2.22.12

 (NRG)- This weekend will be the last chance to watch bald eagles from the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District's eagle-viewing facilities at the Johnson No. 2 Hydroplant and at Kingsley Dam. Viewing opportunities from the facilities have been good this winter, with many bald eagles spending the winter months near Central's hydroelectric plants. The eagle-viewing facility at the Johnson No. 2 (J-2) Hydroplant south of Lexington will be open for the last two days of the season (Saturday and Sunday) from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.
   After a relatively slow start because of mild weather conditions in January, the number of eagles sighted from the J-2 power house has ranged as high as 40, while eagle numbers at Kingsley Dam have been around 35, with large numbers of swans, gulls, and ducks also visible from the viewing facility. Lake McConaughy has remained mostly ice-free this winter, allowing the birds to range throughout the area in search of food and perhaps contributing to lower than normal concentrations of eagles below Kingsley Dam. There is no admission fee at either site and reservations are not needed to visit.

2.22.12

(AP) - A ministry organization has put its world
headquarters building up for sale in Lincoln.
     Back to the Bible says its way of spreading the good word has
changed, so it needs less space.
     Once it sells the 130,000-square-foot building in northern
Lincoln, it will seek a smaller space to operate.
     The Lincoln Journal Star reports the
building is listed for just under $5 million by Eschliman
Commercial Real Estate.
     Executive Vice President Tami Weissert says the organization had
used a print shop, bindery and mailing center at the site. The
ministry now operates in a digital world that "allows us to reach
people, not only through the radio program, but also through their
personal cellphones and laptops. And that takes less space and
manpower."
 

2.22.12

(AP) - Some Ralston teachers will be visiting
students and their parents at their homes this summer.
     The Ralston district says homeroom teachers will be making the
visits.
     English teacher Daniel Boster told Omaha station KETV the visits will give teachers a "chance to
understand what (students') parents are like, what their home life
is like and have some sense of who they are outside of the
school."
     He says home visits will make him a better teacher.
     District officials say test visits were successfully conducted
last summer.
     Parent can refuse the visits.
 

2.22.12

(AP) - Psychological tests have been ordered for a
19-year-old York woman accused of sexually assaulting a minor.
     The York News-Times reports  Crystal Moul
is accused of assaulting the minor on Nov. 13. Under Nebraska law,
people 19 and over cannot have sexual contact with people under 16.
     York County Public Defender Nancy Waldron asked last week for
Judge Michael Owens to order the evaluation so Moul's competency to
stand trial and participate in her defense could be determined.
     Moul's arraignment has been delayed April 2, pending the
evaluation.
 

2.22.12

(AP) - A Saunders County man who went on a search
for his wife found her and her upside vehicle.
     Saunders County Sheriff Kevin Stukenholtz says his office was
notified about an injury accident just before 11:30 p.m. Monday.
     Authorities say the woman had not arrived home as expected, so
her husband got into his vehicle and went to find her. He spotted
her and her vehicle a couple of miles north of Prague (prahg), near
the intersection of Nebraska Highway 79 and County Road U.
     She was taken to a hospital for treatment and then released.
     The crash destroyed a guardrail.
 

2.22.12

(AP) - A Norfolk lawyer has announced his
candidacy for the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
     David Copple said Tuesday he will seek the District 3 seat held
by Chuck Hassebrook, of Lyons.
     Copple says he would focus on ways to keep tuition affordable if
elected, and pursue economic development opportunities to provide
high-end jobs for university graduates.
     Copple is the chairman of the Norfolk Area Chamber of Commerce
Economic Development Action Council, and is a past president of the
Nebraska Community College Foundation. He earned his law degree
from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1983.
 

2.22.12

(AP) - A debate over Nebraska's school dropout age
is set to resume in the Legislature.
     Lexington Sen. John Wightman will continue pressing a bill
(LB996) that would increase the minimum age to 18 years old.
Current state law allows students to drop out if they receive
written, notarized consent from a parent or guardian.
     The bill has won support from the Nebraska Council of School
Administrators, the state Board of Education and the Nebraska
Association of School Boards.
     But some lawmakers have questioned the Legislature's recent
moves with truancy bills to impose state restrictions on parents
and families.
 

