A man has been arrested after authorities say he shot another man several times.
On March 16, 2019, at 10:05 p.m., the North Platte 911 Center received a call from a male subject who said he had been shot multiple times on North Front Road. The victim advised he was in his vehicle on Front Road.
Deputies arrived and provided emergency care for the male subject. North Platte Fire and Rescue transported the subject to Great Plains Health. It appeared the subject had been shot two times in the lower leg. The victim advised he was shot by twenty-two-year-old Jared Falkena who lived in a house just east of his vehicle.
Deputies attempted to make contact with Falkena, but he refused.
The Nebraska State Patrol SWAT Team was called out to assist Deputies, and at 3:00 a.m. on March 17, 2019, Falkena came out of the house and was placed in custody.
Falkena was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and charged with Second Degree Assault and Use of a Weapon to Commit a Felony. The investigation is ongoing and further charges are possible.
Alcohol appears to be a contributing factor in the incident.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A Nebraska bill that would increase funding aimed at attracting more startup companies to state is getting support from successful entrepreneurs.
The Omaha World-Herald reports that Evan Luxon, co-founder of Centese, was among those who testified Wednesday in support of a bill that would increase funding in the Nebraska Business Innovation Act. The $4 million in additional funding would bring total funding to nearly $10 million annually.
Luxon says his small but growing medical equipment company, now based in his hometown of Omaha, would still be in San Francisco if not for the program that began eight years ago to help entrepreneurs.
Supporters of Legislative Bill 334 say the extra state funding would encourage more startups in Nebraska.
CORDOVA, Neb. (AP) — Four people are dead after fire at a home in southeastern Nebraska.
The fire broke out after 7 a.m. Saturday in Cordova. The home was engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived.
The Nebraska State Fire Marshal Agency says two people were able to get out without injuries, but four others died. The names and ages of the victims have not been released.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Authorities say foul play is not suspected. Autopsies are planned for all four victims.
Cordova is a village of fewer than 150 people that’s about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of the state capital of Lincoln.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – With their session nearly halfway over, Nebraska lawmakers are still trying to unite behind a plan to lower property taxes amid uncertainty over how to cover the cost.
Members of the tax-focused Revenue Committee are sorting through their options but signaled they’re open to a sales tax increase, although that move would undoubtedly face resistance from Nebraska businesses. They’re also looking at an income tax cut and getting rid of sales tax exemptions.
Lawmakers face the prospect of a new statewide ballot measure to reduce property taxes in the 2020 general election.
Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, chairwoman of the Revenue Committee, says she’s concerned that if lawmakers don’t act this session, the petition drive could gain momentum and be approved by voters, forcing state officials to make drastic cuts.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities were using boats and large vehicles on Saturday to rescue and evacuate residents in parts of the Midwest where a recent deluge of rainwater and snowmelt was sent pouring over frozen ground, overwhelming creeks and rivers, and killing at least one person.
The scramble to move people out of harm’s way was expected to subside going into the new week, as rivers and creeks in flooded eastern Nebraska and western Iowa were expected to crest Saturday and Sunday. That left officials downstream looking to prepare for likely flooding.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson had already met with emergency management team members Friday to review and update flood-response plans, and the Missouri Highway Patrol was preparing additional equipment and putting swift water rescue personnel on standby. The Missouri National Guard also temporarily relocated the 139th Airlift Wing’s C-130s from Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in St. Joseph as a precaution.
The National Weather Service said the Missouri River at St. Joseph reached nearly 26 feet on Saturday, about a foot below what’s considered major flooding at the northwest Missouri city. But it’s expected to crest Wednesday or Thursday at 29.3 feet — more than two feet above major flooding level.
Evacuation efforts in eastern Nebraska and some spots in western Iowa on Saturday were hampered by reports of levee breaches and washouts of bridges and roads, including part of Nebraska Highway 92, leading in and out of southwest Omaha. Authorities confirmed that a bridge on that highway that crosses the Elkhorn River had been washed out Saturday. In Fremont, west of Omaha, the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office issued a mandatory evacuation for some residents after floodwaters broke through a levee along the Platte River. And in Mills County, Iowa, authorities ordered people in some rural areas to evacuate after the Missouri River overtopped levees.
The flooding followed days of snow and rain — record-setting, in some places — that swept through the West and Midwest. The deluge pushed some waterways, including the Missouri River, to record levels in Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota. The flooding was the worst in nearly a decade in places.
The family of farmer James Wilke, 50, of Columbus, Nebraska, said he was killed Thursday when a bridge collapsed as he was using his tractor to try to reach stranded motorists on Thursday. His body was found downstream, his cousin Paul Wilke told the Columbus Telegram. Gass Haney Funeral Home confirmed James Wilke’s death.
At least two other people were missing in floodwaters in Nebraska. Officials said a Norfolk man was seen on top of his flooded car late Thursday before being swept away in the water and another man was swept away by waters when a dam collapsed on the Niobrara River.
Officials in Sarpy County, south of Omaha, said Saturday that power may be shut off to communities along the Missouri, Platte and Elkhorn rivers for safety reasons. They warned those who choose to ignore calls to evacuate that rescues would be attempted only during daylight hours. Some cities and towns, such as North Bend on the banks of the Platte River, were submerged. Others, such as Waterloo and Fremont, were surrounded by floodwaters, stranding residents in virtual islands with no access in or out.
“There is no way out of here unless you’ve got a helicopter — or a boat,” the Rev. Mike Bitter, pastor of Christian Church of Waterloo, told the Omaha World-Herald.
