OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police are investigating a shooting that killed one woman and injured at least six others in downtown Omaha’s popular Old Market restaurant and shopping area.
The shooting was reported around 11:45 p.m. Saturday near 11th and Farnam streets. The victims in ranged in age from their teens to their late 20s.
Acting Omaha Police Deputy Chief Tom Shaffer says the shooting appears to be gang-related and might be tied to gun violence last month.
The woman who died was 20-year-old Jasmine Harris. The other injuries were not considered life-threatening.
By GRANT SCHULTE and TESS WILLIAMS, Associated Press
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Solar energy is gaining traction in Nebraska as a growing number of cities adopt the technology, and state officials are looking for ways to help the trend along.
The technology has become so popular that some cities have had to expand their recently built solar farms or build new ones to keep pace with customer demand.
Many of the cities are taking advantage of the Nebraska Public Power District’s SunWise Community Solar Program, approved in 2016 to help cities and villages adopt solar power in a central location for residents to use.
The program has helped launch new solar farms in Scottsbluff, Venango and Kearney since 2017, and more than half a dozen other cities have expressed interest, said NPPD General Retail Manager Tim Arlt.
Separately, Fremont is moving forward with a second solar farm due to high demand on the first array that went live earlier this year.
Fremont City Administrator Brian Newton said the farm allows customers to buy their own solar panel or pay a one-time fee to use power generated in the farm. He said the first farm sold out to 217 residents within seven weeks.
Arlt said the challenges include finding available land that’s close enough to feed into NPPD’s grid and making sure the local grid can handle the additional power.
“We want to say yes if a community wants it,” he said.
Nebraska lawmakers may review some of the challenges as well.
Sen. Rick Kolowski, of Omaha, has introduced a legislative study to explore ways to promote solar energy, noting its environmental benefits. Kolowski said he wants to see the state use renewable resources more effectively, and he hopes the study could lead to legislation that would provide incentives or tax breaks to encourage more solar energy.
“This isn’t going away,” Kolowski said. “We have to do it not just for ourselves, but for the future of our state.”
The NPPD arrays let residents buy into solar energy without having to install their own rooftop panels. Residents who want to use the energy shoulder the expense to keep the costs from shifting to those who don’t.
Despite its rapid growth in Nebraska, solar energy has spread faster in some areas than others because of the state’s patchwork of local public utilities, said Cliff Mesner, a Central City attorney, developer and solar energy advocate.
Homeowners who don’t live in an area that offers solar energy have few options other than to install solar panels on their property, Mesner said. That in turn can draw objections from neighborhood groups that don’t like the appearance of solar panels on rooftops or in yards.
Also concerning is the looming threat of tariffs on aluminum and steel, with are used in solar arrays and could substantially raise costs, Mesner said. President
Donald Trump recently signed a bill to extend a federal solar tax credit for homeowners, but it’s scheduled to expire in 2021.
Mesner said solar energy has grown faster in states with higher electric rates than Nebraska’s because purchasing it made financial sense. But as Nebraska’s rates rise, he said, solar will become more feasible.
“I think it’s made some great strides in the last few years, but we are behind where other states have been,” Mesner said. “We’re doing some great things right now, but we’ve got a long, long ways to go.”
Mesner said many homeowners have bought into solar because the costs are fixed for 20 to 25 years as electricity prices continue to rise. Many current solar customers are paying more now, but could end up saving money over the long term, he said.
Kearney launched Nebraska’s largest community solar array last year on 53 acres of city-owned land near a technology park. The farm can meet about 5 percent of the city’s peak energy needs, enough to power 900 homes.
City officials partnered with NPPD to connect the system to the city’s grid and sold off shares of the electricity it produces.
So far, city officials have sold or reserved about 90 percent of the shares and will use some as a recruiting tool for new businesses that want to use green energy, said
Kearney Mayor Stan Clouse. The University of Nebraska at Kearney bought about half of the total shares in an effort to use more renewable energy and hedge against long-term price increases.
“It’s still in the infant stages, but I’m optimistic,” Clouse said.
