Authorities in Western Nebraska have identified the Scottsbluff man who died Friday when he was struck by a freight train.

A Scottsbluff news outlet reports 20-year-old Christopher Wadding was hit by a westbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad train around 3 a.m. Friday.

Police Capt. Brian Wasson says Wadding had been lying on the tracks before the accident.

Fingerprints were used to identify Wadding after family members told police that he hadn’t been seen since about an hour before the crash.

Wasson says there is no evidence of foul play, and Wadding’s family members did not believe he was suicidal.

Toxicology tests were performed, and the results are pending.

YORK, Neb. (AP) — An inmate at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women in York died recently at a Lincoln hospital.

A York news outlet reports that 36-year-old Amy Katzberg died Wednesday. Assistant Warden Tim Siemek confirmed the death on Friday.

Siemek says Katzberg had been receiving medical treatment in Lincoln since May 16 for an unnamed medical condition.

Katzberg was serving a sentence of four to 10 years for felony theft in Lancaster County. She had been incarcerated since November 2010.

A grand jury will be called to investigate Katzberg’s death because she died in state custody.

The Rotary Chili Cook Off is happening this morning at Wild West Arena.. Admission is just $7.00 for adults..

Dr. Tom Pratt from Pratt Dental speaks about how the Chili Cook Off benefits North Platte.

North Platte Post News Director and Minnesota native Kris Allen sneaks in an exclusive interview with Lil Red… Lil red proved to be more of an exciting interview than the Vikings mascot..

NORTH PLATTE (North Platte Post) – With a clear sky over head, food vendors set up, and plenty of sun screen Nebraskaland Days opens up with a bang at the Lincoln County Historical Museum! The opening ceremony was accompanied by Miss Nebraska Kayla Batt, as the National Anthem was sung on stage followed by an Auction.

At the Lincoln County Historical Museum family and friends walked the roads seeing the area filled with life! The buildings were opened and you can see all the historical buildings insides. Fun was to be had and sights to see!

BLUE HILL, Neb. (AP) — A 33-mile-long detour has been arranged to handle traffic diverted from a road work on a mile of Nebraska Highway 4 in south-central Nebraska.

The Hastings Tribune says the work will begin Monday on the mile running east from the Highway 4 junction with U.S. Highway 281.

The Nebraska Roads Department says the roadway will be repaved and new lighting and guardrails will be installed. The project is expected to be finished in mid-September.

The detour includes stretches of U.S. Highway 281, U.S. Highway 136 and Nebraska Highway 78.

Project manager Lyle Kohmetscher says the long detour is needed because the area has so few paved roads, which are required for truck traffic.

NORTH PLATTE- (North Platte Public Library)- A free program, “Promise in a New Land: Migrating and Settling in Nebraska” by Cherrie Beam-Clarke, is being brought to the North Platte Public Library on Thursday, June 21^st by the Friends of the Library group and the Nebraska Humanities Council.  The Brown Bag Luncheon program begins at 12:00 PM and should last about one hour.  Attendees may bring their lunches.  Water and tea will be provided.  Seating is limited so seat reservations can be made by calling the library at 535-8036 by Wednesday, June 20^th.
Beam-Clarke, as Mariah Monahan, with Irish brogue and period costume, depicts a Nebraska settler between 1845 and 1870. Based on historical fact, this is a first-person Chautauqua-style presentation. Through a spellbinding rendition, viewers are transported in time to sail the ocean, ride the wagon trail, feel the loneliness and fight prairie fires. Laugh and cry with stories of successful crops, dancing, hard work, grasshoppers, losing loved ones and becoming an American. The sequel to this program “The Courage to Continue” will be at the library in August.  This educational and entertaining program is appropriate for all ages.  These programs are part of the library’s centennial year celebration.

 

Cherrie Beam-Clarke doesn’t lack for stories as she has spent nearly 25 years gathering and recording historic tales from Nebraska families. Cherrie boasts of being a “true Nebraskan,” as she has lived in both ends of the state and is a fourth generation farm girl. The pioneer stories are factual and reflect the diversity of the people and land from western to eastern Nebraska. Cherrie is an educational storyteller who speaks with an Irish brogue, dresses in period attire and delivers spell binding one-act plays that make audiences laugh and cry. Speaking for more than 25 years to all ages, her venues include elementary, especially 4th grade, through high school, libraries, museums, adult and youth church groups, senior centers, banquets and festivals. Cherrie traveled Nebraska as a storyteller on the wagon train commemorating the 150th birthday of the Oregon Trail. She is co-founder of John C. Fremont Days, one of Nebraska’s largest annual historical festivals, and founder of “A Day in the Past,” an annual day for 4th graders. She is recipient of a number of community and statewide awards for historical preservation.

OGALLALA, Neb. (AP) — Four Nebraska groups will use nearly $1 million in grants from the USDA to improve their video conferencing systems for education and medical treatment in rural areas.

The Agriculture Department announced the grants this week.

An educational service unit based in Ogallala will receive $412,925 to upgrade school video conference equipment in the Panhandle.

Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney will receive $253,345 to help expand telemedicine services in central Nebraska and Kansas.

An educational service unit in Ainsworth will get $180,000 to buy video conferencing gear for 21 schools in the area.

And Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte will receive $123,042 to help link its campuses across 18 counties in western Nebraska.

Today: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Breezy, with a south wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 64. South southeast wind between 13 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

Saturday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 98. South wind between 13 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

NORTH PLATTE -(North Platte Post) The Rotary meeting June 6th began when members were joined by all the contestants competing to be Miss Nebraska. All the girls come with the same goal: to win the crown from the current Miss Nebraska Kayla Batt. 

All the Miss Nebraska contestants stepped up the to mic and shared a few facts about them selves and shared with the Rotary members why they are running and what their platform for the competition is. All the women are strong minded and are aiming for the crown!