StormTrac 7 Forecast

Today: Rain, mainly before 9am. Areas of fog after 9am. High near 52. South wind between 5 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Tonight: Areas of drizzle before midnight, then scattered showers after midnight. Areas of fog before midnight. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 46. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Thursday: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 51. East wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Thursday Night: Showers likely before midnight, then drizzle after midnight. Areas of fog after midnight. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 41. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday: A 50 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 47. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 35.

Saturday: A 30 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 48.

The Dubuque City Council on a 5 to 2 vote has approved the city's budget for next fiscal year. The 97 Million dollar Operating Budget will contain a 2-point 47 percent increase in propery taxes.

During budget discussions, most members on the council supported adding staff to the Carnegie Stout Library, which would have meant an increase in that department's expenses.

City Manager, Mike Van Milligan, last night, presented a way to fund that staffing which involves changing how money from the Dubuque Racing Association is used.

One of the council members who voted against the budget, Fourth Ward Council Member, Dirk Voetberg, says instead of using DRA money there should have been cuts in other areas of the budget…

Voetberg and At Large Council member David Resnick were the two members voting against the budget. Mayor Roy Buol says the 5 to 2 vote shows the council can "agree to disagree"…

The city's funding plan will now be sent to the state for certification. It goes into effect July first.

Here is the latest Iowa news

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Former Governor Terry Branstad says he'll attend three debates with Republican rivals in his bid to get back his old job. He's running against Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats and Carroll Representative Rod Roberts. The debates will be April 7 in Sioux City and May 1 in Cedar Rapids. Details are being finalized on a third debate sponsored by The Des Moines Register.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The governor says the Iowa Transportation Commission has approved up to $1 million to study a Chicago-to-Omaha passenger rail service through Iowa. That's the state's matching funds for a million-dollar grant from the Federal Railroad Administration.

AMES, Iowa (AP) - The city of Ames plans to apply to be a test market for Google's high-speed fiber optic network. Google is looking for towns to test Internet speeds about 100 times faster than current home connections.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) - Two men arrested in Dubuque are accused of moving 21 pounds of marijuana in their vehicle. Authorities took the men yesterday to the Dubuque County jail on drug charges.

Here is the latest Wisconsin news

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - A Green Bay man convicted of killing his 4-month-old son by smashing the boy's head into a door has been sentenced to life in prison. A judge says 22-year-old Jeremiah Felton won't be eligible for parole for 30 years. He's trying to get a new trial.

APPLETON, Wis. (AP) - A former Appleton firefighter has testified he shot his estranged wife in Grand Chute but had gone to the house to win her back, not to kill her. Scott Schmidt is being tried on charges of intentional homicide and attempted murder.

MILWAUKEE (AP) - There's another twist in the quadruple homicide in Milwaukee last month. Court documents show Maurice Visor Sr. fathered a child with one of the murder victims and another child with a woman killed later on the same day. Two men are charged in the case. Visor is in the Dodge Correctional Institution.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The 144,000 retirees in the Wisconsin Retirement System will see a slightly larger drop in pension benefits than the 1 percent cut estimated two months ago. The Department of Employee Trust Funds says the cut will be 1.3 percent starting in May.

Here is the latest Illinois news

CHICAGO (AP) - Immigrant rights advocates plan to march in Chicago and several other cities today to mark what's they're calling "National Coming Out Day." They'll hear the stories of illegal immigrant students who plan to "come out" about their immigration status.

ST. CHARLES, Ill. (AP) - Authorities are investigating skeletal remains and clothing found near the LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve in the far western Chicago suburb of St. Charles. Police say a passer-by found the apparently human remains yesterday.

WHEATON, Ill. (AP) - The suburban Chicago man serving time for the deaths of dairy heiress Mary Jill Oberweis and her neighbor in 1993 has been sentenced to death in a third killing. Fifty-year-old Edward Tenney was convicted in the 1992 shooting and robbery of an Aurora man.

