News from Midwest, Rockies

DES MOINES, Iowa — Supporters of a longtime Iowa City pastor and father of four facing deportation to Honduras for a 17-year-old conviction traveled to Omaha Tuesday to deliver a petition calling for his release.

Family, friends and advocates of Max Villatoro stopped in Des Moines on their journey to transport six boxes with a petition containing at least 25,518 signatures from people in all 50 states to Omaha's Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. Villatoro, 41, was among more than 2,000 people arrested last week as part of a five-day nationwide operation targeting convicted criminals living in the country illegally.

Of those detained, more than 1,000 had felony convictions, 58 were associated with gangs and 89 were convicted sex offenders. ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer said a drunken driving conviction dating to 1998 classified Villatoro as an enforcement priority, making him one of 17 arrested in Iowa during the operation.

Another prominent Iowa immigrant, 50-year-old Gustavo Villalpando-Bolanos, founder and owner of the Azteca chain of Mexican restaurants in Davenport, was also arrested during the sweep. His nearly two-decade-old conviction related to helping immigrants enter the U.S. illegally led to his detainment in Wisconsin pending deportation.

All targeted immigrants fell into one of two categories established in November that reflect new policies for the apprehension, detention and removal of those in the U.S. without permission, according to an ICE news release issued Monday.

The petition seeks to block Villatoro's deportation, which would separate him from his four children, ages 7 through 15 and all U.S. citizens, and his wife, a native of Mexico who was brought here when she was 8. Family members and other supporters of Villatoro said he has turned his life around since his drunken driving conviction and subsequent guilty plea to record tampering in 1999, serving as a pastor at First Mennonite Church in Iowa City.

"He doesn't deserve this," said Villatoro's 13-year-old daughter, Etna Villatoro. "I want him back."

In 2006, the Department of Homeland Security took action to deport Villatoro. A series of appeals and denials followed, culminating in his arrest March 3 when he left his house for work. Villatoro is being held at the Hardin County Correctional Center in Eldora as he awaits deportation.

Villatoro's wife, Gloria Villatoro, has vowed to fight until her family is reunited, saying her husband is now "more of an Iowan than Honduran."

"Everything is here for him in Iowa," she said. "One way or another, my kids are going to wake up from this nightmare."

LANSING, Mich. — Some Michigan bridges classified as being in critical condition aren't being inspected as frequently or as thoroughly as they should be, according to an audit released Friday.

The Michigan Department of Transportation agreed with findings from the state Auditor General that inspections of bridges need to be improved. MDOT is required to inspect more than 5,800 state-owned bridges at least every two years.

The auditor's report said MDOT didn't have sufficient processes for ensuring inspectors consistently increased the frequency of inspections for structurally deficient bridges. As a result, some bridges might not have been inspected as often as necessary. MDOT also didn't provide consistent guidance to inspectors for bridges where plywood decking is used to prevent broken concrete from falling onto traffic until other repairs can be made.

The report recommends MDOT pursue state legislation to move toward more risk-based bridge inspection. That process would also require seeking approval from the Federal Highway Administration for longer inspection intervals where warranted.

MDOT spokesman Jeff Cranson said the department plans to start that two-step process soon. The changes, if approved, could help improve efficiency of the bridge inspection program by freeing up resources for more frequent inspections of structurally deficient bridges, Cranson said.

For the 6,500 locally-owned bridges statewide, responsibility for inspections is delegated by MDOT to the cities, counties, villages and townships that own the bridges. MDOT didn't have sufficient measures to ensure those local bridge owners and regional MDOT offices completed routine inspections, according to the audit.

MDOT also didn't ensure action plans for bridges with certain critical conditions contained all recommended information.

The overall audit concludes the bridge inspection program is moderately effective, an improvement from the finding in a 2010 audit that it was not effective.

It's the third audit this year that has been critical of MDOT practices. A previous audit revealed issues with the department's $9.5 million leasing and refurbishment of rail cars, which are not expected to be used until at least 2017. Another audit found warranties for road and bridge construction projects were not adequately monitored in some cases, which could lead to responsibility for repair costs shifting from the contractor to the state.

Michigan's bridges and roads have been a discussion point around the state in recent months, as voters will decide in the May 5 special election whether to approve an amendment to the Michigan Constitution that would give the state $1.3 billion a year more to mend transportation infrastructure.

