LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is reminding park visitors and area residents of the mandatory permitting process for tractors operating on the beaches of Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area (SRA).

Game and Parks has created a simple, required permitting process that follows state park regulations and allows for more towing operations on McConaughy’s beaches. All tractors are required to obtain an annual permit, regardless of whether they are for commercial or private use. There is currently no fee for the permit and an application can be picked up at the Lake McConaughy Visitor/Water Interpretive Center or can be requested via email at colby.johnson@nebraska.gov.

Liability insurance is required for any permit issuance. Contact Colby Johnson at 308-284-8804 or colby.johnson@nebraska.gov for more information.

During public meetings held in the Ogallala area during the creation of the 2016 Lake McConaughy/Lake Ogallala Master Plan, Game and Parks received several comments indicating the desire to have more tractors operating on the beaches to provide services to an increasing number of park visitors.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The peregrine falcons that have nested for years on the Nebraska Capitol have failed in their second attempt this year.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says 19/K and his mate, Alley, began their second attempt near the end of May, when she laid three eggs in a nest box on the 18th floor.

Two of the eggs disappeared over the past week. By Monday the parents were incubating the remaining egg infrequently. Neither was seen at the box Tuesday.

The commission’s nongame bird program manager, Joel Jorgensen, says the egg isn’t expected to hatch.

Their first attempt in a nest at the base of the Capitol rotunda also ended in failure.

Authorities are investigating a shooting in Lincoln County.

On June 26, 2018 at11:19 p.m., Deputies were informed a female walked into the Emergency Room at Great Plains Health with a gunshot wound. Deputies responded and found the female was shot in the left shoulder. Deputies were told the shooting happened at 3607 West North River Road (northwest of North Platte, NE.)

Deputies and Nebraska State Troopers responded to the residence and located a lone male subject in the home. Through observations of the scene it appeared the male had shot the female with a pistol. Deputies attempted to arrest the subject and he resisted their efforts, but was eventually taken into custody.

The male subject was identified as 58 year old Marty Calhoun. Mr. Calhoun was transported to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and charged with; First Degree Domestic Assault, Resisting Arrest and Obstructing a Police Officer. Mr. Calhoun was incarcerated in the Lincoln County Detention Center. The investigation is ongoing and further charges are pending. The victim in this case remains hospitalized.

By JOSH FUNK, AP Business Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett’s company has hired Lee Enterprises to manage the mostly smaller newspapers it has acquired since 2011 in 30 different markets.

Lee said Tuesday it expects to collect $50 million in fees from the five-year agreement that should help BH Media Group’s newspapers reduce costs.

“In addition to the primary benefit of deploying Lee’s successful strategies at BH Media, this alliance provides a significant expansion of operating scale, adding 30 markets to our own 49,” Lee President Kevin Mowbray said.

Billionaire Omaha investor Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said that, “although the challenges in publishing are clear, I believe we can benefit by joining efforts. Lee Enterprises’ growth in digital market share and revenue has outpaced the industry.”

Lee’s shares jumped nearly 20 percent Tuesday to close at $2.88. Berkshire Class A shares rose slightly to $285,271.34 each.

Since Berkshire began buying more newspapers in 2011 it has largely let them run themselves, as it does with its other subsidiaries, but that meant there weren’t significant changes at a time when the industry is struggling to replace ad and subscription revenue lost to online competitors.

“It has been very disappointing we haven’t seen much innovation out of Berkshire Hathaway Media,” newspaper analyst Ken Doctor said.

If this deal is successful in reducing costs, Doctor said other media companies might consider similar arrangements.

Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst with The Poynter Institute, said this new arrangement should help Berkshire’s newspapers because it’s harder for smaller companies to keep up with technology needs and centralize operations like larger media companies have.

“Lee has a track record of running its newspapers efficiently,” Edmonds said.

Andy Kilpatrick, the stockbroker-author who wrote “Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett,” said this move signals that Buffett doesn’t want to bother with the challenges of running the newspapers anymore, but he also doesn’t appear to want to sell them.

The Omaha World-Herald, the Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch and the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina are among properties owned by BH Media, which is based in Omaha with Berkshire Hathaway.

BH Media Group’s top executive, Terry Kroeger, said he is leaving the company as a result of the agreement. Kroeger had been the Omaha World-Herald’s publisher before leading Berkshire’s newspaper group.

No other changes are planned immediately at BH Media group. Newspaper executives will work with Lee to develop plans to increase revenue and cut costs.

Lee’s larger daily papers include the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star and the Wisconsin State Journal.  The company is based in Davenport, Iowa.

Mary Junck, executive chairman of Lee Enterprises, said the alliance “enables us to generate more cash flow, speed our debt reduction, enhance our industry leadership and further advance our abilities as we introduce our digital and print strategies at BH Media properties.”

Junck said Buffett got to know Lee in the past as an investor, and that helped make this deal happen.

Lee doesn’t plan to hire any additional staff as part of the deal.

The contract excludes management of BH Media television assets, as well as Berkshire Hathaway’s separate newspaper, The Buffalo (New York) News.

Newspapers are a relatively small part of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns an assortment of more than 90 companies and holds major investments in companies like Coca-Cola Co., Apple and Wells Fargo.

 

ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) — An August sentencing hearing has been scheduled for a 29-year-old man accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend’s dog in northwest Nebraska.

Box Butte County District Court records say Adam Swanson pleaded no contest to animal neglect that resulted in death. Prosecutors dropped a weapons charge in return for Swanson’s plea. His sentencing is set for Aug. 27.

Sheriff’s deputies say Swanson was intoxicated on Jan. 20 when he intentionally shot and killed the dog in its kennel. Swanson and his girlfriend had been arguing at their home about 5 miles northeast of Hemingford.