UPDATE:
A 38-year old woman kidnapped in Lincoln at gunpoint on Saturday, August 24, has been located unharmed and her kidnapper found deceased west of Imperial in rural Chase County.
Just before 7:30 p.m., Sunday, August 25, Julie Hanes, 38, Lincoln, walked out of a cornfield onto 331 Avenue, approximately two ½ miles northwest of Imperial in rural Chase County. Hanes, who was uninjured, was taken to the Chase County Community Hospital in Imperial for observation.
Just before 9:00 p.m., the body of Dwayne Lawrence, 38, Lincoln, was located by authorities approximately 130 yards into the same cornfield. Authorities at the scene say Lawrence suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
The search for Lawrence and Hanes began around 8:30 a.m., Sunday, August 25, after a local farmer called the Imperial Police Department to report he had located an abandoned 1998 Gold Chrysler matching the description of a vehicle wanted in connection with a kidnapping in Lincoln. The abandoned vehicle was on driveway at the end of an irrigated farm field.
A perimeter was established and law enforcement officers from the Nebraska State Patrol, Imperial Police Department and the Chase County Sheriff’s Office along with K-9 units and the Nebraska State Patrol Helicopter combed an eight mile area approximately two miles west of Imperial.
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The Nebraska State Patrol in conjunction with the Imperial Police Department and Chase County Sheriff’s Office are searching an area west of Imperial for the victim and a suspect in connection with a kidnapping that occurred in Lincoln on Saturday. August 24.
Around 4:30 a.m., Sunday, August 25, an Imperial officer on foot patrol spotted a car matching the description of the vehicle involved in the kidnapping driving down a street in the west part of Imperial. The car took off and a search for the vehicle began. Around 8:30 a.m., a farmer in the area called the Imperial Police Department to report he had located a 1998 Gold Chrysler abandoned on a driveway at the end of an irrigated farm field. The car was identified as the vehicle driven by the suspect, Dwayne Lawrence, 38, Lincoln. A perimeter was set up and a search began.
An NSP Helicopter, along with K-9 units and officers, from the Nebraska State Patrol, Imperial Police Department and Chase County Sheriff’s Office are currently searching an eight mile area approximately two miles west of Imperial.
The suspect, Dwayne Lawrence, and the victim Julie Hanes, 38, Lincoln, are believed to be on foot. Residents in the surrounding areas are asked to remain vigilant and to report suspicious activity to 911.
(AP) — The number of cattle in feedlots in Nebraska and nationwide shrank last month, so beef prices are likely to remain high.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says there were 2.08 million cattle in Nebraska feedlots on Aug. 1. That’s 7 percent lower than last year.
Nationally, there were 10 million cattle in feedlots on Aug. 1. That figure was 6 percent lower than 2012.
The USDA figures are for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more.
(AP) — Nebraska cattle producers are being warned to keep watch for a grass fungus that poses problems for livestock.
The ergot (UR’-guht) fungus has been confirmed in several nearby states, including Missouri and Iowa.
Richard Randle is a University of Nebraska-Lincoln beef veterinarian, and he says he and colleagues are aware of at least a couple of unconfirmed Nebraska reports.
Early moisture followed by heat causes certain grasses to grow quickly and develop seed heads faster than cattle can consume them. That allows ergot to flourish in the seed heads.
The tips of cattle ears and tails fall off because the fungus can hamper blood flow to extremities. Cattle also can become lame, but ergot poisoning is unlikely to be fatal.
More information is available online at https://marketjournal.unl.edu/ .
(AP) — Financial advisers who work with online brokerage TD Ameritrade now have access to software that will help them quickly fill out repetitive forms for clients.
TD Ameritrade says it is the first firm to offer advisers the Laser App Anywhere software that automatically fills out basic client information on many forms.
The software is based on the Internet, so it is available on computers, tablets and mobile phones. The form-completing software is integrated into the Veo investment management program Ameritrade offers advisers.
Dan Kiley, CEO of Retrement Corporation of America, says his investment clients expect him to have key information available wherever he is, and this software helps with that.
(AP) — Seven Nebraska communities are getting more than $1.4 million in grants to help pay for public works projects.
The Nebraska Department of Economic Development says the grants will help the cities improve their infrastructure. Most of the projects involve upgrades to drainage systems, sewers and sidewalks.
Projects in Dorchester, Osmond and Lindsay will each receive grants of $250,000. Those are the biggest individual grants.
The other cities receiving grants are Cambridge, Duncan, South Sioux City and Walthill. Those grants range from $90,000 to $223,000.
All of the grants require the cities to contribute some additional money to complete the projects.
(AP) — Abortions in Nebraska have fallen to at least a 20-year low following passage of state laws that restrict the practice, but a number of factors could be behind the trend.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services says the number dropped to 2,299 last year, a decline of more than 3 percent. The numbers have dropped consistently since 1992, when more than 5,600 abortions were reported.
Nebraska Right to Life executive director Julie Schmit-Albin says part of the decline is likely due to a 2010 Nebraska law that bans abortions starting at 20 weeks into a pregnancy.
University of Nebraska assistant law professor Beth Burkstrand-Reid says the decline could also be due to other factors, including the more effective use of birth control.
TOTAL ABORTIONS BY YEAR
2008: 2,813
2009: 2,551
2010: 2,464
2011: 2,372
2012: 2,229
NUMBER OF ABORTIONS PER 1,000 LIVE BIRTHS:
2008: 103.9
2009: 93.8
2010: 93.9
2011: 90.9
2012: 87.5
(AP) — The number of people who have contracted West Nile virus has risen.
Nebraska health officials said Wednesday that they had recorded 11 human cases of West Nile virus in the state for 2013. By Friday, that number had risen to 14.
Four people have been hospitalized with the virus. No one has died this year from the virus.
West Nile is transmitted to people through mosquitoes that feed on an infected bird. Most people with the virus will have no symptoms or only mild flu-like symptoms. A small percentage will develop a serious illness.
Last year, there were 193 human cases of West Nile virus in Nebraska and four deaths.
(AP) — Lincoln police are looking for a man who kidnapped his estranged wife at gunpoint Saturday from the hair salon where she worked.
Police say at least two witnesses saw Dwayne Lawrence take his wife, Julie Hanes, from the Audacious Hair Salon & Massage around noon Saturday. The couple was gone before officers arrived.
Police found Lawrence’s truck at his work Saturday, but didn’t find Lawrence and Hanes.
Court records show that Hanes filed for divorce July 30 about two weeks after getting a protection order against Lawrence. She told a judge that Lawrence had threatened her several times.
Police say they believe the couple may be headed west toward Imperial, North Platte or Denver in a gold 1998 Chrysler Concorde with license plate number TKA048.
