• CUSTER, S.D. (AP) -- Thousands of spectators from across the world are expected to get a taste of the Old West when they descend on Custer State Park for the 47th annual Buffalo Roundup.
• About 1,300 bison will thunder across the prairie early Monday to be herded into corrals. Organizers say the goal is to maintain a balance of bison and rangeland forage. Some of the herded animals will be sold at a November auction.
• The 1,000 remaining buffalo will be sorted. Newcomers will be branded and vaccinated, and cows will be checked for pregnancy.
• The event drew nearly 14,000 spectators in 2011. Organizers expect a similar turnout Monday. Entry to the park is free for the event.
• Custer State Park encompasses 71,000 acres in the Black Hills.
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• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A Department of Homeland Security official who coordi

nates the response of faith-based and volunteer organizations to presidentially declared disasters will visit South Dakota this week.
• The Rev. David L. Myers is director of the Homeland Security Department's Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He will visit three South Dakota cities to meet with representatives of government agencies, emergency management groups and others who are involved in the response to disasters and emergencies.
• The South Dakota Department of Public Safety says meetings will be held Wednesday in Sioux Falls, Thursday in Pierre and Friday in Rapid City.
• Myers and his staff work with faith-based and community organizations to assure a coordinated response to disasters.
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• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- Mitchell Technical Institute is getting a federal grant of more than $2.5 million to support a program that provides education in rural areas away from its campus in Mitchell.
• U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson says the grant will specifically help the technical institute develop a model for training speech-language pathology assistants. But he says the Technical Education at a Distance model also can be used to meet other training needs in rural areas.
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