The amendment, which will be listed on the ballot as Proposal 1, would increase Michigan's sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent and trigger a series of laws that will take effect only if the proposal is approved — including restructuring and more than doubling the 19-cents-a-gallon state gasoline tax to help generate the additional funds for roads, bridges and public transit.

LAS VEGAS — Lake Mead authorities are warning swimmers and watercraft users to stay out of algae-covered water at the Las Vegas Boat Harbor and near Hoover Dam.

The National Park Service said Friday that a bacterial toxin called microcystin (my-kroh-SIS'-tin) has been detected in blue-green algae found in spots on the vast Colorado River reservoir that serves Las Vegas.

Officials say tests of similar algae spots downstream on Lake Mohave didn't test positive for microcystin.

Officials say the bacteria can cause skin irritation and gastrointestinal illness in humans and pets.

Southern Nevada Water Authority spokesman Bronson Mack says algae hasn't been seen near Las Vegas region drinking water intakes.

He says common treatment with ozone and chlorine would eliminate microcystin from water the authority supplies to homes and businesses.

OMAHA, Neb. — The chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party has settled a property dispute with the southwestern Iowa town of Red Oak.

Kirojen LLC, a company headed by Nebraska GOP chairman J.L. Spray, bought a tax lien for an abandoned church in 2012. The city later condemned the church building as dangerous, paid to have it torn down and then sued Kirojen to recover its costs.

Spray objected, saying information from Montgomery County during the tax sale made it appear that the building was in better shape and that Red Oak had the responsibility to cover the cost of demolition.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that Spray and Red Oak officials have agreed that he will pay $10,000 on the demolition bill and deed the property to Red Oak.

GARY, Ind. — U.S. Steel is laying off another 83 workers at its Gary Works plant for a total of more than 780 jobs eliminated in northwest Indiana this year.

U.S. Steel spokeswoman Sarah Cassella announced the layoffs Thursday. She said the permanent layoffs are part of an "ongoing operational adjustment" and the workers would be let go at the end of the week.

The (Munster) Times reports (http://bit.ly/1BcWbX5 ) the affected employees worked at the Gary location for less than six months and will receive their last paycheck Saturday. They have no call back rights under the union agreement.

Previously the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said it would idle its East Chicago tin, which employees nearly 400 people. It also plans to shut its coke-making plant in Gary in May. About 300 people work there.

OKLAHOMA CITY — State investigators and the Oklahoma auditor's office are looking into accusations of official misconduct within the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma.

The Oklahoman reports that Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater requested the investigation, which officially started Wednesday. In a letter to Auditor Gary Jones, Prater said that he suspects public money has been mishandled by group fund managers.

"I have received an allegation that public funds have been misappropriated by individuals who manage the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma SIG/SIF funds," Prater. The acronym SIG/SIF refers to self-insured group/self-insured fund.

Attorney Robert McCampbell, retained by the association's board of directors, says two officials, executive director Gayle Ward and general counsel Clay Bruner, have been asked to stay away from work until further notice. He says the two officials will continue to be paid while absent.

"My role is to conduct an unbiased, independent investigation of what has been happening within ACCO," McCampbell said.

"Because this involves an investigation which could result in criminal charges being filed, this audit and its results are to be kept confidential until the investigation has been released by our office," Prater said in the audit request.

Ward and Bruner could not be reached for comment. And a bureau of investigation spokeswoman declined to say more about the probe.

Former Muskogee County Commissioner Gene Wallace, who serves as an adviser to the association, and Dusty Birdsong, administrator for the association's self-insured group and self-insured fund, will supervise the day-to-day operation for the association while the investigation is ongoing.

RAWLINS, Wyo. — Wyoming school districts are getting more money from the state for salaries, supplies and other on-going costs.

The state Legislature and Gov. Matt Mead approved a supplemental budget this past session that includes $15 million in so-called external cost adjustments.

A coalition of school districts had lobbied hard for the money, saying the Legislature in recent years had failed to provide enough money for districts to account for inflation.

Collectively, Wyoming's 48 school districts had not received cumulative inflation adjustments of more than $150 million in recent years, school district officials had said.

The cost adjustment is based on inflation and includes raises for professional and non-professional school staff, more money for educational materials and an increase for utility costs.

