HOLDREGE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 40-year-old Wilcox man has died in a Phelps County accident.
The accident occurred around 8:15 p.m. Saturday on Poly Line Road near Holdrege. The Nebraska State Patrol says Chad Gannon was driving west when his vehicle went out of control and overturned at an intersection.
The accident is being investigated.
Federal investigators say a law allowing rural hospitals to bill rehabilitation services for seniors at higher rates than nursing homes and other facilities has led to billions of dollars in extra Medicare spending.
The report out Monday from the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services focused on the remote hospitals’ care for so-called “swing-bed” patients. These patients remain hospitalized after they normally would be released to a skilled-nursing facility. Such care cost the government an additional $4.1 billion over six years.
National Rural Health Association CEO Alan Morgan doesn’t dispute Medicare could save money by modifying the system. But Morgan says dozens of rural hospitals have closed in the past five years and nearly 300 others are on the brink. The policies in place, he says, are keeping those closures from accelerating further.
KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — The annual state handwriting contest is again looking for the best penmanship in Nebraska.
The contest is open to all Nebraska residents. There are four age divisions: 12 and under, ages 13-16, ages 17-49 and age 50 and over.
The Department of Teacher Education at the University of Nebraska at Kearney will administer the contest, which is in its 25th year.
Contestants will be provided text to copy for the entry.
The judges’ criteria include ease of reading, fluent rhythmic movement and technically correct performance of specifications.
Go online at https://coe.unk.edu/contest for official rules and the text to be copied.
The entry deadline is March 31. All entries should be mailed to: Nebraska Handwriting Contest, Attention: Julie Agard, University of Nebraska at Kearney/College of Education, Kearney, Nebraska, 68849.
Thank you
to everyone who sent
prayers, flowers, cards,
memorials, and who
brought food.
Your kindness has
helped so much in our
time of sorrow.
A special Thank You
to Dr. Conell and all the
Drs and Nurses at
Great Plains Health.
Gloria Jean Hansen
will be greatly missed.
Lawrence Hansen
and family
Kentucky’s season-long run at No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 keeps right on going.
The Wildcats (31-0) received all 65 votes from a media panel Monday after completing the first undefeated regular season in school history. Kentucky can become the first team since UNLV in 1990-91 to be No. 1 the entire season in next week’s final poll.
Duke moved up to No. 2 ahead of Virginia, which dropped a spot after losing to Louisville.
No. 10 Northern Iowa is back in in the top 10 after winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. Wichita State dropped four spots to No. 12 after losing in the Valley semifinals to Illinois State.
No. 25 Boise State is ranked for the first time. No. 24 Davidson is back for the first time since 2008.
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through March 8, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Kentucky (65) | 31-0 | 1,625 | 1 |
| 2. Duke | 28-3 | 1,544 | 3 |
| 3. Virginia | 28-2 | 1,454 | 2 |
| 4. Villanova | 29-2 | 1,444 | 4 |
| 5. Arizona | 28-3 | 1,360 | 5 |
| 6. Wisconsin | 28-3 | 1,344 | 6 |
| 7. Gonzaga | 30-2 | 1,229 | 7 |
| 8. Maryland | 26-5 | 1,103 | 10 |
| 9. Kansas | 24-7 | 1,040 | 9 |
| 10. N. Iowa | 30-3 | 1,037 | 11 |
| 11. Notre Dame | 26-5 | 1,026 | 12 |
| 12. Wichita St. | 28-4 | 797 | 8 |
| 13. Iowa St. | 22-8 | 786 | 17 |
| 14. Louisville | 24-7 | 780 | 16 |
| 15. Oklahoma | 21-9 | 772 | 15 |
| 16. Baylor | 23-8 | 701 | 14 |
| 17. Utah | 23-7 | 587 | 13 |
| 18. West Virginia | 23-8 | 525 | 20 |
| 19. North Carolina | 21-10 | 406 | 19 |
| 20. SMU | 24-6 | 339 | 22 |
| 21. Arkansas | 24-7 | 300 | 18 |
| 22. Butler | 22-9 | 287 | 21 |
| 23. Georgetown | 20-9 | 223 | — |
| 24. Davidson | 23-6 | 99 | — |
| 25. Boise St. | 24-7 | 82 | — |
Others receiving votes: Oregon 69, Providence 63, Ohio St. 40, BYU 18, Michigan St. 15, LSU 8, Iowa 7, St. John’s 6, San Diego St. 3, Stephen F. Austin 2, Dayton 1, North Florida 1, Purdue 1, Valparaiso 1.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — New baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says it is too early to draw conclusions about baseball’s latest attempt to speed the pace of games.
