WEEPING WATER, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have identified a body found in woods west of Weeping Water as that of a 38-year-old Florida woman.
The Cass County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday identified Alicia Wilemon-Sullivan, of Orange City, Florida, who was last seen on Aug. 1.
Her body was found Saturday evening, and officials say foul play has not been ruled out.
The sheriff’s office says an autopsy was completed Sunday in Omaha, but the results are not yet being made public.
LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will consider a staff recommendation to authorize one auction and one lottery permit for the 2018 bighorn sheep season when it meets Aug. 17 in North Platte.
The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. at the West Central Research and Extension Center, 402 W. State Farm Road.
Also on the agenda are staff recommendations to:
— amend fisheries aquaculture regulations regarding the application for importation of aquatic organisms and requirements related to the discovery of pathogens;
— approve an increase in the cash change fund at the Rock Creek State Fish Hatchery and to establish a cash change fund at the Valentine State Fish Hatchery;
— approve a permanent easement request from the Loup River Public Power District to bury an overhead power line on Wilkinson Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Platte County;
— approve a land trade in Sioux County with the state’s Board of Educational Lands and Funds for 15 acres adjacent to Gilbert-Baker WMA in exchange for a 27-acre tract;
— approve acquisition of 747.81 acres in Banner County adjacent to William’s Gap WMA;
— approve hunting seasons in specific state parks and state historical parks; and
— approve a resolution supporting the recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America’s Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources and the Alliance for America’s Fish and Wildlife Campaign.
The Commission also will hear public testimony regarding the Lake McConaughy/Lake Ogallala Master Plan. It will hear a staff update on the Berggren Plan for Pheasants/Open Fields and Waters Program.
In addition, staff will give presentations on the Conservation Environmental Review Tool and the Nebraska Natural Legacy Project’s Loess Canyon Biologically Unique Landscape.
A complete agenda is available at outdoornebraska.gov/commissioners/.
ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) — The executive director of the Nebraska Brand Committee is quitting for a new job in Texas.
Committee chairman John Widdowsen announced at the committee Wednesday in Alliance that Bill Bunce will be leaving at the end of August.
The Brand Committee records ranchers’ brands, inspects cattle to verify ownership and investigates missing livestock and cattle rustling.
Bunce says he’s accepted a position as vice president of the Houston-based American Brahman Breeders Association. He says the opportunity is “the best thing for my family.”
The Brand Committee hired Bunce in November after its previous executive director, Shawn Harvey, resigned in the wake of a critical state audit.
KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A November trial has been scheduled for a Kearney day care owner who had been caring for four children who police say were found walking unsupervised along a busy street a mile (2 kilometers) away.
Court records say 41-year-old Meredith Spencer filed written pleas of not guilty Wednesday to four counts of misdemeanor child abuse and neglect. Her trial is set to begin Nov. 6.
Prosecutors say someone called police July 13 after spotting the children: an 8-year-old, a 6-year-old and two 5-year-olds. Police say the kids were unharmed.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts is trying to lure Canadian businesses to Nebraska on his trade mission to the country.
Ricketts said Wednesday he spoke with a company the night before about expanding into this state. He says he’s also had several discussions about the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he supports.
The five-day trade mission will include meetings with government, agricultural and manufacturing officials in Toronto and Ottawa.
Ricketts has said he chose Canada for a trade mission because it’s Nebraska’s largest export market, and thus the state’s best customer. The trade delegation is comprised of state agriculture and economic development administrators, the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Corn Growers, Nebraska Cattlemen Association and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — One person has been taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation after an early morning fire at an apartment fire in northeastern Nebraska.
The fire was reported around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Sunset Lane Townhomes in South Sioux City.
Fire Chief Clint Merithew says the fire began in the kitchen area of one unit, then spread up into the attic and over to the next door apartment.
Merithew says one person in the unit where the fire started and three people in the second unit have been displaced. Everyone in the second unit was able to escape safely.
DETROIT (AP) — Nissan Motor Co. is recalling 52,016 Titan pickup trucks because their rear seat belts might not adequately protect passengers.
The recall affects the 2016-2016 Nissan Titan Crew Cab and Titan XD Crew Cab pickups. Most of the vehicles are in the U.S., but Nissan said 7,752 are in Canada.
Nissan discovered through testing that a passenger’s head could come into contact with part of the rear seat belt assembly in a crash.
The company says it has no reports of injuries related to the defect.
Nissan will notify owners and repair the vehicles for free.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors say a man charged with killing a sheriff’s deputy and wounding another while escaping from an Iowa jail will plead guilty.
The Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office says an attorney for Wesley Correa-Carmenaty informed officials of the change Wednesday. A news release from the prosecutor’s office says no plea bargain was made and that Correa-Carmenaty still faces charges of murder, attempted murder, escape, kidnapping and other crimes.
Correa-Carmenaty’s trial had been set to begin Tuesday. Now, a change of plea hearing will take place Tuesday morning in Council Bluffs.
Authorities say Correa-Carmenaty had just been sentenced on May 1 to 45 years in prison in an unrelated murder case when he grabbed one of the deputies’ guns while being transferred to the county jail. He shot them both and used the jail van to escape.
He was recaptured that day in Omaha, Nebraska, after carjacking a woman at gunpoint.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — This year’s Nebraska Vietnam Veterans Reunion is scheduled to begin Thursday evening in Lincoln.
Organizers say the reunion will be based at the Cornhusker Hotel and starts with a barbecue get-together at Auld Recreation Center in Antelope Park.
The event began in 1985 in Grand Island and has grown to an annual gathering of 300 or more veterans and many spouses. Walk-ins are welcome.
Among the many presentations will be a seminar titled the “Faces of Agent Orange.” It’s aimed at boosting awareness about possible health threats posed to the veterans, their children and grandchildren by the vets’ exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange.
The reunion runs through a Sunday morning breakfast at the hotel.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium has announced an “elphie” contest for a chance to win a behind-the-scenes elephant experience at the zoo.
The contest is being held to celebrate World Elephant Day on Saturday. To enter, participants are asked to post a photo of themselves with an elephant from the zoo’s herd on the zoo’s Facebook page. Participants must also answer one of two questions: Why do you love elephants? Or, what are you doing to help with elephant conservation?
The winner will be chosen by the elephant keeper staff and announced Wednesday on the zoo’s Facebook page.
The page will accept photo and answer submissions through Saturday.
