LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Applications will be accepted for the 2018 bighorn sheep permit lottery through Aug. 3.
Only Nebraska residents are eligible to apply. The lottery allows the winner to hunt for a bighorn during the season that begins Nov. 27 and ends Dec. 22.
The once-in-a-lifetime hunt includes up to four days of guide service from Nebraska Game and Parks staff and up to four nights of meal and lodging at Fort Robinson State Park. Proceeds from the lottery provide support for the management of the species in five areas of Nebraska’s panhandle region.
The winning permit will be drawn Aug. 16. A $29 nonrefundable application fee must accompany each application.
Those interested can apply at a Nebraska Game and Parks office or online at OutdoorNebraska.org.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s highway safety administrator says it’s tough to explain why more pedestrians have been killed this year on the state’s roads compared to last year.
Figures from the Nebraska Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Office show that 13 pedestrians have been killed on Nebraska roads so far this year. At this time last year, the state had eight pedestrian fatalities, the Omaha World-Herald reported.
The state has seen an average of 10 pedestrian deaths annually from 2007 to 2016, according to the Highway Safety Office. Such deaths have been increasing in recent years, including 18 in 2015.
“There really isn’t anything we can put our finger on that is common,” Highway Safety Administrator Fred Zwonechek said. “There’s not anything we can really look at and say, ‘This is the reason they’re up.'”
The deaths have occurred in rural and urban settings. Zwonechek said he hopes the increase is “just an anomaly.”
Pedestrians and drivers need to pay attention to avoid such deaths, Zwonechek said. People who are walking should cross at crosswalks, wear bright colors, follow traffic signals and ensure they’re visible to drivers, he said. Drivers also need to commit their full attention to driving and be aware of their surroundings, he said.
“We’re all pedestrians at some point,” Zwonechek said. “So we all ought to be paying attention.”
While the number of pedestrian deaths has increased, fatal bike crashes have decreased, even as more people are riding bikes, Zwonechek said. So far this year, there have been no fatal bike crashes, while there were two fatalities during the same period last year, he said.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A year after Iowa began cracking down on texting while driving, advocates and lawmakers in Nebraska hope to implement a similar policy.
Nebraska and Iowa both banned texting while driving in 2010 but classified the infraction as a “secondary offense,” meaning drivers must commit another traffic violation to be pulled over. Iowa made texting a primary offense last year, joining the majority of other states and offering Nebraska a legislative roadmap should the state decide to follow suit.
The issue has created a clash between conservative principles of limited government and personal accountability with a desire to reduce roadway tragedies. Now it’s up to legislators to strike a balance between concerns about unintended consequences and the risk of lost lives through inaction.
“If it was an important issue, it would be front and center, but it’s not viewed as such,” said Rob Reynolds, who has advocated for tougher distracted driving laws since his 16-year-old daughter was killed in a 2007 crash in Omaha caused by a teen who was texting while driving.
Over the past several years, Nebraska legislators have considered bills to make texting a primary offense or ban the use of hand-held electronic devices while driving, but the efforts have failed. Only four states — Nebraska, Florida, Ohio and South Dakota — treat texting as a secondary offense, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Two states, Arizona and Missouri, ban texting for young drivers but not adults. Montana doesn’t have a statewide ban.
The Iowa State Patrol announced earlier this month that citations issued by state troopers for texting increased by over 620 percent since the state shifted to primary enforcement in July 2017. The Nebraska State Patrol saw about a 50 percent decrease over the same period.
Iowa legislators approved the change in 2017 by wide margins. The bipartisan legislation added social media, games and internet surfing to the ban on texting, but allowed phones to be used for navigation and safety alerts.
Iowa state Sen. Michael Breitbach, a Strawberry Point Republican, said the tipping point came from new lawmakers who brought an increased awareness of the effects of distracted driving.
It would take a similar change in the Nebraska Legislature, said state Sen. Bob Krist, an Omaha Democrat who has repeatedly introduced bills to make texting a primary offense. Krist blamed the Legislature’s transportation committee for holding up past legislative efforts.
