We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Animal rights group calls for halt to university research

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An Ohio-based animal rights watchdog group wants a Nebraska university to permanently ban a team of researchers from experimenting on mice after the university self-reported a breach of research protocols in 2016.

Stop Animal Exploitation Now called for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to take action on Tuesday.

The demand stems from a university report to a government agency regarding a dispute between researchers and a veterinarian over the timely euthanasia of mice used in a study.

An investigation into the matter found unauthorized individuals were participating in animal-related activities, research was being done in an unapproved lab and researchers failed to follow animal well-being and post-procedure guidelines.

A university spokesman says corrective and preventative measures are now in place to prevent breaches in protocol.

Body, believed to be Nebraska man, found in Montana river

POLSON, Mont. (AP) — Law enforcement officers in northwestern Montana believe a body that was recovered from the Flathead River is that of a 23-year-old Nebraska man who went missing last month.

Richard Mitchell of Minatare, Nebraska, fell into the fast-moving water on May 31 after passing warning signs at a scenic overlook just below the SQK Dam on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Lake County Sheriff Don Bell tells KERR-AM that a fisherman spotted the body Tuesday in a section of the Flathead River called the Big Bend, which is west of Ronan and about 17 river miles (27 kilometers) from the dam.

Bell says the body was being sent to the state crime lab in Missoula for confirmation of the identification and to determine the cause of death.

Colorado announces largest pot bust since drug was legalized

DENVER (AP) — Dozens of Coloradans are accused of running a marijuana trafficking ring in which they pretended to be growing weed for sick people but illegally shipped the drug out of state.

A Denver grand jury has indicted 62 people and 12 businesses in case that involved federal and state agents executing nearly 150 search warrants in 33 homes and 18 warehouses in the Denver area.

The indictment was returned June 9 and announced Wednesday by state Attorney General Cynthia Coffman.

Coffman says it is the largest illegal marijuana operation since Colorado legalized the drug. She says that “the black market for marijuana … continues to flourish.”

Coffman says that the enterprise was producing more than 100 pounds a month of illegal pot for shipment to Kansas, Texas, Nebraska, Ohio and Oklahoma.

Omaha man sentenced to prison for fatal crash last year

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 60-year-old Omaha man has been sentenced to 40 to 50 years in prison for causing a crash last year that killed a motorcyclist.

Kevin Malone was sentenced Wednesday in Douglas County District Court. He was convicted in May of felony motor vehicle homicide, manslaughter, leaving the scene of a crash and driving without an ignition interlock device.

Police says Malone was drunk when his car crashed into a motorcycle driven by 43-year-old Justin Hart of Omaha on Aug. 31. Hart died at an Omaha hospital.

Police say Malone drove from the crash scene. Numerous witnesses provided police with a description of the vehicle and driver.

AUDIO: Grappling on the Gridiron set for July 7th in North Platte

The 2017 Grappling on the Gridiron event is set for Friday, July 7 at North Platte High School’s Memorial Stadium.

The tournament is open for ages 1st grade through 12th grade with a $16 fee per wrestler. Matches for first through sixth graders will be three one-minute periods and seventh through 12th graders will be three 1 1/2- minute periods. High school rules will apply for all age divisions.

To register go to trackwrestling.com under Grappling on the Gridiron 2017. Medals will be awarded to the top four places in each division.

Admission is $5 for adults and children 17 and under are free. Weigh-ins for wrestlers will be from 3-5 pm in the North Platte High School wrestling room. For more information contact North Platte Bulldogs wrestling coach Dale Hall at 308-760-3153 or email dahall@nppsd.org.

Man gets 5 years supervised release for defrauding banks

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Plattsmouth man has been sentenced to five years of supervised release for defrauding banks.

Mark Tincher also was fined $50,000 at his sentencing Monday in U.S. District Court in Omaha and told to pay more than $833,000 in restitution. He pleaded guilty in March to fraud.

Prosecutors say that between April 2010 and June 2010, Tincher manipulated checks between four banks at which he maintained accounts. His action, called check kiting, artificially inflated the balances.

At one time Tincher ran Tincher Chevrolet Oldsmobile in Plattsmouth. It closed in July 2011.

Inmate gets 8-12 years for punching Lincoln prison guard

Brendan Horner

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska inmate has been given more time to serve because he assaulted a prison guard.

Brendan Horner was given eight to 12 years at his sentencing Monday in Lincoln. He’d pleaded no contest.

Authorities say Horner grabbed the guard March 26 last year at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln when the guard entered Horner’s cell to look for marijuana the guard smelled. Prosecutors say Horner threw the guard to the floor and punched the guard several times before other guards intervened.

Horner’s been serving time for shooting a man during a June 2012 road rage incident in Lincoln.

Nebraska senator looks for new state flag via crowdsourcing

Sen. Burke Harr (nebraskalegislature.gov)

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska state senator who called for an overhaul of the state flag is turning to the internet to come up with a possible new look.

Sen. Burke Harr of Omaha says he wants to see ideas from the public and may try to change the flag again if one design receives a strong positive reaction.

Harr says he sees nothing wrong with the current state flag, which features the state seal. But he says he’d like to see an image more recognizable and distinguishable. The flag hung upside down at the Capitol for more than a week in January before someone noticed.

Harr says his staff was approached by officials from Skillshare, a New York-based online learning community that offered to create new designs via crowdsourcing.

Dance instructor gets 12-14 years for teen girl sex assaults

WILBER, Neb. (AP) — A southeast Nebraska dance instructor has been imprisoned for sexually assaulting two teenage girls.

Vinson Jenkins was given 12 to 14 years during his sentencing Monday in Saline County District Court in Wilber. He’d pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted sexual assault.

Authorities say one of the 14-year-olds said Jenkins sexually assaulted her April 25, 2016, in the basement of his Crete home. The other girl told a Crete officer that Jenkins repeatedly sexually assaulted her from August through December 2015 at the Dynamic Dance Company studio.

Man fatally shot at Schuyler motel, police say

SCHUYLER, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 33-year-old man has been fatally shot at a motel in eastern Nebraska.

Officers were sent to the Schuyler Inn in Schuyler a little before 2 a.m. Tuesday. They found a man suffering from several gunshot wounds. Police say he was pronounced dead later at a hospital. His name hasn’t been released.

A person of interest in the case has been identified, but no arrests have been reported.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File