NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (AP) — A July sentencing has been scheduled for a former Nebraska City teacher accused of debauching a minor.
Court records say 27-year-old Emily Lofing pleaded no contest Monday to an amended charge of contributing to the delinquency of a child. Her sentencing is set for July 17.
Lofing was accused of arranging a meeting last summer to have sex with a 16-year-old boy. She has resigned her position at Nebraska City Middle School.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former Winnebago Tribal Council member has pleaded guilty to his role in stealing from the tribe’s casino in Iowa.
Lawrence Payer is one of nine former council members accused of a conspiracy to siphon more than $327,000 from the WinneVegas Casino in Sloan, Iowa.
As part of his plea agreement with prosecutors in U.S. District Court in Omaha, Payer admits only to misapplying funds belonging to an Indian gaming establishment. Conspiracy and other charges against him will be dropped if the court accepts the plea agreement.
Prosecutors have recommended that Payer be sentenced to five years of probation and be ordered to repay any money he illegally obtained from the casino.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — State officials want to keep open for at least three more years the Nebraska center for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services officials announced that preliminary recommendation during a public hearing Tuesday in Lincoln. Officials say they need more time for a thorough evaluation of the Beatrice State Developmental Center as well as evaluations of other care options.
Eric Evans, CEO of Disability Rights Nebraska, says his group supports the three-year plan but still thinks the center should be closed for good because its continued operation “is not sustainable economically.”
The center has experienced turbulence over the past 12 years, with incidents of resident abuse, staff turnover and seven years of federal oversight.
KIMBALL, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has died in a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 80 in the southwest corner of the Nebraska Panhandle.
48-year-old Robert Brunsman was driving east on I-80 in Kimball County when his SUV crashed around 1:35 p.m. Monday. The Nebraska State Patrol’s investigation found that Brunsman’s vehicle appeared to drive around construction barriers on I-80 about four miles east of Kimball and continue eastbound on a closed part of the roadway.
Patrol Lt. Col. Thomas Schwarten says the SUV left I-80 to the right, hit a concrete bridge pillar and then rolled.
Investigators say Brunsman was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett is going to auction off a private lunch again next month to raise money for an organization that helps the homeless in San Francisco.
Buffett has raised nearly $24 million for the Glide Foundation that helps the homeless in San Francisco over the past 17 years.
Buffett is chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. His successful investing record and his decision to give the bulk of his fortune to charity make him sought after.
Last year’s winner paid $3,456,789 and tied the record set in 2012.
The auction will begin June 4 and continue through June 9 on eBay.com/glide.
The winner can invite up to seven friends to join the lunch at Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in New York City.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An effort to amend the Nebraska constitution to require voters to present photo IDs is dead for the year.
Senators quickly killed the measure Tuesday with a 26-17 vote to end an expected filibuster. It needed 33 supporters to stop a filibuster.
The proposal’s sponsor, Sen. John Murante of Gretna, says he intends to travel Nebraska during the next eight months to gather statewide support for a photo voter ID law. Murante says he also will announce whether he will run for Nebraska secretary of state within the next few weeks.
Lawmakers who voted against the measure say voter ID laws prevent the poor, the elderly and racial minorities from voting. They say the laws also will not prevent voter fraud because few people impersonate voters.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s Medicaid and Long-Term Care director is leaving his post to take a job in the federal government.
Calder Lynch has served as the division’s leader since March 2015. Gov. Pete Ricketts announced the shift Tuesday in a statement that praised Lynch for his “terrific contribution” to the state.
Rocky Thompson, the division’s deputy director for policy and communications, will serve as acting director until a new replacement is chosen. Ricketts says his administration has already started a search.
The division is a part of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say medics broke out a window in a sweltering van to save a 3-year-old child, and the driver has been cited for child neglect.
Police say a woman called 911 Monday morning after hearing the child crying in the van in a northeast Omaha neighborhood. Police say medics first on the scene broke out a window to pull the child out. Police say the temperature inside the van was 115 degrees. The child was taken to a hospital.
Police say the driver of the van had picked up the child and others that morning to drop off at her sister’s Bellevue day care. She says she returned home and locked up the van after looking in her rearview mirror and not seeing any children.
OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) — Voters in Omaha are not just deciding the city’s mayor, but whether a Democrat who opposes abortion rights can give the party some hope in the conservative heartland.
Democrats around the country have focused on their party’s candidate Heath Mello, some looking to the 37-year-old former state senator as an independent future party leader and others shaking their heads at his anti-abortion record.
In that way, the election Tuesday in this mid-sized Midwestern city has become a symbol for the out-of-power party’s struggle for the way forward after crushing defeat across the country last year.
Mello faces incumbent Republican Jean Stothert, a 63-year-old Republican elected in 2013.
North Platte – Several of the Region IX Division II softball champion North Platte Community College Lady Knights received postseason awards at the recent Region IX Division II tournament.
Sarah Beaton, Shelby Belloni, Samantha Foster, Samantha Gill, and Erin Renwick were named to the All-Region IX Division II team.
Beaton, Belloni, Foster, Gill, and Shelley Heredia were named to the All-Region IX Division II Tournament team.
Beaton, a sophomore from Vancouver, B. C., was also chosen as the Region IX Division II Offensive Player of the Year. Beaton finished the season with a .478 batting average and a .610 slugging percentage. Beaton had nine doubles, three triples, and three home runs.
Gill, a sophomore from LaSalle, Colo., was named Region IX Division II Defensive Player of the Year. Gill played primarily as a catcher this season had a .971 fielding percentage in 239 total chances. Offensively, Gill batted .464 with 13 doubles and eight home runs.
Foster, a sophomore from Frederick, Colo., was chosen as the Region IX Division II Pitcher of the Year. Foster had a 3.37 earned run average with 102 strikeouts in 31 appearances. Offensively, Foster led the Knights in home runs with 12 and runs batted in with 65. Foster batted .461 and had a .762 slugging percentage.
Belloni, a sophomore from Wheat Ridge, Colo., batted .448 with 10 doubles and two home runs. Belloni led the Knights in stolen bases with 18.
Heredia, a sophomore from Moreno Valley, Cal., on the season batted .211 and one home run. In the tournament, Heredia batted .500, going three for six with two runs batted in, and scored the tying run in game two.
Renwick, a freshman from Brighton, Colo., batted .390 on the season with five home runs and 45 rbi. In the ring, Renwick had an earned run average of 3.78 and 69 strikeouts.
Knights Head Coach Janelle Higgins was named Region IX Division II Coach of the Year.
The Knights finished the season at 30-28. The 30 wins is a new record for wins in a season for the Knights.
