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been opened in the South Dakota communities of McLaughlin and Bullhead, and in Cannonball, N.D. The Red Cross is helping with cots, blankets and food, said Dan Kuecker, the agency's disaster program manager for western South Dakota.
• "If there's a sudden influx of people that becomes more than the tribe has resources to handle we will mobilize Red Cross volunteers to go assist," Kuecker said.
• The National Weather Service forecast wind chills overnight into Thursday as low as 40 degrees below zero.
• "The cold just doesn't want to quit," Landeis said.
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SD committee: Classes to start at end of August
Associated Press
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A South Dakota House committee has passed a measure that would prevent public schools from starting classes before the last Monday in August.
• The State Affairs Committee voted 8-5 to advance the bill.
• Supporters say it will allow more time for students to gain additional summer work experience, attend the State Fair and take vacations with their families. Tourism industry representatives say the bill will be good for business. Some supporters hope to push all school start dates to after Labor Day.
• Opponents counter that individual school districts should decide when classes start in the fall. Officials representing schools say education should be the top priority and starting school earlier allows more time to prepare for mandatory testing.
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Report: Immigration agency should seek EB-5 help
DIRK LAMMERS, Associated Press
• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services should get help from the Department of Commerce to oversee projects funded by the federal EB-5 investment-for-green-cards immigration program, a Washington think tank says in a report released Wednesday.
• The Brookings Institution's study agreed with a December report by the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General that found that the visa program for foreign investors goes far beyond the immigration agency's mission and it should better tap the business expertise of other government entities.
• The program has faced some criticism because it's been used to fund several failed projects, including the idled Northern Beef Packers plant in South Dakota and a planned hotel and conference center in Chicago.
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