Grant will help with technical training (Farmington Press)
The Farmington School District has received funds from a WIRED Grant they applied for to help extend the Pre-Engineering and CNA programs.

Firefighter returns to job (Easy Reader)
Firefighter Sheldon Osekowsky will return to his job Sept. 30 and receive $300,000 in a legal settlement with city officials who fired him three years ago.

Japanese hostage in Yemen freed (AFP via Yahoo! News)
A Japanese engineer freed after nine days held hostage by tribesmen near the Yemeni capital Sanaa voiced his relief at his release and said he just wanted to see his wife and take a shower.

Keeping it local (The Daily Freeman-Journal)
For Carrie Fitzgerald, her job as Webster City Chamber director seemed like a natural fit, given her background in marketing and her natural people-skills. A native of Riceville, she moved to Webster City from New Hampton about three years ago when h

Gene Pioneer Venter Takes Another Step Toward Synthetic Life (Bloomberg)
Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- A team led by J. Craig Venter , the scientist who headed a private effort to map the human genome in the 1990s, succeeded in morphing one kind of bacteria into another, edging closer to the creation of artificial life.