A North Platte man has been accused of assaulting a relative and threatening to stab him with a pencil.

On the morning of March 20, a North Platte police officer responded Great Plains Health on the report of an assault.

The officer arrived and met with a 54-year-old male victim who had visible injuries to his face.

The victim told the officer that he was at a trailer in the 2300 block of East Philip Avenue with a relative, 26-year-old Jordan Wehrle, on the evening of March 18 when a physical confrontation occurred.

The victim alleged that Wehrle approached him in a threatening manner with a pencil and acted like he was going to stab him with it.

When the victim pushed Wehrle away, he allegedly headbutted the victim, tackled him to the ground and punched him repeatedly.

According to Investigator John Deal, the victim sustained numerous injuries, including broken ribs.

On March 24, officers made contact with Wehrle in a trailer in the 2300 block of East Philip Avenue and placed him under arrest.

He was charged with felony 1st-degree assault and jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

raneWOOD RIVER, Neb. (AP) — The owner of the Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center is asking to have all its land and buildings exempted from property taxes.

The Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust’s request would take nearly $10 million of value off the tax rolls in Hall County. The trust has made a similar request in Buffalo County.

The trust made a formal plea on Tuesday to the Hall County Board of Supervisors. County Assessor Jan Pelland has recommended against the exemption.

Pelland argues that not all of the property is being used in an educational manner, and some of its land is being leased for grazing and row crops. Trust officials counter that the lease money goes back to its charitable mission.

LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — A two-year project to expand and renovate a central Nebraska hospital is nearing completion.

The outpatient service center at Lexington Regional Health Center is scheduled to open Monday. The project has added more than 31,000 square feet to the hospital’s west side.

The wing is designed to house outpatient services in one location. It includes three operating rooms, nine pre- and post-operation recovery rooms, two endoscopy procedure rooms and four pods for visiting physician specialty clinics.

Crews broke ground for the $25 million project in April 2014. It was funded with a $15 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a $5 million bank loan, state and federal tax credits and private donations.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Natural gas may have taken over as the dominant source nationally for electrical power generation in 2016, but coal remains king in Nebraska.

2016 promises to be the first year in which natural gas surpasses coal as the nation’s top energy source. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says U.S. power generation is expected to be fueled 32 percent by coal and 33.4 percent by natural gas.

But in Nebraska, coal fueled 61.5 percent of the electricity produced last year. Natural gas made up 1 percent. Nuclear power made up 26 percent of the total, while wind accounted for 8 percent and hydroelectric for 4 percent.