LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska residents who have relied on Medicaid for their health or their children’s are urging elected officials to preserve the health coverage program for children, seniors and people with disabilities.
The group voiced concerns Thursday about proposed caps on the program under the Republican-sponsored American Health Care Act. They spoke at a gathering sponsored by Nebraska Appleseed, a public interest law firm.
Katie Nungesser of Lincoln says Medicaid provided coverage for her and her infant daughter after a divorce forced her to close the day care business she had run out of her home.
Amanda Gershon of Lincoln says Medicaid allows her to purchase prescription drugs needed for a variety of autoimmune disorders. Now that she has the medications, she plans to enroll in college.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A University of Nebraska-Lincoln student accused of assault says in a lawsuit that he’s been unfairly banned from the campus.
Court records say Jeremiah Perkins, of Beaver City, was arrested after the off-campus incident. In his lawsuit he says he was assaulted by one or more university students. Police say Perkins assaulted his girlfriend and a man who intervened.
Perkins is charged with felony assault and terroristic threats. His attorney didn’t immediately return a message Thursday.
Perkins alleges the university violated his rights because he had no opportunity for a hearing after he was banned April 15. His federal lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a judgment that would prevent the university from enforcing its ban.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s net tax collections in May fell below official state projections.
The Department of Revenue announced Thursday that the state received a net of $402 million last month. That’s more than 2 percent below the certified state forecast of $411 million.
The department says net sales-and-use and individual income taxes fell below projections, while corporate income and miscellaneous were above the forecast.
Net tax receipts for the current fiscal year are roughly on par with projections that were certified in April. The state had collected nearly $3.9 billion as of May. The current fiscal year ends June 30.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Nebraska man has been found guilty of second-degree murder in northwest Iowa for the death of his estranged wife.
A Woodbury County jury was in its second day of deliberation when it found 29-year-old Rogelio Morales, of Hubbard, Nebraska, guilty Thursday afternoon.
Prosecutors say he killed 21-year-old Margarita Morales on April 19, 2015, in his car near a Sioux City residence.
Court documents say Morales told investigators a fight broke out when his wife told him she no longer wanted to be in a relationship and that she was seeing another man. Defense attorney Mike Williams said in his closing arguments that there’s no doubt Morales killed the woman but said Morales “is guilty of voluntary manslaughter, not murder.”
U.S. regulators have approved new competition for EpiPen, the emergency allergy medicine that made Mylan a poster child for pharmaceutical greed.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Adamis (ad-DEHM-iss) Pharmaceuticals Corp.’s product, which should go on sale later this year.
Symjepi (sim-JEPP’-ee) is a syringe prefilled with the hormone epinephrine, which helps stop life-threatening allergic reactions from insect stings and bites or eating foods such as nuts and eggs.
San Diego-based Adamis says its product is easier to use than Mylan’s EpiPen, an autoinjector that comes with a training device. Symjepi also is smaller, so it’s easier for people to carry around with them.
Adamis says it will be much cheaper than EpiPens, which cost more than $600 for a two-pack.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped charges of child sexual assault against a 46-year-old former Omaha schoolteacher but will still try him on other counts related to the case.
Daryl Clark was charged last year with three counts of child sexual assault.
But prosecutors dropped those charges Thursday after they were unable to show that the girl had been younger than 16, the age of sexual consent in Nebraska.
Douglas County prosecutors are now charging Clark with child enticement and sexual assault by electronic device, possession of child pornography and visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct.
Clark also has another case pending for improper conduct with a minor.
At the time of his arrest last year, Clark had been a business education teacher at Monroe Middle School and a girls’ softball coach in Papillion and Bellevue.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A man has pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and a weapons count in the shooting death of a motorist in an Omaha road-rage incident.
Darwin Johnson pleaded no contest Thursday in the October death of 32-year-old Cristian Pastrana-Marin.
Johnson faces 21 years to life in prison when he is sentenced in August.
Police say Pastrana-Marin and Johnson’s 18-year-old girlfriend got into a dispute in which Pastrana-Marin honked at her after one car cut off the other on U.S. Highway 75 near downtown Omaha.
At a red light, Johnson got out of Green’s vehicle and fired seven times at Pastrana-Marin, hitting him once in the head. Pastrana-Marin died seven days later.
Hershey’s Maintenance Superintendent is in some hot water following a disturbance early Thursday morning.
At around 2:28 a.m., deputies with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of a man threatening people with a gun in the 700 block of West 2nd Street, in Hershey.
Deputies arrived and made contact with a female who alleged that her boyfriend, 50-year-old Ronnie Stewart, had assaulted her and pointed a shotgun at another subject. The victim stated that she and the other person were able to flee the scene.
Deputies made contact with Stewart via telephone and asked him to come outside. Stewart reportedly exited the home without incident and was detained.
According to Chief Deputy Roland Kramer, deputies then searched the residence to ensure that there were no other subjects inside. While inside, deputies observed drug paraphernalia and several firearms, two of which had been reported stolen at an earlier date.
Following the initial investigation, it was determined that probable cause existed to arrest Stewart and charge him with 3rd-degree domestic assault, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, possession of a stolen firearm and felony terroristic threats.
Stewart was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center. Kramer says the investigation is ongoing.
A bull rider competes at the 2016 Buffalo Bill Rodeo. This year’s rodeo runs through June 17. Photo by Dott’s Shotts.
