J.R. Elkins of G&M Window Service washes windows while dressed as Batman on the eighth floor of the Wells Fargo Building in Lincoln, Neb. It's been Elkins' Halloween tradition since 2002.

heidi hoffman / lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star

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Governor approves pardons for 26

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Rod Blagojevich has issued executive clemency for 26 people, including four who had gone to court seeking certificates of innocence.

Those receiving pardons from the Democratic governor based on innocence were Marlon Pendleton and Jerry Miller, who were exonerated of sexual assault convictions by DNA evidence.

Luis Ortiz was exonerated in 2002 of a 1997 torture and murder. Robert Wilson was behind bars for nearly a decade for attempted murder after he was falsely identified.

The men went to court two weeks ago seeking certificates of innocence under a new law that allows people seeking pardons to go around the governor, who holds executive clemency power.

Blagojevich has been criticized for the slow pace at which he grants pardons.

INDIANA

Trine University gets $2.85M gift

ANGOLA — Trine University has received an unexpected donation of $2.85 million from the estate of an alumnus who died last year.

John W. Widmann was a 1943 graduate in aeronautical engineering at the school then known as Tri-State College in the northeastern Indiana city of Angola. He died in October 2007 at age 89.

Trine President Earl D. Brooks II says the gift is unrestricted, which means the university may use the money at its discretion. He says Widmann had not made his gift intention known to the university.

Tri-State changed i name to Trine in July.

Eastwood's ape pal donated to trust

DES MOINES — An orangutan that appeared with Clint Eastwood in the 1980 film "Any Which Way You Can" has moved to the Great Ape Trust in Des Moines.

Popi, who also headlined a comedy show in Las Vegas, is one of eight orangutans donated to the trust by Steve Martin's Working Wildlife.

It's a California-based company that provides animals for movies, commercials and TV shows.

The Great Ape Trust believes using orangutans for entertainment undercuts public perceptions of conservation efforts. Steve Martin's Working Wildlife — which is not affiliated with the actor Steve Martin — was persuaded to donate the orangutans after speaking with trust officials.

Popi moved to the trust five weeks ago. She is the sixth orangutan currently at the trust.

Disaster status OK'd after Sept. storms

WASHINGTON — President Bush has approved a federal disaster declaration for nine Kansas counties hit by storms in September.

Friday's order clears the way for federal assistance to be provided to local governments in Anderson, Butler, Chase, Cowley, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Russell and Sumner counties.

The areas were hit by severe storms, flooding and tornadoes from Sept. 11-17. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius requested the declaration from federal officials.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said additional designations may be made later if requested by the state, as determined by further damage damage assessments.

Detroit schools given an ultimatum

LANSING — A state review team is giving Detroit Public Schools until this week to accept a consent agreement or else an emergency manager will be appointed to handle the district's financial mess.

The district has until Wednesday to accept the deal, which requires the adoption of a comprehensive deficit elimination plan within four weeks.

The Michigan Department of Education wants to see "specific and realistic" spending reductions. There has been concern the district's previous plan to eliminate a $400 million deficit lacked specifics.

The state treasurer sent the agreement to the Detroit school board and superintendent Friday. The board will meet Wednesday to act on the agreement. Its president says she appreciates a chance to stabilize expenditures "ourselves."

Museum will close because of economy

ST. PAUL — A museum dedicated to the history of World War II plans to close next week because of the economy.

The TRACES Center for History and Culture announced Thursday that an "unusually unfavorable climate for non-profits" has gotten even worse.

The museum will be open to the public through Sunday, Nov. 9, before closing its doors in St. Paul's Landmark Center. The museum will still run an educational Web site and a mobile exhibit that will continue to travel around the Midwest.

The museum's exhibits document refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe who found havens in the Midwest. It also shares stories of relationships between Midwesterners and the war, such as Anne Frank's Iowa pen pal.

St. Louis Symphony reduces its deficit

ST. LOUIS —The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, which was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2001, is making inroads building attendance and revenue, but still faces challenges.

