Taylor Blaising, 2, gets a face full of snow as she slides down the hill with her mother, Amy Blaising, in Fort Wayne, Ind. They were enjoying the snow on Saturday. The Fort Wayne area had received only a couple of inches of snow despite a winter storm warning for northeastern Indiana.

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JOHNSTON — Two Democratic legislative leaders say they want to consider a proposal to privatize the state's lottery to help cover a gaping budget shortfall.

House Speaker Pat Murphy and Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal said Friday that they ultimately may not support leasing out the lottery, but it's worth taking a look at the idea.

"There are a lot of unanswered questions. But at its heart, are we willing to look at privatizing certain government functions that make more sense for the private sector to do? Yeah, I'm certainly open to looking at that," said Gronstal.

The two men discussed the matter during a taping of Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" program, just days before the Legislature convenes Monday.

ARLINVILLE — It's no moose on the loose, but authorities in two southwestern Illinois counties are trying to rein in a spree of brazen antler thefts.

Investigators in Macoupin and Jersey counties say at least 89 deer and elk antlers have been stolen from homes during burglaries since mid-November. Macoupin County sheriff's Detective Mike Kostich says many break-ins have been during daylight and often on dead-end roads. He suspects the burglaries are related to others in which such items as laptop computers and chain saws have been stolen.

Kostich says 65 deer antlers have been stolen in Jersey County, where Sheriff Mark Kalall says burglaries involving deer antlers began surfacing a few weeks ago.

INDIANAPOLIS — Martin University is seeking donations to help pay for repairs to classrooms, offices and documents damaged by water last month.

The small, predominantly black college on the east side of Indianapolis estimates damage could top $3.5 million, not all of which is covered by insurance.

More than 50,000 gallons of water flooded a building Dec. 22 after a pipe burst. Officials say 619 students reported to class last week, some of them in temporary trailers.

The university is asking local businesses and individuals to donate money to complete the restoration and reconstruction by March 23, in addition to a $1 million fundraising campaign that began last year.

TOPEKA — Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is proposing a comprehensive energy policy she says will help boost the use of renewable energy in Kansas.

Sebelius told reporters Friday her legislative proposal won't include any plans for a coal-fired energy plant in western Kansas. She said the state should wait to see what rules and regulations the new Congress and the Obama administration will impose on coal plants.

Her proposal allows Kansans to generate their own electricity through net metering, which enables customers to use their own generation and effectively sell back the extra electricity they produce.

It also would provide tax breaks for companies building wind energy-related components and make mandatory and voluntary programs to have 20 percent of the state's energy coming from renewable resources by 2020.

DEARBORN — New guidelines designed to help the FBI investigate potential national security threats strike a balance between protecting the public and civil rights, the agency's top official in Michigan said Friday.

Andrew Arena, special agent in charge of the FBI in Detroit, told law enforcement, community and civil rights leaders the revised rules that went into effect Dec. 1 have not led to an increase in such investigations in the state.

Critics of the new rules, including members of the Detroit area's large Arab- and Muslim-American community, have said the rules could lead to a rash of new cases as well as racial and religious profiling — ensnaring innocent people in a broad hunt for terrorists.

ST. PAUL — Minnesota's U.S. Senate recount lasted a month and a half, cost thousands of dollars and consumed countless hours for state and local employees. And long before it was over, most people figured a lawsuit was a sure thing anyway.

That's exactly what happened, prompting one prominent elections official to suggest Friday that state lawmakers do away with statewide recounts.

Ramsey County elections manager Joe Mansky said that since the lawsuit was filed, he's been subpoenaed twice, and his employees have been forced to copy about 200,000 pages of election-related paperwork — making him wonder why his office had to spend so much time and money on the recount in the first place.

Mansky's suggestion at a hearing of the state Senate's State and Local Government Committee was the most radical of several suggestions for fixing flaws or errors in the state's election system.

ST. LOUIS — In a move unprecedented in its 200-year history, the St. Louis Police Department unveiled a collaboration with federal law enforcement agencies to rid the city of its most violent offenders.

The announcement Friday comes as St. Louis reported a 21 percent spike in homicides last year, even as overall crime in the city declined 3.5 percent.

The partnership, billed by Police Chief Dan Isom as historic, will use "intelligence-led policing" to aggressively investigate, arrest and prosecute the most dangerous criminals in the community.

Isom said his No. 1 goal is to reduce the homicide rate in St. Louis. St. Louis ended 2008 with 167 homicides, the deadliest in a dozen years. The first murder of this year was on Thursday.

LINCOLN — Nebraskans could register to vote on Election Day, under a law proposed Friday by state Sen. Bill Avery, a Democrat from Lincoln.

Avery said his bill would make voting easier, especially for college students who often have permanent homes in other counties or states.

Nebraska election officials, including Secretary of State John Gale, opposed a similar measure last year, and it didn't make it past the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. Avery is chairman of that committee this year.

Douglas County Election Commissioner Dave Phipps, who oversees elections in Nebraska's most populous county, said the bill could cause huge headaches. It would let people register at the election commissioner's office, county clerk's office or at polling places.

Poll workers are already busy enough on Election Day, Phipps said, and same-day registration could hold up the line.

BISMARCK — Destiny, Candy and Angel will have to give their real names and addresses to the state of North Dakota under a bill that would require registration for strippers.

Police from Fargo and West Fargo say the so-called "sexually oriented business bill" should help crack down on prostitution and drug trafficking they associate with nude dancers. No license is currently required.

Failing to register would be a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

CLEVELAND — A 10-year-old boy paralyzed in a car crash underwent surgery Friday to become the youngest person to receive a breathing device tested on the late "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve, a hospital said.

The implantable device allows paralyzed patients to breathe without a ventilator by electrically stimulating the muscles and nerves that run through the body's diaphragm.

Friday's surgery on Alex Malarkey at University Hospitals Case Western Reserve Medical Center lasted about an hour. The device was then tested and adjusted for about 30 minutes.

The boy took strong breaths for about five minutes before returning to the ventilator and going into recovery, said Dr. Raymond Onders, who performed the surgery. Alex and his parents, Kevin and Beth Malarkey, from the small central Ohio town of Huntsville, were to receive training in using the device Saturday.

SPEARFISH — The activist animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has asked school officials to change the name of Spearfish High School to "Sea Kitten High School."

The new name would "reflect the gentle nature of its current marine namesake," the organization said in a letter to Steve Morford, Spearfish High School principal.

Morford said he did not want to share his feelings about PETA. "Obviously, it's nothing we're taking seriously," he said.

DRUMMOND — It's a long way from the Swiss Alps, but a St. Bernard in northern Wisconsin has been true to her heritage.

The St. Bernard, Brandy, helped rescue a woman who had fallen on ice Tuesday.

Owner John D'Angelo says he was walking the year-old dog when she took off running. He found her several blocks away, snuggled up to 66-year-old Janet Bletsch.

Bletsch had fallen on icy ground and been screaming for help. D'Angelo says Brandy stayed by Bletsch's side while they waited for an ambulance.

D'Angelo says Brandy has no rescue training and must have acted on instinct.

TORONTO — Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper plans to cut 80 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, in an effort to reduce costs in an uncertain economy.

The newspaper's publisher and chief executive, Phillip Crawley, said Friday that the company will need to cut about 80 positions through voluntary buyouts and possibly layoffs.

Crawley said a sharp downturn in print advertising revenue since the summer has forced the national newspaper to slash operating costs.