OKETO, Kan. (AP) – Authorities are looking for a man who allegedly has threatened to kill law enforcement officers. Police say 27-year-old Kyle Joekel left a bar in Barneston, Neb., Sunday afternoon after saying he was going into Kansas to kill law enforcement officers. U.S. marshalls, Marshall County sheriff’s deputies and Gage County, Neb., deputies are searching for Joekel. WIBW reports that Joekel fled on foot Sunday night after he crashed a car into a home in the northeast Kansas town of Oketo while being chased by Marysville police. Gage County, Neb., authorities say they know Joekel for making threats, firearms activity and drug deals. He is considered armed and dangerous. He is white, 6-feet tall, with reddish brown hair and was
wearing a grey shirt and blue jeans.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Growing conditions are improving in Nebraska as more normal temperatures return, but some areas have had problems with hail and grasshoppers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued its weekly update on the state’s crops on Monday. The USDA says some recent rain storms brought hail that damaged crops in the eastern end of the state. And grasshoppers remain a concern in parts of western Nebraska. But the state’s two main crops appear to be in pretty good shape. About 78 percent of the corn crop rated in good or excellent condition at the end of last week. And about 79 percent of the soybean crop was in good or excellent condition.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Authorities say a Nebraska party goer who passed out in a limousine bus’ bathroom later drove the 40-foot-long vehicle home, but left his wallet behind – in a pair of jeans. Lincoln police say the $80,000 bus was found a few blocks from Steven Hunter’s home Saturday afternoon. Capt. David Biggs says the 30-year-old doesn’t remember driving the bus. He’s charged with criminal mischief and unauthorized vehicle use. Police say Hunter was likely asleep when the bus was taken back to Leisure Limousine Service around 3:30 a.m. Investigators believe that when he woke up, he realized the doors were locked, saw the keys and drove home. The jeans were found in the bathroom. A phone number for Hunter’s address couldn’t be found Monday. Online court records didn’t list an attorney.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska Medicaid has refunded nearly $169,000 to the federal government after an audit found improper billing for personal care services.  A federal audit released last month found the state agency
improperly claimed an estimated $275,000 in Medicaid reimbursement for personal care services over a two-and-a-half year period. Nebraska’s program is administered by the state Department of Health and Human Services. Local social service workers in more than 100 offices throughout the state approve personal care
services, such as bathing and meal-making, for disabled and low-income beneficiaries. State officials say they are correcting the errors with new filing rules and a more user-friendly, automated billing system. Department spokeswoman Kathie Osterman says the money owed was taken out of the federal government’s quarterly Medicaid payment to the state.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Heavy rain has flooded some streets and basements in far western Iowa and eastern Nebraska. Standing water blocked streets early Monday morning in Council Bluffs and across the Missouri River in Omaha, Neb. An Iowa National Guard transport truck had to be deployed to rescue around 30 children from their stranded school bus in Council Bluffs. Station KETV says the bus stalled in about 4 feet of water south of downtown Council Bluffs. The children were loaded into the truck and taken to safety. In Omaha, some streets just north of downtown were closed. No injuries or deaths have been reported.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) – A Columbus woman has filed a $650,000 claim against Columbus Public Schools over an alleged attack on her son.   The claim sited by the Columbus Telegram says a school employee provided lax supervision as her now-16- year-old son was physically attacked while attending a wrestling camp in Denver in 2009. The claim says the teen’s head was dunked into a toilet filled with feces, among other things. Rumors of hazing after the trip contributed to the resignation of wrestling coach Tracy Dodson and the suspension of four wrestlers. Superintendent Troy Loeffeholz says the claim was forward to the district’s insurance carrier, which will decide whether to pay the
woman. If no payment is authorized, she can sue the district.