Officials in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska were urging people not to drive unless necessary. In Iowa, a section of northbound Interstate 29 that runs parallel to the Missouri River was closed due to flooding. Authorities were rerouting motorists at Kansas City, Missouri, using a detour that took people almost 140 miles (225 kilometers) out of the way.
Farther east, the Mississippi River saw moderate flooding in Illinois from Rock Island south to Gladstone. Meteorologist Brian Pierce with the National Weather Service’s Quad Cities office in Davenport, Iowa, said flooding on the Mississippi could get worse a few weeks as more snow melts in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
“What we’re having now is the dress rehearsal for the main event that’s going to happen in early April,” he said of the flooding on the Mississippi.
Rising waters along the Pecatonica and Rock rivers flooded some homes in the northern Illinois cities of Freeport, Rockford and Machesney Park. The National Weather Service said record crests were possible along the rivers, with water levels forecast to continue to rise over the next several days and remain above flood stage through most of the weekend.
Freeport resident Mary Martin told the (Freeport) Journal-Standard that she went to the store to get milk and bread when she saw floodwaters were rising Friday.
“Within an hour of going to the store, I could not get back in. That’s how fast the water was coming up,” Martin said.
Here are some photos provided by Gov. Ricketts’ office:
NORTH PLATTE – On Friday night, some of the players from the women’s basketball program were involved in an incident that goes against team code of conduct policies.
The incident in question did not involve any arrests for the Knights players but will result in suspensions being handed down just days before the team leaves for Harrison Arkansas where they will compete in the national tournament as the #16 seed.
The suspensions could affect the team for the tournament and also could extend into next season according to the team.
“It’s not anything that I consider major, but it was a violation of our team code of conduct, which is something we take very seriously,” Thurman said. “As a team, we are working through this together and are looking forward to playing in the national tournament.”
The team has not released any information on the suspensions or who was involved.
CORDOVA, Neb. (AP) – Authorities in southeastern Nebraska say multiple people have been found dead in a burning house.
The Lincoln Journal Star cites the Seward County Sheriff’s Office in reporting that several people died in the Saturday morning house fire in Cordova.
Cordova is a village of fewer than 150 people that lies about 30 miles west of Lincoln.
Officials report that firefighters were called to the house for a fire around 7:30 a.m. Saturday and found the home engulfed in flames. No details about the deaths or the identity of the victims had been released by early Saturday afternoon.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — At least one person has died and at least two others are missing in floodwaters that have swamped towns and farmland, washed out roads and bridges and drowned livestock in Nebraska in the wake of a late-winter storm that overwhelmed rivers and creeks with rain and snowmelt.The family of 50-year-old James Wilke, of Columbus, Nebraska, says he was driving his tractor to rescue stranded motorists on a county road cut off by flooding Thursday when a bridge he was crossing collapsed. His cousin, Paul Wilke, told the Columbus Telegram that James Wilke’s body was found downstream. Gass Haney Funeral Home confirmed James Wilke’s death.
Officials in other parts of Nebraska say a Norfolk man was seen on top of his flooded car late Thursday before being swept away in the water and another man is missing after being swept away by waters when a dam collapsed on the Niobrara River.
KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — More than three dozen members of the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s marching band will be spending the next few days performing and sightseeing in Ireland.
A university news release says 42 band members will perform in the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin, an event that typically draws 500,000 spectators. The musicians have another parade Monday in Limerick.
Scheduled stops also include Galway, as well as visits to attractions such as the Cliffs of Moher, King John’s Castle and Trinity College’s Old Library. The students are scheduled to return Friday.
The marching band takes an overseas trip every four years — most recently to Norway in 2015. Band director Duane Bierman says the next trip being planned will be to London for a 2023 performance in a New Year’s Day parade.
BROWNVILLE, Neb. (AP) — A nuclear power plant along the swollen Missouri River in southeast Nebraska will likely be shut down early Saturday as the river continues to rise following heavy rain earlier this week, a plant spokesman said Friday.
The Cooper Nuclear Station uses water from the river to generate power, but workers will shut it down if the river reaches a gauge level of 45.5 feet in nearby Brownville. That river level means water is nearing the top of the levee that protects the plant.
The National Weather Service predicts the river will reach that level around 1 a.m. Saturday. If that happens, the fuel rods will be pulled so no heat is generated to make steam that drives the turbines, halting power generation at the plant, according to Nebraska Public Power District spokesman Mark Becker.
Becker said such flood levels don’t pose a danger because the plant maintains federally approved procedures and design features to keep radioactive fuel cool, including two main lines of outside power, on-site generators and a battery system that can power pumps.
The district also has been adding sandbags atop its protective river levee in Nebraska, and Becker noted that a different levee on the Missouri side of the river is lower, meaning any overflow or breach would spill into flood plains there and reduce pressure on the Nebraska side.
So even if the Nebraska levee were topped or breached by the river, the water would flow into about 3 miles (5 kilometers) of flood plain south of Brownville, Becker said. The plant is south of Brownville, which is about 59 miles (95.5 kilometers) south of Omaha.
Becker said he knows of no instance in which floodwater has entered the plant, and he said the plant has never been shut down because of flooding. He noted that during major flooding along the river in 2011, the plant remained “high and dry.”
Water surrounded a different Nebraska nuclear plant, Fort Calhoun, during the 2011 floods, but the plant had been previously shut down for maintenance and floodwaters never entered the generating plant.
The river’s rapid rise this week has been fueled by snowmelt and storm runoff from a late-winter weather system that brought powerful winds and heavy rainfall to eastern Nebraska and other Midwestern states. Howling winds and heavy snow struck the western and central parts of the state.
