The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 1

9 REMAKE FLIPS CLASSIC, BUT DOES IT FLOP? I0WALIFE, 1E A DM FRIDAY March 25, 2005 The Newspaper Iowa Depends Upon DesMoinesRegister.com Price 50 Cents in Stores and Coin Racks INSIDE mmMM iqdess wm 0 vii 'Mil', 1 'Unconventional' request aids proposed Newton attraction The proposal Under bills introduced Thursday in the Iowa Legislature, U.S. Motorsport Entertainment Corp. could keep up to $12.5 million in sales tax money generated from the proposed $70 million Newton racetrack. While admitting the proposal is "unconventional," House Speaker Christopher Rants Rants said the state needs to consider the be the first of its kind in Iowa would allow U.S. Motor-sport Entertainment the developer of the track, to pocket up to 12.5 million that its customers pay in sales taxes on tickets and concession stand sales at the Newton track.

Once that total amount is collected, the sales tax revenues from the track By DONNELLE ELLER REGISTER BUSINESS WRITER The owners of a proposed $70 million racetrack in Newton would be allowed to keep the sales tax revenue the facility collects over the next 10 years under bills introduced Thursday in the Iowa Legislature. The proposal believed to he said will "draw a lot of out-of-state visitors who will drop a lot of cash." An official of the Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance said he does not believe the state has previously allowed a business to pocket the sales tax revenue it collected See TRACK, Page 9A would begin flowing into the state treasury, under the terms of the legislation. House Speaker Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, admitted the proposal contained in House and Senate study bills is "unconventional." But he said the state needs to consider the request or risk losing an attraction that request or risk losing an "attraction that draws a lot of 4 out-of-state visitors who will drop a lot of cash." What's next? Lawmakers expect debate on the bills to begin next week. Speak no Bosnian Employers warned: English-only rules can go too far Louisville, Illinois advance Louisville defeated Washington Thursday night to advance to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. Illinois also moves on after defeating Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Details in Sports Spring break means snow for Iowa Metro Iowa, Page 1B OPINION Schiavo's parents all but run out of choices The Supreme Court declines to intervene in the case to put the brain-damaged woman back on life support. 137 I acquir'ne la Life as a freak takes hard work, writes Kyle Munson. And professional FVriv By PHIL LONG KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS Pinellas Park, Fla. Terri Schiavo's tenuous grasp on life weakened Thursday as the last glimmers of a judicial reprieve slipped away from her parents and their supporters. obu.

circus freak Jim Rose takes weirdnesstoanew low. Page 1E It herr It WEATHER The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against them, they lost additional rounds in state court, and Florida Gov. tnjoy oneself f3t PvdH uUv se We enjoyed oaS gUeStsatou' to Mk, ten" it: wv. HIGH 39' LOW 28 ff WVpownje All W.1 Chance of rain and snow showers.

Details, Page 6B K') t4 the ftwnkn "V1'1' "me ht tmm-tMt. fx J.i4 jttrft3 Jeb Bush and SchiavO other state officials didn't follow through on threats to take the braindamaged Florida woman into protective custody and reconnect her feeding tube. Schiavo, the focus of an emotional controversy over issues of life and death, entered her seventh day without food or water. "She's dying. She's in her death process," said George Felos, the attorney for Schiavo's husband, Michael.

MARY CHINDTHE REGISTER By the book: Elvedina Busnov holds an English dictionary she used to learn the language after coming to the United States. She said she was recently told not to speak Bosnian with other co-workers by a supervisor at Dahl's Foods, where she works. INDEX Business 1D John Carlson 1B Comics 5E Crossword 4E Dear Abby 3E Editorials 14A Sean Keeler 1C Lotteries 2A Movies 6E Obituaries 5B TV Guide 4E DELIVERY: (515) 284-8311 (800) 365-4692 Copyright 2005 Des Moines Register and Tribune Company A Gannett Newspaper March 25, 2005 How to avoid discrimination Employment-law experts advise companies to take the following steps to avoid discrimination: English proficiency requirements should reflect a job's actual communication needs. Do not simply require all employees to possess a certain level of fluency unless you can show that such capacity is required in all jobs. Do not exclude a worker with a foreign accent from a job unless the accent interferes with the person's ability to be understood.

Ensure that policies specifically prohibit harassment based on national origin, and train employees about this form of discrimination. If you implement English-only rules, apply the policy narrowly and specify the business reason. Allow employees to speak other languages during breaks. Consider sponsoring English classes or hiring managers with special language skills. Source: Personnel Policy Service www.ppspublishers.com executives, who did not return repeated calls over several days.

Busnov said she speaks English to customers and co-workers who know no Bosnian. But she works with two other Bosnian women, and it's often more efficient to use their native language, she said. "I think no one can tell me to not speak Bosnian," she said. Employers can tell workers to speak English if there's a specific business reason. The U.S.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is warning businesses to beware of blanket English-only rules in the workplace. The federal agency has cracked down See ENGLISH, Page 1 0A By LYNN HICKS REGISTER EXECUTIVE BUSINESS EDITOR Speaking English is hard work for Elvedina Busnov. So when she's working hard, she and her Bosnian co-workers sometimes slip into their native tongue. No more. "The manager told me, 'At home, you can speak it.

At Dahl's, no said Busnov, who works in the bakery of Dahl's Foods on Ingersoll Avenue in Des Moines. The store likes employees to speak English, said Dave Wilson, manager of the store that is known for its diverse work force and clientele. He referred further questions to Dahl's corporate Michael Schiavo has said that See SCHIAVO, Page 7A Iowa plans dashed as Russians denied visas The embassy fears the women, coming for a sister-state visit, may not want to return. a Whoops! Casino bill changer delivers unbeatable odds By JENNIFER DUKES LEE REGISTER STAFF WRITER One of Iowa's sister states is starting to look more like a long-lost sibling. The Iowa Sister States program had big plans to bring three women from Stavropol, Russia, to Iowa, hailing the trip as a chance to renew ties with one of Iowa's eight sister states.

But the anticipation was replaced by bitter disappointment this month when the U.S. Embassy in Moscow denied the women the visas they needed to enter the United States. Officials with the U.S. Embassy said they feared the women may have another See RUSSIANS, Page 5A 1 a $46,640 shortage. Casino spokeswoman Christie Scott said Thursday that the casino reviewed surveillance videotapes to try to recover some of the money, but had little luck in identifying recipients of the extra cash.

Roederer-Dillard, of Omaha, was fired one week after the incident. Administrative Law Judge Teresa K. Hillary ruled that while the casino might have had a reason to fire Roederer-Dillard, there was no evidence of deliberate misconduct. She was awarded full benefits. By CLARK KAUFFMAN REGISTER STAFF WRITER When casino customers find out that a machine is paying off, they'll keep playing it.

But it was no gamble recently at Bluffs Run casino in Council Bluffs when a bill changer began spitting out $100 bills instead of 20s. Customers walked away with almost $47,000 extra. According to state records, casino employee Judith Roederer-Dillard mistakenly placed the $100 bills in one of the casino's bill changers at about 5 a.m. Dec. 18.

After that, customers who inserted $100 bills in anticipation of receiving five 20s instead got five 100s. Employees were oblivious to the problem. "It went on for about six hours," said the casino's finance director, Janae Sternberg, who testified at Roederer-Dillard's recent unemployment-benefits hearing. "You know, some of the guests had figured out that there was a malfunction and they went back over and over and over." Sternberg said the machine was shut down and its contents counted, turning up HFPoiieipftW IU4 See some ot Duffy's cartoons online: DesMoinesRegister.comdurfy.