Two North Platte teens have been charged with a felony following an investigation by the North Platte Police Department (NPPD).
According to a NPPD news release, Police investigated an incident in which a semi-nude photo of a 15-year-old female was being distributed to other individuals via text message in March 2013.
As a result of the investigation, two sixteen-year-old females from North Platte have been arrested within the last week on a felony child pornography charge. Police say the two teens charged are responsible for initiating the process of the photo’s distribution.
According to Public Information Officer Rodney Brown, the photo was not of either one of the suspects.
Due to the age of the suspects, the North Platte Post is choosing not to name the teens charged in the case pending formal charges by the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office.
(AP) — A new report suggests that healthy economic growth slowed down this month in rural areas of 10 Midwest and Plains states.
The overall economic index for the region slipped to 55.8 in August from 57.3 in July but was far ahead of the 47.1 in August 2012.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the monthly survey of rural bankers. He says drought weighed down the economy last year. He says lower farm commodity prices are dampening the current outlook for the farm economy.
The index ranges from 0 to 100, with 50 representing growth neutral. A score above 50 suggests economic growth in the months ahead.
The index is based on a survey of rural bankers in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
(AP)–A new government survey shows obesity still isn’t budging among American adults.
Overall, the level of adult obesity has been about the same for years now.
The latest survey found 13 states with very high rates of obesity last year. Louisiana and Mississippi led the list. In both, nearly 35 percent of adults were obese. Colorado was lowest, with less than 21 percent.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does the telephone survey each year, and recently released the state list for 2012. The highest obesity rates continue to be in the South and Midwest.
A former employee at Voices 4 Families has been charged with a felony after she allegedly stole money from the organization.
At 11:30 am on August 7th, North Platte Police responded 417 North Dewey on the report of a theft from Voices 4 Families.
Officials with the organization told the responding Officer that Ashley Pankonin, a former employee, had stolen a company cell phone and possibly other property that belonged to the the non-profit group.
Officers learned that Pankonin had upgraded her company phone to a newer model after her employment had ended. Police believe she planned on using the phone for personal use while the bill was being paid for by the business.
While the Officer was present, it was also noted that Pankonin had made an unauthorized withdrawal of $1,500 from the businesses account. Police allege she planned to use the monies for personal use.
Additionally, it was also discovered that Pankonin had failed to return a laptop computer that belonged to Voices 4 Families. The Officer spoke with Pankonin who stated that she wasn’t going to return the computer until the information it contained was removed. She told Police she had taken the computer to another business that perfored work on computers. It was determined that she had no intention of stealing the computer.
Following an investigation, it was determined that there was probable cause to arrest Pankonin for Felony Theft by Deception because of the unauthorized withdrawal as well as the issue with the cell phone.
Pankonin was processed at the Lincoln County Detention Center and released.
Voices 4 Families is a non-profit family support organization, serving families in West/Central Nebraska whose children are diagnosed with mental, behavioral and/or emotional disorders and/or substance abuse.
A North Platte woman is being charged with a felony after she and her domestic partner engaged in a wrestling match.
At around 7:45 pm on Wednesday, Officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to a physical disturbance in the 800 block South Poplar.
Officers learned that two females were involved in an argument which turned physical when 35-year-old Dawn Herweh pushed her 42-year-old female partner down a flight of stairs inside the residence. The two then began to wrestle, at which time Herweh began to choke the victim.
The victim told Police that she was in pain from the incident.
Following an investigation, Herweh was charged with misdemeanor 3rd Degree Domestic Assault, Felony Strangulation and misdemeanor Child Abuse/Neglect. Police say the latter charge was filed because children were present during the altercation.
Herweh was arrested and jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.
(AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration has approved funding for a $1.6 million project at the Western Nebraska Regional Airport in Scottsbluff.
Airport authority directors were told at their meeting Wednesday that the FAA blamed mandatory federal budget cuts for a delay in the final approval. The FAA will pay 90 percent of the project cost.
The expansion will provide restrooms and seating for 185 more people in the security area. Airport manager Darwin Skelton says the expansion will improve the facility’s ability to be a diversionary airport for Denver International Airport.
The work is expected to begin on Sept. 1 and be finished by early next year.
Today: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. Calm wind becoming east southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. East wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Calm wind becoming south southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60. South southeast wind 7 to 9 mph.
(AP) — Attorneys for a man convicted of a 1988 double murder in Nebraska want to access autopsy records in an effort to find DNA evidence that might free their client.
Attorneys for Jeff Boppre say autopsy records at Regional West Medical Center could identify the nature of the victims’ injuries. They also say it could show what items might contain DNA from the perpetrator of the crime.
Boppre has argued for years that he was framed for the Scottsbluff killings of Richard Valdez and his pregnant girlfriend, Sharon Condon. The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld his conviction multiple times.
North Platte Police have arrested another man in connection with a stolen firearm.
Timothy Leeper, 24, has been charged with a felony after Police identified him as a suspect in a theft from the 700 block of West B Street in North Platte.
Police responded to a reported theft in the 700 Block of West B on July 30th. Through their investigation, Police identified the suspects as 24-year-old Timothy Leeper and 29-year-old Christopher Rosenberg. Investigators say the duo stole personal property, including a firearm, from the residence. Police soon learned that the firearm in question had been seized from a residence on North Bailey on July 17th during a search.
Rosenberg was taken into custody and charged with being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm on Monday. On Tuesday, an Investigator met with Leeper regarding the stolen firearm. It was determined that there was probable cause to believe Leeper had been in possession of the firearm when it was seized from the North Bailey residence.
Subsequently, Leeper was charged with Felony Possession of Stolen Property-Firearm, and booked into the Lincoln County Detention Center.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office website did not have a bond listed for Leeper. Rosenberg’s bond is set at 10% of $75,000.
(AP) — Gov. Dave Heineman is sending a Nebraska state delegation on a trade mission to Taiwan and Japan.
Lt. Gov. Lavon Heidemann will lead the two-week trip in September, along with state officials from the Departments of Agriculture and Economic Development. Heineman said Wednesday that officials in Taiwan have shown strong interest in Nebraska’s agricultural products.
Nebraska officials are traveling to Japan for the annual Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference in Tokyo. The delegation will also visit the Nebraska Center in Japan, which opened in 2006 as the state’s first foreign trade office.
Heineman says the delegation will receive an update on a 2010 trade agreement signed with Taiwanese officials. The agreement was worth an estimated $450 million in sales of corn, soybeans and wheat.
Two North Platte teens have been charged with a felony following an investigation by the North Platte Police Department (NPPD).
