Latest North Dakota news, sports, business and entertainment:

HIGHER ED-SALARIES ND college presidents get 4 percent raises Wahpeton, N.D. (AP) North Dakota's college presidents and university system chancellor will get 4 percent raises in the next budget year.

The state Board of Higher education approved employment contracts for the chancellor and top college administrators at its meeting yesterday. The new contracts start July 1.

The board met yesterday at the College of Science in Wahpeton.

North Dakota's college presidents make six figures. North Dakota State University President Joe Chapman is the highest paid at $424,000 annually, including the raise. His salary includes $75,000 from the school's development foundation.

University of North Dakota President Robert Kelley will make $312,000 a year, and Minot State University President David Fuller will make $218,000.

Chancellor William Goetz will make $208,000 a year.

WORKERS COMP-RATES Board: No work comp rate credits for ND employers Bismarck, N.D. (AP) North Dakota businesses will be paying higher bills for workers compensation.

The state workers compensation advisory board has decided not to approve a new round of dividend credits for companies this year.

In the past four years, the Workforce Safety and Insurance agency has approved more than 250 million dollars in dividends.

They've been used to reduce employers' insurance bills. Last year, the dividend was 77 million dollars.

The dividends were paid because the agency's investments were doing well. The portfolio still has a surplus, but board chairman Mark Jackson says the economy is too volatile to justify paying a dividend this year.

WSI distributed a letter to its policyholders two months ago warning that the agency may not be distributing a dividend this year.

The agency provides coverage for businesses when workers are hurt on the job.

Information from: Dave Thompson, KCND-FM, http://www.prairiepublic.org STENEHJEM-ROME ND AG headed to Rome to discuss crime BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and his counterparts from two other states and Mexico are slated to attend a conference in Rome next week to discuss how Italian authorities battle organized crime and other issues.

Stenehjem says the conference is important because most illegal drugs distributed in the U.S. and North Dakota come from Mexican drug cartels.

Stenehjem says attorneys general from New Mexico, Idaho and several Mexican states will participate in the weeklong conference.

MeritCare-SANFORD-REAX ND official says merger talks a good thing BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) The president of the North Dakota Heathcare Association says he gives an 'attaboy' to officials of North Dakota's largest hospital for exploring a merger with South Dakota-based Sanford Health.

Chip Thomas heads the association representing North Dakota hospitals. He says the board of Fargo's MeritCare Health System is exploring its options after its president, Roger Gilbertson, retires late this year.

Thomas says medicine is moving to more outpatient services while inpatient services offered by hospitals are becoming more expensive. He says hospitals likely will have to consider various types of consolidation.

Officials of MeritCare and Sanford Health of Sioux Falls, the two largest hospitals in the Dakotas, say board members are exploring a merger, though they released no details.

Thomas says the MertiCare board is "acting as a board should when it looks at a leadership change." HIGHER ED-GAY DISCRIMINATION Board OKs ND campus ban on gay discrimination WAHPETON, N.D. (AP) North Dakota's Board of Higher Education has approved a ban on campus job discrimination against gays and lesbians.

The University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University already prohibit job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The higher education board voted unanimously to extend the policy to all 11 public college campuses in North Dakota's university system.

The board met at the North Dakota State College of Science.

Last April, the North Dakota Legislature defeated a bill to ban discrimination in employment, housing and credit on the basis of sexual orientation.

HOUSING LAWSUIT Goldmark Property responds to lawsuit FARGO, N.D. (AP) A Fargo property management business facing a federal discrimination lawsuit says it does not charge special fees for residents with service animals.

Goldmark Property Management President Brad Williams says the company has several options available for people with medically necessary assistance animals.

The Bismarck-based Fair Housing of the Dakotas says Goldmark illegally charged tenants extra fees for keeping dogs they needed for their health or therapy. The nonprofit advocacy group accuses Goldmark of a "pattern of discrimination." Williams says Goldmark takes all fair housing issues seriously and has a strong track record with fair housing authorities.

JLG SHUTDOWN JLG Industries shutting down in Oakes OAKES, N.D. (AP) A major employer in Oakes is shutting down its plant there by the end of September and moving some of the jobs to other states.

JLG Industries has laid off more than 100 workers at the plant over the past year.

Spokesman John Daggett says the remaining 61 positions will be cut by September 24th. He says the company will work with state officials to help the workers in the town of about 2,000 find other jobs.

JLG said the Oakes operations will be moved to other sites, with eight jobs added in Pennsylvania and 17 in Ohio.

JLG is a subsidiary of Oshkosh Corporporation. It makes aerial work platform lifts for commercial and military use.

Daggett says JLG has laid off 53 percent of its worldwide work force over the past year due to the downturn in construction and the credit crunch.

Information from: Steve Urness, KOVC-AM, http://www.newsdakota.com FLOOD BUYOUTS Owners of flood-damaged ND homes left wondering FARGO, N.D. (AP) Homeowners with flood damage in Fargo are wondering if the federal government will buy out their homes.

Craig and Marcia Strehlow are among them. Their 4,400-square-foot dream home now has torn out carpets, drawers and appliances. It's near the Red and Wild Rice rivers. The water came up 16 inches, and repairs could cost $250,000.

The couple are among more than 100 homeowners waiting to find out if the federal government will buy them out. Months after the flood, they still don't have a clear answer.

But government officials have not finished assessing candidates for full buyouts. FEMA officials say it takes time to analyze the information and they want to make sure it makes sense in spending taxpayers money.

RAIN RAIN RAIN June is soggy for many Washington (AP) From North Dakota to Long Island, rain after rain after rain has dampened spirits and swamped roads.

Meteorologists say the high-altitude jet stream that guides the movement of weather across the country has been south of its normal position over the last couple of weeks. That's sending a series of storms across the Midwest and East.

The federal Climate Prediction Center says it's a lot like an extended spring.

Climatologist Kathryn Vreeland says sometimes a weather pattern "just hangs out there until something comes along to make things happen differently." (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 06-19-09 0200CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list