DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Many wheat farmers facing low prices have turned this year to other crops, including chickpeas and lentils, in hopes of turning a profit.
This year’s wheat crop of 45.7 million acres (18.49 million hectares) is the smallest since 1919 and it comes after a 2016 crop that was the least profitable in 30 years.
North Dakota, Montana and Nebraska are among the states with significantly fewer wheat acres.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says acres planted in chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are up nearly 86 percent from last year. Lentils reached a U.S.-record 1.02 million acres (0.41 million hectares) planted this year.
Chickpeas are the main ingredient in hummus. Lentils are increasingly used in cereal and pasta as a way to boost protein and fiber.
DECATUR, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Transportation Department says a Missouri River bridge that connects Decatur, Nebraska, to western Iowa will reopen Monday morning, well ahead of schedule.
Weather permitting, the bridge will open to one lane of traffic controlled by flaggers or temporary signals. Width restrictions will remain in place.
Workers have been making structural repairs to abutments on each end of the bridge, and pavement leading up to the bridge on each side is being replaced.
NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a Norfolk man who’s been stabbed to death.
Norfolk police identified the man Monday as 39-year-old Yosvanis Velazquez Gomez. Police say he was slain Friday afternoon at a Norfolk apartment complex.
A 48-year-old Norfolk man turned himself in Friday night and was jailed on suspicion of first-degree murder. Online court records don’t show that he’s been formally charged.
PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — A 25-year-old Bellevue man has been given 30 to 40 years in prison for the death of his girlfriend’s toddler.
Sarpy County District Court records say Armond Floyd was sentenced Monday in Papillion (puh-PIHL’-yuhn). He’d pleaded guilty to intentional child abuse causing injury after prosecutors lowered the charge from intentional child abuse causing death.
Prosecutors say Floyd put his hand over Imani Edwards’ mouth and nose for about 30 seconds on Nov. 13 because the child was crying. Court documents say Floyd told police he grabbed the almost-2-year-old by an arm and swung her into a wall.
He said he put her in a bathtub and left her unattended for about 10 minutes. She was face-down when he returned. She died in a hospital two days later.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former Lincoln police officer is forging relationships with schoolchildren as he rebuilds his life after being paralyzed.
52-year-old Jerome Blowers was hired in January as an entrance monitor at Kooser Elementary. This is his first job since flipping into an above-ground pool in 2014, leaving him paralyzed nearly everywhere except his arms and hands. The accident forced him to retire as a police officer after 22 years.
Blowers is establishing relationships with children after finding that he relates to children and enjoys spending time with them.
Teachers say they seek out Blowers to help students with math and social skills or just to be a friend. He says he instills positivity in children, especially ones who face similar disability-related challenges as he does.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska has deployed four Army National Guard helicopters and 23 soldiers to Texas to help with ongoing Hurricane Harvey flood relief efforts.
The helicopters from Lincoln and soldiers Grand Island are going after Texas requested additional emergency management assistance on Sunday. The soldiers are trained and equipped to conduct aeromedical evacuation and hoist rescue missions.
Officials say other Nebraska Army National Guard helicopters and crews are ready to join the mission if requested.
Gov. Pete Ricketts says in a statement that Nebraska residents stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Texas to address the situation.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A tiny Nebraska town once known for panhandling and public drunkenness has undergone some major changes since state regulators forced four beer stores to stop selling near South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. But residents say some of the problems have moved elsewhere.
Supporters of the decision say conditions have drastically improved in Whiteclay since the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission effectively closed the village’s four stores in April. That decision is under review by the Nebraska Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments about that decision Tuesday.
Liquor commissioners cited concerns about inadequate law enforcement in Whiteclay, an unincorporated reservation border town with nine full-time residents that sells the equivalent of about 3.5 million cans of beer a year.
CURTIS, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a North Platte woman died after her motorcycle left the road and flipped into a ditch.
Frontier County Sheriff Dan Rupp says the crash happened about noon Sunday when 52-year-old Lori Paulsen was riding a motorcycle with a group of friends and her husband. It was reported that they were on Highway 23, just east of Curtis, when Paulsen’s motorcycle veered onto the shoulder and then flipped into a ditch.
Paulsen was taken to a North Platte hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Deputies say a North Platte man was struck by a vehicle during a domestic disturbance at a Lake Maloney campground.
On August 27, at around 8:00 p.m., Lincoln County deputies were called to the Kansas Point camping area at the Lake Maloney Inlet after it was reported that a man had been struck by a pickup.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the man, identified as 46-year-old James Branam, had been involved in a domestic dispute with his wife, 56-year-old Tina Branam., both of North Platte.
Deputies say when the Tina went to leave, James grabbed the passenger side of the vehicle and was drug down the gravel road and was eventually run over by the vehicle’s rear tire.
James was transported to Great Plains Health for treatment. The severity of his injuries is unknown at the time.
The investigation is ongoing but, at this point, no charges have been filed. It is believed that alcohol was a factor in the incident.
Mid-Plains Community College is one of the Top 10 community colleges in the nation.
That’s according to SmartAsset, a financial technology company that provides transparent, automated and accurate advice on big personal finance decisions.
SmartAsset recently conducted a study to determine the best community colleges in the nation, and MPCC ranked seventh out of the 808 schools analyzed. It was the only college in Nebraska to make the Top 10 list.
“Mid-Plains Community College’s mission is transforming lives through exceptional learning opportunities for individual student success,” said MPCC President Ryan Purdy. “This recognition demonstrates that we are meeting this mission, while staying true to the value of being accessible and affordable.”
Information for the study came from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Results were based on comparisons of the following factors: student-to-faculty ratio, cost of tuition and fees and graduation and transfer rates.
“According to our data, Mid-Plains Community College is a great option for students who appreciate a lot of one-on-one time with teachers and faculty,” said Kara Gibson, public relations associate at SmartAsset. “MPCC has a faculty-to-student ratio of nine, which ties for the second-lowest rate in the Top 10. In addition, MPCC should be affordable for most students as annual in-state tuition and fees run up a relatively low bill of around $2,900.”
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Many wheat farmers facing low prices have turned this year to other crops, including chickpeas and lentils, in hopes of turning a profit.