Rep. Mary Throne, D-Cheyenne and a member of the House Education Committee, said she was pleased with the inflation adjustments provided by lawmakers.

"We heard the concerns of our school districts," Throne told the Rawlins Daily Times. "I think all of us here, whatever our political persuasion is, remain committed to having an excellent education system. It is truly a non-partisan, bi-partisan issue. We sometimes have different ideas how to get there, but you will find a lot more consistency . than on a lot of other issues."

School district officials were thankful for the money.

"It's going to be very good for Carbon 1 and for the rest of the districts as far as giving the teachers their salary increases, teacher resources and the future economic stability of the school district," Carbon County School District 1 (CCSD1) Superintendent Fletcher Turcato said. "I am proud of our legislature that they voted this way. I am proud of our governor that he signed it into law, and I am excited for our teachers and students. They are going to get the salaries and resources they need next year to teach and learn effectively."

BILLINGS, Mont. — State and federal officials on Friday offered an array of options to overhaul a 15-year-old agreement that's led to the slaughter of thousands of bison at Yellowstone National Park, with possibilities ranging from letting the population spill freely into Montana to even more aggressive culling efforts.

The release of the six draft bison management alternatives comes almost a year after the U.S. Department of Interior and the state of Montana announced they would reconsider the 2000 agreement.

It also coincides with the end of yet another slaughter season, in which at least 507 migrating bison were killed to guard against transmissions of disease to livestock. The animals were transferred to American Indian tribes that use the carcasses for food and cultural purposes.

Park spokesman Al Nash said with the onset of spring conditions, there are few bison remaining north of the park where this winter's capture operations and much of the hunting occurred.

There were about 4,900 bison counted in the park last summer, the most recent tally available.

Bison were driven to near-extinction in the late 1800s. Yellowstone's animals are prized for their genetic purity.

The slaughter program has long been a subject of controversy, drawing calls from wildlife advocates and members of Congress to stop the practice and allow more bison to roam into Montana.

A coalition of 14 advocacy groups on Friday sent a letter to Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk asking for more room for the animals in Montana. They also urged the end to the "arbitrary population targets" met by shipping animals to slaughter.

But livestock interests oppose drastic changes as long as the park's herds are infected with brucellosis, a disease that causes pregnant animals to abort their young. Park officials have considered but rejected using a remotely delivered brucellosis vaccine on bison.

Retaining the status quo was among the options released Friday.

A 90-day public comment period on the draft proposals will open Monday.

In addition to the slaughter, state-licensed and tribal hunters have killed at least 185 Yellowstone bison this winter. Eleven were killed inadvertently in the park's holding pens or removed for experiments, bringing the total number killed or removed to more than 700.

EVANSTON, Ill. — The police department in the Chicago suburb of Evanston is allowing people to use its property to complete sales set up through online sites like Craigslist.

The idea is to deter crimes during such transactions.

Law enforcement agencies in several states have set up similar safe zones.

The Evanston Police Department says that's in response to cases throughout the country of people being victimized during such sales.

In one recent case, a Georgia couple was killed in January after meeting someone to buy a vintage Mustang.

Evanston police say residents can use the front parking area as well as the police department lobby. The lobby is staffed at all times by department personnel and the front of the building is well lit and under 24-hour video surveillance.

DENVER — New standardized tests aligned with Common Core standards have students hunched over computers across Colorado this month — unless their parents pulled them out of the examinations because of questions such as whether their kids are spending too much time preparing for them instead of learning.

The convergence of concerns in Colorado is part of a national debate that has brought together conservatives suspicious of big government's role in the latest push for educational reform and liberals who say government should be doing more to help children marginalized by poverty and bias who researchers already know won't do well on the tests.

The Common Core standards originated with the states and have been adopted by most, with federal support. The idea is to ensure young people head to college or the workplace with a sophisticated grasp of language and math that they can use to solve real-world problems.

Officials in Denver schools, Colorado's largest district, have stepped up letters to and meetings with parents to enlist their help in getting students to those goals, said Alyssa Whitehead-Bust, the district's chief academic and innovation officer. Part of that outreach has been answering questions about testing. Whitehead-Bust said she sees assessments as "sometimes falsely accused of being unrelated to teaching and learning."

