OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — College World Series fans wanting to avoid traffic congestion in downtown Omaha can use Metro’s Stadium Circulator and Stadium Express.
The Stadium Circulator will connect TD Ameritrade Park with downtown hotels, parking garages, the Old Market and other attractions. It will run every 10 minutes and operate 90 minutes before the first game each day until 90 minutes after the last game. Cost is 25 cents, and special signs will designate pickup locations.
The circulator also will operate Friday from 9:30 a.m. until 30 minutes after Opening Celebration Day festivities.
Stadium Express rides are $3 each way with exact change required. Locations are 121st and I Streets near Anytime Fitness, 102nd and Nicholas near Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Lots C1 and C3 of the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The wife of a U.S. Marine who was killed in a helicopter crash in Nepal last month has given birth to his son.
Capt. Dustin R. Lukasiewicz’s wife, Ashley, gave birth earlier this week. She was pregnant when the 29-year-old from Wilcox, Nebraska, deployed to Nepal to deliver supplies after a major earthquake.
Dustin Lukasiewicz’s father, Keith, says the family brought the boy home from the hospital on Thursday. Lukasiewicz and his wife also have a daughter, Isabelle.
Lukasiewicz and five other Marines died May 12 when their helicopter crashed. Two Nepalese soldiers were also killed in the crash.
DAKOTA CITY, Neb. (AP) — The Dakota County Jail administrative director in Nebraska has been placed on leave after county officials say they received a harassment complaint against him.
Sioux City media outlets report Terry Kern was placed on administrative leave Thursday. Kern told the Sioux City Journal the board clarified that the claim was not for sexual harassment, but did not tell him who had filed it.
County Board of Corrections Chairman Tony Gomez said an investigation is underway, but he would not say what type of harassment was alleged or by whom.
Kern said he and his attorney are taking the necessary steps to figure out the situation.
HARRISON, Neb. (AP) — The 16th annual Intertribal Gathering will be celebrating Native American culture this weekend at Fort Robinson State Park in the northwest corner of Nebraska.
The event opens Friday and runs through Sunday at the fort.
Organizers say there will be dancing, drumming, singing and storytelling. Vendors will be selling Native American crafts, food and other items.
The events are free, but vehicles entering the park are required to have Nebraska park entry permits.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Death penalty opponents are joining forces to oppose a ballot campaign that could reinstate capital punishment in Nebraska.
The new group Nebraskans for Public Safety announced Thursday that it will argue for “smart alternatives” to the death penalty.
Participating organizations include Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, the Nebraska Innocence Project, the ACLU of Nebraska and the Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorneys Association.
The coalition is also comprised of religious and conservative leaders, and retired Sarpy County District Judge Ronald Reagan. Reagan sat on the panel that sentenced former Nebraska inmate John Joubert to death. Joubert was executed in 1996.
Death penalty supporters launched the petition drive after state lawmakers voted last month to override Gov. Pete Ricketts’ veto and abolish capital punishment.
MIAMI (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton drove in four runs with his 22nd homer and a 40-foot single, and the Miami Marlins broke a three-game losing streak Thursday night by beating Colorado 6-0.
David Phelps (3-3), rocked by the Rockies at Coors Field last week, pitched a career-high eight innings, allowing four hits. Chris Rusin (2-1), who beat Phelps last week, gave up 11 hits and six runs in 5 1-3 innings.
Stanton came into the game leading the majors in home runs and RBIs, and he pulled a liner into the Rockies bullpen for a three-run homer in the first inning. It was only his second homer this year with more than one runner on base.
Stanton drove in another run in the second with two-out swinging bunt that rolled to a stop on the foul line. He has 13 homers and 41 RBIs in 35 career games against Colorado.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are seeking the public’s help in stopping a north Omaha gang suspected of participating in several crimes, including drug sales.
Law enforcement are seeking tips on members of the 40th Avenue/44th Avenue Crips in relation to cases that also include murder, attempted murder and racketeering.
Spokesman John Ham for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says those crimes have been committed in the last few months. He notes that the gang isn’t responsible for all of the violence in Omaha and that agencies also are monitoring other groups suspected of criminal activity.
Ham tells the Omaha World-Herald (https://bit.ly/1cNaexN ) that officials wanted to reach out to the public now because it’s another “tool in our toolbox.”
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The new president of the University of Nebraska system has squashed plans to merge the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Architecture and the school’s College of Fine and Performing Arts.
President Hank Bounds, who took over in April, said in a news release Thursday that he’d consulted with the Board of Regents, campus leadership, faculty members, former students and others before making his decision. He says it’s clear that the proposed merger “lacks sufficient support to be successful” and that several key constituents continue to have serious reservations that threaten the plan’s viability.
The proposal was pulled from the Board of Regents agenda for Friday. Several architects spoke against the plan during the April 10 regents meeting.
The merger was proposed last year by Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s state government tax receipts were lower than expected in May.
The Department of Revenue reported Thursday that net receipts totaled $348 million, which was 1.2 percent below the state’s certified forecast.
The department says net receipts from individual income taxes, sale-and-use taxes and miscellaneous taxes came in lower than predicted. Net receipts from corporate income taxes were higher.
Nebraska is still on pace to collect more than expected during the fiscal year that ends on June 30. So far, the state has collected 2.2 percent more than projected.
The projections were certified by the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board in February 2014.
KEARNEY, Neb. – Tri-City Storm assistant coach JB Bittner has accepted a new position as the assistant coach with the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team. In addition to his on-ice work, Bittner will also be an important part of the team’s scouting and recruiting.
Bittner becomes the first coach in Storm history to go straight from the USHL ranks to a Division I program.
The Pittsburgh native thanked the Storm organization on Twitter Thursday morning.
“I want to thank the whole Tri-City Storm organization for the opportunity to coach in the USHL,” Bittner said. I’ve worked with and met some great people.”
Since joining the staff in June of 2013, Bittner has played an instrumental role in the scouting and recruitment of players to Tri-City, along with overseeing the team’s defense and penalty killing unit.
Tri-City was first in team defense among USHL teams during the 2014-15, giving up just 158 goals in the 60-game regular season.
Bittner came to Kearney after spending two years in professional hockey as an assistant coach for the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL). Before that, the coach spent three seasons as an assistant coach and video coordinator with his alma mater, Ohio State.
The former Buckeye explained his decision to join the Badgers in the team’s official release.
“This is obviously a prestigious place and the hockey program is second to none,” Bittner said. It is one of the top five hockey programs in the country. The tradition is unbelievable. Walking around the building and seeing all the championships that have been won here, the coaches and players who have been here is awesome. Just to get a chance to be part of that is something that I’m really looking forward to.”
Tri-City is preparing for the team’s annual tryout camp, which will be held in Las Vegas next week from June 15-21.
Season tickets for the 2015-16 campaign are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Viaero Event Center Box Office at 308.338.8011.
