.com
This is an AP-Illinois Exchange story offered by the (Peoria) Journal Star.
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office says a toddler pulled from a septic tank in Two Harbors is hospitalized in critical condition.
Deputies were called to a property Sunday about 7:30 p.m. where the 3-year-old boy had fallen into the tank. Authorities say he was unresponsive when he was lifted from the tank and taken by air to a Duluth hospital.
The sheriff's office identified the boy as Mick Johnston.
- By MIKE EMERY (Richmond) Palladium-Item
RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — Firefighters perform a variety of tasks while doing their jobs.
That's something a dozen middle-schoolers learned this week during the second Richmond Fire Academy. The campers who are entering sixth through eighth grades experienced putting out a fire, yes, but they also learned about emergency medical service, extrications, search and rescue, hazardous materials, dive team, rappelling and more during a busy 40 hours.
"I actually thought, before I ever came to the camp, I only thought firefighters just put out fires, but I learned that they do other stuff like search and rescue, cutting apart cars, helping with the EMS stuff," said Katelyn Meeks, a 13-year-old who attends Seton Catholic. "I think it's a good experience so that you can learn basic skills in an emergency."
Meeks and Jason Glass were lieutenants of two of the four three-person engine companies to which campers were assigned.
"I like this camp; it's a wonderful camp," said Glass, a 12-year-old who attends Northeastern Middle School. "It definitely teaches you team-building skills, but it also teaches you how to put out a fire, search and rescue, water rescues — we did a little diving and got in a boat."
Mike Davis, Richmond Fire Department's chief of fire prevention, organizes the hands-on camp to realistically portray what firefighters experience and the work they do. He said even children of firefighters are surprised by what the job encompasses.
"They've been around it because of their dads, and they're still blown away by the stuff we do in camp," he said. "They see it and try to understand why Dad's so tired."
Campers don gear, and participate in activities such as climbing an aerial ladder, cutting cars, rappelling from Station 1's second level and putting out a training fire. They also become familiar with fire equipment and vehicles, including the LifeLine medical helicopter, and they visit 9-1-1 dispatchers and Reid Health's emergency room.
"What I like about the best was that the LifeLine helicopter came, because that's kind of a one-time deal," said Meeks, who led the Engine 1 company.
Davis said the campers experienced the extreme heat of a fire Monday when they were able to visit a training burn. They put out small fires, then watched as the department burned down the house, seeing how the fire acted and how heat was released when the roof collapsed.
"We were actually able to put out some live fires," said Glass, the lieutenant for Engine 3. "We saw a house burn down, and that was really fun."
Madison Antoine, an 11-year-old who attends Hibberd Middle School, said she'd like to work in an ambulance.
"It helped me a lot, because I didn't know what EMS really did," she said of the camp. "It's fun. I get to learn different experiences."
The way Davis divided the campers into companies mirrors RFD's actual setup. The lieutenants had all participated in last year's camp, and they were charged with leadership responsibilities, such as making sure their company members ate and drank enough and assigning tasks.
"Every day, I give them challenges as a team to do," Davis said. "They have to use the resources in the team. The lieutenants returning from last year truly help guide and lead the new people."
Glass, who said he might like to be a firefighter, especially on a dive team, said being a lieutenant was not too much different from being in the company.
"It's kind of the same, but also you can assign tasks to people based on their skills," he said. "Like if you have someone tall, then you can assign them to reach something that's high."
Learning teamwork is one of the primary goals Davis, who said the week went very well, sets for the campers.
"I try to push them beyond what they think they can do and so they realize how important the team is," he said. "They have to work as a team."
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Source: (Richmond) Palladium-Item, http://pinews.co/29Lq6Rb
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Information from: Palladium-Item, http://www.pal-item.com
This is an Indiana Exchange story shared by the (Richmond) Palladium-Item.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana hunters donated more than 1,300 deer to charity groups to feed the hungry during the 2015-2016 season.
Indiana conservation officers announced the final tally last week. That's more than 67,300 pounds of venison that were ground into 2-pound packages of burger and donated to food banks.
The donations were made through the Sportmen's Benevolent Fund and coordinated by Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry, Indiana Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry and the Dubois County Sportmen's Club.
The fund began in 2008 and started receiving public funding in 2013. Hunters received a state grant that permits them to coordinate with licensed deer processors.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Nearly 500,000 low-income Ohioans have received mental health and addiction services under the state's Medicaid expansion since the program began in 2014.
The Columbus Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/29Ud3jh ) the expansion has brought more than 950,000 people onto the rolls and more than half were treated for mental health and addiction issues. About 100,000 of the new beneficiaries were diagnosed with severe mental illnesses, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Officials say almost all of the newly enrolled clients with mental health or addiction issues had been uninsured prior to the expansion.
Greg Moody is director of Gov. John Kasich's (KAY'-siks) Office of Health Transformation. Moody says the expansion is part of a redesign of the state's behavioral health system designed to sustain services.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
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