KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Officials have held a dedication ceremony for the final span of hike-bike trail linking The Archway and Fort Kearny State Recreation Area east of Kearney.
The ceremony was held Saturday morning — 40 years after the trail got its start.
The final portion celebrated with Saturday’s ribbon cutting is 1.8 miles of concrete and crushed rock. The main trail from Cottonmill Park west of the city to Fort Kearny SRA east of Kearney spans 13.2 miles.
The trail got its start in 1977 with the public acquisition of the former Burlington Northern right of way near Fort Kearny SRA, and the project unfolded as trail-building funds became available.
Seconds after the ribbon was cut Saturday, bicyclists were off to pedal the completed trail.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man faces up to life in prison when he’s sentenced in August for abusing a 12-year-old girl and her two brothers.
A Lancaster County jury on Friday found Carlos Tucker guilty of first-degree child sexual assault and two other felonies.
The girl and her brothers — one younger and one older — each testified at Tucker’s trial that he abused them one afternoon in March 2016 while he was supposed to be watching them.
The three said Tucker initially introduced innocent games in which the winners would get candy. But the “games” later turned sexual, with Tucker ordering them to perform sex acts on each other. The girl said he forced her to perform a sex act on him.
Tucker denied the charges, but prosecutors presented DNA evidence along with the children’s testimony.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police are investigating an incident at a south Omaha bar that left one man dead and another injured.
Police say officers were called to JD’s Circle-In just before 3 a.m. Saturday. Officers arriving on the scene found 27-year-old Paul Gordon dead and 21-year-old Nikolas Gordon injured. Nikolas Gordon was taken to a hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening. It was not clear if or how the men were related.
Police did not release details about what had happened or how the injuries to the men occurred.
No arrests in the case have been reported. The investigation continued Saturday.
Stevi Hillman leads the barrel racing at the 2017 Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte. The Weatherford, Texas cowgirl’s time of 17.17 seconds still leads the pack after night three of the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame rodeo. Photo by Don Christner.
North Platte, Neb. (June 16, 2017) – The lead in the bareback riding at the Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte was set on Wednesday night, with Canadian cowboy Orin Larsen scoring 83.5 points.
But on Friday night, two cowboys, both ranked in the top ten in the PRCA’s world standings, moved into second and four place, after the third of four rodeo performances.
Bill Tutor, Huntsville, Texas, is ranked fifth in the PRCA’s world standings and made an 82.5 point ride aboard Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Bell Star, a five-year-old mare. “She was really good,” he said of the horse. “She kicked good, and gave you some hang time to show your capability. I was really pleased” with the ride.
Tutor, who is 25 years old, has more incentive than usual for rodeo this year. He finished the 2016 season in sixteenth place, one hole and about $1,500 from qualifying for what would have been his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, the super bowl of pro rodeo. Even though he didn’t make to the WNFR, being so close boosted his self-assurance. “I think, last year, coming so close gave me confidence, and that’s helped me a lot. Instead of showing up (at a rodeo) and hoping for the best, you show up, and you’re ready to win, you know you can win.”
Evan Jayne slipped into fourth place after an 81.5 point ride on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Nutrena’s Rage, and he had to hustle to do it. “That was tough,” he said of his ride. “That horse is so little, for a guy like me, it’ shard to get a hold of her. Right out of the gate, she got me set off a little bit, and I felt like I was chasing the ride the whole time. I didn’t ride 100 percent, but she made up for it. She was snappy.”
Jayne, who makes his home outside of Dallas, is ranked seventh in the world standings. He’s competed at the WNFR in 2015 and 2016.
His world was nearly upended in February when he and his wife’s four year old daughter had a brain aneurysm. Jayne was about to get on his bareback horse at the San Antonio, Texas rodeo when his wife Kristin called; their daughter was to have surgery in the morning. He packed up his belongings and made the four hour trip back to Dallas with his traveling partner doing the driving. “I couldn’t even drive, I was so upset.” His daughter, who he calls “a survivor”, will make a full recovery but it will take upwards of a year.
Jayne grew up knowing he wanted to be a cowboy, but he went about it in a non-traditional way. He grew up in a small town outside Marseilles, France, vowing he’d get to the U.S. to be a cowboy. He became a foreign exchange student, and got lucky enough to be chosen by a rodeo family in Texas. They made sure he got some rodeo experience, taking him to rodeo schools and high school rodeo. After that, Jayne got a student visa and attended Sam Houston State University on a rodeo scholarship. That was in nineteen years ago, and he’s won over half a million dollars throughout his rodeo career.
Other fast times and high scores from the Friday night performance are steer wrestler Brett Gumb, Burwell, Neb. (5.4 seconds), tie-down roper Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas (9.4 seconds), saddle bronc rider Brody Cress, Hillsdale, Wyo. (84.5 points), team ropers Travis Warren, Mullen, Neb. and TW Wilson, Limon, Colo. (7.8 seconds) and barrel racer Britta Thiel, Belle Fourche, S.D. (17.52 seconds). In the bull riding, three men made qualified rides: Trevor Kastner’s 87 point ride leads the pack, with Pleasanton, Neb.’s Bart Miller coming in second (84 points) and Nate Perry with 73.
