GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a driver was fired after an 11-year-old Grand Island student was found on a school bus at the bus yard.
The girl’s mother, Jennifer Lonowski, told The Grand Island Independent that she called the bus service company last week when her daughter Jada hadn’t arrived home and the bus was already 25 minutes late. Lonowski says she went to the bus yard and found her daughter in the bus, still buckled up in her seat. The driver told her the girl had fallen asleep, but Lonowski says she doesn’t believe that.
Lonowski says Jada has Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder. Her mom says Jada is completely nonverbal but understand everything.
A co-owner of the Holiday Express bus company, Mick Brown, confirmed Monday that the driver had been fired.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A company that tracks robocalls says Lincoln experienced the biggest one-month jump of the cities studied nationwide in April: nearly 155 percent.
YouMail Robocall Index says robocalling volumes set a record for the second straight month as Americans received 3.36 billion calls in April. That’s 6.5 percent higher than in March and 34.4 percent higher than April last year.
A distant second to Lincoln was Southfield, Michigan, where call volume increased 85.4 percent.
The YouMail Robocall Index tracks the calls to iPhones, Androids and landlines. Its statistics are cited by the Federal Communications Commission for national data trends.
The company says the most common reason for robocalls nationally in April was debt collection. Student loan collection was the most common reason in Nebraska.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have arrested 78 people in a five-state immigration sweep in the Midwest.
Officials say the arrests happened over six days. Iowa and Nebraska each saw 25 arrests, while there were 15 arrests in Minnesota, 10 in South Dakota and three in North Dakota.
ICE says the operation targeted those who have criminal records, are public safety threats or violated immigration laws.
Sixty-two of the people arrested had prior criminal convictions; 31 had illegally re-entered the United States after having been previously deported.
Most of the people arrested are from Mexico. The arrests also included people from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Kenya, the Ivory Coast and Sudan.
They will remain in ICE custody pending additional proceedings.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Latest on the Nebraska primary (all times local):
9 p.m.
Nebraska state Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha has won the Democratic nomination to run for the seat held by incumbent Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts.
Krist defeated two other Democratic candidates in Tuesday’s primary election. The veteran state lawmaker campaigned on promises that he would take a less partisan approach to state government than Ricketts.
Krist had been a Republican but switched his affiliation to nonpartisan in September when announcing his bid for governor. He reregistered as a Democrat in February due to legal barriers in his bid to qualify for the ballot as an independent.
The two other Democrats who ran were Vanessa Ward, a pastor and community activist from Omaha, and Tyler Davis, a University of Nebraska at Omaha instructor.
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8:50 p.m.
Lincoln city councilwoman and grocery store executive Jane Raybould has won the Democratic nomination for Senate in Nebraska.
Raybould defeated three Democratic challengers in Tuesday’s primary race for the seat held by Republican Sen. Deb Fischer, who is running for re-election. Raybould faces an uphill general election battle in GOP-dominated Nebraska.
Fischer won election in 2012 by nearly 16 percentage points.
Raybould has served on the Lincoln City Council since 2015 and helps run her family’s grocery store chain. She ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2014 as part of Democrat Chuck Hassebrook’s gubernatorial campaign.
The other Democratic hopefuls who ran were retired farmer, attorney and judge Frank Svoboda of Lincoln; retired Fremont real estate broker Larry Marvin; and Chris Janicek, the owner of an Omaha specialty cake business.
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8:40 p.m.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has easily won the Republican nomination to seek a second term in November.
Ricketts enters the general election with more than $1.3 million in campaign cash at his disposal for the general election, far outpacing all other gubernatorial candidates. His only GOP challenger in Tuesday’s primary didn’t raise or spend enough to trigger a reporting requirement.
Ricketts defeated Krystal Gabel of Omaha, a technical writer who advocates for medical marijuana and industrial hemp. Gabel previously volunteered for the Nebraska Green Party and the Legal Cannabis Now Party.
Ricketts has already started airing television ads to tout his previous efforts to lower property taxes.
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8:30 p.m.
Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska has won the Republican nomination in her bid for a second term in office.
Fischer defeated four GOP challengers in Tuesday’s primary election and will be the strong favorite to win re-election in deep-red Nebraska.
Some of Fischer’s primary opponents had argued she wasn’t conservative enough, but Fischer received endorsements from a majority of the state’s elected Republican officials, as well as major farm and business groups. Before being elected to the Senate, she was a rancher and state legislator.
In the GOP primary, Fischer defeated retired Omaha math professor Jack Heidel; writer and retired air conditioning technician Dennis Frank Macek; former finance manager Jeffrey Lynn Stein; and Lincoln businessman Todd Watson.
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8:05 p.m.
The polls have closed in a Nebraska primary election that will set up races for U.S. Senate, governor and the U.S. House.
Polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, ending a day of voting that election officials say was fairly light.
There were plenty of contests, topped by contested nomination races in both parties as Gov. Pete Ricketts and U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer sought second terms.
In congressional elections, attention was focused on the Omaha-based 2nd District, where Democrats Brad Ashford and Kara Eastman were competing for a chance to face Republican incumbent Rep. Don Bacon.
Other statewide races included state treasurer and legislative seats.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a former public address announcer at Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium to 180 days in jail plus five years’ probation after being convicted of improperly taking money from an elderly widow.