Clouse said his city approved the project to give residents more energy choices and potentially attract small and mid-sized technology companies with the promise of renewable energy. City officials can’t install wind turbines in the area because it’s in the migratory flight path of Nebraska’s Sandhill cranes, Clouse said.
Clouse, an account manager for the Nebraska Public Power District, pointed to Facebook’s decision in 2013 to build a data center in Altoona, Iowa, instead of Kearney, citing nearby wind energy as one factor.
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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A decades-old detox program in Lincoln could be forced to close if it loses its funding and state license for locking intoxicated people in rooms.
The Lincoln Journal Star reports that The Bridge Behavioral Health’s detox program often locks very intoxicated individuals in a treatment room after they’re brought in by Lincoln police.
Tammy Stevenson, executive director of the program, said The Bridge’s civil protective custody program first puts individuals in a locked room and then determines whether they can safely be moved to an unlocked location. The program cannot receive national accreditation if all individuals are initially placed in locked rooms, Stevenson said.
The state’s Division of Behavioral Health is threatening to cancel its $100,000 in funding this summer if the unit doesn’t get accredited.
Medicaid funding is also in jeopardy, which used to contribute between $50,000 and $60,000 a year to the program. Medicaid staff said they’d only pay for social detoxification if a new managed care firm took over.
But The Bridge would need to remodel and hire more staff in order to swap its locked-door policy for another approach, Stevenson said.
The change would also mean the program couldn’t take as many clients, including juveniles and individuals known to be combative, she said.
Police bring more than 3,600 people a year to The Bridge for involuntary detoxification. It could cost the county another $1.5 million to jail those formerly in the detox program.
Individuals jailed would first have to be charged with a crime, which would lead to additional fees in court costs, said Brad Johnson, manager of the county jail.
The Bridge staff is also concerned that the program could lose state licensing.
Losing state licensing would mean the program would be forced to close since most medical staff wouldn’t work at an unlicensed program, Stevenson said.
Some Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services officials recently assured the program’s staff that they’d work together on the licensing issue.
FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — The mayor of Fremont has been fined $2,250 for failing to properly disclose his business’ interests in certain contracts with the city.
The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission decided Mayor Scott Getzschman didn’t properly disclose his family heating and air conditioning business,
Getzschman Heating, had an interest in six contracts with the city. The contracts ranged from $28 to $460.
Getzschman told regulators he never intended to violate the law, but agreed to a settlement with the commission.
State law requires public officials to make any contracts they have an interest in a public agenda item. Then officials are supposed to disclose their interests in the contract.
Getzschman has been Fremont’s mayor since 2010, and before that he served on the city council for five years.
Radio Ink magazine is known for world-famous lists. In April, they published a list of Radio’s Top- 20 leaders. It includes Eagle Communications’ President Gary Shorman.
“These are the radio industry’s best. They know how to motivate their teams to success. They are winning at sales, programming, and management. They are relentless in what they do, and they do not fail. This list is made up of radio’s most positive. They are the people who take the time to mentor others and make a lasting impact on careers. They give time back to the radio industry to help it grow. They may not be promoting themselves or be among the powerful executives we always write about, but they are making the radio industry run like a well-oiled machine.”
Gary Shorman was very detailed in his response when we asked him about the characteristics of a successful leader. “Team builder,” he says. “No one can win with a dysfunctional team, so do the opposite.
Find players who love their community and want to make it better. Find players who want to build their success year after year. Find players who want to be on a winning team. Once that is done, give them the opportunity to participate in decisions and goals, then give them the tools to succeed. At Eagle, I interview all our potential employee-owners before we bring them on board. I’m encouraged by what I see and how many of our newest have a strong desire to play on a winning team.
“Creativity. I get a chance to listen to a lot of radio stations. We win when our clients and advertisers win. That happens with creative marketing campaigns and continued brand-building. At Eagle, our businesses are the local businesses that compete with the big national companies. At one time it was the Sears & Roebuck catalog or the new Walmart store coming to town.
Today our customers battle for business with the brown delivery truck that brings products from around the world. To win, our local businesses need us to help tell their story on the radio and through our digital products. We win with creativity.”
Finally, he says, “Get results.