The final night of rodeo in North Platte wraps up on Saturday, June 17 when champions will be crowned and custom engraved buckles awarded to winners. The big rodeo parade takes place on Saturday at 12 noon; it is the official parade for Nebraska’s sesquicentennial celebration and will be aired live on the Gray Television stations across Nebraska (KNEP-Scottsbluff, KNOP and KNPL-North Platte, KGIN-Grand Island, KSNB-Hastings, KOLN-Lincoln, WOWT-Omaha.)
For more information, visit www.NEBRASKAlandDays.com.
Results, 3rd Performance June 17, 2016
North Platte, Nebraska – Buffalo Bill Rodeo
Bareback Riding
1. Bill Tutor, Huntsville, Texas 82.5 points on Bell Star; 2. Evan Jayne, Marseille, France, 81.5; 3. Chad Rutherford, Lake Charles, La. 80.5; 4. Wyatt Bloom, Bend, Ore. 77.
Steer Wrestling 2nd go round
1. Brett Gumb, Burwell, Neb. 5.4 seconds; 2. Coltin Hill, Blackfoot Ida. 6.8; 3. Riley Krassin, Lander, Wyo. 9.1; 4. Del Ray Kraupie, Bridgeport, Neb. 14.1.
Tie Down Roping 2nd go round
1. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas 9.4 seconds; 2. Cody Nye, Alliance, Neb. 12.2; 3. Dane Kissack, Spearfish, S.D. 12.3; 4. Braxton Laughlin, Westlake, La. 23.0.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Creighton University’s president says the school has cut 66 nonteaching jobs and frozen top administrators’ salaries.
The Rev. Daniel Hendrickson said in a letter Thursday to the campus community that half of the positions eliminated were vacant. The people who have lost their jobs have been notified. Hendrickson says Creighton is providing generous severance packages, paid benefits and support services.
The cutbacks amount to about 5 percent of the nonfaculty workforce, leaving that workforce at about 1,320.
Hendrickson says the cutbacks “are an essential component of maintaining affordability and access for future prospective students.” Last month, in announcing the pending cuts, Hendrickson said Creighton had to reduce expenses to ensure its long-term stability.
BAYARD, Neb. (AP) — The National Weather Service has confirmed two more tornadoes that touched down in the Nebraska Panhandle on Monday.
The service said Thursday that an EF-1 twister carrying winds up to 110 mph (179 kph) struck the east side of Bayard (behrd) just before 7:15 p.m., damaging the roof of a nursing home. The tornado lifted six minutes later.
The second tornado touched down around 7:20 p.m. 4 miles (7 kilometers) north-northwest of Baird and rampaged northeast before dissipating at 8:25 p.m., 8 miles (13 kilometers) east-southeast of Alliance. It damaged a farmhouse and other farm buildings and equipment. It was rated EF-2, packing winds up to 135 mph (215 kph).
No injuries have been reported.
An EF-2 twister that lifted south-southwest of Harrison on Monday was reported confirmed on Wednesday.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Labor Department says the state’s preliminary unemployment rate has dropped a tenth of a point, hitting 2.9 percent in May, compared with 3 percent in April.
The department said in a report released Friday that the May rate was three-tenths of a point under the year-ago rate of 3.2 percent. The new rate also remained well below the U.S. rate of 4.3 percent in May.
State Labor Commissioner John Albin says the state and all three metropolitan areas showed job increases month to month and year to year and that the total number of Nebraska’s nonfarm jobs in May was a record.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — At least one health insurer plans to sell individual policies in Nebraska next year that meet Affordable Care Act standards.
Medica Health announced Thursday that it expects to file a rate request next week for statewide insurance for 2018 with the Nebraska Department of Insurance.
The decision affects nearly 100,000 people who had individual policies in Nebraska this year. Medica currently insures about 36,000 people in the state.
The insurance company would likely be the only one offering individual policies in Nebraska that are compliant with the federal health care law’s rules requiring maternity, routine checkups, hospital stays and a variety of other coverages.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska and Aetna Health announced two weeks ago they would drop their Affordable Care Act-compliant plans for 2018.
PERU, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s first college is celebrating its 150th birthday.
Peru State College is kicking off its string of campus events with an “All-College Reunion” this weekend.
Returning alumni will represent classes as far back as the 1940s.
The university was originally named the Nebraska State Normal School. It was established by the Legislature in 1867, three months after the state was admitted into the Union.
The University of Nebraska in Lincoln was founded two years later.
Peru State history professor Sara Crook says state funding and fundraising by the Peru State College Foundation have helped to remodel historic buildings and build a new entrance.
Total enrollment for the past school year was more than 2,600.
ELWOOD, Neb. (AP) — A woman has been accused of stealing from her employer in southern Nebraska.
Court records say 48-year-old Sandra Flint, who lives in Smithfield, is charged with two felony counts of theft. Court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for her.
Court records say she faked making payments to Lofquist Welding for a van she’d purchased from the Elwood business. The records also say she withdrew nearly $5,000 in cash from Lofquist’s bank account and deposited nearly $2,800 in her account on corresponding dates.
She worked for Lofquist as bookkeeper and office manager from September 2015 through Feb. 20 this year.
KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Officials have held a dedication ceremony for the final span of hike-bike trail linking The Archway and Fort Kearny State Recreation Area east of Kearney.
