Fund To Help Ranchers Nears $1 Million

(AP) - A fund aimed at helping South Dakota ranchers who lost livestock in an early autumn blizzard is nearing $1 million.

Organizers of the Ranchers Relief Fund began taking applications on Friday.

Organizers say the funds collected will not help ranchers recover fully but the money will help with some immediate needs.

Officials say donations have ranged from $1 to $100,000 and have come from almost every state, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

Organizers say a 9-year-old Hot Springs girl recently delivered a can containing $640 that she collected by going door-to-door on Halloween.