BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Highway Patrol troopers in states bordering western South Dakota are giving extra attention to traffic flocking to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
Organizers are planning for up to a million people for the rally’s 75th anniversary next week.
In southwestern North Dakota, the patrol is dedicating up to 30 overtime hours to the cause, at a cost of about $2,000.
The Montana Highway Patrol says it’s paying “special attention” to traffic routes favored by rally-goers, but spokesman John Barnes didn’t comment on whether any overtime hours were involved.
In Nebraska, there are additional patrols on some highways but no dedicated overtime. Capt. Paul Hattan says Nebraska’s mandatory helmet law prompts many riders to bypass the state.
In Wyoming, the patrol has secured $125,000 in federal highway grant money for ramped-up enforcement.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A Florida woman has been given two years of probation for drowning a 3-week-old puppy in a Nebraska airport toilet.
Cynthia Anderson, of Edgewater, Florida, was sentenced Thursday in Hall County District Court in Grand Island. She pleaded no contest in May to cruelly neglecting an animal, resulting in its death. A no contest plea isn’t an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing.
During Thursday’s hearing, the 57-year-old Anderson apologized for her actions and pleaded for mercy and probation.
Anderson was barred from boarding a Jan. 23 flight at the Central Nebraska Regional Airport because the puppy was so young and wasn’t properly contained.
Authorities say she then was seen entering the restroom. Another woman soon reported finding the Doberman puppy dead in a toilet.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha has named a street in honor of Nebraska football legend Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers.
A stretch of Burt Street near the old site of Omaha Tech high school, where Rodgers had played, now bears the name Johnny Rodgers Street. Rodgers, a wide receiver and return specialist for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, won the 1972 Heisman Trophy.
Rodgers’ former teammate at Omaha Tech, Ernie Britt, earlier this year asked the Omaha City Council to put Rodgers’ name on the street. More than 100 people attended a naming ceremony in northeast Omaha on Thursday.
SULPHUR SPRINGS, Texas (AP) — Authorities say a 46-year-old pilot from Nebraska has been critically burned in the crash of his small plane at an East Texas airport.
David German of Ogallala (oh-gah-LAH’-lah), Nebraska, was at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas on Friday.
Sulphur Springs police say the crash happened Thursday night at Sulphur Springs Municipal Airport, about 70 miles northeast of Dallas.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the single-engine O’Dell Aeromaster crashed and burned while taking off.
Police Chief Jay Sanders says authorities are trying to determine whether German’s plane had engine trouble.
German was alone on the aircraft.
A hospital spokeswoman said German was in critical condition Friday and provided no additional information on his injuries.
A slight chance of thunderstorms after 2pm. Sunny, with a high near 92. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight
A slight chance of thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. South southeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Saturday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Light south southwest wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Saturday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. South wind 3 to 8 mph.
Sunday
Sunny, with a high near 95. Light and variable wind becoming north around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 65.
Monday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93.
Monday Night
A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 64.
Tuesday
A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.
Head Coach Mike Riley, as well as quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr., safety Nate Gerry and wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp are all in Chicago for Big Ten Media Days at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago.
The two-day event gives both local and national media members the opportunity to meet the head coaches and select players from all 14 Big Ten schools.
The Huskers will have a busy day on Friday, as players start their day by meeting with national-TV networks, including BTN, CBS, ESPN and FOX. Coach Riley and the players will then meet with Sirius XM before Coach Riley holds an open media session.
Fans can watch Coach Riley’s media session live on BTN at 9 a.m. on BTN and BTN2Go. In addition to BTN’s extensive coverage on Friday, ESPNU will have coverage during the day of the Big Ten Media Day.
Following the 44th Annual Kickoff Luncheon, Coach Riley will talk with the conference’s national TV partners before both he and the players will do one-on-one interviews with the media, including a stop at BTN’s studio.
For a behind-scenes look at all of Friday’s action, the Huskers players will run some of the Nebraska football sites throughout the day. Nate Gerry will be running the Snapchat site (HuskerFBNation), Tommy Armstrong Jr. will provide a look at the day’s events on Instragram (HuskerFBNation) while Jordan Westerkamp will tweet on twitter (@HuskerFBNation). Fans can also follow of the Big Ten’s action on social media by using the #B1GMediaDay hashtag.
Husker faithful are reminded to mark Wednesday, Aug. 5 on their calendar for the annual Nebraska Football Fan Day presented by U.S. Cellular.
This year’s Fan Day moves to the evening with players and coaches available to Husker fans from 6-7:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. Fan Day is annually the best opportunity for fans to meet and greet the Husker football players, coaches and staff before the start of fall practice.
Fans will enter Memorial Stadium through Gates 3 and 24 on the southeast and southwest corners of the stadium, with gates opening at 6 p.m. The majority of players and coaches will be seated on the field throughout the stadium, with true freshman located in the stands in West Stadium.
