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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Midwest

Midwest stories: 42 news summaries

1 - 20 of 42 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

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(Newser) - No doubt you snobby big-city, coastal types did a double-take last week when Iowa legalized same-sex marriage, but the state has a long tradition of avant-garde social positions, Rex Huppke writes in the Chicago Tribune. Its university was the first to admit women, it allowed mixed-race marriages 100 years before... More »

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Iowa • gay marriage • Midwest • social liberals • New Yorkers • Californians • snobs • East Coast bias

(AP) - Strengthening wind blew heavy, wet snow around Fargo today, adding to the strain on residents' spirits and on the patchwork system of sandbag levees protecting them from the bloated Red River. But there were no reports of problems from leaks or from wind-driven waves battering the dikes. “They say... More »

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Midwest • flooding • North Dakota • blizzard • Fargo • snow • Red River • dikes

UPDATEd

 Fargo River May 
 Have Already Peaked 


Mar 28, 09 5:43 AM CDT
(AP) - The bloated Red River might already have crested lower than initially feared, forecasters said today, welcome news for weary residents and others who had spent days piling sandbags onto dikes against an expected record flood. Despite the downward revision in the forecast, however, North Dakota officials still intensified their efforts... More »

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Midwest • flooding • North Dakota • freezing temperatures • Fargo • cold

(AP) - Thousands of shivering, tired Fargo residents got out while they could today, and others prayed that miles of sandbagged levees would hold as the surging Red River threatened to unleash the biggest flood North Dakota's largest city has ever seen. The crest is expected tomorrow evening, when the ice-laden river... More »

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Midwest • flood • flooding • Fargo

 Upper Midwest 
 Stymied by Snow 

Fargo to residents: Just stay home

Mar 10, 09 2:47 PM CDT
(AP) - Heavy snow driven by wind gusting to 40mph closed courts, clinics, and businesses and shut down a major highway across the Upper Midwest. Up to a foot of snow was forecast today for parts of eastern North Dakota. The National Weather Service posted blizzard warnings and winter storm warnings for... More »

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Midwest • severe weather • storm • Minnesota • North Dakota • winter • Fargo • snowstorm

Boxcars Idled by Recession Become Residential Blight

Residents who have gained a new town wall aren't pleased

Feb 23, 09 1:50 PM CST
(Newser) - Miles of boxcars that used to rumble through rural US communities now sit idle—and though quieter, towns are finding them much more obtrusive, reports the Wall Street Journal. With shipping down across the world, 30% of America’s boxcars have nothing to transport, and rail yards just can’t... More »

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Midwest • recession • train • railroad • economy • financial crisis • freight • recession depression • boxcar

 Iowa High Court 
 Takes Up Gay 
 Marriage Ban 

Capital expects large crowds for landmark decision

Dec 8, 08 2:15 AM CST
(Newser) - Iowa's Supreme Court begins hearing a same-sex marriage case this week that could give gay activists their first heartland victory, reports the Des Moines Register. The state capital was abuzz with preparations for watch parties, town hall meetings, and court overflow rooms to accommodate the large crowds expected for this... More »

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gay rights • gay marriage • Midwest • marriage rights • activists • conservatives • Iowa Supreme Court

ANALYSIS

 What's in an Accent?
 Outsider Credibility 

Voters ready to lend their ears to the unique mishmash of Western dialects

Oct 1, 08 10:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Some say folksy, some say Fargo, and some say shrill. Whatever it sounds like, Sarah Palin's accent is getting more attention than anyone's since JFK, Daniel Libit writes in Politico. The accent—which linguists peg as a mish-mash of Western dialects—is a fresh one for presidential politics, after decades... More »

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Alaska • Midwest • accent • Election 2008 • Sarah Palin

OPINION

GOP's Heartland Appeal Just Plain Heartless

McCain, Palin pander to 'values' of voters they'd sell out to big business

Sep 10, 08 12:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sarah Palin can’t say enough about the virtues of small-town Americans, the good, honest folk “who do some of the hardest work,” skip college and join the military. But they have to work so hard and skip college because they’re not doing very well, Thomas Frank... More »

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John McCain • agriculture • Republican • Midwest • small towns • Sarah Palin

(Newser) - American women are afflicted by high Mercury levels depending on where they live and how much they earn, a new study says. Northeasterners are worst off, with a 20% chance of high mercury, 10 points higher than the national rate. Midwesterners eat less seafood and had lower levels overall, the... More »

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Northeast • Midwest • fish • mercury • sushi • fetal health

