HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A Hastings teacher accused of having sex with a teenage student and providing her with alcohol has been arrested.

Adams County Court records say 23-year-old Tyler Hedlund is charged with intentional child abuse. The records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for him.

The records say Hedlund had sex with the girl several times at his Hastings home and that he gave her alcohol there and bought alcoholic beverages for her and three of her friends.

Hedlund has been teaching and coaching football at Hastings St. Cecilia. He’s no longer listed on the school’s Facebook page.

By Heather Johnson-MPCC

The Keenan family, of North Platte, has been selected to receive the 2019 President’s Award from North Platte Community College. The Keenans will be recognized during NPCC’s Commencement Ceremony at 3 p.m. May 10.

“The Keenan family has supported numerous projects at NPCC, including generous gifts to the Health and Science Center and the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium renovation,” said Bonnie Kruse, the college’s director of institutional advancement. “Both gifts were significant in helping the NPCC Foundation reach its fundraising goals. Those gifts are just two of the many examples of the Keenan family’s extraordinary support of students, faculty and the academic mission of North Platte Community College.”

Kevin O’Connor, head coach for the NPCC men’s basketball team, said the Keenans were already supporting the team’s booster club when he became coach more than four decades ago.

“Their involvement goes back way before I was ever here,” O’Connor said. “Pat and Dan’s father, Jim Keenan, owned Coca-Cola Bottling Company at that time, and he was a Knights Cage Club donor. I have known Pat and Dan since we attended grade school together at St. Pat’s. They have been loyal supporters of the Cage Club for over 40 years. Just this spring, they continued the family tradition by donating $5,000 to the Cage Club as part of a Dunkin’ Donuts promotion.”

North Platte remains close to Dan’s heart even though he now lives in Florida. That’s part of why it’s so important to him to help support the college.

“I care a lot about North Platte, and the community college system is absolutely the best hope for the town to grow,” Dan said. “Even for North Platte to maintain itself, it needs a strong community college.”

The Keenans are behind two scholarships that support NPCC students. In 2008, the Keenan Family Scholarship was established to provide tuition assistance to NPCC students in nursing and other medical programs.

Most recently, the John and Mary Hunter Memorial Scholarship was created in memory of longtime Keenan family friends, John and Mary Hunter. The scholarship provides assistance to students in the NPCC building trades programs and students attending high school in North Platte who enroll in the NPCC Building Construction Career Academy.

“I really think that as a country and as a society we need more people with hands-on technical skills,” said Pat Keenan of why his family provides the latter scholarship. “I think that our four-year colleges do great things, but they are not the right fit for everyone. For every STEM graduate, we also need someone who can build the building or laboratory that houses the STEM jobs.”

He believes full potential cannot be achieved unless workers are trained for both the blue-collar and white-collar sectors.

“In our family’s hotel and Coca-Cola businesses, we appreciate and rely on people who can build and maintain things,” Pat said. “There are very good, unfilled jobs out there for people with hands-on technical skills, and the ability to excel in a career is just as good as many of the white collar opportunities. Our family is interested in getting kids into the applied technology fields earlier. Our society is hurting for those kinds of workers, and NPCC is in the position to provide them.”

The commencement ceremony is open to the public. It will be in the McDonald-Belton Building on NPCC’s South Campus.

Governor Pete Ricketts was joined at the State Capitol by representatives from Nebraska’s beef industry to proclaim May as Beef Month.  Nebraskans celebrate Beef Month every May to highlight the importance of the cattle industry to the state.  The Governor hosted a press conference to sign an official proclamation and to provide an update on Nebraska’s growing beef industry.

“Nebraska’s beef producers are the best in the business.  Thanks to their excellent work, Nebraska tops all states in commercial red meat production and cattle on feed,” said Governor Ricketts.  “Nebraska beef has earned a worldwide reputation for its premium quality, and we’re now exporting more of it than ever before.”

Governor Ricketts has been an active proponent of Nebraska’s beef industry.  He has led trade missions to Japan, China, and Mexico to encourage the growth of Nebraska’s beef exports.  He has also promoted Nebraska beef domestically in places such as New York City.

In 2018, Nebraska led the nation in beef exports with a total export value of $1.44 billion.  Nebraska’s beef exports increased by 14 percent from 2017 to 2018.  Total beef exports have exceeded $1 billion each year since 2014.  In 2018, Nebraska’s top beef export markets were:

• Japan – $412.1 million
• South Korea – $309.3 million
• Hong Kong – $139.5 million
• Mexico – $138 million
• European Union – $124.3 million

Nebraska is first in the nation in rankings for beef exports, commercial cattle slaughter, and cattle on feed.

Governor Ricketts was joined at the press conference by Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) Director Steve Wellman, Nebraska Cattlemen President Mike Drinnin, and Nebraska Beef Council Chairman Buck Wehrbein.

“Nebraska is a national leader in all aspects of the beef industry including production, exports, and cattle on feed, so we’re pleased that Governor Ricketts proclaimed May as Beef Month,” said NDA Director Steve Wellman.  “The continued growth of the beef industry in Nebraska and the top rankings we’ve achieved show our support of agriculture as a whole and confirms what we already know: that delicious Nebraska beef is being enjoyed by consumers here at home and around the world.”

“There are a lot of unsung heroes who put their heart and soul into producing the best beef in the world raised right here in Nebraska,” said Mike Drinnin, President of the Nebraska Cattlemen.  “Whether you’re fixing fence on a ranch, delivering feed to the cattle, or hauling the beef to restaurants, everyone’s important to showcasing Nebraska beef!”

“Exports are a tremendous value to beef producers and we are proud to work with NDA to promote beef from Nebraska in places like Hong Kong, the European Union, and other parts of the globe,” said Buck Wehrbein, Chairman of the Nebraska Beef Council.  “International trade missions are a strategic way of investing the beef checkoff to support our beef community.”