GERING, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a Gering woman, accusing her of scamming her 84-year-old grandfather out of more than $250,000 over four years.
Court records say 33-year-old Stacia Keener is charged with one count of felony theft and two felony counts of forgery. Online jail records say Keener remained in custody Tuesday. Her attorney didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 18.
The records say the man reported that Keener had lied to him about needing money to pay back taxes and attorney and had forged checks on his account. He also said he was supposed to be a co-signer on a bank loan to her but learned later that he’s been made the primary borrower.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Shopping online may cost Nebraska residents a bit more under a bill intended to level the playing field between internet and brick-and-mortar retailers.
Lawmakers gave the online sales tax measure first-round approval on Tuesday with a 28-13 vote.
The proposal would require online retailers to collect sales taxes if their gross revenue in Nebraska exceeds $100,000 or they conduct 200 or more transactions in the state. Those that refuse would have to notify both buyers and the state that the tax is due.
Nebraska already requires online buyers to pay sales taxes when they file their income tax returns, but few residents comply and the state loses out on an estimated $30 million to $40 million each year. In December, online retailer Amazon announced it would start collecting sales taxes.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln attorney says that Nebraska has limited legal options regarding the smoke carried into the state from Kansas ranchers who annually burn tallgrass prairie.
A group of ranchers in the Flint Hills burned upward of 2.3 million acres of North America’s largest unplowed stretch of tallgrass prairie Saturday. The burning led to complaints from neighbors in Nebraska due to southerly winds carrying the smoke into the state.
Lincoln lawyer Steve Mossman, who specializes in agricultural and environmental law, doesn’t think Nebraska could successfully sue Kansas authorities to regulate prescribed burns because courts are reluctant to force them to regulate against their will. He says a better option is cooperation and better communication between the two states.
Kansas usually burns the Flint Hills acres around March and April every year.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man who was injured in a Lincoln traffic stop has settled his lawsuit against the city for $160,000.
Leroy Duffie and the city agreed to terms March 30. Lawyers for both sides say their clients are pleased to settle the matter.
An 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled last August that officers didn’t have reasonable suspicion that Duffie had or was going to commit a crime when he was stopped Sept. 3, 2011. Police say Duffie’s van matched a suspect’s vehicle.
Duffie says he told officers that he had lost his legs to amputation and couldn’t immediately comply with their demands to get out of his van. He fell when he did so. His injuries required surgery.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Child welfare advocates say proposed budget cuts that would eliminate some state contracts with agencies that support foster families will put Nebraska’s most vulnerable children at risk.
They said Tuesday that Gov. Pete Ricketts’ plans to reduce funding and end contracts with outside agencies and shift responsibility to state caseworkers is a step backward. The governor’s proposal calls for adding 14 new Department of Health and Human Services caseworkers to handle additional cases.
The state’s independent child welfare watchdog’s 2016 report states DHHS caseworkers already have higher caseloads than required by state and federal law.
Ricketts also would eliminate a program that provides post-adoption services to help families stay together, but Appropriations Committee members are keeping the program in the budget they expect to send to the full Legislature soon.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Two abandoned buildings are set to be demolished in a tiny Nebraska town known for violence, panhandling and alcohol sales on the border of South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that it has awarded a $100,000 grant to a regional development group to remove the buildings in Whiteclay.
The unincorporated town’s four beer stores sold the equivalent of 3.5 million cans of beer in 2015 despite having only nine full-time residents. Whiteclay is a regular hangout for Native Americans who drink, loiter around the stores and pass out in nearby fields.
State officials identified the buildings as places where people gather to consume alcohol. The department says demolishing the buildings will make way for future development.
MPCC Rodeo Team members prepare for the championship round at a rodeo in Brookings, SD on Saturday. MPCC finished second overall in the men’s team standings.
The second half of the 2016-17 season is off to a good start for the Mid-Plains Community College Rodeo Team.
Members placed second in the men’s team standings during a rodeo hosted by South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D. over the weekend.
Chandler Comfort, of Gem, Kan., won the team roping alongside his partner, Samantha Jorgenson, of Black Hills State University. The move pushed the duo even further into the lead in the regional standings.
Additionally, Cyler Dowling, of Newell, S.D., and Lane Kennedy, of Orleans, Neb., placed second in the team roping. Dowling was also second in steer wrestling.
Trenton Solida, of Phillipsburg, Kan., finished third in the tie down roping, and Rowdy Moon, of Sargent, split third and fourth in the bareback riding.
Garrett Nokes, MPCC Rodeo Team timed event coach, was pleased with the results, especially considering the circumstances.
“Some of the animals were pretty tough, so a lot of teams were struggling,” said Nokes. “We were having some challenges, too, in a few of the areas where I thought we would do really well. But, I feel like my guys did the best they could on the livestock they were given, and now we know what to work on before they compete again this weekend.”
He couldn’t help but be happy with the fact that half of the team scored points.
“I think that’s probably the worst rodeo we will have all spring, and we still ended up second,” said Nokes. “I’m real positive about the rest of this season. Now we have a baseline, and we’re just going to get better from here.”
The team will compete in four more rodeos through the first week of May. The next one will be Friday and Saturday at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at an elementary school in San Bernardino (all times local):
11:35 a.m.
The San Bernardino police chief says two adults are dead after a shooting at an elementary school.
San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan says on Twitter that investigators believe “the suspect is down.” He says there is no further threat to the school.
Burguan says the shooting is believed to be a murder-suicide.
He said at least two students were taken to a hospital.
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11:28 a.m.
A spokeswoman for San Bernardino City Unified school district says one of four people shot in a classroom was a teacher.
Maria Garcia says the shooting is believed to be a domestic dispute.
At least two students have been airlifted to a hospital.
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11:20 a.m.
The police chief of San Bernardino says a shooting at an elementary school appears to be a murder-suicide.
San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said on Twitter that there four victims being treated, including at least two students who were taken to a hospital.
He says the shooting happened in a classroom.
The other students in the school were being evacuated and taken to a nearby school.
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11:05 a.m.
A fire official says multiple people have been shot at an elementary school in San Bernardino.
San Bernardino County fire spokesman Eric Sherwin says the shooting happened Monday morning at the North Park School in San Bernardino.
Sherwin says numerous firefighters and police officers are headed to the scene.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a driver was seriously injured when her car crashed into Glenn Cunningham Lake in north Omaha.
Police say the woman was driving west on Nebraska Highway 36 Sunday night when her car went out of control, left the roadway, hit a guardrail and went airborne, landing upside down in the lake.
The woman made it to shore on her own and was found by a passing motorist. The woman was taken to a hospital.
Police say the woman said she’d smoke marijuana and methamphetamine before the crash. Charges against her are pending.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln’s bike share program will likely begin this fall with 100 bikes and 17 stations across downtown and its university campuses.
The program will be operated by BCycle, the same company that runs the Omaha program.
Ben Turner, coordinator of Omaha’s Heartland BCycle, says the company will provide its latest equipment to the city, including lighter-weight bikes. The newer, solar-powered docking stations will give users the option to rent bikes using credit or debit cards, or through a smartphone app that allows the user to pay cash by going through a local merchant.
The city and BCycle are currently negotiating details of their contract, which is expected to go to City Council in the next few weeks.
GERING, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a Gering woman, accusing her of scamming her 84-year-old grandfather out of more than $250,000 over four years.