The tests require students to make judgments and demonstrate understanding. Researchers hope to use glean information from the tests to continue to refine Common Core. Classroom teachers can use results as a guide to areas where students need help, though Whitehead-Bust acknowledged this year's results won't be available until next fall. Getting results faster and cutting the time students spend taking tests — this year expected to range from six to 10 hours per pupil in Denver— are among the areas where Whitehead-Bust and others want to see improvement.

Historically, about 1 percent of Denver students are pulled out of testing by their parents. A week into testing this year, Whitehead-Bust said Friday the figure was under 1 percent, and she expected that trend to continue through the end of the month. In neighboring Cherry Creek, district spokeswoman Tustin Amole said the district usually meets its goal of testing 95 percent of targeted students, but many more students were skipping the tests this year. She would not have numbers until testing was completed later this month, she said.

Dan McMinimee, superintendent of Jefferson County schools, which also are in the Denver area, said parents were pushing a conversation about how much time their children should spend on tests and how the results would be used. He said his figures had yet to be compiled, but that he did not think the levels of opting out were as high in his district as others were seeing.

David Pearson, a professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California at Berkeley and a member of an independent committee convened by the National Governors Association's think tank to review Common Core, summed up the thinking behind exams this way: "As long as people are going to teach to the tests, let's have a test that's worth teaching to."

The Common Core tests were developed by two major consortia. Colorado is part of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College Careers, or PARCC, and Pearson's state of California is part of Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, or SBAC.

Because they use computers instead of No. 2 pencils and forms of color-in-the-bubble questions and answers, PARCC and SBAC test-takers can be presented with multimedia material and are able to show their work.

Peggy Robertson is a public school reading specialist in the Denver suburb of Aurora and an activist with the national United Opt Out movement that has challenged Common Core and the testing that comes with it. She would rather see students using computers to create Web sites or communicate with peers around the world. Instead, she has watched them "plugging away at these online practice PARRC tests."

Robertson wants parents to opt out of testing to send a message that they don't want classroom time lost to testing, or money spent on new curricula instead of programs that could help the most vulnerable students succeed, such as breakfast for poor children who arrive at school too hungry to learn.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Gov. Mark Dayton gave railroad companies and Republicans a public tongue-lashing Friday for their resistance to his tax plan to fund safety improvements across Minnesota's railroad network.

Seven trains haul North Dakota crude across Minnesota daily — an influx that has contributed to backlogs of agricultural shipments and raised safety concerns after a string of recent explosive derailments.

With a throng of officials from towns dealing with the headaches of heavier train traffic behind him, Dayton called it "totally unacceptable" that railroads would oppose contributing more money to the state's safety efforts. The governor and other fellow Democratic lawmakers have proposed a series of tax increases and annual fees on railroads to upgrade railroad crossings and ease congestion across Minnesota.

"That is the responsibility of the railroad," Rep. Paul Marquart, DFL-Dilworth, said of improvements.

By taxing train cars and levying an annual fee on Minnesota' four major freight railroads, the state would net $330 million over the next decade, mostly for improvements at railroad crossings. Dayton's plan would also fund increased training for first responders, including a new statewide training facility.

The governor is also planning to carve out $76 million from a bonding bill this year to build underpasses or overpasses in Moorhead, Prairie Island, Coon Rapids and Willmar, where passing trains block crossings for hours every day.

Railroad companies such as BNSF Railway, the state's largest freight railroad and a major shipper of Bakken crude, balked at the governor's proposal. In a statement, spokeswoman Amy McBeth said the company believes Dayton's proposed taxes violate federal law "because they single out railroads for discriminatory taxation."

The other three major freight railroads operating in Minnesota are Canadian Pacific, Union Pacific and Canadian National.

Majority House Republicans have also signaled they're not on board with the tax increases.

"While the governor and I agree that our railroad crossings need improvements, the funding source is still the main issue," said Rep. Tim Kelly, the Republican chair of the House Transportation Finance committee.

Dayton criticized Republicans for not supporting his plan, but he saved his strongest words for the railroad companies.

The governor said state officials believe they're on solid legal ground to foot railroads with a larger tax bill. And he remained defiant in the face of a possible lawsuit from railroads if his proposal goes ahead.

"We're going to do what we know is right for Minnesota. If they want to take us to court, that certainly shows their true colors," Dayton said.