2.22.12

(AP) - Members of the Nebraska Legislature would
be able to serve three terms rather than two, under a proposed
constitutional amendment up for debate.
     Lawmakers on Wednesday will discuss whether to allow voters to
decide in November to boost term limits from eight years to 12
years.
     Nebraska senators have said repeatedly this session that current
term limits restrict the level of experience and knowledge in the
lawmaking process. Supporters say adding an extra term would be
good for the people and for the state of Nebraska.
     Opponents of the plan say senators are already asking for a pay
raise starting next year and it would appear inappropriate to ask
for more money and longer terms in the same year.

2.22.12

(AP) - A Nebraska city's attempt to fight illegal
immigration appears likely to be more of an inconvenience for legal
residents than a deterrent to illegal immigrants.
     Fremont's newly court-approved ordinance won't have any effect
beyond the city limits. That means two major meatpacking plants and
some neighborhoods that have large immigrant populations won't be
covered by the requirements.
     The rules add red tape for businesses and renters.
     Businesses must use the federal E-Verify database to ensure
employees are legal.
     Potential renters must swear they are legal residents and pay $5
to obtain a renting permit. But the city won't be able to revoke
the permits of applicants found to be illegal immigrants.
     Backers say the provisions approved by a federal judge represent
progress on the issue.
 

2.22.12

(AP) - A judge has ordered a Nebraska woman to
stand trial in a crash that killed her 4-year-old son near Lyons in
Burt County.
     Twenty-four-year-old Megan Douglas, of Oakland, was driving on
U.S. Highway 77 when authorities say she lost control of her car
and collided with another vehicle on Jan. 11. Her son, Zachery, was
killed.
     Investigators say Douglas was driving drunk and speeding.
     KETV-TV in Omaha  says a judge on Tuesday
order her to stand trial on motor vehicular homicide and child
abuse, both felonies. The judge dropped seven misdemeanor charges
and lowered her bond from $200,000 to $50,000.
     Another hearing is set for April.
 

2.22.12

(AP) - A man accused of shooting a woman in
Norfolk has made his first appearance in Madison County Court.
     Thirty-four-year-old Carlos Arevalo-Martinez is charged with
first-degree assault and use of a firearm to commit a felony. He's
suspected of shooting 33-year-old Edna Gutierrez on Feb. 14.
Gutierrez, who was shot in the head, remains hospitalized in Omaha.
     Arevalo-Martinez was taken into custody after a standoff in
Stanton on Feb. 16.
     The Norfolk Daily News says during
Tuesday's court hearing, a judge appointed an attorney to his case
and scheduled another hearing for next week.
     Arevalo-Martinez remains in jail on $1 million bond.
 

2.22.12

(AP) - The road to Nebraska creating its own
health insurance exchange is likely to be a long one.
     Lawmakers on Tuesday began discussion on two bills that would
form the Nebraska Health Benefit Exchange Act. It's a plan that
would be an alternative to the federal health insurance plan now
being scrutinized by the U.S. Supreme Court.
     The bills were introduced to meet the requirements of the
federal Affordable Care Act, which calls for states to have an
operating exchange by 2014.
     If a state doesn't have a plan in place, the federal Health and
Human Services Department has the authority to create and operate a
health benefit exchange.
     Supporters say Nebraska needs to act now to avoid federal
control. Opponents say the state should wait for the Supreme Court
decision.
 

2.22.12

(AP) - Testimony is under way in the trial of a
Jefferson County woman accused of beating her husband to death.
     Fifty-five-year-old Susan DeJong is charged with first-degree
murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony in the death of
52-year-old Thomas DeJong at their home west of Fairbury in March
2011.
     The Lincoln Journal Star says County
Attorney Linda Bauer told jurors Tuesday that Susan DeJong became
obsessed with suspicions that her husband was having an affair.
Defense attorney James Mowbray says the evidence doesn't mean that
it's proof of the charges against DeJong.
     The trial in Fairbury is expected to last through the week.

