(Continued from page 13)

Other honey states also have successfully sought exemptions. South Dakota, another top honey-producing state, has received approval the past three years, according to its Agriculture Department.
• There are no concerns about the safety of the as-yet unregistered Hopguard because it's made from a natural product, said Jim Gray, director of the state Agriculture Department's pesticide and fertilizer division.
• "We requested the (exemption) to give our beekeepers as many tools in the toolbox as we can, in the hopes that they have something to control the mites," Gray said.
• Protecting the health of honeybees has become a prominent issue because of colony collapse disorder, which has caused as much as one-third of the nation's bees to disappear each winter since 2006. A federal report blames a combination of factors including mites, viruses, bacteria, poor nutrition, genetics, habitat loss and pesticides.
• Minot beekeeper Will Nissen said the availability of Hopguard is important to the industry because it is the only pesticide that is legal to use during actual honey production.
• "We've got a tool we can use during the summer," he said. "I think this really helps."
• North Dakota beekeepers last year produced about 34 million pounds of honey from about half a million colonies. The value of the honey crop was estimated at $64.6 million. The state has led the nation in honey production for a decade.
•

• SPEARFISH, S.D. (AP) -- Medical clinics in the Black Hills are taking precautions because of an outbreak of pertussis, better known as whooping cough.
• A medical clinic in Spearfish has put routine checkups on hold for young children. Spearfish Regional Medical Clinic staff have diagnosed 10 cases of pertussis in the past two weeks, and the numbers are expected to rise, pediatrician Angela Anderson told the Black Hills Pioneer.
• "We have reorganized our clinic space and staff to handle the influx of patients," she said. "It has been this way for several weeks but increased in severity recently."
• Regional Hospital is restricting visitation at facilities in Rapid City, Sturgis, Spearfish, Custer, Lead and Deadwood, the Rapid City Journal reported. Two major nursing homes in the region also are taking precautions. The David M. Dorsett Healthcare Community in Spearfish and the Belle Fourche Healthcare Community are asking people not to enter the facilities if they have a cough or are feeling sick.

(Continued on page 15)