Defensive position groups will primarily be seated along the West sideline, offensive line and receivers on the East sideline and quarterbacks and running backs in the North end zone. Assistant coaches will be seated with their respective position groups. A more detailed map is available on Huskers.com.
Nebraska fans are asked to respect players and coaches, as well as other fans by limiting their autograph requests to one item per player or coach. Any apparel items fans are wishing to have autographed should be in hand, rather than being worn. These policies will help accommodate as many fans as possible within the Fan Day time window.
Also as a reminder, autographs obtained for players and coaches are for personal use only.Any re-sale of an autographed item is prohibited and re-sale of an item with a student-athlete’s signature could jeopardize the player’s eligibility.
Autograph cards with a full 2015 roster, signed and unsigned Coach Mike Riley autograph cards, and other items will be available for fans at the gates.
Parking will be available for fans in lots on campus around Memorial Stadium. Additional details on parking will be available at the beginning of next week.
Restrooms for fans will be available near Gates 2 and 24, as well as under the northeast corner of the stadium near Gate 15. Fans will not have access to the Osborne Athletic Complex. Drink stations will be available near the 50-yard line on the West sideline with water, Pepsi products and Gatorade, and individuals will also be moving around the field selling refreshments.
Husker fans can also pick up numerous items, including brand new adidas products, as well as 2015 posters and media guides at Huskers Authentic on Fan Day. Huskers Authentic will be open at its main location at Pinnacle Bank Arena and a satellite location on Stadium Drive on Fan Day.
The Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office will have special hours on Fan Day from its remodeled office in the Stadium Drive Parking Garage. Fans interested in information on tickets for Husker Athletics are invited to stop by the ticket office windows from 5 to 8 p.m.
Huskers Authentic Details Plans for 2015 Football Season
The Nebraska Athletics Department has also determined its plans for its Huskers Authentic operations for the upcoming football season.
The primary store at Pinnacle Bank Arena will continue to have regular daily hours. The Huskers Authentic store at PBA is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays. The store will also have extensive game-day hours.
On Fridays of home football games this fall, the Huskers Authentic satellite location in East Stadium (near Gate 18) will also be open to customers. On game days, five Huskers Authentic locations will be available, including the Pinnacle Bank Arena store, the East Stadium location, a satellite location inside the West Stadium concourse and satellite locations outside the West Stadium and North Stadium.
Huskers Authentic also announced its plans for jersey sales for the upcoming year. For all sports that Huskers Authentic sells jerseys, a #1 jersey will be available for sale. In addition, a #15 jersey will be available for sale in football to commemorate the current season, and the same plan will be in place in subsequent football seasons (i.e. a #16 jersey in 2016).
Leslie Rowell will join the Huskers for the 2015 season. (Photo Courtesy Stephanie Carpenter/NU Media Relations)
The Nebraska soccer team announced the addition of Leslie Rowell for the 2015 season on Thursday.
“Nebraska has great academics, coaches and players,” Rowell said. “It gives me the opportunity to progress both academically and in sports.”
A native of Lake Forest, Ill., Rowell played for Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault, Minn., under Coach Joe DeMay. As a goalkeeper, she helped the Sabres U-18 team to a 30-7-6 record for the 2014-15 season, including an undefeated spring home season at 16-0-3.
Rowell also played for the Dakota Rev during the club season under coaches Mikkey Denny Wright and Nels Dokken. She assisted the Rev to earn a trip to the Dana Cup semifinals in the spring of 2015.
TORONTO (AP) — Dioner Navarro hit a two-run home run, Russell Martin and Josh Donaldson added solo shots and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 5-2 on Thursday night.
The Blue Jays, who acquired star pitcher David Price from Detroit earlier in the day, have homered in 12 consecutive games since the All-Star break, their longest streak of the season.
Price was not with the Blue Jays on Thursday but is expected to join them Friday. Toronto has not said when Price will make his first start but Sunday is a possibility.
Marco Estrada (8-6) allowed two runs and three hits in 5 2-3 innings. Estrada left after Lorenzo Cain’s two-out single in the sixth ended his run of 15 straight outs. Brett Cecil came on and retired Eric Hosmer.
LaTroy Hawkins pitched the seventh, Aaron Sanchez worked the eighth and Roberto Osuna finished for his sixth save.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Carpenter hit a pair of home runs and Greg Garcia’s bases-loaded walk capped a three-run rally in the ninth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies 9-8 on Thursday night.
Carpenter went 4 for 5 with four RBIs after moving back to the leadoff spot. It was his first career multihomer game and he has a career-high 12 home runs this season.
Jhonny Peralta’s two-run single off Rockies closer John Axford tied the game at 8-all and Garcia’s walk scored Kolten Wong as the Cardinals recorded their seventh walk-off win of the season.
Axford (3-5) took his third loss in his last four outings.
Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez gave up five runs on 10 hits in five innings. Carlos Villanueva (4-3) earned the win.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Highway Patrol troopers in states bordering western South Dakota are giving extra attention to traffic flocking to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