2.22.12

(AP) - Three endangered whooping cranes have
stopped at Jeffrey Island in the Platte River in central Nebraska.
     The Lincoln Journal Star says the cranes
landed Feb. 2 in the first confirmed sighting of the birds since
the seven-mile-long island was turned into a wildlife habitat more
than a decade ago.
     Jeffrey Island is between Overton and Lexington.
     The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District has
spent nearly $9 million to lease the 4,000 acre island to attract
whooping cranes and two other endangered species.
     District spokesman Mike Drain says the district had to develop
wildlife habitat areas as part of its federal license for Kingsley
Dam at Lake McConaughy,  the state's largest
irrigation and hydroelectric reservoir.
    
 

2.22.12

 (AP) - The Obama administration is awarding loans
totaling more than $638 million to start up new health care
cooperatives serving eight states.
     The government says the new nonprofit health insurers will be
run by their customers and will be designed to offer coverage to
individuals and small businesses.
     Awards were announced Tuesday for co-ops serving Montana, Iowa,
Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Wisconsin.
     They are envisioned as a way to offer affordable coverage when
President Barack Obama's health care reform law requires everyone
to carry insurance.
     Starting in 2014, millions of people now uninsured will buy
private coverage in new state markets. The co-ops will compete in
these state-run insurance exchanges.
     Tax-credit subsidies will help customers with the cost of the
insurance.
 

2.22.12

(AP) - Nebraska state troopers have seized more
than 52 pounds of marijuana and arrested six people after four
recent traffic stops.
     The Nebraska State Patrol says the stops were made along
Interstate 80. Two were made Sunday and two on Monday.
     One man was arrested and 6.5 pounds of marijuana was seized on
Monday near Grand Island. Monday's second stop occurred near the
Lincoln Airport exit. The driver and a passenger were arrested and
25.7 pounds of pot was seized.
     Late Sunday morning, a pickup driver was arrested and 15.1
pounds of marijuana was seized in north Lincoln. On Sunday night, a
driver and a passenger were arrested and 4.8 pounds of marijuana
was seized near Kearney in south-central Nebraska.

2.22.12

(AP) - Members of more than 20 organizations are
rallying against a bill that would require Nebraska voters to show
a government-issued photo ID before casting their ballots.
     More than 70 people filled the rotunda at the Capitol on Tuesday
in opposition to Legislative Bill 239. Lawmakers were scheduled to
debate the measure Tuesday, but action was delayed until later.
Several senators also plan a filibuster to kill the bill.
     Adam Morfeld is the executive director of Nebraskans for Civic
Reform. He says requiring voter ID is unnecessary. He says it's
costly to taxpayers and harms seniors and low-income citizens.
     Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont is the sponsor of the ID bill.
     He has said 46 states have reported voter fraud and Nebraska
needs to improve its mechanisms to detect potential fraud.
 

2.22.12

(AP) - A state contractor that manages child
welfare cases in eastern and southeast Nebraska is relinquishing
its duties because of a financial dispute.
     The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services announced
Tuesday that the state and KVC Nebraska have agreed to end the
contracted services, effective March 1.
     Department CEO Kerry Winterer says the state is prepared to
assume case management duties in the affected areas. But he says
another lead contractor, Nebraska Families Collaborative, may
assume some of the duties.
     Winterer said the split between KVC and the state stemmed from a
disagreement over additional money KVC had requested to continue
providing services.
     Interim child services director Scot Adams says Nebraska will
continue to contract with KVC as a foster care provider.
 

2.22.12

(AP) - Police have arrested a Lincoln woman on
suspicion of pocketing more than $4,000 while counting money for
her employer, a local Target store.
     The Lincoln Journal Star reports that
35-year-old Mary Chapman was arrested Friday on suspicion of felony
theft. She is expected to appear Tuesday in Lancaster County Court
for a hearing on the charge.
     Police say store officials have video of Chapman taking mostly
$50 and $100 bills from money bags and concealing them between
envelopes instead of putting them inside the envelopes.
     Chapman's case did not appear on Nebraska's online court docket,
and no public telephone listing for her could be found.
 