The symphony, reporting Friday on the fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, said it made progress in several key areas. They include reducing its deficit, stabilizing attendance, launching a successful new summer series, and surpassing fundraising expectations.

In August, the symphony received an anonymous $5 million gift for audience development.

The orchestra, founded in 1880, is widely regarded as among the nation's finest symphonies. It is led by conductor David Robertson.

Fred Bronstein, formerly of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, was named president and executive director in December.

Nebraska

Whooping cough stalks Omaha area

OMAHA — Cases of whooping cough have been on the rise in recent days.

The Douglas County Health Department has received reports of 48 cases of the respiratory ailment, also known as pertussis. A quarter of those cases came from one school.

Health Director Adi Pour says the department is working with school administrators and sent a letter home to parents to help control the spread of the illness.

Symptoms of whooping cough early on include sinus congestion, runny nose, a slight sore throat and possible low-grade fever. It can progress into violent coughing spells that can last for two weeks.

The illness is highly contagious and is spread when infected people cough or sneeze.

NORTH DAKOTA

Bobcat Co. offering buyouts to workers

BISMARCK — Bobcat Co. says it is offering buyouts to hourly workers at its plant in Bismarck and to salaried workers at its West Fargo headquarters.

The company, which makes light construction equipment, would release no numbers. But a union representative said the offer of severance packages included about 100 hourly employees at the Bismarck plant. The offer does not include the Bobcat plant in Gwinner, in southeastern North Dakota.

Jeremy Bauer, who heads the Bismarck United Steelworkers Union Local 560, said the offer is required before a temporary layoff, under the union contract. He worries that if the number of takers is too small, it could mean forced layoffs.

"If you don't take it, you're just looking at the layoff," Bauer said. "If you look at the layoff, you don't get severance, you don't get the health insurance."

Ethanol co-op seeks shareholder cash

SIOUX FALLS — A South Dakota ethanol co-op is asking its shareholders to provide cash to meet its short-term obligations.

Glacial Lakes Corn Processors, the sole owner of Glacial Lakes Energy, hopes to raise $11.3 million from its 4,200 cooperative members to get through a cash flow crisis threatening operations at its plants in Watertown and Mina.

The Glacial Lakes board on Oct. 21 agreed to require shareholders to pay 6 cents per share on the 188 million shares of common stock the company has issued since it was founded in 2000. Officials will lay out the need for the money and the company's strategic plan to keep Glacial Lakes in the hands of co-op members at a meeting Nov. 8 in Watertown.

"We will encourage them to step up and recapitalize the company," Interim Chief Executive Officer Jim Seurer said.

Second probe asked of state crime labs

MADISON — Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen says personnel problems at the state crime laboratories did not compromise any forensic testing performed there.

Van Hollen ordered the Department of Justice to investigate six incidents that resulted in disciplinary action against crime-lab workers.

The request came after the lawyer for convicted killer Steven Avery demanded to know more about the impact of incidents such as an analyst who was drunk on the job and fingerprint analysts who botched assignments.

Van Hollen says all of the incidents had already been investigated by the department but he ordered a second probe to guarantee public confidence in the labs.

Food processor sees listeriosis recovery

TORONTO — The Canadian food processing giant that saw its meat business battered by a listeriosis outbreak at a key plant this summer hopes to see a "full recovery" by next year, the company's CEO said Wednesday.

Chief executive Michael McCain said Maple Leaf Foods Inc. has examined several case studies of other companies that were forced to recall products over illness outbreaks, and it wouldn't be unprecedented to expect a full brand recovery within six to 12 months.

McCain said sales of products with the Maple Leaf brand declined by up to 35 per cent following the recall, which produced a big net loss for the company and also wiped out 94 per cent of the operating profits of the company's meat division.

But the Toronto food company has been seeing week-over-week improvements in the sales of both Maple Leaf-brand products and its meats generally since early September.

In fact, the number of consumers who say they're buying Maple Leaf products has more than doubled in the last two months, and the most recent survey done by the company indicates that more than 80 per cent of consumers are planning to buy the products in the "near term," McCain said.