ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996 TAG: 9608290087
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
Circus remembers town where it began
MCGREGOR, Iowa - Usually it's the circus that comes to town. But in this case, the town's going to the circus.
Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus is inviting all 875 residents of McGregor to be honored guests at a 125th anniversary performance in Des Moines on Sept.7.
The reason: The Ringling brothers held their first circus in their back yard in this town on the banks of the Mississippi.
The people of McGregor ``feel such an ownership with the whole Ringling concept, understand the spirit of what our performers do everyday. To know we have a whole city in our state that understands that is truly magical,'' said Annie Meacham, a publicist for the circus. ``To know that it started in McGregor, Iowa, it's pretty compelling on the Ringling Bros. side of things.''
- Associated Press
Swami gets 20 years in murder plot
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A former Hare Krishna swami accused of ordering the murder of two devotees to protect his business empire was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday.
Swami Bhaktipada, the 59-year-old former leader of a Krishna splinter group, also was fined $250,000. He received the maximum prison sentence.
Bhaktipada had pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge accusing him of amassing millions through fund-raising scams and conspiring to murder two followers in 1983 and 1986 after they threatened to cause his downfall with rumors that he was a homosexual and a child molester.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 40 linesby CNB