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Ponca Tribe Scores a Win in Battle Over Casino, Flooding in Davenport, West Nile Virus, 4:32

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The Mississippi River at the Quad Cities in Iowa and Illinois has reached a new record high.

The National Weather Service website this afternoon showed the river level at just above the mark reached on July 9, 1993, when there was massive flooding.

Parts of downtown Davenport, Iowa, remain underwater after the river tore through a temporary barrier. Several Mississippi River towns also are seeing floods that are closing in on levels reached in 1993. Two Mississippi River bridges have been forced to close.

The National Indian Gaming Commission ruled yesterday in the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska’s favor yesterday, saying it has the right to operate the Prairie Flower Casino in Carter Lake, Iowa.

The casino is technically in Iowa,  but it lies west of the Missouri River, essentially in the heart of Omaha. And the neighboring city of Council Bluffs, Iowa — which already hosts three state-licensed casinos.  The lawsuit says the tribe misrepresented its intentions by initially announcing plans for a health center on the Carter Lake lot.

You are most likely to contract the West Nile virus from the pests buzzing around western Iowa, according to a study on mosquitoes in Iowa.

An Iowa State University entomologist says this is the first time they’ve been able to get an idea of the pattern of West Nile transmission.  The ecology of the western counties plays a big part. One species of mosquito really likes wet farmland.

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