KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Kearney man has accidentally shot himself in a hand.
The shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Police say Dallas Murray told officers he was shot in his left palm while trying to remove a laser guide rod after his 9-mm handgun jammed. Murray says he forgot to remove the magazine and clear the chamber before trying to clear the jam.
SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — The Scottsbluff airport has joined airports in Kearney and North Platte in signing new, one-year agreements with Great Lakes Airlines for government-subsidized flights.
The agreement runs through February 2016.
All three airports had initially selected Beachwood, Ohio-based Aerodynamics Inc., but in January the U.S. Transportation Department said Aerodynamics did not possess “the managerial competency necessary to oversee its current charter and proposed scheduled passenger operations.”
The airports had sought service from other carriers because of reliability problems with Cheyenne, Wyoming-based Great Lakes. But Scottsbluff airport director Darwin Skelton says Great Lakes has been very consistent and reliable over the past couple of months.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say icy roads have caused several accidents in eastern Nebraska and at least one fatal crash.
The freezing drizzle arrived at a bad time for travelers and morning commuters Tuesday, especially for people driving down residential streets headed to major thoroughfares and highways.
Authorities say a crash reported around 6:45 a.m. on the northwest side of Omaha left one person dead. The victim’s name and other details haven’t been released.
The National Weather Service issued a freezing rain advisory for eastern Nebraska and western Iowa that was scheduled to expire later Tuesday morning.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma would become the first state to allow the execution of inmates using nitrogen gas under a bill that overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives.
The House voted 85-10 on Tuesday for the bill by Oklahoma City Republican Rep. Mike Christian, who described the method as humane, painless and easy to administer. There was no debate against the bill, which now heads to the Senate.
Christian says the nitrogen would be administered to the inmate either by a “tent or some kind of secure mask.”
Christian began studying alternative methods after a botched lethal injection last spring that has led to the U.S. Supreme Court considering whether Oklahoma’s current method is constitutional.
He says prison officials in several other states are interested in his proposal.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A tiny boy born on his parents’ way to a Nebraska hospital is struggling for life as they mourn his twin sister.
Kaleb and Savannah Clark arrived early on Feb. 5 as their parents, 39-year-old Kevin and 36-year-old Laura Clark, headed to Lincoln from their home in Barnes, Kansas. Kevin Clark had to stop alongside U.S. Highway 77 on the south side of Lincoln because one baby already had arrived.
Laura Clark’s cousin Mary Crevier said two days after the twins were born, Savannah died after blood vessels burst in her head and lungs.
Crevier says Kaleb weighed about 2 pounds at birth. He’s since gained about 10 ounces and been taken off a breathing tube.
She says Kaleb’s “a little fighter.”
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Wrongly convicted Nebraska prisoners would have more chances to demonstrate their innocence under a bill advanced by lawmakers.
Senators gave the measure first-round approval on Tuesday with a 35-0 vote.
The bill would remove the three-year window after a conviction to seek a new trial based on newly discovered, non-DNA evidence. Arkansas, Idaho and Wyoming are the only other states that impose such a restriction.
It also would allow judges to order DNA testing on evidence that wasn’t previously tested, or where new technology could lead to more accurate results. Current law only allows the tests when such options weren’t available at trial.
Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln says her bill could also help catch guilty people who weren’t convicted.
YORK, Neb. (AP) — After historically only housing boys, the Epworth Village in York will open a home for girls in two month.
Harrietta Reynolds, Epworth Village CEO, says that the agency has been in rebuilding mode for the last eight months. According to Reynolds, girls will be housed in an empty building on Epworth’s campus, and that they will each have their own room. The target date for the arrival of the first group of girls is May 1.
Epworth will initially take in five girls between the ages of 14 and 18 from the state’s probation system.
The agency is looking to hire eight behavioral interventionalists for the new group of residents.
The last time the United Methodist agency provided temporary residential services for girls was 1990.
KIMBALL, Neb. (AP) — About 1,000 tons of contaminated soil from the Love Canal environmental disaster in New York is being shipped by rail to Kimball for incineration after backlash over a disposal plan in Canada.
Glenn Springs Holdings, which is under contract to dispose of the waste, dropped its plans to move 1,600 cubic yards of waste by truck to an incinerator in Sarnia, Ontario. Residents and politicians in Sarnia protested the disposal at the site owned by Clean Harbors Inc. Glenn Springs will now send the waste to sites owned by Clean Harbors in the Nebraska panhandle and Utah.
In the 1970s, it was discovered that that 22,000 tons of toxic waste had been buried in Love Canal, a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, by Hooker Chemical Co. and then ignored by authorities for decades.
Nebraska begins the month of March on the road, as the Huskers travel to Champaign, Ill., for a matchup with the Fighting Illini Wednesday evening.
Tipoff from the State Farm Center is set for 9:06 p.m. and the contest will be televised nationally on BTN with Eric Collins and Shon Morris on the call. Wednesday’s game is also available online and on mobile devices on the BTN2Go app. It is the third game of a BTN tripleheader on Wednesday.
The game will be broadcast across the state of Nebraska on the 37-station IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, 1110 KFAB in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington with Kent Pavelka calling the action and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The game can be heard for free on Huskers.com and is available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as on TuneIn Radio and on SiriusXM Satellite Radio.
Nebraska (13-15, 5-11 Big Ten) wraps up a stretch where seven of the last 10 games have been away from home. The Huskers had their longest break since the start of Big Ten play, as Nebraska has been off since a 81-57 loss at Ohio State on Thursday evening. In that game, the Buckeyes shot 54 percent, including 11-of-19 from 3-point range, and put four players in double figures.
