LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — One of the world’s top-ranked zoos could be exempt from Nebraska’s state sales tax under a bill filed in the Legislature.
Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha introduced a bill Friday to exempt zoos and aquariums from the tax. The bill would benefit Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, ranked No. 1 in the world this summer by travel website TripAdvisor. The zoo draws more than 1 million visitors to the city each year.
The measure would include any zoo or aquarium accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Nebraska has three other accredited facilities: Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park & Wildlife Safari in Ashland, the Children’s Zoo in Lincoln and the Riverside Discovery Center in Scottsbluff.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts has chosen a Wisconsin business recruiter to lead Nebraska’s Department of Economic Development.
Brenda Hicks-Sorenson was chosen after a national search that began in December. In a statement Friday, Ricketts praised her as an innovative leader who stood out because of her recruiting record.
Hicks-Sorenson recently served as a vice president for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation in Madison, Wisconsin. Her 21-member team had a $4.3 million operating budget and oversaw $34 million in business and community assistance money.
Hicks-Sorenson developed a business attraction strategy for the state of Wisconsin. Her efforts have helped attract Collaborative Consulting, Ta-Chen, Kenall Manufacturing, and Amazon.com.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s beef exports have reached an all-time high as the state saw a significant increase in overseas sales.
The state’s Department of Agriculture said Friday that the approximately $1 billion worth of beef purchased by foreign buyers through November sets a new record.
Ag Director Greg Ibach says markets such as Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea, have increased Nebraska beef purchases over the past six years. The state has conducted trade promotions in each of these countries.
Muscle meat exports have more than tripled since 2009. Exports of beef products generally not favored in the United States, such as beef livers and tongues, have grown as well. Nebraska sold $93 million worth of such goods in 2014, compared to $32.3 million in 2009.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City hospital says it has confirmed two flu-related deaths that happened within the past two months, but a spokeswoman says rules prohibited her from providing additional information.
Children’s Mercy Hospital spokeswoman Jessica Salazar declined to provide ages or genders of the patients, but she said the hospital treats people between birth and 21 years old.
The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 45 children have died from the flu this season, including four in the region that includes Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.
The CDC says 109 children in the U.S. died last year of the flu, which was a sharp decline from the 171 pediatric deaths reported in the 2013 flu season.
The No. 17 Nebraska women’s basketball team takes aim at its fourth straight Big Ten win when the Huskers play host to Purdue on Monday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Tip-off between the Big Red (13-3, 3-2 Big Ten) and the Boilermakers (9-8, 2-4 Big Ten) on Martin Luther King Jr. Day is set for 6 p.m. (central) with live national television coverage by the Big Ten Network with Kevin Kugler and Debbie Antonelli on the call.
Live radio coverage will be provided by the Husker Sports Network, with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch on the call on stations across the network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln, 93.3 FM in Omaha and 880 AM in Lexington. Free live audio also will be available on Huskers.com.
Nebraska is coming off an impressive 73-45 win over Penn State on Thursday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Huskers, who had all 12 players in uniform and available to play for the first time all season, got career highs of 18 points and six three-pointers from freshman Natalie Romeo. The 5-7 guard from Martinez, Calif., played a career-high 26 minutes while making her first career start. She added three rebounds and three assists in a tremendous all-around effort.
Romeo’s outburst from long range allowed the Huskers to hit a season-high 11 three-pointers against the Lady Lions. Romeo led four Huskers in double figures, including 12 points from Tear’a Laudermill, 11 from Allie Havers and 10 from Brandi Jeffery.
Junior Rachel Theriot continues to lead the Big Red with 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. The 6-0 point guard from Middleburg Heights, Ohio is shooting 41 percent from three-point range and 92.6 percent at the free throw line.
Senior forward Emily Cady has added 12.8 points, a team-best 9.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game as one of the Big Ten’s most versatile players.
Purdue comes to Lincoln with a 9-8 overall and a 2-4 Big Ten mark trying to avoid its fourth consecutive loss. The Boilermakers are coming off a 65-56 home loss to Wisconsin, which followed a 24-point loss at Maryland on Jan. 8 and a 14-point setback at Iowa on Jan. 11.
