Rising Temperature and Changing Precipitation
The Great Plains region consists of the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and parts of Texas, Montana, Colorado and New Mexico. This is an area of strong seasonal climate variations. Over the past few decades average temperatures have risen throughout the region. The largest increases have occurred in the northern part of this region.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/cag3/nd.html
Real Science 
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that Hansen is involved somehow. This sounds like an effort to wipe out the 1930’s droughts and dustbowls, which is really silly.
“They Just Can’t Stop Lying”
Like the scorpion said to the frog, ‘It’s in my nature’.
I am sure it is just a misquote, or some daft reporter making things up again.