South Dakota
Big Sturgis Motorcycle Rally courts younger riders
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – As the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally turns 74 this year, the Black Hills is bracing for as many as a half-million bikers rumbling through the region – many of them with the creaky knees, portly midriffs and graying manes that mark them out as members of the baby boomer generation.
Organizers love their older riders, but with an eye on the future, they’re making moves to attract an adrenaline-loving younger breed of riders. They’re bringing in pro racers Ben and Eric Bostrom, opening up a drag-racing course and staging an area of vendors and demonstrations that target the energy-drink crowd.
The Sturgis rally drew 466,000 people last year. This year’s edition, which will start Monday and runs through Aug. 11, is expected to do even better based on reservations and inquiries, said rally director Brenda Vasknetz. A survey of riders has suggested the event’s economic impact on the state is as much as $500 million, Sturgis city manager Daniel Ainslie said.
California
Dismantling nuclear plant will be costing $4.4 billion
SAN DIEGO – Dismantling the San Onofre nuclear power plant in Southern California will take two decades and cost $4.4 billion, but spent radioactive fuel will be held at the site indefinitely, according to a game plan from Southern California Edison.
The price tag could make it the most expensive decommissioning in the 70-year history of the nuclear power industry, U-T San Diego reported.
The plant was shut down in 2012 after a small radiation leak led to the discovery of extensive damage to steam-generator tubes that carried radioactive water. Edison, which operated the plant, closed it for good last year.
Ohio
Do not drink the water, state’s 4th-largest city warns
TOLEDO, Ohio – Toxins possibly from algae on Lake Erie fouled the water supply of the state’s fourth-largest city Saturday, forcing officials to issue warnings not to drink the water and the governor to declare a state of emergency as worried residents descended on stores, quickly clearing shelves of bottled water.
The city advised about 400,000 residents in Toledo, most of its suburbs and a few areas in southeastern Michigan not to brush their teeth with or boil the water because that would only increase the toxin’s concentration. The mayor also warned that children should not shower or bathe in the water, and it shouldn’t be given to pets.
Toledo issued the warning just after midnight after tests at one treatment plant showed two sample readings for microsystin above the standard for consumption.
UKRAINE
More human remains recovered from crash site
KIEV, Ukraine – Investigators using sniffer dogs recovered more human remains and personal belongings at the Malaysia Airlines wreckage site in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, the head of an international recovery mission said.
Speaking from the Ukrainian capital Kiev, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said 70 Dutch and Australian investigators were able to reach the site for the second consecutive day, despite clashes between pro-Russia separatist rebels and Ukrainian forces nearby.
Flight 17 was shot down above the village of Hrabove July 17 with what the West says was a Russian-made missile fired by the rebels, killing all 298 passengers and crew, most of them Dutch.
Associated Press