CHICAGO (AP) - Former Governor Rod Blagojevich is returning to David Letterman's late-night show tonight. His publicist says he'll be in the popular "Top Ten" segment. He was asked back after his first appearance, when Letterman asked the corruption suspect, "Why, exactly, are you here?"

More health care pitches...Anti-reform ads...Some could return sooner

WASHINGTON (AP) - As a new AP poll finds support for improvements to the health care system -- but distaste for the way the debate is playing out in Washington -- President Barack Obama continues the campaign for overhaul today in St. Louis. He's highlighting a plan to use high-tech bounty hunters to help uncover health care fraud.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Business groups that oppose the health care legislation are pouring some money into a new ad campaign starting today. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says the ads will make the argument that the nation can't afford the health care bill.

PUL-E-CHARKHI, Afghanistan (AP) - The deadline set by President Barack Obama for U.S. troops to start leaving Afghanistan is July of next year -- but Defense Secretary Robert Gates says some of them could leave earlier. During a visit to Afghanistan today, Gates said it all depends on conditions there. He visited a training ground where Afghan soldiers undergo weeks of training by U.S. and British troops.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - She allegedly called herself Jihad Jane online -- a suburban Philadelphia woman who's accused of recruiting jihadist fighters online and moving to Europe to try to kill a Swedish artist. Authorities say the woman, who's been in U.S. custody since October, was a convert to Islam who said she was willing to be a martyr for Muslims.

WASHINGTON (AP) - There are a lot more people on the no-fly list than there were before the Christmas Day bombing attempt near Detroit. A senior intelligence official says the number of names has nearly doubled from about 3,400 people to about 6,000. The names that were added include people associated with al-Qaida's Yemen branch.

Three more are in the tourney...Edwards on three weeks' probation

UNDATED (AP) - Butler won its 20th straight game in capturing the Horizon League tournament final, 70-45 over Wright State, to win one of three automatic bids to the NCAA basketball tournament last night. North Texas upset top-seeded Troy 66-63 to win the Sun Belt Conference tournament, and Oakland, Mich., beat IUPUI 76-64 to win the Summit League for its 11th straight victory.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - It's now a record 72-game winning streak for the Connecticut women's basketball team. The Huskies captured their 16th Big East tournament title by holding ninth-ranked West Virginia to just 12 points in the second half of their 60-32 victory to improve to 33-and-0 this season.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Carl Edwards has been placed on three weeks' probation by NASCAR for intentionally wrecking Brad Keselowski's car during last weekend's race at Atlanta. Edwards returned to the track after an earlier wreck with Keselowski and then caused a crash that sent Keselowski's car flying during last Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Minnesota Twins could be without All-Star closer Joe Nathan this season because of a torn ligament in his throwing elbow. Twins GM Bill Smith says the plan is to shut Nathan down for two weeks, eliminate the soreness and build up the strength in his elbow before making any decisions about surgery.

CHICAGO (AP) - In a battle of two of the best point guards in the NBA, Deron Williams got the better of Derrick Rose, finishing with 28 points and a season-high 17 assists in leading the Utah Jazz to a 132-108 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Rose, the Bulls' second-year guard, had a respectable night with 25 points and 13 assists.

