Nobel laureate to visit SDSU (Brookings Daily Register) Luc Montagnier, the 2008 Nobel Prize winner credited as co-discoverer of the AIDS virus, will visit South Dakota State University this week to meet with researchers and deliver a public address on his life's work studying how to prevent and treat chronic disease. [News Source]

Colorado exports rise 4.3% in 2008 (BizJournals) Higher exports of printing machinery, beef, molybdenum ore and crude oil offset a continued slump in shipments of semiconductors and data processing machines, boosting Colorado exports by 4.2 percent to $7.7 billion in 2008, according to data released Wednesday by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. [News Source]

USDA puts employees on leave amid drug allegations (AG Weekly) DES MOINES, Iowa - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has placed 19 employees at a laboratory campus in central Iowa on paid leave after allegations that some used veterinary credentials to purchase low-cost medications for human use. [News Source]

Harding blood drive is hurting (Observer-Tribune) HARDING TWP. – A drop in annual blood donations at the township’s annual blood drive is being blamed on factors from more people traveling overseas, to added vacations to an aging population are [News Source]

The Fives: Wrongly convicted cows, bruising bulls and computer generated bovines make it big (Rapid City Journal) The Black Hills Stock Show is in town, opening with some horse events today out at the fairgrounds and springing to life Friday at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. In honor of what we at the Journal call the "Cowboy Rally," I dedicate today's column to the stock show and it's lifeblood, cows. [News Source]

Rockland AM Report (The Journal News) Weapon charge: Robert McDonald, 51, of Nanuet was charged yesterday with third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a felony and a misdemeanor, respectively, as well as driving with a suspended registration and driving an uninsured vehicle. [News Source]