LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court set an execution date Thursday for the state’s longest-serving inmate, a crucial step needed to carry out Nebraska’s first execution in 21 years.

The court issued a death warrant for Carey Dean Moore, who has spent nearly four decades on death row for the 1979 shootings deaths of two Omaha cab drivers. Justices set the execution date for Aug. 14 at midnight, a few weeks before the state’s supply of a key lethal injection drug is set to expire.

“The Department of Correctional Services is prepared to carry out the court’s order,” Suzanne Gage, a spokeswoman for Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, said in a statement.

After years of delays, the 60-year-old Moore has stopped fighting state officials’ efforts to execute him, and he recently accused them of being too “lazy or incompetent” to carry out the sentence. He filed a motion in May to dismiss his court-appointed lawyer, but the state Supreme Court denied his request. Moore also ordered his attorney to stop fighting the state’s attempts to execute him.

“At this point, I do not intend to file anything” to try to stop the execution, said Moore’s lawyer, Jeff Pickens.

Nebraska has struggled for decades to carry out executions, despite its deep conservative leanings. The state’s last execution took place in 1997, using the electric chair.

The state has since adopted a lethal injection protocol but has struggled to carry out executions because of legal challenges and difficulties in obtaining the necessary drugs. Gov. Pete Ricketts’ administration faced criticism in 2015 after the state corrections department sent $54,000 to an India-based broker for lethal injection drugs it never received.

State lawmakers abolished capital punishment in 2015, overriding Ricketts’ veto, but voters reinstated the following year through a petition drive partially financed by the Republican governor.

Nebraska has 11 men on death row.

In court filings, corrections Director Scott Frakes said the state’s supply of potassium chloride —a key drug in Nebraska’s protocol — will expire on Aug. 31. State officials haven’t disclosed where they obtained the drug.

Executions for Moore have been scheduled before, but were thwarted by legal issues. An execution date was set in 2007, but was called off after the Nebraska Supreme Court declared the electric chair unconstitutional. The court scheduled him again to die 2011, but that ruling was halted amid questions over the legality of the state’s purchase of lethal injection drugs.

State officials are trying to forge ahead with an execution despite a judge’s order last month to release public records that would identify the supplier of its lethal injection drugs. Nebraska officials have appealed the ruling in lawsuits filed by the state’s largest newspapers and a civil liberties group.

“We are deeply disappointed that the court would issue a death warrant when multiple cases relevant to the death penalty are currently pending in the courts,” said Amy Miller, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska.

Miller said it was “incredibly troubling” that the court would allow an execution to go forward even though the governor, attorney general and Department of Correctional Services have not honored Nebraska’s open records laws.

By GRANT SCHULTE, Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A group that’s seeking to expand Medicaid in Nebraska has collected more than enough signatures to place the issue on the November general election ballot, organizers said Thursday.

Insure the Good Life announced it has gathered more than 133,000 signatures, well above the required minimum of 85,000.

The petitions were due to Secretary of State John Gale’s office by Thursday afternoon. The signatures still need to be verified, a process that will take weeks, but campaign officials said they’re confident voters will get to decide the issue.

“Our state is strongest when all Nebraskans have the chance to be healthy, and it’s hard to stay healthy without health insurance,” said state Sen. Adam Morfeld of

Lincoln, a leading proponent. “Expanding Medicaid is a long overdue solution that would allow our hardworking families, friends and neighbors to get the health care everyone needs and deserves.”

Nebraska’s Republican-dominated Legislature has rejected six previous attempts to expand Medicaid under former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, the Affordable Care Act.

GOP Gov. Pete Ricketts and former Gov. Dave Heineman opposed the expansion, arguing it would divert state money away from other priorities. Ricketts’

Democratic challenger, state Sen. Bob Krist, said he supports the ballot initiative.

Conservative organizations vowed to fight the ballot measure.

“This proposal will make a bad problem worse by further straining a broken Medicaid program that already struggles to provide quality health care services for Nebraska’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Jessica Shelburn, state director of the group Americans for Prosperity-Nebraska.

Despite the state’s conservative leanings, petition organizers said they’re hopeful voters will pass the measure. They pointed to Maine, the first and only state so far to expand Medicaid coverage through a ballot measure. It still hasn’t been implemented there, as Republican Gov. Paul LePage has fought it.

Former state Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln, who fought for years to expand Medicaid in the Legislature, said the measure would help rural hospitals that have struggled financially because of patients who can’t pay their bills.

“A ‘yes’ vote for this initiative underscores our Nebraska heritage of supporting and caring for each other,” Campbell said. “We need to work very hard until November.”

Andy Hale, a lobbyist for the Nebraska Hospital Association, said allowing voters to decide the issue could remove some of the partisan pressures that have built around it.

“Changes in Medicaid should be motivated by the needs of the patients and the people, and not by politics,” Hale said.

The measure would provide health care coverage to an estimated 90,000 people, ages 19 to 64, who earn too much to qualify for regular Medicaid but too little to be eligible for financial assistance available under the Affordable Care Act. Many residents who fall into the so-called coverage gap work in service jobs with no benefits, such as hotel, fast-food and construction workers.