NBA

Charlotte 83, Miami 78

Indiana 107, Philadelphia 96

Houston 96, Washington 88

Orlando 113, L.A. Clippers 87

Utah 132, Chicago 108

Milwaukee 86, Boston 84

Portland 88, Sacramento 81

L.A. Lakers 109, Toronto 107

NHL

Florida 3, Minnesota 2, SO

Toronto 4, Boston 3, OT

Nashville 2, Atlanta 1

Calgary 4, Detroit 2

Philadelphia 3, N.Y. Islanders 2

Montreal 5, Tampa Bay 3

Vancouver 6, Colorado 4

Ottawa 4, Edmonton 1

Columbus 5, Anaheim 2

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL

(12) Butler 70 Wright St. 45

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

( 1) Connecticut 60 ( 9) West Virginia 32

Here is the latest Iowa sports

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa State is the Number 11 seed entering the Big 12 tournament. The Cyclones are 15-16 overall and 4-12 in conference action coming off an upset win at Kansas State on Saturday. Tonight they'll face Texas, which is 23-9. The winner plays third-seeded Baylor tomorrow.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - This week's Big 12 tournament will be a warm-up for the real madness of March for more than half the men's teams because the conference will likely get seven into the NCAA tournament. Kansas is a lock, and a half-dozen others are likely to get an NCAA berth, though Iowa State isn't one of them.

UNDATED (AP) - The Iowa State women are the second seed in the Big 12 tournament, meaning they get a bye for tomorrow's first round. They'll face the winner of today's Kansas-Oklahoma State game on Friday in the quarterfinals.

Here is the latest Wisconsin sports UNDATED (AP) - Joe Inglett's two-run homer with two outs in the ninth gives the Milwaukee Brewers a 5-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. Jeff Suppan gave up three runs on five hits in three innings. Those are the first runs allowed by any of Milwaukee's five starters this spring. Also yesterday in Arizona, the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago White Sox 6-2 after a rain delay.

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - The Green Bay Packers have signed wide receiver Charles Dillon. The former Washington State wide receiver and kick returner is a first-year player who spent time in training camp with Indianapolis in 2008. He spent last season with the Spokane Shock of the af2 arena league.

Here is the latest Illinois sports

CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Bulls have their fifth loss in a row. The Utah Jazz earned a 132-108 victory last night in Chicago. The Jazz outscored the Bulls 40-27 in the fourth quarter to secure at least a .500 record. Chicago's Derrick Rose had 25 points and 13 assists, and Brad Miller scored 20.

NEW YORK (AP) - DePaul is out of the Big East tournament after a loss to South Florida, which won 58-49 yesterday. Will Walker scored 20 points to lead DePaul. The Blue Demons were 8-23 and lost their final 13 games.

UNDATED (AP) - Joe Inglett's two-run homer with two outs in the ninth gives the Milwaukee Brewers a 5-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. Also yesterday in Arizona, the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago White Sox 6-2 after a rain delay. In Florida, the Minnesota Twins topped the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6.

CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Bears have released the injury-plagued Kevin Jones after signing fellow running back Chester Taylor away from Minnesota. Jones missed last season after tearing ligaments in his left ankle in the preseason finale.

Western Dubuque elimited at state

The Western Dubuque Bobcats trip to the boys state basketball tournament in Des Moines lasted just one game. W-D lost yesterday to Mount Pleasant 60-50.

The Bobcats had the lead at the end of the first quarter 15-10, but trailed at half 29-21. W-D whittled the lead to three points by early in the 4th quarter, but Mount Pleasant knocked down free throws down the stretch for the victory.

The Bobcats were led by junior post Zach Otting with 23 points and finish their season at 19-6.

WISCONSIN GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL REGIONALS

Division 2 Regional

Platteville (15-8) 55 Dodgeville (6-17) 35

Division 3 Regional

Boscobel (10-13) 40 Riverdale (13-10) 41

Cuba City (23-0) 79 Darlington (8-15) 35

Fennimore (20-3) 68 Brookwood (3-20) 31

Iowa-Grant (4-19) 20 La Crosse Aquinas (16-7) 47

Lancaster (16-7) 49 Mineral Point (14-9) 40

Division 4 Regionals

Belmont (12-11) 52 De Soto (10-12) 69

Black Hawk (22-1) 73 Benton (0-21) 17

Cassville (6-17) 52 Potosi (17-6) 69

Argyle (2-20) 25 Southwestern (12-11) 44

North Crawford (5-18) 25 River Ridge (18-5) 58

Shullsburg (13-10) 39 Pecatonica (10-13) 61