Latest South Dakota news, sports, business and entertainment:

CHURCH FIRE Artesian church destroyed by fire ARTESIAN, S.D. (AP) Fire has destroyed a church in the eastern South Dakota town of Artesian.

The Sanborn County Sheriff's Office says no one was hurt.

The cause of the blaze that started about 4 a.m. Monday was not immediately known.

Information from: KELO-TV, http://www.keloland.com RAPID CITY robbery Rapid City store robbed at gunpoint RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) Rapid City police are searching for five people who robbed a convenience store at gunpoint.

Authorities say five males intent on stealing beer entered the Corner Pantry about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, and one of them pulled a gun on two store clerks and a customer before the group grabbed some beer and fled on foot.

Police dogs were brought in but lost the scent a few blocks from the store.

Thanksgiving TRAVEL Thanksgiving travel expected to be down in ND, SD Fargo, N.D. (AP) The automobile club AAA says Thanksgiving travel is expected to drop in the region that includes the Dakotas.

Travel is expected to be down 2.6 percent from last year in AAA's West North Central Region, while nationwide it is expected to increase 1.4 percent.

Last year, travel during the holiday weekend dropped 25 percent nationwide in the wake of the housing and financial sector crises, but only 9 percent in AAA's West North Central Region.

AAA spokesman Gene LaDoucer (luh-DOO'-sur) in Fargo says the region was one of the last to feel the effects of the recession.

Information from: The Forum, http://www.in-forum.com CREDIT CARD-DELINQUENCIES Late payments on credit cards drop in 3rd quarter NEW YORK (AP) For the first time in a decade, more people paid their credit card bills on time in the third quarter this year than in the second quarter.

The credit reporting agency TransUnion says the delinquency rate on bank-issued cards like those bearing MasterCard and Visa logos fell to 1.1 percent for the June-to-September period, from a rate of 1.17 percent in the prior three months.

The 6 percent drop is significant not just for its size but also for its timing since delinquency rates usually rise in the third quarter. Taken together with the more than 11 percent decline seen between the first and second quarters, the results indicate that consumers are getting better at handling their debt.

Credit card delinquencies were highest in Nevada at 1.98 percent, and lowest in North Dakota and South Dakota, which had rates below three-fourths of a percent.

YOUTH COURT LEADER South Dakotan to serve as youth court president DEADWOOD, S.D. (AP) The executive director of the teen court for Lawrence and Meade counties has been chosen to lead the National Association of Youth Courts Executive Board.

Marlene Todd was installed as president elect at the Baltimore-based association's recent annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

The National Association of Youth Courts serves as a central point of contact for more than 200 youth courts, teen courts, peer courts and student courts across the nation.

The association provides training, technical assistance and resource materials on how to develop and enhance youth court programs.

Todd says she's honored to have been elected to the position.

Information from: Black Hills Pioneer, http://www.bhpioneer.com H1N1 COUNT H1N1 vaccine tops 108K doses PIERRE, S.D. (AP) The state Health Department said it has distributed more than 108,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine since it became available in early October.

The vaccine initially was given to health care workers and those considered most at risk.

Another two deaths in South Dakota were attributed to H1N1 in the past week, raising the total to 19 deaths since Sept. 1.

Another 388 people have been hospitalized.

CANADIAN oil SD a battleground in Canadian oil sands debate MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) An oil industry representative says he considers South Dakota a battleground in the fight over the extraction of oil from the Canadian oil sands.

Dan Gunderson, a communications specialist working for the American Petroleum Institute, says he's concentrating on the Midwest because states like South Dakota could end up with pipelines and a refinery as a means to handle the incoming crude oil from Canada.

He was in the area this past week to address and reject claims by Greenpeace and others who say the extraction of oil from the Canadian oil sands and the usage of the crude will do more harm than good.

South Dakota is home to a portion of the nearly-constructed Keystone pipeline.

Information from: The Daily Republic, http://www.mitchellrepublic.com (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-23-09 1059CST | save this article / add to your favorites list