Please send stories of state or regional interest by electronic carbon, by fax at 605-332-3931 or e-mail to apsiouxfalls(at)ap.org. Technical problems may be reported to 800-552-7252. AP stories, along with the photos that accompany them, can be obtained from http://www.apexchange.com. Reruns are also available from the Service Desk (877-836-9477).

South Dakota at 1:30 p.m.

MIDWEST ECONOMY

OMAHA, Neb. — A monthly economic survey index for nine Midwest and Plains states dipped last month, suggesting only slow growth for the region over the next three to six months. The Mid-America Business Conditions index hit 53.1 in February, compared with 53.2 in January and 49.5 in December, according to a report released Friday.

With Midwest Economy-Glance

DINOSAUR SPECIES

RAPID CITY— A team led by a South Dakota School of Mines and Technology assistant professor has discovered a new species of plant-eating dinosaurs. Clint Boyd and his colleagues have published the first fossil evidence of an extinct relative of the crocodile feeding on small dinosaurs. The findings show that baby ornithopod dinosaurs were a food of choice for the crocodyliform. The findings, published in the academic journal PLOS ONE, are significant because dinosaurs are typically depicted as the dominant species.

MITCHELL CITY HALL

MITCHELL — Mitchell's City Hall has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places over the objections of local officials who are considering changes to the structure and fear problems. The National Park Service office that oversees the Register on Wednesday placed the building on the federal government's list of properties it deems worthy of recognition and preservation. South Dakota historical officials earlier had requested the move, despite the objections of the Mitchell City Council.

COURTS AND CRIME:

— DAY CARE SEX CRIMES — Trial dates have been set for a South Dakota father and son accused of sexually abusing girls at a home day care run by the father's wife.

— BANK THEFT-PLEAS — Two people accused of stealing money from a Pierre bank are scheduled to enter guilty pleas next week in federal court.

— PRISON DIRECTOR — Bob Dooley, the warden at the state prison in Springfield, will become South Dakota's new director of prison operations in June.

— POLICE OFFICER-OBSTRUCTION — A former Albuquerque police officer convicted of obstruction of justice is now in prison in South Dakota.

ALSO OF INTEREST:

— WHITECLAY PROTEST — Activists who want to end beer sales in Whiteclay, Neb., planned a protest Friday after what they described as a showdown with law officers Thursday. Whiteclay is on the South Dakota border. Critics blame alcohol stores there for problems across the border on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol is banned.

— RAPID CITY DEVELOPMENT— Work is getting under way on a large housing development in Rapid City. The development on the city's eastern edge is 800 acres, or about 1.25 square miles. It is expected to include hundreds of homes and apartments, along with commercial and industrial development.

— WIND CO-OP AWARD — East River Electric Power Cooperative has been recognized as "Wind Cooperative of the Year." The award was presented during a recent conference in New Orleans sponsored by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

— PINE BEETLE WORKSHOPS — The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service are hosting three pine beetle spraying workshops in the Black Hills over the next few weeks.

SPORTS:

Those with usernames and passwords can check www.dakotasportsserver.com for sports stories and game results.

The AP, Sioux Falls.