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DEVELOPING:
ADDS: STRESS MAP-THE SAFE ZONE, IDAHO-CLOSING THE INSTITUTION, BOOMER BIKERS, FOSTER CAMP, BUCKET CALVES, HEALING CONTINUES, HOUSING-MID YEAR OUTLOOK, SAND GREENS GOLF.
STRESS MAP-THE SAFE ZONE
TORRINGTON, Wyo.—Carl Rupp and his neighbors follow the old rancher’s creed: “Keep your money in your pocket.” Rupp has farmed his whole life. He lives in Goshen County, a rural spot along the Nebraska line where cattle outnumber humans 16 to 1 and you can still see the ruts cut by wagons that hauled pioneers along the Oregon Trail. “We’re very conservative,” said Rupp, 62. “We don’t go out too far on a limb.” By Ben Neary And Mike Schneider.
AP Photo WYBN201. AP Graphic ECON STRESS MAP.
IDAHO-CLOSING THE INSTITUTION
NAMPA, Idaho—Hundreds of toy trucks line the walls of Monty Sweitzer’s bedroom—some are holiday presents and others are bribes for him to behave at doctor’s appointment. Sweitzer is 45 and severely intellectually disabled, and each of the trucks represent a milepost of his long haul at the Idaho State School and Hospital. Institutionalized since age 11, he cannot tie his shoelaces and communicates with one-word sentences, grunts and a pocket-sized picture book. Only five states have just one large state-run institution for the developmentally delayed—Idaho, Delaware, Nebraska, Utah and Wyoming. By Rebecca Boone.
AP Photos IDKM101-103.
BOOMER BIKERS
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—Baby boomers rumbling through South Dakota now outnumber their younger motorcycle comrades, shrugging off sports cars in search of motorized freedom. But they also account for the most accidents. That’s why safety groups are trying to persuade biker boomers to wear helmets and protective clothing as they roll into the Black Hills for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The weeklong event that attracted more than 400,000 people last year begins Monday. By Carson Walker.
AP Photos SDSM101, SDSM102.
FOSTER CAMP
HORDVILLE—Cheyenne Tontegode felt lucky to spend three days with her brothers Isaiah and Joe McShannonbe at Camp Catch-up last weekend. The 17-year-old had the scars to prove her luck. A long angry one trailed down the outside of her left leg, where doctors had operated on a broken femur from a car crash in February. Smaller ones, like chicken scratches, showed where her face made in imprint in the windshield of her friend’s crashed Toyota Corolla. By Joanne Young.
BUCKET CALVES
HASTINGS—A small child leading a big calf around a show ring may look unremarkable, but it’s not very safe. “There has been, for instance, 1,400- to 1,500-pound cattle coming in, with a kid that’s only 3 foot tall leading it around. And you don’t know how that’s going to go,” said Dennis Trausch, Adams County beef superintendent. By Charis Ubben.
HEALING CONTINUES
SIDNEY—She runs. She plays. She loves art and music. She’s your typical 9-year-old girl, playing with friends, taking dancing classes and attending school. Well, at least, she appears to be your typical 9-year-old girl. By Klark Byrd.
BUSINESS:
HOUSING-MID-YEAR OUTLOOK
UNDATED—It was—note the past tense—the worst housing recession anyone but survivors of the Great Depression can remember. From the frenzied peak of the real estate boom in 2005-2006 to the recession’s trough earlier this year, home resales fell 38 percent and sales of new homes tumbled 76 percent. Construction of homes and apartments skidded 79 percent. And for the first time in more than four decades of record keeping, home prices posted consecutive annual declines. By Adrian Sainz, David Twiddy, Daniel Wagner, Alex Veiga.
AP Photos FLAD503, PACK501, CAPS502, OHAB505. AP Graphic REGIONAL HOUSING OUTLOOK.
SPORTS:
SAND GREENS GOLF
CENTRAL CITY—That’s no misprint at the bottom of the Riverside Golf Club scorecard: “Please remember to rake your greens.” Matt Nicholas, who grew up playing at this nine-hole course nestled alongside the Platte River in central Nebraska, is almost a scratch golfer on sand. He feels a childhood attachment to the place. “I started playing here when I was 5 years old, started playing league when I was 12,” he said. “I feel like it’s my own little paradise.” But the number of these paradises is dwindling. By Sports Writer Eric Olson. Eds: Moved in advance for weekend use. Also moving on national lines.
AP Photos.
ALSO GETTING ATTENTION:
— FRUGAL FAMILIES—The current recession has prompted many people to cut back on their spending, and a new survey shows that women may be more likely to cut back.
— DISASTER DECLARATION—Gov. Dave Heineman says 13 Nebraska counties will be eligible for disaster aid to help repair damage storms caused in June.
— SCIENCE CAFE—Overcoming genetics to live a longer, healthier life will be the focus of an upcoming informal science discussion in Omaha.
— TRACTOR TRACKS—The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Larsen Tractor Museum has created a new way to enjoy its antique tractors at the Lancaster County Super Fair.
— BIGHORN SHEEP HUNT—Nebraska hunters wanting a shot at bringing down a bighorn sheep have until Aug. 7 to apply for the 2009 bighorn sheep hunting lottery.
— TOURING DOLL—A gesture of good will is being returned to Japan more than 80 years later.
— CORN ACRES—The National Agricultural Statistics Service has released its acreage report indicating the planted acres of major U.S. crops.
— KANSAS TODAY—AP Top Kansas News at 5:45 a.m. CDT.
The AP, Omaha.