“The complement of that committee over the years has not wanted to address primary offense,” said Krist, who’s running for governor against incumbent Republican Pete Ricketts.
Nebraska state Sen. Merv Riepe, an Omaha-area Republican, said Iowa’s success at enforcing a stricter texting ban could open the door for Nebraska.
“It’s always easier to do something when you’ve got a real model that seems to be working,” Riepe said. “Iowa could be that model.”
Opponents to increased enforcement in Nebraska have focused on personal freedom, said Eric Koeppe, president and CEO of the National Safety Council of Nebraska. He said his organization, which lobbies for stricter enforcement of the texting ban, believes motorists have a shared responsibility for safety that demands attentiveness.
“Our responsibilities are not only to ourselves but all of the other people we share the road with,” Koeppe said.
But Spike Eickholt, a lobbyist for the Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorneys Association, said officers already can stop drivers who are texting for other traffic violations. He argued that broadening police powers would erode the freedom of motorists.
Nationally, the American Civil Liberties Union has opposed texting bans on similar grounds. The organization also raises concerns about racial profiling.
The ALCU of Nebraska opposes making texting a primary offense, spokeswoman Heidi Uhing said in an email. Last year, the ALCU of Iowa called Iowa’s action “problematic” and “ineffective,” in part based on its theory that some drivers try to conceal their phones to avoid detection — creating a worse safety hazard.
Veronica Fowler, a spokeswoman for the ACLU of Iowa, questioned how law enforcement officers identify potential violations.
“It is almost impossible for them to know when people are using their phone,” Fowler said.
Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Nathan Ludwig said troopers look for people scrolling and manipulating text on their phones. He said officers will pull up alongside cars or watch for signs of distracted driving.
“It’s pretty easy to tell when somebody is texting because they’re not looking around at you, they’re just in tune to their phone,” Ludwig said.
While there’s widespread agreement texting while driving is dangerous, it’s unclear whether taxing bans are effective in reducing crashes.
Collision insurance claim rates linked to distracted driving typically are flat, or even increase slightly, following the adoption of texting bans, said Jessica Cicchino, vice president of research for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. She called that a “perplexing result” for researchers.
“We don’t see that these laws are improving the bottom line of reducing crashes,” Cicchino said.
Iowa is on track for a decline in crashes linked to electronic devices so far this year, with 486 reported between January and June compared to 575 in the first six months of 2017, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. Current data for Nebraska isn’t available.
Adam Lathrop, executive director of the Iowa-Illinois Safety Council, supports Iowa’s action but said it could take time to see results, noting it took decades before seat belt use was widely adopted.
“It took time to get there,” Lathrop said. “Texting will get there as well, but until we make it something that is culturally frowned upon doing, I don’t know that we’ll have the widespread change that we’re looking for.”
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s unemployment rate rose from 2.8 percent in May to 2.9 percent in June, the state Labor Department said Friday.
The preliminary June rate matches the June 2017 figure and is well below the current overall U.S. rate, which rose to 4 percent last month from 3.8 percent in May.
“The increase in the unemployment rate corresponded with an increase in new entrants to the labor force,” said state Labor Commissioner John Albin. “Nonfarm employment continued to climb in June, reaching another new high.”
State nonfarm employment for June was 1,041,142, up nearly 1,800 for the month and more than 15,000 for the year. Private industries with the most year to year growth were manufacturing, up 3,951; professional and business services, up 3,516; and leisure and hospitality, up 2,846. Month to month, the largest gains were seen in mining and construction, up 1,999; professional and business services, up 1,907; and leisure and hospitality (up 816).
The preliminary Omaha-area rate rose to 3.1 percent in June from 2.8 percent in May. The new rate is a tenth of a point lower than that of June 2017. Lincoln’s preliminary rate also rose three-tenths of a point, to 2.9 percent, matching the year-ago figure. Grand Island’s preliminary rate for June rose to 3.1 percent from 2.9 percent in May. The new figure was a tenth of a point higher than June 2017.