The ballot initiative was heavily financed by the Fairness Project, a Washington-based group formed by labor unions to push for minimum wage ballot measures that has since branched out to promote what it calls “economic fairness” issues.

The Fairness Project played a pivotal role in the 2017 vote to expand Medicaid in Maine. In addition to the Nebraska campaign, the group is working this year on Medicaid expansion ballot measures in Idaho, Montana and Utah.

Roughly 11 million people nationally have gotten coverage through the expansion of Medicaid.

The Nebraska measure would require state officials to submit a coverage plan to the federal government to insure certain residents who make less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level — about $16,750 a year. The federal government would then have to approve the plan.

It also would prevent state officials from placing “additional burdens or restrictions” on residents who qualify. Some Republican-led states have sought to impose work and other requirements on able-bodied adult recipients as part of their proposals. Critics argued that Medicaid isn’t a jobs program.

In addition to getting 85,000 signatures, organizers also had to demonstrate statewide support by gathering signatures from at least 5 percent of the registered voters in 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties. Petition circulators were able to meet that threshold in at least 45 counties, said campaign manager Meg Mandy.
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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A record $600 million in road and bridge projects are slated for construction in Nebraska next year.

State officials including Gov. Pete Ricketts announced the total on Thursday as they released the Department of Transportation’s plans for projects over the next five years.

Nebraska DOT Director Kyle Schneweis says it’s an exciting time for Nebraska given the historic level of investment in road and bridges.

The DOT is responsible for nearly 10,000 miles of Nebraska roads and 3,500 bridges. In the coming fiscal year 2019, the agency will focus on maintaining existing infrastructure within the state’s transportation system.

The upcoming projects are scattered throughout the state.

A Florida man has been arrested following a road rage incident on Interstate 80 near Kimball Wednesday evening.

At approximately 9:30 p.m. MT Wednesday, July 4, the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) received a report of a man shooting from one vehicle into another on I-80 near mile marker 20.

The victims, driving westbound in a 2005 Chrysler minivan, reported that they had come upon the suspect vehicle, a 2000 Kia Rio, traveling at 45 miles per hour through a one-lane construction zone. The driver of the minivan honked and flashed its lights in an attempt to urge the suspect vehicle to drive faster.

When the construction zone ended and both lanes were open, the suspect vehicle stayed in the passing lane, traveling slowly. The minivan was attempting to pass in the right lane, when the passenger of the Kia Rio fired a single shot from a handgun into the minivan. The bullet went through the driver’s window and lodged in the dash. The driver of the minivan suffered minor injuries after being struck by bullet fragments and broken glass.

The victims stopped their vehicle, while the suspect vehicle continued driving westbound into Wyoming. NSP coordinated with the Wyoming Highway Patrol, which was able to locate the vehicle and take the suspect into custody.

Kevin Austin, 47, of Cocoa, Florida, will be returned to Nebraska on an arrest warrant for 2^nd degree assault and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

By GRANT SCHULTE, Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Someone threw bricks through the Nebraska Republican Party’s office windows in Lincoln and spray-painted “ABOLISH ICE” on a sidewalk in front of the building, party officials said Tuesday.

Executive Director Kenny Zoeller said the vandalism happened between midnight and 3 a.m. at the party’s downtown office, three blocks from the state Capitol.

The vandals caused approximately $1,200 in damage, according to a Lincoln police report. One brick smashed all the way through a front window, and another shattered one pane of a second window’s double-paned glass. A newspaper carrier discovered the damage shortly after 3 a.m. and called authorities, police said.

Zoeller said someone also spray-painted the word “Resist” on the party’s front windows in December. He said his office frequently receives threats of violence, particularly in the wake of President Donald Trump’s election and the heated national rhetoric that followed.

“I really wish I could tell you I’m surprised by this, but I’m not,” Zoeller said.

The words “ABOLISH ICE” are a reference to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some have called for the government to replace the agency following intense criticism of its implementation of President Donald Trump’s suspended policy of separating families who cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

Zoeller said nothing was stolen from inside the party office.

The vandalism is the latest in a string of incidents aimed at Republican officials in GOP-dominated Nebraska. Last year, police said vandals tossed reddish-brown “fake blood” on the Lincoln office doors of U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse. Someone also placed stickers on their doors and windows touting the protest group

Betsy Riot, which describes itself as a “decentralized neo-suffragette, punk-patriot resistance movement.”

In a statement, the Nebraska Democratic Party condemned the vandalism.

“We understand how frightening it is right now to be working in politics where people are resorting to violence, racism and other divisive rhetoric,” said Jane Kleeb, the party’s chairwoman. “Our workplaces and homes are meant to be safe places where we pursue our goals and dreams.”

Zoeller said party activists have already started donating money to cover the cost of repairs and plan to use the incident in a fundraising pitch. The building is insured, but Zoeller said the damage doesn’t appear extensive enough to exceed the party’s $5,000 insurance deductible. He said the party hasn’t seen any vandalism at its field offices in Omaha and Kearney.

