FARM BELT BRACES FOR IMPENDING DROUGHT (Shorter Version)

  • Ponds and lakes in some areas of the Midwest are the lowest they've been in more than 35 years. Some cities are implementing water use restrictions. Some farmers are concerned there's not enough subsoil moisture for crops to use during the hot summer months.

The beginnings of a drought are hitting a large part of the nation’s
mid-section. Already some communities are facing water shortages. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

New Bill Targets Acid Rain

A new federal report says acid rain remains a serious problem in New
York state’s Adirondacks, and is also a growing threat in the southern
Appalachians, the Rocky Mountains and elsewhere. Environmentalists are
hoping the report will strengthen political support for anti-pollution
measures in Congress this year. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Todd
Moe reports:

Midwest Kids Struggle With Obesity

The report card on fitness is in – and it concludes that there’s a lotof room for improvement. The federal government has been keeping trackof Americans’ heights and weights for more than 30 years now. And eachtime the survey is taken, it shows that the population is heavier. TheUpper Midwest is the heaviest region in the country. The Great LakesRadio Consortium’s Joan Siefert-Rose reports on the theories behind thisdramatic increase in obesity … and the special problems faced bychildren:

Are Today’s Kids Less Active?

The U-S Surgeon General recently declared childhood obesity as aproblem of epidemic proportion in this country. Over the last 30 years,children have been getting heavier, relative to their height. Today,one in five children is at least 20 percent above an optimal weight.The problem may not be so much what kids are eating … as it is what theyare doing. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Joan Siefert-Rose hasthis report:

&Quot;Higher"-Speed Rail Study Unveiled

States in the Midwest are looking at a plan to link cities with faster passenger rail. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports…the plan would cost billions of dollars, but its backers say it will better serve mid-sized cities.

Earthquake Insurance in the Midwest

Insurance rates for earthquake coverage could be going up dramatically forbusinesses near the fault line of the nation’s most severe earthquake. It’snot in California, but in Missouri. In the winter of 1811 and 1812, aseries of severe earthquakes shook the region. The quakes changed thecourses of the Mississippi river in places. They created Reelfoot Lake inTennessee and shook to the ground the few log structures built by settlersin the southern regions of Illinois and Missouri. The Great Lakes RadioConsortium’s Lester Graham reports those historic earthquakes and newcomputer data have prompted a move to quadruple some business’ earthquakeinsurance rates: