AP-NDRight Now,1185 Latest North Dakota news, sports, business and entertainment:

MIDWEST FLOODING Midwest flooding fears turn to Bismarck BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) A major winter storm is raising flood fears for Bismarck on the Missouri River as communities 200 miles to the east along the Red River fight to hold back rising waters there.

Senator Kent Conrad says fresh forecasts show Bismarck is looking at 12 inches to 18 inches of snow, and potential problems from an ice jam north of town and another ice jam immediately south of town.

The Army Corps of Engineers has cut water releases from North Dakota's Garrison Dam. The city also ordered the evacuation of homes along the river where access roads are under wate.r FLOODING-Fargo Lower Wahpeton crest gives Fargo officials hope FARGO, N.D. (AP) Fargo officials are hopeful after word that the Red River is at or near crest stAge in Wahpeton, about 2 feet lower than expected.

Mayor Dennis Walaker (WAL'-ah-kur) says history indicates that what happens in Wahpeton, happens in Fargo.

But the Fargo crest also is affected by the Wild Rice River, south of Fargo.

National Weather Service spokesman Dan Riddle says there's a "ton" of water in the Wild Rice.

A record crest is expected at Abercrombie late tomorrow or Thursday at 29 feet.

Riddle says a woman who's checked the river gauge at the town of Mantador since 1942 says the Wild Rice is higher than she's ever seen it and that it's so dangerous she can't read the measuring gauge.

Information from: Don Haney, KFGO-AM, http://kfgo.com FLOODING-LEGISLATURE ND Legislature may recess because of flooding BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) The North Dakota Legislature may recess Thursday and Friday because of statewide flooding problems.

House Republican majority leader Al Carlson of Fargo says flooding is threatening some lawmakers' homes and businesses. He says there are sandbags only a few feet from his own home in south Fargo.

Carlson says legislative leaders will decide by midday tomorrow whether to call a recess for the rest of the week.

He says members of the North Dakota House and Senate appropriations committees may stay behind to work on agency budgets.

Both the Senate and House had an unusually high number of absences today. Six of the 47 senators were gone, and 13 of the 94 House members did not attend the House afternoon floor session.

Bobcat-BISMARCK Bobcat says Bismarck plant afternoon shifts canceled due to weather BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) A spokesman for the Bismarck Bobcat plant says its second and third shifts today are being canceled because of the weather.

Doug Krick says the second shift was to have started this afternoon. He says that shift and the evening shift are canceled, but the Bismarck plant will reopen at 7 a.m. tomorrow.

FLOODING-CHILDREN'S CENTER Children's center seeks sandbag help Jamestown, N.D. (AP) The Anne Carlsen children's center in Jamestown has put out a call for volunteers to help protect the center from overland flooding.

Officials say the center staff has evacuated the 58 children and young adults who live there. They've been temporarily moved to higher ground at the Jamestown Hospital, the Civic Center and two Nursing Homes.

The Anne Carlsen center helps children with disabilities or behavioral disorders. Officials say it's in a low-lying area and is at a high risk of flooding.

MOBILE HOME FIRE Woman, children escape mobile home fire Grand Forks, N.D. (AP) Grand Forks officials say fire destroyed a mobile home but a woman and three children escaped injury.

Authorities say the blaze broke about 10 a.m. Tuesday. They say four were napping at the time but escaped after a fire detector went off. The children range in age from 1 to 5.

Grand Forks fire officials estimated damage to the home and its contents at around $30,000. The fire's cause is under investigation.

Information from: Doug Barrett, KNOX-AM, http://knoxradio.com UNINSURED Health insurance squeezes America's workers Washington (AP) A study out today says workers are now at a much higher risk of being uninsured than in the 1990s, the last time lawmakers attempted a health care overhaul.

The report prepared for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds nearly 1 in 5 workers is uninsured. It's a significant increase from fewer than 1 in 7 during the mid-1990s.

In North Dakota, 12.9 percent of workers are uninsured, up from 9.6 percent in the '90s.

Workers are losing coverage because of the cost. Total premiums for employer plans have risen six to eight times faster than wages, depending on whether individual or family coverage is picked.

The study says about 6 million more people with jobs are uninsured now than during the middle part of the 1990s.

HORSE SLAUGHTER STUDY Study of ND horse slaughter plant endorsed BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) Supporters of a study of a North Dakota horse slaughter plant have won a state Senate endorsement.

The measure provides $50,000 to the state's Agricultural Products Utilization Commission to help finance a study. Any grant recipient would have to have matching money from other sources.

Senators approved the legislation Tuesday. It now goes to the state House for additional review.

Backers of the measure say ranchers need a way to get rid of horses that are old or ill.

The United States no longer has horse slaughter plants, and there's a debate in Congress about whether to ban killing horses for human consumption. Horse meat is considered a delicacy in some countries.

SLOW-BURNING CIGARETTES Slow-burning cigarettes get ND Senate approval BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) Smokers would have to get used to puffing more often under a bill approved by the North Dakota Senate.

The bill says all cigarettes sold in North Dakota have to be of the slow-burning variety starting in August 2010.

The measure now goes to the state House for more review.

Most states already have the law. North Dakota fire chiefs support it. They say it should cut down on accidental fires and deaths.

The cigarettes are made with extra paper strips. They're called speed bumps and they make the cigarette go out if the smoker isn't puffing on it.

The cigarettes are already sold in Minnesota and Montana.

AMERICAN FLAGS ND Senate: Agencies should buy U.S.-made flags BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) When it comes to getting American flags, the North Dakota Senate wants to require state agencies and local governments to buy American.

Senators approved a measure on Tuesday with the requirement. It now goes to the state House.

As introduced, the bill barred North Dakota merchants from selling American flags unless they were made in the United States.

That provision was stripped out. Some senators said it would violate international trade agreements.

Instead, they approved a bill that says when state and local government agencies buy American flags, they have to be made in the United States.

The bill allows businesses to sell American flags that are made elsewhere.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 03-24-09 1707CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list