An Iowa man has pleaded not guilty to a federal charge that he robbed a bank in northeast Nebraska.

The Sioux City Journal says, 67-year-old Max Lafferty, of Sioux City, Iowa, made his plea Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Omaha.

Lafferty is accused of robbing a Bank of the West branch in South Sioux City on Sept. 11. Police say he flashed a steak knife when he demanded cash from a bank worker and left the building with about $1,500. He was arrested about a block away.

Lafferty originally was charged in Dakota County Court, but the state case was dismissed after the federal charge was filed.