Baseball is requiring batters to keep one foot in the batter’s box in many instances and installed clocks to count down the time between innings and during pitching changes. The penalties are warnings and fines, which will start May 1.
After speaking Monday with New York Mets players, Manfred said: “I think they understand what it is we’re trying to accomplish. I think they appreciate the fact we’ve taken kind of a measured approach to the problem to make sure we don’t unintentionally change the game in a way that may not be positive.”
KEARNEY, Neb. – During the final month of the regular season, the Tri-City Storm will be bringing in some of their high school affiliate players to spend time with the team in Kearney.
Among those will be defenseman Cameron Dineen, the team’s first round pick in the 2014 USHL Phase I Draft, who will be with the team for the remainder of the year.
Affiliate players are selected during the USHL Draft, but play elsewhere during the season. USHL teams maintain the rights to their affiliate players and use them to play on a part-time basis until they are ready to be placed on the roster full-time.
Dineen has spent his year with the New Jersey Rockets in the EHL, leading his team in scoring with 41 points in 39 games on 11 goals and 30 assists. A native of Toms River, N.J., Dineen is committed to play his college hockey at Yale University.
Other affiliates expected to spend time with the team during the final month of the season include Brian Hawkinson, Austen Long, Johnny McDermott, Jack McNeely, Carson Meyer, Sam Sternschein, and Bryan Yoon.
In the coming weeks, the Storm will have more information about some of their affiliate players, who are having big years on the ice in preparation for their time with the team in the USHL.
Tri-City has 11 games remaining in the 2014-15 season, and will play seven more contests in Kearney at the Viaero Event Center.
The Storm are back in action Tuesday night in Lincoln at 7:05 p.m., before returning to the VEC for a pair of games this weekend to finish their season series with both Lincoln and Omaha.
Friday night’s game with the Stars starts at 7:30, 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.
Monday, March 9 Swimming & Diving at NCAA Zone Diving Meet Iowa City, Iowa 11 a.m.
Tuesday, March 10 Baseball Northern Colorado Hawks Field 1:35 p.m.
Tuesday, March 10 Swimming & Diving at NCAA Zone Diving Meet Iowa City, Iowa 5:45 p.m.
Wednesday, March 11 Swimming & Diving at NCAA Zone Diving Meet Iowa City, Iowa 11 a.m.
Wednesday, March 11 Baseball Northern Colorado Hawks Field 1:35 p.m.
Wednesday, March 11 Men’s Basketball vs. Penn State (Big Ten Tournament/ESPN2) Chicago, Ill. 3:30 p.m.
Friday, March 13 Rifle at NCAA Championships Fairbanks, Alaska 8 a.m.
Friday, March 13 Women’s Golf at Clover Cup Mesa, Ariz 9:30 a.m.
Friday, March 13 Track & Field at NCAA Indoor Championships Fayetteville, Ark. 10 a.m.
Friday, March 13 Softball vs. Boise State (Easton Tournament) Fullerton, Calif. Noon
Friday, March 13 Women’s Tennis Maryland Lincoln Racquet Club Noon
Friday, March 13 Softball vs. Charleston Southern (Easton Tournament) Fullerton, Calif. 2:30 p.m.
Friday, March 13 Baseball Florida Gulf Coast Hawks Field 4:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 14 Rifle at NCAA Championships Fairbanks, Alaska 8 a.m.
Saturday, March 14 Women’s Golf at Clover Cup Mesa, Ariz. 9:30 a.m.
Saturday, March 14 Track & Field at NCAA Indoor Championships Fayetteville, Ark. 10 a.m.
Saturday, March 14 Women’s Gymnastics Big Ten Big Five Meet Devaney Center Noon
(Illinois, Michigan St., Ohio St., Maryland)
Saturday, March 14 Men’s Tennis Missouri-Kansas City Lincoln Racquet Club 2 p.m.
Saturday, March 14 Baseball Florida Gulf Coast Hawks Field 2:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 14 Softball vs. DePaul (Easton Tournament) Fullerton, Calif. 5 p.m.
Saturday, March 14 Men’s Tennis Omaha Lincoln Racquet Club 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 14 Softball at Cal State Fullerton (Easton Tournament) Fullerton, Calif. 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 15 Women’s Golf at Clover Cup Mesa, Ariz. 9:30 a.m.
Sunday, March 15 Women’s Tennis at Michigan State East Lansing, Mich. 10 a.m.
Sunday, March 15 Men’s Gymnastics Minnesota, Penn State, Iowa Devaney Center 1 p.m.
Sunday, March 15 Baseball Florida Gulf Coast Hawks Field 1:05 p.m.
