(AP) — The Grand Island City Council won’t vote until next week on its contribution to a legal fund aimed at keeping a Nebraska veterans home in Grand Island.

Mayor Jay Vavricek said he wants the council to discuss the matter but not vote at Tuesday night’s study session because issues and amounts have changed.

The Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce initially asked Hall County and the city of Grand Island to contribute $10,000 each, with an additional $5,000 each to come from the chamber and the Grand Island Area Economic Development Corp. The $30,000 fund was to be used in determining whether Grand Island could challenge the state decision to build a veterans home in Kearney instead of a replacement facility in Grand Island.

 (AP) — Cooler than normal weather across much of Nebraska and dry conditions are hampering the development of the corn crop.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says in Monday’s weekly report that warmer temperatures are needed in many areas to advance crop maturity.

The condition of dry land corn is rated at 45 percent good or excellent, compared with the 59 percent average.

Irrigated corn conditions stand at 79 percent good or excellent, compared with the 75 percent average.

Corn pollination remains significantly behind schedule.

The USDA says 72 percent of soybeans are rated good or excellent, one percentage point better than the week before.

A North Platte man is facing a felony charge after he allegedly shoved his significant other.

According to a North Platte Police Department news release, Officers responded to a domestic disturbance in the 2300 block of West Philip on Sunday.

Upon arrival, Police made contact with a 35-year-old female who alleged her domestic partner, 43-year-old George Loving, assaulted her by forcibly pushing her down following an argument.

Following further investigation, Officers found probable cause to arrest Loving and charge him with 3rd Degree Domestic Assault.  Because Loving has prior convictions for the same offense, this charge is a felony.

Loving was placed under arrest and transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center.

A North Platte couple is asking the community to pitch in and help a local widow.

On Saturday August 24th, Ryan and Sarah Alexander will be working on the home of Wilma Hackney, assisting her with home improvement projects.  Hackney, of North Platte, has been a widow since 1998, but that hasn’t slowed her down. She’s spent most of her life helping orphans through the Nebraska Foster Care system, and now it’s time to give back.

Businesses and individuals can help by donating supplies and offering assistance with the projects the Alexanders will be working on.

But the purpose of the project is two-fold.

Not only are the Alexanders wanting to give their assistance to Ms. Hackney, the are also hoping to raise funds to help offset the costs of adopting a little girl from Ghana.

The Alexanders are working with the Both Hands Foundation, which is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to serving widows, orphans and adoptive families.  Founded in 2008, the Nashville-based nonprofit’s purpose is to help people raise funds for orphans while serving widows through home improvement projects such as painting, de-cluttering, cleaning and landscaping.

Ryan says volunteers will be sponsored in much the same way as someone running a 5K or participating in the golf tournament in an effort to raise funds.  The families involved recruit a team of friends to work on a widow’s house.  In advance of the project, teams ask family members, friends and businesses to sponsor them for a day of labor.

All sponsorship funds raised go to help offset the high cost of adoption.

To date, Both Hands has helped over 7,900 people serve a widow in need in their community, and completed over 266 projects.

The Alexanders are currently waiting to be matched with a child from Ghana.  They hope to bring their new child home within the next year.

Donations can be made online at www.bothhands.org/ryan-and-sarah-alexander .

 

 

Health officials say Lyme disease is about 10 times more common than previously reported.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says as many as 300,000 Americans are actually diagnosed with Lyme disease each year.

Previously, the CDC said the number ranged from 20,000 to 30,000. But CDC officials have known that doctors don’t report every case, and the true count was probably much higher.

The CDC surveyed labs and reviewed insurance information to come up with a better estimate, which was released Monday.

Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria transmitted through the bites of infected deer ticks. Symptoms include fever, headache and fatigue. It is treated with antibiotics.

In the U.S., cases are most common in the Northeast.

Nebraska averages around six cases of the disease each year.

(AP) — Leaders from Omaha’s powerhouse Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben Foundation are meeting in Lincoln for the first time in the organization’s 118 years.

They’ll be listening to University of Nebraska President J.B. Milliken talk about the university system on Monday and will hold a regular meeting.

Jane Miller is chief operating officer of The Gallup Organization in Omaha and is chairwoman of Ak-Sar-Ben’s board of governors. She said the meeting is part of the organization’s effort to extend its influence and participation from its Omaha base.

The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben raises and gives away millions of dollars to scholars, agricultural and community causes. Its membership is a who’s who of business leaders.

• Today: Sunny, with a high near 91. South wind 3 to 7 mph.
• Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 62. South southeast wind 3 to 7 mph.
• Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 92. South wind 5 to 13 mph.
• Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. South wind 9 to 13 mph.

(AP) — More than half of Nebraska’s population lives in and around Omaha and Lincoln, but the 2014 Nebraska governor’s race is filling up with candidates from rural areas and small towns.

The declared field includes Republican state Sens. Charlie Janssen of Fremont and Tom Carlson of Holdrege, who have both pointed to their small town backgrounds. Falls City businessman Charles Herbster is also expected to join the race, as is Republican Pete Rickets, who would be the only candidate from Omaha.

The Democratic race includes state Sen. Annette Dubas, of Fullerton, and Chuck Hassebrook, who lives in Lyons and heads the Center for Rural Affairs.

Lincoln political consultant Phil Young says central and western Nebraska still account for a huge chunk of the votes needed to win a statewide race.

(AP) — The Nebraska State Fair has successfully settled into its new home in Grand Island, and organizers are looking forward to this year’s version.

The State Fair begins on Friday and runs through Labor Day.

When the fair moved from Lincoln to Grand Island in 2010 to make way for a new University of Nebraska-Lincoln research park, organizers had to offer financial guarantees to vendors.

This year, vendor space sold out in April and a waiting list for next year is growing. And carnival operators have been competing to run the fair’s rides.

Fair executive director Joe McDermott says attendance is now regularly higher in Grand Island than it was in its last years in Lincoln, excluding the final year.

(AP) — A city planning board has scrapped efforts to limit routes for medical helicopters flying to and from a Kearney hospital after hospital officials said it didn’t have the authority to do so.

Doug Wulf, Good Samaritan Hospital’s chief flight nurse, told the board Friday that limiting the routes to and from Kearney Regional Medical Center would hinder landing and takeoff.

And, he said, the Federal Aviation Authority is the only entity that can control airspace.

The planning board opted, instead, to recommend a warning light be placed atop an 80-foot observation tower in a city park.