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Authorities release name of Hastings motorcyclist killed by collision

fatal-motorcycle-crashHASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a man who was fatally injured when his motorcycle collided with a car in Hastings.

Police say the accident occurred a little after 5:10 p.m. Wednesday when the car, pulling out of a parking lot into traffic, was hit by the motorcycle.

The motorcyclist was pronounced dead later at a hospital. Police identified him as 23-year-old Josiah Nelson. An autopsy has been scheduled.

The car driver was treated for minor injuries. She’s been identified as 62-year-old Lynette Steiner, of Holstein.

The collision is being investigated.

Omaha job program works to keep kids occupied in summer

step-up-omahaOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A partnership between the city of Omaha and the Empowerment Network hopes to have jobs for a record number of teenagers this summer to teach life and employment skills.

The 2017 kick-off for the program, known as Step-Up Omaha, was held Wednesday morning. Step-Up aims to pair 14- to 21-year-olds with community businesses to provide summer jobs, vocational education, career exploration opportunities and internships so kids utilize their summers and stay out of trouble.

Program Director Jami Anders-Kemp says Step-Up helped nearly 470 young adults secure summer jobs or training in 2016. This year, the eight-week program hopes to help 600 kids.

Summer crime rates have decreased since the program started in 2008, and the city is noticing.

Mayor Jean Stothert is pledging to double the program’s funding for next year to $1 million.

Keystone XL developer renews effort to build in Nebraska

transcanadaLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The developer of the Keystone XL pipeline is once again seeking approval for a route through Nebraska.

TransCanada said Thursday that it has filed an application with the state commission that regulates oil pipelines.

The company’s previous attempts to start construction in Nebraska have been thwarted by activists and some landowners who worry about its environmental impact. Opponents have already met to discuss how they can halt the project.

The Keystone XL would travel from Canada through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, where it would connect with an existing Keystone pipeline network to carry crude oil to Texas Gulf Coast refineries.

Republican President Donald Trump has said he supports the pipeline, and last month he signed executive memos to make it easier for the project to move forward.

North Platte Forecast-February 16

forecast-graphic-february-16-2017Today
Sunny, with a high near 73. West wind 6 to 11 mph.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 29. South southwest wind 5 to 9 mph.
Friday
Sunny, with a high near 65. West northwest wind 6 to 13 mph becoming north in the afternoon.
Friday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 29. North northeast wind 3 to 7 mph.
Saturday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. Calm wind becoming south southeast 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 36.
Sunday
A 20 percent chance of rain after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 66.
Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42.
Washington’s Birthday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 62.
Monday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 33.
Tuesday
Sunny, with a high near 65.
Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 34.
Wednesday
Sunny, with a high near 62.

Ricketts signs first bill to cut Nebraska state budget

economyLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has approved more than $137 million in cuts from the state budget in the fiscal year that runs through June 30.

Ricketts signed the budget bill into law on Wednesday surrounded by members of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee. The governor says it’s an important step toward addressing the projected $895 million state revenue shortfall.

Lawmakers still have to pass a two-year budget to cover expenses through June 2019. Ricketts says officials should consider the interests of taxpayers before “special interests” and balance the budget without raising taxes.

Sen. John Stinner of Gering, the Appropriations Committee chairman, says senators have already begun work on the upcoming budget and expect a vigorous debate in the Legislature.

Omaha man who killed girlfriend, toddler gets 2 life sentences

Dontevious Loyd
Dontevious Loyd

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man has been given two life sentences for killing his girlfriend and her 2-year-old daughter, as well as another 45 to 50 years for shooting three other witnesses.

A judge handed down the sentences Wednesday for 24-year-old Dontevous Loyd, who avoided the possibility of the death penalty last year when he pleaded no contest to first-degree murder, attempted murder and weapons counts.

Police say Loyd kicked in the apartment door of 22-year-old Destacia Straughn on Dec. 6, 2015, and shot her and her daughter, Kenacia Amerson-Straughn, to death. He also shot three other women visiting Straughn.

Ricketts to speak at national conservatives’ conference

Gov. Pete Ricketts
Gov. Pete Ricketts

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is set to speak at a national conservatives’ conference just outside of Washington.

The Republican governor will address an audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February.

Organizers say Rickets will speak about the importance of strong families and the effect they can have on major domestic policy discussions.

The conference will take place at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at the National Harbor in Maryland from Feb. 22-25.

Ricketts also is a director of the Chicago Cubs, a former executive at Ameritrade, and the founder of Drakon LLC, an investment group that supports startup companies.

Omaha man sentenced to prison for botched robbery killing

Jamar Milton
Jamar Milton

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 19-year-old Omaha man has been sentenced to decades in prison for killing a man and wounding another in a botched robbery in an Omaha park.

Jamar Milton was sentenced Wednesday in Douglas County District Court to 58 to 82 years. He was convicted in November second-degree murder, assault and a weapons count.

Prosecutors say Milton and two other boys fatally shot 31-year-old Jamymell Ray and wounded Charles Fisher on June 29, 2015.

Milton was 17 at the time of the shootings, but he was prosecuted as an adult. Another teen, 16-year-old Shuntayvious Primes-Willis, was sentenced in July to 30-50 years in prison for his role. The other youth involved who was 12 at the time was sent to Boys Town in Omaha.

Surgeons rude to patients may pose problem in OR, study says

Medical-ChartCHICAGO (AP) — Surgeons who are rude to patients and others may pose a problem in the operating room. That’s according to a new study linking surgery complications with doctors whose hospitals have gotten lots of complaints about their behavior.

Surgery complications were 14 percent more common in patients whose surgeons had at least 14 complaints during the previous two years, compared to patients whose doctors had few or no complaints.

Complaints included surgeons dismissing questions about upcoming operations, or mistreating nurses.

The researchers say rude behavior could hurt the operating team’s performance. They say quality improvement programs that share negative feedback with surgeons can result in fewer complaints and fewer malpractice cases. So they recommend speaking up when you see unprofessional behavior.

The study was published Wednesday in JAMA Surgery.

National fraternity suspends Creighton chapter after attack

phi-kappa-psiOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The national Phi Kappa Psi fraternity has temporarily suspended its Creighton University chapter while it investigates allegations that a new member attacked a woman on campus with a knife.

The national group announced the suspension Wednesday.

An attorney for the accused student, 19-year Christopher Wheeler, contends that Wheeler was forced to take a hallucinogenic drug in a fraternity hazing incident before the attack.

Prosecutors say Wheeler went into an 18-year-old woman’s dorm room early Saturday and asked for someone else before cutting her throat with a pocket knife. The woman was hospitalized and is recovering.

Wheeler has been banned from Creighton’s campus and has moved back to Kansas City, Kansas, with his parents. His attorney says he has no memory of the attack.

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