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Arkansas death row inmates want information from Nebraska about a drug that Nebraska plans to use for lethal injections.

The inmates’ attorneys filed a request Monday asking a federal judge to order Nebraska to provide information about where the state’s prison system acquired the fentanyl it plans to use for an upcoming execution, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

The Arkansas lawyers argued that fentanyl, a painkiller, may be a more humane alternative to midazolam, a drug Arkansas uses in executions. They’re seeking information about Nebraska’s fentanyl supply, where the state obtained the drug, and when the state expects to acquire more.

Nebraska has repeatedly refused to release such information, saying the information is confidential under state law.

Five Arkansas death row inmates have a pending lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ use of midazolam, which they argue “has been linked to several executions in which inmates suffered prolonged, tortured deaths.” Little Rock-based attorney John Williams cited examples from execution in 2014, including Joseph Wood gasping and snorting for nearly two hours before he died from an injection of midazolam and hydromorphone in Arizona.

The lawyers said Nebraska has refused to provide information that they need to determine whether fentanyl could be made available in Arkansas. The attorneys are seeking an order compelling Nebraska to comply under a subpoena issued in Arkansas.

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office has contended in three similar lawsuits filed in Nebraska that the information sought under public records law is confidential under state law.

A county judge last month ordered the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services to release information identifying the state’s supplier that didn’t name execution team members. Nebraska officials haven’t turned over the information as they appeal the decision.

Nebraska officials have been scrambling to set an execution date for Carey Dean Moore, the state’s longest-serving death row inmate, before their supply of the key execution drug expires next month.

The last Nebraska execution occurred in 1997, using an electric chair.

LINCOLN – Today, Governor Pete Ricketts, in accordance with a proclamation from President Donald J. Trump, announced that all U.S. and Nebraska flags are to be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims of the tragedy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Flags will be flown at half-staff until sunset on July 3, 2018. The President’s proclamation can be found here.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraskans with disabilities and those who are at least 60 years old can continue to receive services through a state program made permanent by Gov. Pete Ricketts.

The Aging and Disability Resource Centers were part of a 2016 pilot program that was overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services. They’re designed to help people with disabilities gain access to a variety of long-term care services while also working with families and caretakers. The decision to make them permanent was announced Monday.

The centers include counselors who provide unbiased information that is relevant to each person’s specific needs and preferences.

More information is available at http://nebraska.networkofcare.org/aging/ or by calling 1-844-843-6364. Offices are located in Lincoln, Omaha, Beatrice, Norfolk, Hastings, Kearney and Scottsbluff.

After an extensive candidate search, the Great Plains Health Care Foundation Board of Trustees has appointed Kathy Bourque as the new executive director.

“We are excited to have someone of Kathy’s caliber carry on the work of the Foundation and grow it throughout the region we serve,” said Leland Poppe, Great Plains Health Care Foundation chairman.

The mission of the Great Plains Health Care Foundation is to inspire philanthropy that will enhance the quality and availability of healthcare services for the patients and communities served

by Great Plains Health. In 2017, Foundation donors made direct contributions to patient care totaling more than $550,000 among 23 specific projects. In addition, Foundation donors contributed $8.5 million toward the expansion of the Great Plains Health emergency department, a project that is currently under construction.

“Since the Foundation’s formation in 1992, donors have dedicated a tremendous amount of time and dollars advancing the health of our community,” said Mel McNea, Great Plains Health chief executive officer. “Kathy’s leadership skills and passion for serving the patients of our region will be an excellent fit as the Foundation Board continues its mission.”

Prior to accepting the position of Foundation executive director, Bourque served as

Great Plains Health’s senior director of patient experience. She is a former Great Plains Health Board member and chairman and a former Great Plains Health Care Foundation Board member.

Bourque holds a bachelor’s degree from Chadron State College in interdisciplinary studies and a master’s degree in management and leadership from Western Governors University.

“The Foundation is where my passion lies because it is about making the patient experience better,” said Bourque. “My husband and I have been supporters of the Foundation for more than 10 years. We realize the difference that GPHealth makes in our region every single day.”

Bourque will begin in her new role on July 16. She follows Libby Lashley, who stepped down from the position to become a business owner in North Platte.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Business remains strong in nine Midwest and Plains states, but a new monthly survey suggests growth is slowing as concerns about trade and tariffs increase.

The region’s overall economic index decreased to 61.8 in June from May’s 67.3, but any score above 50 indicates growth.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss said the trade concerns and more interest rate increases are likely to slow the region’s economy.

“I expect expanding tariffs, trade restrictions and rising oil prices to slow growth and push inflation into a range leading to more aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes,” Goss said.

The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth in that factor. A score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

The employment index dipped to 61.9 in June from May’s 66.3.

“Overall employment growth in the region over the past 12 months has been healthy but expanding at a rate below that of the nation,” Goss said.

But business leaders remain optimistic about their prospects over the next six months. The region’s confidence index declined to 59.8 in June from May’s 66.3.

The wholesale inflation index registered 86.9 in June, down slightly from May’s 88.9. That reflects the increase in products that steel and aluminum and increases in shipping costs.