• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- The state Game, Fish and Parks Department is conducting an experiment to evaluate river otter habitat in south-central South Dakota by releasing a few otters in the area.
• The river otter is listed by the state as a threatened species.
• Wildlife officials have evaluated habitat and searched for evidence of river otters in many of South Dakota's streams and rivers. But no otters have been detected outside their known range, which is primarily east of the James River.
• The study will trap up to five otters from South Dakota's population, implant each one with a radio transmitter and then release them on state land along the Little White River. The otters will be monitored to determine the success of the release, the habitats they use and the food they eat.
•

• NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) -- State officials are going to study the workforce in northeast Nebraska, northwest Iowa and southeast South Dakota to learn more about what it will take to attract new businesses to the area.
• The Nebraska Departments of Labor and Economic Development will conduct the study in late October and early November. The effort will identify the skills of local workers and other key economic factors.
• The study will focus on Columbus, Fremont, Norfolk, South Sioux City, Wayne, and West Point, as well as northwestern Iowa and southern South Dakota.
• The findings of the study will be released next spring.
•