 Midwest Adding Grapes 
 to Its Grain 

Profit-hungry farmers, vote-hungry politicians nurture unlikely wine industry

Aug 22, 08 5:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - As farmers seek higher profits and politicians angle for healthier rural economies, vineyards are cropping up across the Midwest, the Economist reports. Michigan and Ohio now have over 100 wineries each, with vintage monikers handily swiped from French-named Midwestern locales like “Marquette” and “Frontenac”—or, less convincingly,... More »

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agriculture • Midwest • wine • wine industry

 Floods Ruin Midwest Economy 

Food prices repercussions will be felt around the state

Jun 20, 08 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - The floods ravaging the Midwest are taking a catastrophic toll on the region's farmers, and consumers across the country will feel the pinch in higher food prices, MSNBC reports. Even if waters recede quickly, farmers will lose a sizable chunk of the season—they need about 120 growing days—and... More »

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Midwest • farming • corn • flood • food prices • grain • Midwest floods

 Bush to Visit
 Flood-Battered Midwest 

Political pressure mounts for major
flood relief

Jun 19, 08 5:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - President Bush will visit flood-hit Iowa today to inspect the damage and consult with officials, Reuters reports. The state, along with much of the Midwest, has suffered the worst flooding in at least 15 years. Millions of acres of farmland have been flooded. Pressure on politicians to provide relief is... More »

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Iowa • Midwest • flood • flooding • farmland • George W. Bush • Midwest floods

 Grain Prices Surge
 With Midwest Floods 

Water inundating heartland expected to drive food, oil prices still higher

Jun 14, 08 9:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - The floods inundating the Midwest are pushing grain prices to new highs, the Wall Street Journal reports. Corn prices jumped 10% to a record high last week as farmland flooded. The domino effects will hit the ethanol industry, hog farmers, and even owners of catfish ponds who rely on corn... More »

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Iowa • Midwest • ethanol • corn • flood • flooding • crops • farmland • grain • farm • commodities

 Levees Crumbling,
 Midwest Struggles
 to Stem Tide 

Aging infrastructure is barely coping with severe weather

Jun 12, 08 8:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - The worst flooding in 15 years has exposed some serious vulnerabilities in the Midwest's aging infrastructure, the Chicago Tribune reports. Levees, bridges, and dams, some a century old, are barely coping with severe storms—while some are collapsing completely. Dikes and levees broke in several states last week after torrential... More »

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Iowa • Wisconsin • Midwest • severe weather • Indiana • flood • flooding • Illinois • bridge • infrastructure • levees

Midwest Storms Threaten Worst Flooding in 15 Years

Communities work to repair damage from weekend waters

Jun 11, 08 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - As climbing rivers knocked out an Iowa bridge and flooded Illinois farms, communities along the Mississippi River are bracing for what could be its biggest overflow in 15 years, the AP reports. The National Weather Service warned of crests of 10 feet above flood stage and higher over the next... More »

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Iowa • Wisconsin • Midwest • severe weather • Michigan • Indiana • flooding • Illinois • Missouri • Mississippi River

Storms, Floods in Midwest and East Coast Kill 8

Hundreds evacuated as water rises

Jun 9, 08 6:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - Storms across the Midwest and East Coast this weekend forced hundreds to evacuate, destroyed homes, and killed 8 people, the AP reports. More than 10 inches of rain in much of Indiana caused flooding; more floods in Iowa were some of the worst in years. Falling trees, high winds, and... More »

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Iowa • Midwest • tornado • severe weather • Omaha • Nebraska • Indiana • flooding • East Coast

 Roller Derby Makes
 a KC Comeback 

Women's league in Kansas City to be featured on ESPN

May 18, 08 2:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - When Brooke Leavitt lost her right arm in a school bus accident when she was 3, little did she know her handicap would help re-launch roller derby in the Midwest, reports the Steady Burn blog. Leavitt skates for the Knockouts in the four-team Kansas City Roller Warriors women's roller derby... More »

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Midwest • Roller derby • Kansas City Roller Warriors • women's sports • Kansas City, MO

Another Earthquake
Shakes Up Illinois 

No damage reported in 4.5-magnitude rattling

Apr 21, 08 4:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - A magnitude 4.5 earthquake rattled southern Illinois early this morning in the strongest aftershock since the area was shaken by Friday’s 5.2 tremor, CNN reports. The rumble was centered in the same spot as last week's quake near the town of Mount Carmel, and began after midnight.... More »

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Midwest • Illinois • natural disaster • earthquake

 Illinois Quake? Wow 

Today's 5.2 temblor is 'not unusual' for region, expert says

Apr 18, 08 6:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - A geologist has sent a ripple of curiosity through the media by calling today's Illinois earthquake “not unusual," ABC News reports. The 5.2 temblor, which caused no injuries or major damage, is one of many the state has experienced since 1795. One rocked 500,000 square miles... More »

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Midwest • Illinois • Richter scale • natural disaster • earthquake

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