Gomers

FARM DISASTER: Fayette and Winneshiek county dairy farmers struggling to survive the recent severely depressed milk prices are also dealing with the aftermath of July 24 hailstorm that decimated hundreds of thousands of crop acres - the source of feed for their dairy cows. The state's thresholds for state disaster assistance don't cover crops; only a federal disaster declaration covers such damage. Gov. Culver says he'll push the feds.

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OH, GREAT: Those troubled souls who brew meth, the dangerous and highly addictive drug that plagues the Midwest, are using a simpler and cheaper recipe that also helps them to skirt tougher laws, including Iowa's, that limit the number of pseudoephedrine pills - a key ingredient - they can buy at one time. This new formula requires relatively few pills, and it also substitutes ammonium nitrate - available in instant cold packs at any drugstore - for the traditional anhydrous ammonia used as farm fertilizer.

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RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY: Two days of downpours last week stirred fears of the epic flood of 2008. And in places such as Monticello, the flooding was actually worse than a year ago. Thankfully, the Cedar River watershed above Cedar Rapids wasn't heavily affected.