Beth P. Collins, 49, shows off Frank, a 3-year-old self-masked cream Afghan hound. They were taking part last week in the 72nd National Specialty Afghan Hound Club of America Dog Show in Frankenmuth, Mich. Frank's registered name is Champion Taza Kaimar May I Be Frank.

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SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration doesn't know who it has signed up for an enlarged health insurance program, how much money in premiums it has collected or even where that money is, according to a court ruling Friday that blocked the program's expansion.

Illinois' First District Appellate Court in Chicago upheld a lower court's decision to deny Blagojevich permission to broaden FamilyCare after he was rebuffed by the General Assembly — twice — and the secretary of state.

The Democratic governor went ahead anyway, offering FamilyCare to participants with higher incomes, up to $83,000 a year for a family of four. The higher the incomes, the larger the premiums. In a lawsuit filed by a lawyer and two business-group representatives, Blagojevich's lawyers acknowledged that they had virtually no record of the program.

FORT WAYNE — A geologist wants to drill for oil beneath Fort Wayne International Airport. Geologist Chuck Knox is seeking the mineral rights under 2,000 acres of airport property to drill for oil.

"We'd be foolish to at least not take a look," airport Executive Director Torry Richardson told The News-Sentinel.

Knox said his company was focusing on gas and oil fields in Indiana that have been unprofitable until the price of oil climbed above $100 a barrel.

AMES — Two Ames residents are facing wire and mail fraud charges for allegedly buying new electronic equipment then returning broken equipment for refunds.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment last week against 25-year-old Wilson Yat-Sun Kwong and 23-year-old Liyin Lau, both of Ames.

Each is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and three counts of mail fraud.

The indictments allege that Kwong and Lau used credit cards to buy electronic equipment at various stores across the Midwest, and then took similar, broken equipment with counterfeit serial numbers back to the stores for refunds.

It says they then sold the new equipment on the Internet. The indictment claims that they got nearly $97,000 from the scheme.

LEAVENWORTH — Leavenworth County officials are talking about building a public airport there, but plans in nearby Atchison could block it.

The County Commission has approved a study of whether building a public airport would be justified. The county, its Port Authority and the cities of Basehor, Lansing, Leavenworth and Tonganoxie have agreed to spend $100,000.

Leavenworth County has private airfields, and some civilian traffic is allowed at Fort Leavenworth. And this week, County Administrator Heather Morgan relayed what could be bad news to the Port Authority.

Atchison has proposed a $12.5 million expansion of its airport.

Morgan told the Leavenworth Times, "If Atchison was to expand its airport, we would be too close."

LANSING — Gov. Jennifer Granholm has asked for federal disaster assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for farmers in 69 counties who face weather-related crop losses this year.

Farmers would be eligible for low-interest emergency loans if the requests, announced Friday, are granted.

Excessive rain, high winds and flooding caused lower yields of fruit, corn, soybeans and other vegetables in 48 counties. All but two are in the Lower Peninsula.

COLLEGEVILLE — The president of St. John's University has been diagnosed with cancer.

Jim Frey, chairman of the university Board of Regents, said in a prepared statement that Brother Deitrich Reinhart has cancer in both lungs.

The board expressed its full support for Reinhart during its regular meeting on Thursday.

The metastatic melanoma was discovered during a recent physical at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Frey called it a very serious situation.

Reinhart has an appointment on Oct. 10 with a leading melanoma specialist.

SPRINGFIELD — The national offices of two Drury University fraternities have temporarily suspended the local chapters after an off-campus party that resulted in arrests.

The Springfield News-Leader reported Friday that national leaders of Kappa Alpha and Sigma Nu confirmed that their members were involved in the Sept. 13 off-campus party.

The party, in rural Stone County, led to 16 people being charged with underaged possession of alcohol and an 18-year-old man being taken to a hospital for alcohol poisoning.

Kappa Alpha officials said the local chapter co-hosted the party. Sigma Nu officials said they were still looking into the issue.

LINCOLN — Lincoln police report the rare occurrence of arresting a man who called them for help.

Officials said the 25-year-old man called police Wednesday night to say someone was trying to break into his apartment. When police arrived, they discovered it was the apartment manager trying to get into the apartment, which was supposed to be vacant.

Police said someone had illegally changed the locks on the apartment, and the man arrested was illegally occupying it.

In addition, police said they found more than 3 pounds of marijuana, equipment used to grow marijuana and nearly $3,500 in cash in the apartment.

COLUMBUS — Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner says backers of a proposed Ohio casino have collected enough valid signatures to put the issue on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Voters will now decide whether to amend the Ohio Constitution to allow a casino resort off Interstate 71 near Wilmington, in western Ohio.

Backers of the project say it would create at least 5,000 jobs and produce income for each of Ohio's 88 counties.

GRAND FORKS — The University of North Dakota says it no longer will have a school of communication.

The school announced plans to dissolve the program and shift its faculty and staff to other departments. Officials said the move will not affect degree programs.

The plan must be approved by the state Board of Higher Education, and school officials said they will consider other changes.

PIERRE — A nationally known education consultant testified Friday that the 16 South Dakota schools he visited are providing an adequate education.

The state hired John A. Murphy, who has worked as a consultant and a school superintendent in a number of states, as part of its defense against a legal challenge to South Dakota's education funding system. Murphy visited 16 school districts that have been selected as focus districts in the legal challenge.

Murphy looked at test scores and other performance measurements for the schools, checked out school facilities and observed classes being taught in some of the schools to determine if they were doing their job.

"I felt confident the schools I visited were able to provide that adequate education," Murphy testified.

MADISON — Madison police are warning residents about the increase in the number of violent robberies.

Chief Noble Wray said the downtown and the southwest side of Madison have experienced more robberies that are violent.

More than a dozen robberies have occurred in the downtown area. In one case, a man was shot when he refused to give up his wallet. In another case, the victim was pistol-whipped. Some have been knocked down or struck.

Capt. Jim Wheeler said many of the crimes have the same characteristics. The robberies involve two men and a handgun. In some cases, the perpetrators were masked or wearing hooded sweat shirts.

CALGARY, Alberta — Hundreds of suspected drunken drivers are getting away without being investigated for the crime because highway sheriffs don't have the proper authority.

When sheriffs pull over people suspected of driving under the influence, protocol dictates that they call on the nearest police department to take over the investigation.

Andy Weiler of the Solicitor General's Office said sheriffs can deal with provincial statutes for things such as speeding and seat-belt use.

But he agreed that they do not have the power to process impaired drivers and most criminal code offenses.

In cases when police officers are not available, the only option sheriffs have is to give suspects a 24-hour driving suspension and send them on their way.

Weiler said the important thing is the drivers are taken off the road.