The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) is continuing its efforts to inspect and reopen roadways after the historic flooding this spring across the state.
Highway 36 into Fremont is open to one lane. Traffic will navigate with pilot car.

Please remember some local and county roads may still remain impassible. Travel with caution.

Plan your travel by checking 511 prior to leaving for your destination. 511 provides the most up to date travel conditions and closures available. The system is available at all times online at 511.nebraska.gov,

Nebraska 511’s smartphone app or by dialing 511.

The following highways are also now open:

Highway N-64, West Maple, is open at 204th
Highway US-77 is open south to Lincoln
Highway US-75 is open

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence is headed to the Midwest to view flood damage as farmers raise concerns that busted levees won’t be fixed before the traditional spring flood season.

Pence is scheduled to visit Omaha, Nebraska, late Tuesday afternoon. Hundreds of homes are damaged, and tens of thousands of acres are inundated with water.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says rivers breached at least a dozen levees in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri. Flooding is expected through the week as high water levels flow down the Missouri River.

Corps official Jud Kneuvean says levees usually take six months to repair. That means most likely won’t be fixed by mid-May, the start of the most flood-prone part of the year.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau says farm and ranch losses could reach $1 billion in Nebraska alone.

Drone footage of flood aftermath in Nebraska

Drone footage of the route to Silver Creek, Neb.

Courtesy Kelly Bandt / Eagle Communications

KEARNEY –The following is a statement from the University of Nebraska at Kearney on the death of student Brittney Newsome, a freshman from Cordova. Newsome, 19, died Saturday in a fire at her family home, in which three others also died.

“The UNK family is sad at the news of the loss of Brittney, who was a member of the Pride of the Plains Marching Band. She will be missed. Our hearts go out to her family and friends. We share your grief for Brittney. She will be remembered with fondness and pride for her accomplishments here.”

Newsome was a UNK freshman majoring in business and accounting. She was a 2018 graduate of Friend High School. Cordova is located about 23 miles southeast of York.

Others who died in the fire, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, were: Crystal Vickrey, 39; Kaden Newsome, 12; and Tiara Schwab, 20.

Representatives from UNK Student Health and Counseling are available to individuals who would like to talk with someone. Visit the counseling center in room 144 of the Memorial Student Affairs Building or call 865.8248.

Today, the Judicial Nominating Commission for the County Court, Eleventh Judicial District (consisting of Arthur, Chase, Dawson, Dundy, Furnas, Hayes, Frontier, Gosper, Hitchcock, Hooker, Keith, Lincoln, Logan, McPherson, Perkins, Red Willow, and Thomas counties) provided the following three names for the Governor’s consideration: Joel Bradley Jay, Chappell; Amanda Marie Speichert, and Michael L. Nozicka, both of North Platte

The primary place of office for the judicial vacancy is North Platte, Lincoln County, Nebraska.  The vacancy is due to the appointment of Judge Michael E. Piccolo to the district court bench.

ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin-based retail chain Shopko Stores plans to close its remaining 120 department stores by mid-June.

Shopko said Monday the company was unable to find a buyer for its business. The company plans to begin winding down its retail operations this week.

WLUK-TV reports those closings will affect an additional 5,000 employees.

Shopko says it will not move forward with an auction that was scheduled Tuesday. The liquidation is expected to take 10-12 weeks.

The retailer, headquartered near Green Bay, filed for bankruptcy protection in January, citing excessive debt and ongoing competitive pressure, and began announcing store closings.

CEO Russ Steinhorst says in a statement “this is not the outcome that we had hoped for when we started our restructuring efforts.”

Shopko began with a store in Green Bay in 1962.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The mayor of Nebraska’s capital has ordered residents to cut their water use in half because the city’s well fields are threatened by record flooding on the Platte River.

Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler says the system lost temporarily lost pressure Sunday evening. It was again producing drinkable water by 9:30 p.m., but the mayor describes the situation as tenuous. The well fields sit near Ashland, about 22 miles northeast of Lincoln.

The opportunity for system workers to check the well fields and lines and restore power depends on water in the river receding. The National Weather Service says the river remained in flood stage near the well fields Monday morning but has dropped 3 feet (1 meter) since cresting Saturday morning.

Officials say water usage Sunday likely drew down the 100 million gallons stored inside city limits. Ten million more gallons are stored in Ashland.

City officials say water contamination is not a concern, because the water is drawn from the aquifer 80 feet below the river surface and the city’s two water treatment facilities are operational.