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Invasive zebra mussels found in Cunningham Lake at Omaha

Zebra Mussel

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says larvae of the invasive zebra mussel have been found in a water sample taken from Glenn Cunningham Lake just north of Omaha.

Officials say field sampling for adult zebra mussels will be completed on the lake’s boat ramps, rocks and other hard structures over the next several weeks. Until an adult is found, Cunningham Lake will be considered a suspect water body.

The small black-and-white striped mussels are native to eastern Europe and voracious eaters that gobble up plankton many native freshwater fish need to survive.

The mussels can also attach themselves to boat motors, bait buckets and dam mechanisms and cause damage to motors and facilities.

Boaters are urged to clean, drain and dry watercraft to prevent the spread of the mussels.

Federal study may lead to more Omaha-area lakes

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A new federal study could speed up the construction of several more lakes in the Omaha area to help control flooding and boost recreation options.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District will reopen a study of the Papillion Creek Watershed that hasn’t been touched since the early 1970s. The federal agency approved the study in June as Nebraska’s only project to receive funding this year.

The decision to resume the decades-dormant study could lead to lakes near the district opening to the public in about 15 years. The lakes were projected to take about 50 years to construct.

The move comes as the latest addition to the Omaha area’s system of flood-control reservoirs, Flanagan Lake, opened last month.

Boy dies more than a week after being pulled from pool

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An 11-year-old boy has died more than a week after he was rescued from an Omaha area apartment pool.

The Sarpy County Sheriff’s office says the boy died Monday evening, but his name wasn’t immediately released.

The boy was rescued from the pool on June 23, and had been treated at a local hospital since then.

Omaha district pays ex-student who alleged abuse $175,000

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha school district has agreed to a $175,000 settlement with a former student who says she was abused by a middle school teacher who was later convicted of sexual misconduct.

The Omaha World-Herald reports the school board approved the settlement Monday with a girl who said in a lawsuit the district didn’t do enough when she complained about Shad Knutson’s conduct in 2009.

The girl said in the lawsuit Knutson had touched her inappropriately and persuaded her to expose herself. He has been in prison since 2013 serving a 9- to 14-year sentence.

The district changed its abuse reporting procedures in 2012 to require staff to notify law enforcement within 24 hours of a sexual misconduct allegation from a student.

The district did not admit liability in the settlement.

Nebraska GOP office windows smashed; ‘ABOLISH ICE’ scrawled

By GRANT SCHULTE, Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Someone threw bricks through the Nebraska Republican Party’s office windows in Lincoln and spray-painted “ABOLISH ICE” on a sidewalk in front of the building, party officials said Tuesday.

Executive Director Kenny Zoeller said the vandalism happened between midnight and 3 a.m. at the party’s downtown office, three blocks from the state Capitol.

The vandals caused approximately $1,200 in damage, according to a Lincoln police report. One brick smashed all the way through a front window, and another shattered one pane of a second window’s double-paned glass. A newspaper carrier discovered the damage shortly after 3 a.m. and called authorities, police said.

Zoeller said someone also spray-painted the word “Resist” on the party’s front windows in December. He said his office frequently receives threats of violence, particularly in the wake of President Donald Trump’s election and the heated national rhetoric that followed.

“I really wish I could tell you I’m surprised by this, but I’m not,” Zoeller said.

The words “ABOLISH ICE” are a reference to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some have called for the government to replace the agency following intense criticism of its implementation of President Donald Trump’s suspended policy of separating families who cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

Zoeller said nothing was stolen from inside the party office.

The vandalism is the latest in a string of incidents aimed at Republican officials in GOP-dominated Nebraska. Last year, police said vandals tossed reddish-brown “fake blood” on the Lincoln office doors of U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse. Someone also placed stickers on their doors and windows touting the protest group

Betsy Riot, which describes itself as a “decentralized neo-suffragette, punk-patriot resistance movement.”

In a statement, the Nebraska Democratic Party condemned the vandalism.

“We understand how frightening it is right now to be working in politics where people are resorting to violence, racism and other divisive rhetoric,” said Jane Kleeb, the party’s chairwoman. “Our workplaces and homes are meant to be safe places where we pursue our goals and dreams.”