#17 Nebraska Cornhuskers (13-3, 3-2 Big Ten)
3 – Hailie Sample – 6-1 – Sr. – F – 6.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg
23 – Emily Cady – 6-2 – Sr. – F – 12.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg
1 – Tear’a Laudermill – 5-9 – Sr. – G – 11.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg
13 – Brandi Jeffery – 5-7 – Sr. – G – 8.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg
33 – Rachel Theriot – 6-0 – Jr. – G – 17.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg
Off the Bench
31 – Anya Kalenta – 6-3 – Jr. – F – 6.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg
5 – Natalie Romeo – 5-7 – Fr. – G – 6.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg
22 – Allie Havers – 6-5 – So. – C – 4.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg
34 – Jasmine Cincore – 5-8 – Fr. – G – 1.6 ppg, 0.4 rpg
30 – Chandler Smith – 6-0 – Fr. – G – 0.5 ppg, 0.5 rpg
12 – Emily Wood – 5-5 – Fr. – G – 0.3 ppg, 0.7 rpg
11 – Esther Ramacieri – 5-8 – So. – G – 0.1 ppg, 0.6 rpg
50 – Darrien Washington – 6-2 – Fr. – F – High School
Head Coach: Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986)
13th Season at NU (254-145); 25th Season Overall (449-285)
Purdue Boilermakers (9-8, 2-4 Big Ten)
32 – Whitney Bays – 6-2 – RSr. – F – 15.0 ppg, 10.6 rpg
23 – Liza Clemons – 6-2 – Sr. – F – 8.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg
1 – Ashley Morrissette – 5-9 – So. – G – 11.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg
24 – Andreona Keys – 5-10 – Fr. – G – 5.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg
25 – April Wilson – 5-7 – Jr. – G – 8.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Off the Bench
13 – Bridget Perry – 6-2 – So. – G – 9.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg
10 – Hayden Hamby – 5-7 – Jr. – G – 4.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg
4 – Torrie Thornton – 6-0 – Jr. – F – 3.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg
22 – Bree Horrocks – 6-5 – Fr. – C – 2.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg
21 – Erica Moore – 6-2 – Fr. – F – 0.8 ppg, 0.5 rpg
5 – Justine Hall – 5-10 – Fr. – G – 0.4 ppg, 0.4 rpg
Head Coach: Sharon Versyp (Purdue, 1989)
9th Season at Purdue (192-96); 15th Season Overall (309-161)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Relief pitchers Louis Coleman and Tim Collins agreed to one-year contracts with the Kansas City Royals on Friday, allowing both of them to avoid arbitration.
Collins agreed at $1,475,000 and Coleman at $725,000.
The 25-year-old Collins, a left-hander, had a 3.86 ERA in 22 appearances with the Royals and earned $1.362,500. He made four appearances in the postseason, including three during the World Series.
Coleman, a 28-year-old right-hander, had a 5.56 ERA in 31 appearances with the Royals and earned $537,000. He has pitched parts of the past four seasons in Kansas City.
Kansas City still has seven players in arbitration without deals: pitchers Danny Duffy, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland; first baseman Eric Hosmer; third baseman Mike Moustakas; and outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Jarrod Dyson.
NEW YORK (AP) — A best-selling account of a 6-year-old boy’s journey to heaven and back has been pulled after the boy retracted his story.
Spokesman Todd Starowitz of Tyndale House, a leading Christian publisher, confirmed Friday that Alex Malarkey’s “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven” was being withdrawn. Earlier this week, Malarkey acknowledged in an open letter that he was lying, saying that he had been seeking attention. He also regretted that “people had profited from lies.”
“The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven” was first published in 2010 and told of an auto accident which left Malarkey in a coma. According to the book, he had visions of angels and of meeting Jesus. “The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven” has long been disputed, including by Alex’s mother.
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Former West Virginia athletic director and selection committee member Oliver Luck says the College Football Playoff should stick with the four-team model because “it should be hard to get into the playoff.”
Luck has started a new job with the NCAA. He had been AD at his alma mater for five years and served as a member of the 13-member committee that set the first College Football Playoff field.
The committee had five current athletic directors, representing each of the Big Five conferences. The Big 12 will need to replace Luck next season.
He says there were no hard feelings from his conference colleagues about TCU and Baylor being left out of the playoff in favor of Ohio State, which won the national title as the fourth and final seed.
Statistics show that shelter euthanasia is the leading cause of death for dogs and cats in the United States.
The staff and volunteers at the North Platte Animal Shelter work hard to find homes for animals brought to the shelter and avoid euthanasia whenever possible.
Animal shelters nationwide experience euthanasia rates of around 50%. In 2014, the North Platte Animal Shelter took in 754 dogs and 568 cats. Amazingly, the euthanasia rate for dogs was 2%, and 8% for cats. Staff at the shelter say the majority of the pets they euthanize are either sick or dangerous.
The staff credits local volunteers and organizations for allowing them to keep these rates extremely low.
Volunteers assist with animal promotion, foster care and placement. Organizations such as Fur the Love of Paws, Animal Rescue of Kindness and Home of Hope also provide an enormous amount of volunteer hours, and PAWS-itive Partners will often pay for veterinary care animals that arrive at the shelter receive.
Shelter staff encourages pet owners to spay or neuter their pets, and use tags, microchips and up-to-date veterinary care, in order to keep the number of animals in the shelter at a minimum.
If you are interested in adoption, visit the shelter located at 1402 North Sycamore Street, or like them on Facebook.