The unemployment rates for Grand Island, Lincoln and Omaha have not been seasonally adjusted, so they cannot be directly compared with the state unemployment rate.
Here are preliminary area labor market unemployment rates for June, followed by the May rates:
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Patrol reports that troopers seized nearly 170 pounds of marijuana in two separate Hamilton County traffic stops.
The patrol says the first stop happened Wednesday night just north of Interstate 80 near Giltner, where a sport utility vehicle was pulled over. A drug-sniffing dog indicated the odor of drugs from the SUV, and troopers say they found 141 pounds of marijuana hidden in boxes in the back of the vehicle. The 26-year-old driver from California was arrested.
The second stop happened later Wednesday night near the same spot when another SUV was pulled over. Troopers say 27 pounds of marijuana was found hidden in luggage in that vehicle. The 37-year-old driver from Tennessee was arrested.
The combined estimated street value of the marijuana is more than $500,000.
WATERLOO, Neb. (AP) — Officials in eastern Nebraska are investigating after an infant was found unresponsive at a state park and later died.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called to Two Rivers State Park at Waterloo around 8:20 a.m. Friday and found a 3-month old baby boy unresponsive. Deputies say several of the baby’s family members were with the infant at a campground area, and some had begun CPR on the infant.
The baby was taken by medics to an Omaha hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
SPRINGVIEW, Neb. (AP) — Repairs and repaving are expected to begin Monday on U.S. Highway 183 in north-central Nebraska.The Nebraska Transportation Department says the project runs from Springview north to the South Dakota state line. The work will include paving, grading and bridge and guardrail repairs.
Traffic will be maintained with lane closures and one-lane work zones. The project is expected to be finished in early November.
VALENTINE, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a minor earthquake shook rural areas near the Nebraska and South Dakota border around Valentine, Nebraska.
The service reports that a 3.5 magnitude earthquake occurred just after 2 a.m. Saturday about 10 miles (16.09 kilometers) northwest of Valentine in far north-central Nebraska. The National Weather Service says it received a few calls of some rumbling in Valentine.
There were no reports of injuries or damage.
Earlier this spring, several minor earthquakes were reported in Custer County, about 100 miles south of Valentine.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln could welcome an autonomous shuttle service using driverless buses as early as next spring.
The city is testing a “self-driving micro-transit system” with a $100,000 grant awarded by Bloomberg Philanthropies for participating in its 2018 Mayors Challenge.
Lincoln officials are looking into using electric streetcars to reduce traffic congestion in several districts. Lincoln could win up to $1 million in the process to put its concept into action.
Officials would implement an autonomous shuttle pilot program if the city makes it to the next round of the challenge, said Lonnie Burklund, the city’s assistant director for Public Works and Utilities.
“In terms of the street network, there’s honestly not a lot of infrastructure that has to be built or altered,” he said.
Developers, including French manufacturer Navya, have designed autonomous shuttles to integrate into the city’s traffic, Burklund said. The shuttle relies on GPS rather than cameras, keeping the vehicle within up to 3 centimeters of its desired path, said Aaron Foster, the commercial manager for Navya’s North American division.
The autonomous shuttle will automatically begin to slow if an obstacle enters its path, he said.
“In the worst cases, if it’s an immovable obstacle, like a downed tree, the safety attendant on board can use a controller to drive around it,” Foster said.
A safety attendant would be present on each shuttle, but the vehicle would also be monitored remotely.
City officials envision riders accessing the driverless shuttle service by using a cellphone app, which would prioritize riders by the timing of their request.
The city is compiling feedback and research on its self-driving system testing to submit to Bloomberg next month. Lincoln will likely find out later this fall if it’ll advance to the next phase.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Applications will be accepted for the 2018 bighorn sheep permit lottery through Aug. 3.