Zoeller said party activists have already started donating money to cover the cost of repairs and plan to use the incident in a fundraising pitch. The building is insured, but Zoeller said the damage doesn’t appear extensive enough to exceed the party’s $5,000 insurance deductible. He said the party hasn’t seen any vandalism at its field offices in Omaha and Kearney.

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Follow Grant Schulte on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GrantSchulte

Texas man arrested after heroin seized in Nebraska

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Patrol says a Texas man has been arrested after an undercover investigator found 11 pounds of heroin on him, including some strapped to his torso.

The patrol says the investigator was at the bus station near downtown Omaha when he saw a man wearing a jacket at 6 a.m. Monday, while temperatures were in the 70s.

The patrol says the man agreed to a search of his bag and backpack, which turned up two clear-wrapped packages of drugs. The patrol says eight more packages wrapped in a band around his torso were found. The estimated street value of the heroin is $250,000.

Investigators say the 25-year-old man from El Paso, Texas, was headed to Iowa City. He’s charged with possession of 140 grams or more of heroin and having no drug tax stamp. He remains in the Douglas County jail.

Arkansas attorneys request Nebraska lethal injection info

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Arkansas death row inmates want information from Nebraska about a drug that Nebraska plans to use for lethal injections.

The inmates’ attorneys filed a request Monday asking a federal judge to order Nebraska to provide information about where the state’s prison system acquired the fentanyl it plans to use for an upcoming execution, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

The Arkansas lawyers argued that fentanyl, a painkiller, may be a more humane alternative to midazolam, a drug Arkansas uses in executions. They’re seeking information about Nebraska’s fentanyl supply, where the state obtained the drug, and when the state expects to acquire more.

Nebraska has repeatedly refused to release such information, saying the information is confidential under state law.

Five Arkansas death row inmates have a pending lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ use of midazolam, which they argue “has been linked to several executions in which inmates suffered prolonged, tortured deaths.” Little Rock-based attorney John Williams cited examples from execution in 2014, including Joseph Wood gasping and snorting for nearly two hours before he died from an injection of midazolam and hydromorphone in Arizona.

The lawyers said Nebraska has refused to provide information that they need to determine whether fentanyl could be made available in Arkansas. The attorneys are seeking an order compelling Nebraska to comply under a subpoena issued in Arkansas.

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office has contended in three similar lawsuits filed in Nebraska that the information sought under public records law is confidential under state law.

A county judge last month ordered the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services to release information identifying the state’s supplier that didn’t name execution team members. Nebraska officials haven’t turned over the information as they appeal the decision.

Nebraska officials have been scrambling to set an execution date for Carey Dean Moore, the state’s longest-serving death row inmate, before their supply of the key execution drug expires next month.

The last Nebraska execution occurred in 1997, using an electric chair.

Dump truck driver killed in crash with train in Nebraska

ASHLAND, Neb. (AP) — State officials say one person has died in the collision of a dump truck and a train near Mahoney State Park in eastern Nebraska.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office tells the Lincoln Journal Star that the crash happened just before 8 a.m. Tuesday, near Interstate 80 and the Platte River. Sheriff William Brueggemann says 57-year-old Shawn Sandrin, of Lincoln, who was driving the dump truck, died at the scene.

Investigators say Sandrin failed to yield at the railroad crossing and was hit by a westbound BNSF train traveling 50 mph. Officials say the train had been using its whistle and applied its emergency brakes before the collision at the crossing, which has signs but not crossing arms.

Officials are still investigating the crash.

Karen Lee Newman Rood Death Notice

Karen Lee Newman Rood, 76, of North Platte, died June 30, 2018, at Premier Estates Assisted Living surrounded by her family. Services will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 7, at Carpenter Memorial Chapel with Chaplain Richard Karr officiating. Burial will be at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 7, at the Benkleman Cemetery. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. on Friday. July 5, at Carpenter Memorial Chapel. Online condolences may be shared at carpentermemorial.com. Carpenter Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

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