2.22.12

(AP) - An 18-year-old man is facing an arson
charge for flipping over his family's couch and lighting it on fire
in their home.
     Ty Thompson is expected to make his initial court appearance on
Tuesday. Lincoln police arrested him Saturday evening.
     Police say Thompson was making threats while in the car with his
mother and her two other children. When they got home, Thompson
went into the house, flipped over the couch and lit it on fire.
     The fire was out by the time police and firefighters arrived,
but Thompson was arrested after police found he had a lighter.
    
 

2.22.12

(AP) - Authorities say an 87-year-old Grand
Island man whose body was found lying in a ditch alongside a county
road likely died of exposure.
     A news release from the Hall County Sheriff's Office says the
body was found Monday afternoon. It was identified as that of Jose
Felix Rodriguez.
     Rodriquez was reported missing on Sunday evening. The sheriff's
office says he'd last been seen at his home around 10 o'clock that
morning. Family members reported that Rodriquez didn't return from
his daily walk and that it wasn't unusual for him to become
confused.
     The sheriff's office says there are no signs that Rodriguez was
a crime victim, but the investigation into his death is continuing.

2.22.12

(AP and NRG)- Local officials say a child is in good condition at Good Samaritan Hospital after suffering injuries in a townhouse fire at 4024 Pony Express Road in Kearney. The fire broke out in a bedroom on the second floor Monday night around seven. 3-year-old Payton Houston was at home with her mother, Melissa Lawsen, and another adult when the fire started. Payton was taken to the hospital with burns. Lawsen told police the fire may have started from a candle burning in her bedroom. At the height of the fire, the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department had 46 firefighters and five trucks at the scene. KVFD had the blaze under control in about 40 minutes. The department estimates damage to the duplex at $75,000. The American Red Cross responded to the scene with assistance for the residents of the townhouse.

2.21.12

(NRG)-The momentum of the record-breaking fall enrollment increase at the University of Nebraska at Kearney has continued into the spring semester. UNK officials Monday announced that spring enrollment is at 6,651, a 5.2 percent increase over spring semester enrollment in 2011 and the highest level since 1997. Part of the increase reflects growth in enrollment in eCampus (online) offerings. The biggest growth in eCampus numbers includes undergraduate students who take face-to-face classes on campus along with online classes. Currently, 21 percent of all UNK undergraduates now enroll in both types of delivery. Student credit hour production is up by 5.7 percent over last Spring,  driving tuition income higher. All four UNK academic colleges showed positive gains in credit hours generated. Total international students increased from 422 in the Fall to 493 this Spring, a 16.8 percent jump. 136 of these are new students, where last Spring there were 100 new international students, including undergraduate and graduate students.
 

2.21.12

(NRG)- The Crane Watch Festival pageant awarded titles to two young ladies during ceremonies Sunday night at the Merryman Performing Arts Center in Kearney. Omaha's Chrissy Townsend was named as Miss Crane Festival and Sioux City native Kaylee Carlberg was crowned as Miss Kearney. Townsend and Carlberg qualify for the Miss Nebraska pageant to be held in March in North Platte. The pageant is a qualified preliminary pageant for Miss Nebraska and the Miss America pageant. Both young ladies earned $500 in scholarship money, and will represent Kearney through the next year as Miss Crane Festival and Miss Kearney. First runner up was Megan Dimmitt of Alliance. The Community Service award went to Danielle Tucker a 21 year-old UNL student from Pierce. The pageant was the first event of the upcoming Crane Watch Festival scheduled for Friday March 23rd thru Sunday, April 1st. Details and a complete listing of events and activities can be found at www.cranewatchfestival.com.

2.21.12

(AP) - The Nebraska auditor's office says the
University of Nebraska broke state law by delaying release of data
sought for an audit.
     A recently released audit report says university was required to
immediately provide the information. The data are related to the
university's health insurance program.
     University officials say privacy concerns caused the delay, but
the information eventually was released.
     The university is self-insured. It paid more than $100 million
in claims during fiscal 2010.