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and most of their companies would adopt measures to protect wildlife.
• Blaine Hoffman, a spokesman for Denver-based Whiting Petroleum Corp., said the company has been leasing land around its oil properties, reseeding it with native grasses, solely for the purpose of enhancing wildlife habitat.
• "The idea came from our employees," he said.
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• BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- Autopsy reports show that a New Town woman and three of her grandchildren found slain in their home earlier this month were gunned down with a hunting rifle.
• The state medical examiner concluded that 64-year-old Martha Johnson and 13-year-old Benjamin Schuster were shot in the head, 10-year-old Julia Schuster was shot in the chest and 6-year-old Luke Schuster was shot in the neck. Dr. William Massello estimated they died within six minutes of one another on Nov. 18.
• A man who killed himself later that day in nearby Parshall is considered a person of interest in the case. The autopsy report says 21-year-old Kalcie Eagle of New Town died after cutting his own neck.
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• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A state organization has found that the number of homeless people in South Dakota has decreased more than 25 percent from last year.
• The South Dakota Housing for the Homeless Consortium performed a one-day survey in September to identify homeless families and individuals in the state. The survey found that 1,166 people are without a home. This is a 26 percent decline from last year when 1,452 identified as homeless. This year's number includes 336 children.
• The survey found that the majority of the families and individuals without a home stay in emergency shelters, transitional housing or motels. The main reason for homelessness is unemployment and substance abuse issues.
• The survey information will be used to create the state's 10-year plan to end homelessness, which is currently being created.
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