North Platte, Neb. (June 14, 2017) – Hardy Braden didn’t have to call home tonight to let his parents know how he did at the Buffalo Bill Rodeo in North Platte.
Butch and Tammy Braden were on hand to see their son take the lead in the saddle bronc riding after the first night of competition.
The Welch, Okla. cowboy rode the Beutler and Son Rodeo Co. horse Painted Desert for 86.5 points to take the lead.
It was a bit of revenge for the 28-year-old cowboy. He’d rode the horse, a twelve-year-old gelding, in Burwell, Neb., three years ago. “Last time I got on her, she kind of made me look stupid, actually. She got me behind (in spurring) and I couldn’t catch up, and she just made me look like a stepchild out there,” Braden said.
Braden, who has been competing since he was 18 years old, is having the best year of his rodeo career. He’s sitting fourth in the PRCA world standings, the highest he’s ever been. “It’s unbelievable, actually,” he said. “It hasn’t really sunk in. It’s been like a dream, almost.” He’s competed at about 28 rodeos so far, well under the 100 that saddle bronc riders are allowed to count for the world standings, to be in the top fifteen to qualify for the elusive world championship, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December.
He doesn’t keep track of where he is in the standings; his mom does that. “I try not to look,” he said. “No sense in it. I’m just going to go out there and do the best I can, and let the cards fall where they may.”
He’s had some pretty big wins so far this year, winning first in Red Bluff, Calif. in April, Claremore, Okla. last month, and getting checks in Santa Maria and Redding, Calif., and Strong City, Kan.
Drawing good horses is part of his successful year. “I’m just drawing good,” he said. “I may be riding a tick better, but the last three or four years, I feel like I’ve been riding the same. I’ve been drawing decent the whole year, and that’s a big plus.” A successful year would result in his qualifying for his first ever Wrangler NFR, where the best fifteen cowboys in each event battle for the world championship.
His dad Butch is on hand to work as a pickup man at the Buffalo Bill Rodeo, and his mom, while helping with the pickup horses, cheered as her son rode. Braden loves the support. “My family, they’re pretty awesome. My dad’s picking up here, so it’s kind of a family affair. It always makes it awesome for me, especially when I ride decent.”
The busiest part of the rodeo season is about to kick off, and Braden will head to Pleasant Grove, Utah on Saturday, then go on to Reno, Nev., Lehi, Utah, and then Greeley, Colo. for the Fourth of July.
He’s not changing his strategy for the rest of the year. “I’ll do what I always do, hit the same rodeos as I always have,” he said.
And hopefully he’ll end up in Las Vegas for the Wrangler NFR in December.
After the morning’s slack and the evening competition, other leaders are bareback rider Orin Larsen, Ingles, Manitoba (83.5 points), steer wrestlers Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala. and Ryan Swayze, Freedom, Okla. (4.0 seconds each), tie-down roper Dane Kissack, Spearfish, S.D. (9.0 seconds), team ropers Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo. and Wyatt Cox, Arroyo Grande, Calif. (5.3 seconds), barrel racer Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas (17.17 seconds) and bull rider Tanner Bothwell, Rapid City, S.D. (74 points).
The 2018 Miss Rodeo Nebraska was crowned, with the title going to Kristin Kohmetscher of Lawrence, Neb. The 24 year old cowgirl is a student at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine and the daughter of Duane and the late Laurie Kohmetscher.
The second of four nights of rodeo takes place Thursday, June 15 at 8 pm. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to show awareness of breast cancer, and proceeds will be donated to the Callahan Cancer Center in North Platte. Tickets are available at www.NebraskalandDays.com and at the gate.
Results, 1st Performance and slack, June 14, 2017
North Platte, Nebraska – Buffalo Bill Rodeo
Bareback riding
1. Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba 83.5 points on 202 Stardust; 2. Trey Moore, III, Anniston, Alberta 82; 3. Casey Breuer, Mandan, N.D. 79.5; Seth Hardwick, Ranchester, Wyo. 71.
Steer wrestling
First go-round results
1. (tie) Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala. and Ryan Swazye, Freedom, Okla. 4.0 seconds each; 3. (tie) Nick Guy, Sparta, Wis. And Jake Johnson, Mound City, Kan. 4.3 each.
Tie-down roping
First go-round results
1. Dane Kissack, Spearfish, S.D. 9.0 seconds; 2. Ace Slone, Cuero, Texas 10.0; 3. L.D. Meier, Texhoma, Texas 10.1; 4. Lane Livingston, Seymour, Texas 10.8; 5. Cody Huber, Albia, Iowa 11.1; 6. (tie) Paul David Tierney, Oral, S.D. and Tweety McBride, Brenham, Texas 11.2 each.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A man already in custody has been accused of killing another homeless man in Grand Island.
Police say 23-year-old Ahmed Said is charged with second-degree murder in the April 13 slaying of 41-year-old Abdulma Khamis. Police say Khamis was fatally struck with a blunt object April 13 and was found unresponsive a couple blocks west of Pier Park.
Said’s attorney in an unrelated assault case didn’t immediately respond to a message Wednesday from The Associated Press.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska residents who have relied on Medicaid for their health or their children’s are urging elected officials to preserve the health coverage program for children, seniors and people with disabilities.