If something is not working, find another way. Ratings, no ratings. Good economy, bad economy. Stocks up, stocks down. Whatever is happening in the world, we all get paid for results. If you cannot find a way to get results, you will probably be working somewhere else.”
Shorman says leadership in any industry takes hard work and the ability to work with the people on your team.
“Radio is no exception. I have not met many leaders who made it to their position without learning the basics of the business and working harder than others around them to succeed. In any business, but especially radio, you must enjoy being a part of a team, loving those you work with and encouraging those who are facing challenges.”
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has formed a 150-member commission to craft a report recommending what the school should look like 25 years from now.
The commission of faculty members, students, staff, and businesspeople will consider changes such as technological improvements, growing diversity and declining state money, the Omaha World-Herald reported.
Lisa Smith, senior vice president for the D.A. Davidson investment firm in Lincoln, said the commission’s leaders told members early on to “think big.”
The commission aims to produce work that is “bold, distinctive, inspirational, universally understood,” Smith said.
The project started in March. The commission hopes to have a draft in September and to share the report in November.
The school hired a consulting firm for $190,000 to assist in the process and lead sessions seeking additional input.
Executive Vice Chancellor Donde Plowman said she could envision the commission looking at whether a degree must average 15 hours over eight semesters or if students should blend a variety of subjects for a major. The commission might also consider finding more opportunities for students to learn through experience and increasing partnerships between the university and community.
The discussion comes as the university plans to celebrate its 150th anniversary next year.
“Not many institutions have been around for 150 years,” said history professor Will Thomas, who co-leads the commission. “That begs the question, how will we carry that legacy forward for another 150 years?”
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities in southeastern Nebraska are searching Pawnee Lake for a man who went under the water and didn’t resurface.
Officials say the 31-year-old Lincoln man was being pulled Friday on an inner tube by a jet ski when the tube capsized on the lake west of Lincoln. Another man and a 4-year-old, who were also riding on the tube, were able to safely reach the shore. Only the 4-year-old was wearing a life jacket.
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission law enforcement officials were using sonar Saturday to search the lake. The Malcolm Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and the Nebraska State Patrol also are assisting in search efforts.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld the new lighter sentence of a 45-year-old man who was 14 when he killed his 12-year-old sister in 1987.
Sydney Thieszen had been sentenced to life in prison without parole for bludgeoning and shooting his adopted 12-year-old sister in their Henderson-area home.
Prosecutors said Thieszen killed his sister because he was afraid she would tell police he was running away from home.
Last year, a judge resentenced Thieszen to 70 years to life, based on a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared mandatory life-without-parole sentences unconstitutional for juvenile offenders.
Thieszen appealed the new sentence, arguing it amounted to a de facto life sentence.
But on Friday, the state’s high court ruled that Thieszen’s new sentence was not excessive under the law.
OSHKOSH, Neb. (AP) — There will be no jury for the trial of a western Nebraska school superintendent accused of assaulting a student.
Court records say the motion by the lawyer for Paula Sissel was granted after a hearing Wednesday in Garden County Court. Sissel has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault.
Judge Randin Roland is scheduled to hear the evidence and testimony on June 20 in an Oshkosh courtroom before issuing his verdict.
Nebraska State Patrol Sgt. Brian Eads (eeds) has said it’s his understanding the assault occurred Nov. 13, when the 61-year-old Sissel was attempting some corrective action with the student.
Sissel is superintendent of the Garden County Schools district.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two books about witchcraft and one about Jack the Ripper have been returned to the University of Nebraska at Omaha library — 40 years overdue.
They came recently in a package without a return address but with a note: “Please forgive my laziness and reluctance to not only properly check them out — but for keeping them so long.” The note was signed only, “A former student.”
Joyce Neujahr is the library’s director of patron services and she says it’s not unusual for books to be returned months or even several years late. But she also says four decades late is one of the longest periods ever for the university library’s collection.
She told the Omaha World-Herald , “If the books could tell the story, it would be really interesting.”
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police are investigating a shooting that killed one woman and injured at least six others in downtown Omaha’s popular Old Market restaurant and shopping area.