Patrick Combs was sentenced Monday following his conviction after a seven-day trial in March. He was found guilty of theft, attempted theft and abuse of a vulnerable adult.
Prosecutors requested a longer prison term. Besides the jail time and probation, Combs was ordered to pay $45,000 in fines and to perform 360 hours of community service.
The 52-year-old Combs admitted to spending money from Beverly and Harold Mosher but says he was carrying out their wishes.
His first trial ended in a mistrial, and Combs is considering appealing the verdict.
Combs was fired days after charges were filed against him in 2015.
Lonnie Lee Mundt, 47, of Hershey passed away May 12, 2018 at Great Plains Health.
Lonnie was born on February 23, 1971 in Hastings, NE to Larry and Marietta (Redinger) Mundt. Lonnie attended Sandy Creek High School and then moved to Ord in 1985, graduating with the Ord High School class of 1989. He worked at Mormack in North Loup, worked as a drywaller, and construction around the Ord area. On July 8, 1995 he married Tara Timmerman in Ord. The couple lived in Grand Island where Lonnie worked as a welder at New Holland. Lonnie and Tara then went on the road working industrial construction from 1996 – 2007. In 2007, the family moved to their home at Hershey. He continued on the road as a commercial welder all over the country.
Baptized into Christ on Easter Sunday by his father in the Little Blue River in 1983, Lonnie trusted in the Lord and his faith was his sustainer. He loved being a husband and father who would do anything for his family and friends. He was very close to his parents. Lonnie loved to fish and hunt and will be remembered for his strong handshake and hugs.
Survivors include his wife, Tara of Hershey; children, Alex “Little Buddy”, and Sarah both of Hershey; parents, Larry and Mary Mundt of Hershey; siblings, Michelle (Dean) Brand of Grayson, KY, and Michael (Kimberly) Mundt of Frankfort, KY; nieces & nephews, Benjamin, Joshua and McCaslin Brand, Aundreya (Cody) Rich, Kassidy Mundt, Jada Key, and Taylen Key; mother-in-law, Carla Timmerman of Ord; and sisters-in-law, Holly (Greg) Harker of Omaha, and Shea Timmerman of Littleton, CO.
He was preceded in death by grandparents, Harold and Letty Mundt, Lily Applegate, and Dwight Redinger; and father-in-law, Dan Timmerman.
In lieu of flowers, memorials donations are suggested to a fund for the family at First National Bank. Online condolences may be shared at www.adamsswanson.com.
Memorial services will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, May 17, 2018 at Church of Christ Church, 3311 South Oak with Ned Cooper officiating. Visitation will be 12-8:00 p.m. with the family receiving friends from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Wednesday at Adams & Swanson Funeral Home which is in charge of arrangements.
Rodney Gene Pueppka, age 82, of North Platte, NE, passed away on Saturday, May 12, 2018, at Great Plains Health.
Rodney was born March 26, 1936, in Sutherland, NE, to Arthur and Erma Linda (Hoefer) Pueppka. He grew up in North Platte where he graduated from St. Patrick’s Catholic High School in 1954 then joined the U.S. Air Force in September. Following his discharge in 1958, he returned to North Platte and hired on with the Union Pacific Railroad for a short time then went to work for the U.S. Post Office, retiring from there after 34 years of service.
On December 6, 1958, Rodney was united in marriage to Carol Jean Greeley at Sterling, CO, and they made their home in North Platte. The couple had four children and were married for 47 years when Carol passed away.
Rodney was a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus, and P.R. Halligan Post #163 American Legion. He liked being outside working in his yard and spending time with his family. Rodney was a gentle, caring person and the best dad you could have.
He is survived by his daughters, Valerie (Dave) Steffes and Elisha Pueppka, of North Platte; daughter-in-law, Cindy Pueppka, of North Platte; grandchildren, Stephanie Pueppka, Kelly (Justin) Stoddard, Scott Pueppka, Eric (Ashley) Steffes, Sarah (David) Colvin, Greg (Bree) Steffes, Laura Steffes (fiancé, Nick Lee), Brian Steffes and Adam Steffes; eight great-grandchildren, Riley and Reid Stoddard, Nolan, Ethan and Ellie Steffes, Owen and Kate Colvin, and Cole Steffes; as well as other family.
Along with his wife, Carol, Rodney was preceded in death by their sons, Mitchell and Michael; his parents, Arthur and Erma; brothers, Darrell and Kenneth Pueppka; sister, Beverly Weaver; and granddaughter, Beth Marie Steffes.
Cremation was chosen. Memorial graveside service with military honors will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, 2018, at Fort McPherson National Cemetery. The memorial book may be signed at odeanchapel.com or at the graveside. Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore is in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials are to Holy Spirit Catholic Church.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Authorities say a 70-year-old man has died in an Omaha apartment fire.
Firefighters sent to the scene around 2:45 p.m.Saturday found that the fire had burned itself out because there wasn’t much oxygen in the apartment. The victim was found sitting upright. The fire appeared to have been started by smoking materials on a couch.
An autopsy was scheduled. The man’s name hasn’t been released.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a driver was fired after an 11-year-old Grand Island student was found on a school bus at the bus yard.
