• WASHINGTON (AP) -- As a deadline for comments approaches, South Dakota's congressional delegation is pushing the Obama administration to reverse course on proposed changes that would significantly reduce the amount of ethanol in the country's fuel supply.
• The Environmental Protection Agency announced in November it was proposing reductions by nearly 3 billion gallons in the amount of biofuels required to be blended into gasoline in 2014.
• A deadline for comments on the proposed change is Tuesday.
• The delegation's latest effort against the proposed change came last week, as Sens. John Thune, a Republican, and Tim Johnson, a Democrat, signed onto a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. The letters says that farmers would be hurt most by the changes and the U.S. would be more reliant on foreign oil.
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• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A summit being held in Rapid City next month will seek ways to diversify South Dakota's workforce in critical science-related fields.
• The state Board of Regents and the South Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research will host the summit Feb. 6-7.
• The summit is part of a program to build a diverse workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
• Regents Executive Director Jack Warner says the summit provides a chance for students, faculty and businesses to gain a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities that students from all backgrounds face in pursuing science-related careers.
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