Sunday, March 15 Soccer FC Kansas City Lincoln, Neb. 3 p.m.
The North Platte Community College Knights softball team split a double header against the Colby Community College Lady Trojans on Sunday at the Dowhower Softball Complex.
The Knights won the opener 6 – 4 and were defeated in the nightcap 10 – 9 in eight innings.
In the first game, the Lady Trojans jumped out to an early lead off the bat of Collette West. West doubled in the first inning and scored to give the Lady Trojans a 1 – 0 lead. In the third inning the Lady Trojans hit back to back home runs by West and Rachel Van Gulick to take a 3 – 0 lead. The Knights ended the Lady Trojans rally after Hannah Charles singled and advanced Alix Johnson who reached on a walk. Britnee Higgs advanced the runners by sacricing them to second and third. Knights’ pitcher Baileigh Oleson struck out Alexandra Vigil to end the inning.
The Knights in their half of the third got their first run when Shannon Lieber reached second on an error by the Lady Trojans rightfielder, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an error by the Lady Trojans leftfielder.
With the Knights trailing Sara Villalobos batted in three runs on a double, knocking in Audrie Connor, Shannon Lieber and Caroline Motis to make the score 6 – 4.
Brittney Odum of the Knights made a spectacular defensive play when she caught the ball at the deepest part of centerfield, which made her tumble to the ground. The Lady Trojans didn’t realize Odum had caught it and begin circling the bases and the Knights were able to double up the runner at first before she could get back.
Baileigh Oleson pitched six strong innings to pick up the win for the Knights.
In game two, the Lady Trojans took a 9 – 2 lead going into the seventh inning. The Knights rallied to tie the game at nine when Mehana Chang hit a three run homer.
The Lady Trojans were able to score in their half of the eighth. The Knights had the chance to score in their half of the eighth with Villalobos on second . Sara Runia reached first on an infield hit, which advanced Villalobos to third. Villalobos was thrown out at home when she attempted to score when Odum grounded out.
Knights Head coach Janelle Higgins said, “We fought hard all day. Game one we made adjustments towards the end of them game and finished strong. Game two we had a rough inning but came back in the 7th to show we weren’t giving in and came up short. To be down 7 going into the 7th it would have been easy to roll over and these girls showed how tough they are by stepping up.”
The Knights go to 3 – 11 on the season and will play Dawson Community College on Tuesday and Wednesday at home. Game times are at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. CDT on both days.
ESPN Radio 1410 and www.northplattepost.com will be broadcasting the games. The games may be viewed on www.coachesaid.com.
HOUSTON, TX — The 2015 Houston College Classic concluded tonight at Minute Maid Park with Texas A&M being named the Tournament Champions with a perfect 3-0 record. The Aggies were matched by LSU, which also went 3-0, but earned the tiebreaker with a plus-eight run differential, as opposed to the Tigers plus-six mark. Hawaii, the University of Houston and Nebraska each went 1-2, while Baylor finished 0-3.
The Houston College Classic had a total weekend attendance of 37,793, with strong crowds on Friday (10,651), Saturday (16,276) and Sunday (10,866). This marks the highest total tournament attendance since 2007. Minute Maid Park hosted the Houston College Classic and Astros FanFest on the same weekend from 2001-07, making 2015 the highest total tournament attendance since the two events split.
Each team placed at least one player on the 2015 Houston College Classic All-Tournament Team, which was highlighted by the Classic’s Most Outstanding Player RHP Grayson Long from Texas A&M. He tossed 7.0 scoreless frames, recording 10 strikeouts, in the Aggie’s Saturday night victory over Houston.
The remaining 2015 All-Tournament Team filled out as listed below:
C Michael Barash, Texas A&M .333 (2×6), 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB
1B Chris Iriart, Houston
2B Josh Vidales, Houston
3B Conner Hale, LSU
SS Alex Bregman, LSU
OF Kaeo Aliviado, Hawaii
OF Austin Darby, Nebraska .333 (3×9), 2B, RBI, SB, BB
OF J.B. Moss, Texas A&M
DH Ben Miller, Nebraska
P Daniel Castano, Baylor
P Matt Kent, Texas A&M
P Alex Lange, LSU
P Grayson Long, Texas A&M 1-0, 0.00 ERA (0ER/7IP), 3 H, 0 BB, 10 SO
Houston College Classic Most Outstanding Player: RHP Grayson Long, Texas A&M
The Astros also announced the field for the 2016 Houston College Classic, which will feature both the University of Houston and Rice, along with Arkansas, Louisiana-Lafayette, TCU and Texas Tech. The 16th annual tournament will feature nine games at Minute Maid Park from Feb. 26–28, 2016.
