Latest North Dakota news, sports, business and entertainment:

CIRRUS LAYOFFS Cirrus lays off 58 Duluth, Minn. (AP) Cirrus Aircraft says it has laid off 58 production employees to put itself in a better position for next year.

The airplane maker said 32 workers were cut in Grand Forks and 26 at its headquarters in Duluth, Minn. It says the cuts put its total work force at about 550, down from about 1,300 in August last year.

The aviation industry says production has been reduced around the country. Cirrus said it has shipped 189 airplanes through September this year compared with 425 in 2008 and 461 in 2007.

Information from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com FLOOD HEARING Hearing held on Bismarck-Mandan flood control BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) Bismarck Mayor John Warford says he thinks closer monitoring of ice jams in Missouri River tributaries could help prevent a repeat of last spring's flooding in the Bismarck-Mandan area.

Warford was among several officials who testified Wednesday at a Bismarck field hearing of the Senate's energy and water appropriations subcommittee.

Warford says vulnerable areas of Bismarck also could be studied for temporary or permanent dike systems. Other suggestions included more river dredging and debris cleanup.

Col. Robert Ruch with the Army Corps of Engineers says the agency is working with North Dakota officials to identify issues with sediment build-up along the river.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., the committee chairman, says flood control solutions need to be a "bottoms up process," with local officials deciding on the kind of project they need.

Information from: Bismarck Tribune, http://www.bismarcktribune.com Devils Lake OUTLET Devils Lake outlet could pump more next summer DEVILS LAKE, N.D. (AP) North Dakota's state Water Commission engineer says the Devils Lake outlet could begin pumping more water by next June.

Engineer Dale Frink said the commission is working to get new pumps delivered by May and increase the outlet's power supply. The outlet has 14 miles of open channels, pipes and pumping stations to send water from the lake into the Sheyenne River.

Frink said the changes would allow the outlet to pump 250 cubic feet of water per second and move up to 6 inches of water off the flooded lake under ideal conditions. He said the outlet, running at about 100 cfs, moved about 2 inches of water off the lake this year.

Opponents of the outlet scheduled a news conference in Valley City to present petitions asking that it be halted. They worry about the quality of water coming into the Sheyenne.

Information from: KZZY-FM, http://lrradioworks.com Air Force VISIT Air Force assistant sec visiting Grand Forks GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) An Air Force assistant secretary is visiting the Grand Forks Air Force Base.

The base says Daniel Ginsberg wants to hear from the airmen and take a look at programs offered on the base. Ginsberg is an assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs.

Ginsberg's visit comes as the base prepares for a change of command. Col. Donald Shaffer is to be installed at a ceremony Friday to succeed Col. John Michel (mih-SHEL'), who is taking a post at Scott Air Force Base in Texas.

ELK KILLING Officials investigate illegal elk shooting BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) The state Game and Fish Department says a bull elk was illegally shot south of Woodworth, in Stutsman County.

District game warden James Myhre is investigating. He said the elk is believed to have been shot sometime Saturday morning, just southwest of Woodworth.

Dickinson FISH KILL Patterson fish kill scheduled DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) State wildlife officials are killing junk fish in Patterson Lake on the outskirts of Dickinson so game fish such as northern pike, crappies and Walleye can be stocked next year.

Thousands of fish in the lake died last winter because of winterkill, which happens when heavy snow cover on a lake leads to reduced oxygen levels. Undesirable fish such as carp and bullheads remained.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has been applying chemicals to rivers and streams in the area this fall and scheduled a fish kill on Patterson Lake itself for Thursday.

Information from: The Dickinson Press, http://www.thedickinsonpress.com DEPUTY'S WIFE SHOT Northwest MN deputy accidentally shoots wife GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) The wife of a deputy sheriff in northwestern Minnesota's Roseau County was treated in Grand Forks for a gunshot wound suffered in a hunting-related accident.

Chief Deputy Terry Bandemer says 27-year-old Michelle Cossentine was struck in the thigh by a bullet from her husband's rifle as she sat in the passenger seat of a vehicle Sunday as the couple returned home from hunting.

Bandemer says Cossentine's 29-year-old husband, Deputy Nathan Cossentine, was checking to see if the gun was loaded when it accidentally fired.

Bandemer says Michelle Cossentine was not seriously injured.

The sheriff's department is investigating the incident.

Information from: Grand Forks Herald, http://www.grandforksherald.com CANOE TRIP Canoeists force to change plans after leaving ND Fargo, N.D. (AP) Two University of Winnipeg students canoeing their way to New Orleans have been forced to change their plans.

Nick Turnbull and Murray Jowett stopped in Fargo in early October as they traveled down the Red River from Winnipeg before continuing on to the Mississippi River. Then they ran into trouble.

Turnbull's father, Jim Turnbull, told Fargo's KFGO radio the pair had to be rescued from an island in Muscatine, Iowa, when their canoe was swamped by high winds and waves. He says they lost most of their gear but managed to save their guitar and violin.

Jim Turnbull says the two are continuing their trip on foot and by bus.

Information from: KFGO-AM, http://kfgo.com (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-12-09 1057CST | save this article / add to your favorites list