DUNNING, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 68-year-old central Nebraska man has died in a collision between his all-terrain vehicle and a semitrailer.
The accident occurred Tuesday about two miles west of Dunning in Blaine County. The Nebraska State Patrol says Gerald Springer, of Dunning, was headed south from a roadway ditch to cross Nebraska Highway 2 when his ATV struck the eastbound big rig.
Springer was pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver wasn’t injured.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill that would have lowered the taxable value of Nebraska farmland has stalled in committee, but business owners could see a cut.
The Revenue Committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would create a tax exemption for equipment, furniture and other personal property used by businesses.
Sen. Mike Gloor of Grand Island says some of the benefit would go to Nebraska farmers who pay taxes on tractors, combines and other equipment, without rewarding out-of-state landowners.
The committee rejected a bill that would have reduced the taxable value of farmland from 75 percent to 65 percent.
Opponents say the bill, a major priority of farm groups and Gov. Pete Ricketts, would shift the property tax burden to residential homeowners and would likely prompt school districts to raise their levies.
TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — An ex-con who had just finished a 15-year robbery sentence has admitted he robbed the same New Jersey shoe store — as the same clerk was behind the counter.
Prosecutors say 41-year-old Christopher Miller robbed the Stride Rite store in Toms River in March 2014, a day after he was released from prison after finishing his jail term for the first robbery.
Police say Miller made off with $389 and fled on foot with the employees’ cellphones.
The clerk had been notified about Miller’s release and identified the suspect as the same person who had robbed the store in 1999.
Miller pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery on Monday. He faces a prison term of 10 to 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced in May.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha 18-year-old has been given 15 to 22 years in prison for shooting to death a friend.
Christopher Spears was sentenced on Tuesday in Douglas County District Court. He’d been convicted of manslaughter and weapons use after pleading no contest. Spears originally was charged with second-degree murder. Prosecutors lowered the charge in escape for Spears’ pleas.
Prosecutors say Spears was 17 when he shot 17-year-old Dominique Hollie in February last year. Prosecutors say the shooting happened after Spears made sexual comments about Hollie’s sister, prompting Hollie to go to his bedroom and grab a sawed-off shotgun that he later returned to his room. Prosecutors say that after an argument, however, Spears went to Hollie’s room, returned with the shotgun and shot Hollie in the face.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 59-year-old dentist has been convicted of stealing dental gold and equipment when he worked at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Omaha.
A federal judge entered his ruling on Tuesday against Randall Toothaker. In December he’d pleaded no contest to theft. His sentencing is scheduled for April 9, and he faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
Investigators say Toothaker stole more than $16,000 in dental gold and equipment from a locked cabinet in 2013. An officer stopped Toothaker while he was leaving the property.
Toothaker’s attorney has said his client works for a dental group in Fort Dodge and wants to put the case behind him.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a 44-year-old man who was fatally shot in southeast Omaha.
On Wednesday the Omaha Police Department identified the man as Corey Hudson.
The department says officers who responded to the shooting around 1:45 p.m. Tuesday near 18th and U streets found the wounded man. Hudson was taken to Creighton University Medical Center in extremely critical condition and later was pronounced dead.
No arrests have been reported.
WILBER, Neb. (AP) — A 20-year-old Wilber man has been killed in a collision between his pickup and a semitrailer.
The crash occurred a little before 7 a.m. Tuesday on Nebraska Highway 15, near its intersection with Nebraska 41 west of Wilber.
The Saline County Sheriff’s Office says the southbound pickup driven by Sidney Stern crossed the center line and rammed into the semitrailer. The big rig was being driven by 69-year-old Rolland Kutzbach, of Reading, Minnesota.
Stern died at the scene. The Sheriff’s Office hasn’t reported whether Kutzbach was injured.
The accident is being investigated.
RUSHVILLE, Neb. (AP) — A 19-year-old man who Sheridan County authorities say escaped twice from custody has pleaded not guilty to several charges.
Michael Brown made the pleas on Monday. The judge set another hearing for April 7.
Authorities say Brown escaped from the back of a police car on Jan. 21 and was captured the next day. They say he escaped from the Sheridan County Jail on Feb. 10 and was recaptured on Feb. 17 in Gordon. Besides facing charges in the escapes, Brown is accused of several break-ins and weapons violations.
COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — Columbus authorities say a tractor-trailer carrying more than 80 cattle flipped onto its side and that some of the animals died at the scene.
Officials note that the remaining cattle have been shipped to local farms, where more have died. It’s unclear how many livestock animals have died in total.
Columbus police say the semitrailer was turning onto a street when it tipped onto its side Monday night. The vehicle’s driver, whose name wasn’t released, was taken by an ambulance to Columbus Community Hospital with minor injuries.
Local media outlets report the accident blocked traffic for more than three hours as law enforcement officers worked with area cattlemen to transfer the livestock to another trailer.
The accident remains under investigation.
KEARNEY, Neb. –The Tri-City Storm’s Jerseys For a Cause program raised a total of $1,774 in the month of February. All proceeds have been donated to benefit the Phelps Memorial Health Center in Holdrege.
Presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska, the program benefits a different organization each month. At each home Storm game, a limited edition game-worn jersey from Color Out Cancer Night on Oct. 17 is raffled off to fans who donate.
Home games in the month of March, starting with this Friday’s contest against Lincoln, will benefit Mary Lanning Hospital. The one exception is March 20 vs. Des Moines, which will benefit the Stay In The Game Foundation.
Tri-City has 10 games remaining in the 2014-15 season and will play seven in Kearney at the Viaero Event Center.
The Storm will return to the VEC for a pair of games this weekend. Both contests will close Tri-City’s season series with its two in-state rivals, Lincoln and Omaha. Friday night’s game with the Stars starts at 7:30 p.m., while Saturday’s tilt vs. the Lancers begins at 7:05.
For more information and to purchase tickets, contact the Viaero Event Center Box Office at 308.338.8011 or visit www.stormhockey.com.