Freshman Tarin Smith was one of the highlights for the Huskers in the loss to the Buckeyes, scoring a career-high 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including all three of his 3-pointers. Smith has become more of an offensive threat in the last month, averaging 6.2 points per game on 57 percent shooting over Nebraska’s last six contests. He has shot 50 percent or better in all six games dating back to Feb. 7.
Junior Terran Petteway had 12 points and three assists while David Rivers came off the bench for 10 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. Rivers’ 10-point effort was his highest total since scoring 12 points in the season opener.
The Huskers are in a tie for 11th place entering the last week of the season, one game back of Minnesota, in hopes of avoiding the first-round game in the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.
Illinois is 18-11 on the season and 8-8 in Big Ten play following an 86-60 win over Northwestern Saturday evening. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Illini. Rayvonte Rice led five Illinois players with 19 points, as the Fighting Illini went 14-of-29 from 3-point range in the victory.
The Nebraska women’s basketball team opens play in the 2015 Big Ten Tournament by taking on Illinois on Thursday in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Tip-off between the No. 7 seed Huskers (20-9, 10-8 Big Ten) and the 10th-seeded Fighting Illini (15-15, 6-12 Big Ten) at Sears Centre Arena is set for 6 p.m. (CT), as Nebraska shoots for its third win of the season against Illinois.
Eric Collins and Christy Winters Scott will be on the television call for the Big Ten Network, while Lisa Byington will provide sideline reports. Live radio coverage from the Husker Sports Network is available with Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch on stations across the network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln, 93.3 FM in Omaha and 880 AM KRVN in Lexington. Free live audio is available on Huskers.com.
Nebraska closed the Big Ten regular season by winning three of its last five games, including its most complete effort of the year with a 74-50 run past Minnesota on Feb. 24. The Huskers suffered a 78-60 loss to Big Ten Tournament No. 3 seed Ohio State on Senior Day in Lincoln on Sunday. Nebraska’s four seniors combined for 48 points and 33 rebounds, but Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year Kelsey Mitchell answered with 28 points and 10 boards for the Buckeyes. Fellow freshmen Shayla Cooper (13 points, 18 rebounds) and Asia Doss (14 points) helped OSU end a five-game losing streak to the Huskers.
Emily Cady and Brandi Jeffery closed their home careers at Nebraska with double-doubles, including 21 points and 13 rebounds for Cady. It was Cady’s 11th double-double of the season and 33rd of her career. She earned second-team All-Big Ten honors for the second straight season by averaging 12.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game on the year.
Jeffery notched the first double-double of her career with 10 points and 13 rebounds to go along with four assists. The 5-7 guard from Vacherie, La., has more rebounds this season (186) than in her three previous seasons combined (184) for the Big Red. She is averaging 7.7 points and 6.6 rebounds.
Senior Tear’a Laudermill added honorable-mention All-Big Ten accolades for the Huskers, while Hailie Sample was named Nebraska’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner.
Nebraska Cornhuskers (20-9, 10-8 Big Ten)
3 – Hailie Sample – 6-1 – Sr. – F – 7.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg
23 – Emily Cady – 6-2 – Sr. – F – 12.5 ppg, 10.4 rpg
1 – Tear’a Laudermill – 5-9 – Sr. – G – 13.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg
5 – Natalie Romeo – 5-7 – Fr. – G – 7.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg
13 – Brandi Jeffery – 5-7 – Sr. – G – 7.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg
Off the Bench
33 – Rachel Theriot (OUT) – 6-0 – Jr. – G – 16.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg
22 – Allie Havers – 6-5 – So. – C – 4.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg
31 – Anya Kalenta – 6-3 – Jr. – F – 3.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg
30 – Chandler Smith – 6-0 – Fr. – G – 1.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg
34 – Jasmine Cincore – 5-8 – Fr. – G – 1.5 ppg, 0.2 rpg
12 – Emily Wood – 5-5 – Fr. – G – 0.3 ppg, 0.6 rpg
11 – Esther Ramacieri – 5-8 – So. – G – 0.1 ppg, 0.5 rpg
50 – Darrien Washington – 6-2 – Fr. – F – Redshirting
Head Coach: Connie Yori (Creighton, 1986)
13th Season at NU (261-151); 25th Season Overall (456-291)
Illinois Fighting Illini (15-15, 6-12 Big Ten)
34 – Jacqui Grant – 6-3 – So. – F – 9.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg
32 – Chatrice White – 6-3 – Fr. – C – 14.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg
15 – Kyley Simmons – 5-7 – Sr. – G – 9.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg
20 – Brittany Carter – 6-0 – Sr. – G – 8.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg
22 – Ivory Crawford – 5-10 – Sr. – G – 15.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg
Off the Bench
10 – Amarah Coleman – 5-11 – Fr. – G – 7.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg
3 – Taylor Tuck – 6-0 – Sr. – G/F – 2.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg
21 – Brooke Kissinger – 5-7 – Fr. – G – 1.4 ppg, 0.6 rpg
12 – Ashley McConnell – 5-9 – So. – G – 1.3 ppg, 0.8 rpg
25 – Kennedy Cattenhead – 5-10 – RFr. – G – 0.9 ppg, 1.0 rpg
5 – Nia Oden – 5-10 – Sr. – F – 0.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg
00 – Sarah Hartwell – 5-10 – Jr. – G – 0.8 ppg, 0.5 rpg
2 – Taylor Gleason – 5-8 – So. – G – 0.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg
Head Coach: Matt Bollant (Winona State, 1994)
3rd Season at Illinois (43-50); 13th Season Overall (325-105)
