BENKELMAN, Neb. (AP) — A former Dundy County sheriff’s deputy accused of kidnapping and molesting a woman in his patrol car has been convicted.

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office says a jury convicted 37-year-old Charles Thibedeau on Thursday of kidnapping, third-degree sexual assault and oppression under color of office.

Prosecutors say Thibedeau sent Facebook messages to the 26-year-old victim last year asking her to meet him in a remote location to discuss a law enforcement matter. Prosecutors say Thibedeau lied to the woman about an imminent search by police of her home, then demanded to touch her breasts. When she refused, Thibedeau threatened her with a fictitious warrant, handcuffed her and placed her in his patrol vehicle. He then touched her bare breasts and later released her.

Thibedeau faces up to 50 years in prison when he’s sentenced March 5.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Fair Board has announced the hiring of a new executive director from Montana.

The board announced Friday that it has hired Lori Cox as the new Nebraska State Fair director. Cox comes from the Big Sky Country State Fair in Montana and has a background in 4-H and production agriculture. Cox assumes her new duties immediately.

She is in the process of relocating to Grand Island.

In a news release, Cox says she hopes to build on the Nebraska State Fair’s rich history while “accelerating the steady growth that the Fair has seen.”

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska has chosen one of its own executives to be its next chief executive.

The insurer says Steven Grandfield will replace Steve Martin as president and CEO in March. Martin is retiring after leading the company for 16 years.

Grandfield currently oversees strategic planning, innovation, sales and marketing at Blue Cross.

The insurer’s board chairman, George Beattie, says Grandfield understands the complex business well.

Blue Cross’s board worked to find Martin’s successor over the past year and considered internal and external candidates.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is trying to transform its 50-year-old 911 system to better locate calls made on cellphones, according to public safety officials.

Four of every five 911 calls in the state are made on cellphones but the current system can’t receive GPS data to help locate those who call from a cellphone.

“You’d be surprised how often people don’t know where they’re at,” said Tom Casady, director of Lincoln Public Safety.

The 911 center gets a general location from a cellphone tower when a call is taken, Casady said. Authorities can triangulate a cellphone caller’s location within about 300 meters as the call progresses, he said.

“(It’s) not nearly as precise as people are led to believe from movies,” Casady said. “And not nearly as precise as they’re led to believe from the apps that they use every day on their phone.”

Cellphone callers in urban areas can be even more difficult to track down because of imprecise call-locating methods, Casady said.

In contrast, calls from landlines automatically deliver an address to the 911 center, he said.

Officials are considering adopting a new system called Next Generation 911, said Dave Sankey, the state’s 911 director. The system would rely on internet calling, which will allow more information to be transmitted when calls are made, he said.

State Sen. Curt Friesen of Henderson introduced a bill that would create an advisory group to explore the issue for the Public Service Commission. The group would make recommendations regarding the system before the commission puts out an official bid. That could occur as early as next Fall, Sankey said.

Sankey said his staff is already working to create accurate geographic information system maps of city and county boundaries, law enforcement jurisdictions, fire districts, streets and home addresses. These maps will help 911 dispatchers send the right services to the right places, he said.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A winter storm has Nebraska and parts of Iowa and Kansas in its crosshairs.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for most of Nebraska, starting Saturday evening in western Nebraska and continuing through Sunday night across much of the state. The service says up to a foot of snow could fall on Scottsbluff, Chadron and other western cities. The service says up to 8 inches of snow could hit central and northeastern parts of the state, as well as in northwestern Iowa on Sunday into Monday.

Other parts of Iowa and a section of Nebraska from north of Omaha to an area south of Hastings could see a wintry mix and freezing rain.

A winter storm warning has been issued for the northwest corner of Kansas, with an outer band extending to Garden City up through the north-central border included in a winter weather advisory.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal appeals court has rejected the appeal of a former Nebraska bank executive convicted of fraud and sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday affirmed Lundstrom’s conviction, sentence and his part of a $3.1 million restitution award.

The former TierOne Bank CEO and Gothenburg native was sentenced in 2016 after he was found guilty of 12 counts related to the 2010 failure of the Lincoln-based bank.

Prosecutors said Lundstrom and other bank officers hid losses from regulators and shareholders.

Lundstrom testified he never knowingly provided false information to investors or federal regulators.