SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say one person was hospitalized after a roof collapsed in Scottsbluff.
Fire Capt. Dan Hubbs says four workers were in the building when the roof came down Wednesday morning at the Flyover Brewing Co. building, which has been undergoing renovation. The name of the injured person has not been released.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the collapse.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska senator says he plans to seek the disbarment of a former state Supreme Court judge who recently resigned after a judicial ethics complaint.
Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha submitted a letter to the high court’s chief justice on Monday regarding Max Kelch. Anyone who isn’t fit to retain a seat on the high court also isn’t fit to retain a license to practice law, Chambers said.
A judicial ethics complaint remains confidential until a commission uncovers probable cause for discipline. Kelch resigned Feb. 15 before that could happen, stating that he was doing what was best for his family. He’d been on the court for less than two years.
The public should be made aware of Kelch’s conduct during the two years he served on the court, Chambers said.
“My guiding premise is that the public has a right to be informed of the facts surrounding actions by its servants, whom their tax dollars pay,” Chambers wrote. Kelch had an annual salary of $172,000 as a judge.
Failing to disclose the details undermines faith in the judiciary’s integrity, he said.
“While routinely pronouncing judgments on others throughout society, the judiciary must be willing to turn the searchlight of scrutiny on itself,” Chambers wrote.
Kelch declined to comment to the Omaha World-Herald on the issue.
“I’m just going to deal with what’s in front of me,” Kelch said.
Chambers said he’s prepared to file a grievance with the Supreme Court’s Counsel for Discipline. The counsel could dismiss the case or recommend actions including reprimands to disbarment.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill designed to give nurses and doctors special protections from assaults with bodily fluids has advanced in the Nebraska Legislature.
Senators gave the measure first-round approval Wednesday with a 33-0 vote. Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha says the measure would add health care professionals to a protected class that includes police and firefighters. Attacking a public safety officer with a bodily fluid is already a stand-alone crime.
McDonnell says nurses and doctors deserve the same protection as first responders because they often work alongside them and provide a valuable community service.
Opponents say the measure classifies residents differently and opens the door to other special protections for specific groups.
The measure advanced to the second round of three votes.
By GRANT SCHULTE , Associated PressSenators will now have a little less than $627,000 available for new spending in this year’s session, based on the tentative budget crafted by the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee. Committee members updated their proposed spending plan in response to Wednesday’s projections by the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board.
Lawmakers faced a projected $173 million revenue shortfall at the beginning of this year’s session, and the current budget-balancing proposal draws heavily from Nebraska’s emergency cash reserve fund to make up the difference.
Sen. John Stinner of Gering, the Appropriations Committee chairman, said replenishing some of the money lawmakers withdrew was his top concern because state revenues could continue to struggle.
“I think we have to be careful and prudent about how we treat this,” Stinner said.
In a statement, Gov. Pete Ricketts sounded a similar note of caution and said the agencies he controls will continue to restrain their spending.
“These new numbers seem to indicate a growing economy, but we must remain cautious through the end of the fiscal year,” he said. The money that flows automatically to the cash reserve “should not be used for spending.”
The forecasting board predicted that Nebraska state government will collect $4.53 billion in the current fiscal year, a $25 million increase over its previous projections. By law, that money will automatically go into the cash reserve.
The state is also expected to receive $4.705 billion in the next fiscal year, which is $30 million higher than earlier estimates.
Complicating the issue is the prospect that federal tax changes approved by President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress could leave the state with an additional $335 million in state tax revenue.
Because Nebraska’s tax system is closely tied with the federal system, the federal law is set to trigger a series of automatic tax increases in Nebraska by eliminating the personal exemption and increasing the standard deduction. A Nebraska family of four would pay at least $536 more in state taxes each year.
Ricketts has proposed a bill that would neutralize most of those changes, although the state is still expected to see an $8 million boost in corporate income tax revenue.
Even so, the federal tax changes have created a great deal of uncertainty for Nebraska’s budget, said Renee Fry, executive director of the OpenSky Policy Institute.
“Today’s revenue forecast is welcome news considering our recent revenue struggles, but it must be taken with a grain of salt,” Fry said.
Members of the forecasting board said Nebraska’s economy appears to be faring well, and some suggested that agriculture might be recovering after several years of low commodity prices.
“There are some people who are still struggling in the ag sector, but I think overall it has stabilized,” said board member David Ochsner of Nelson.
Board member Richard McGinnis of Kearney warned that proposed cuts to the University of Nebraska could harm his local economy in central Nebraska.
It is that time of the year again! Tax season is upon us and with it comes a
barrage of different types of scams and phishing techniques. There are three certainties in this world — death, taxes and data loss.
Between January and April 15, malicious people out there are trying to combine two of those certainties.
No. 1 on the list of these scams is the IRS contacting you for mistakes on your taxes. Like Microsoft, the IRS is too big to care about us little guys and they will never call you. The scammers are calling now through the next few months telling you that you didn’t pay all of your taxes or that they found out you cheated your taxes and you need to pay now — or else. If you ever receive a call from the IRS, hang up immediately because the next words out of that person’s mouth undoubtedly will be that you owe them money.
Phishing is the next item up on the popularity list amongst these malicious scammers. Phishing is a form of scamming that takes place in your email. People will send out fake emails from fake addresses that appear real in an attempt to get you to reply with credentials or open a malicious attachment.
There are a lot this time of year “from the IRS” asking for a copy of your W-2 or for you to contact them. Again just delete these emails as they are just trying to steal personal information and or money from you.
This phishing scam is a popular one during the holidays, as well, with people posing as Fed-Ex or UPS and telling you that your shipment is held up and you need to open some malicious attachment.
If you would like further information on IRS scams, check out a full alert from the actual IRS at https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts. If you have any questions or are wary of any received emails, give us a call at Eagle technology Solutions, and we will be able to let you know if the email is fake.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill that would remove noncitizens from Nebraska’s population total when redrawing legislative districts drew criticism during a hearing, where opponents questioned if it was discriminatory.
Sen. John Murante of Gretna said Tuesday the measure enforces language in the state constitution that lawmakers have failed to follow. He says officials should abide by the constitution and notes that opponents who took issue with the requirement have made no efforts to revise or remove it.
Opponents argue that nonresident status is more complex now than in the past and everyone deserves representation regardless of voting status. Sen. Mike Hilgers of Lincoln says opponents are taking issue with the constitution, not the bill.
Murante says there is strong committee support for the bill. The committee took no action on the bill Tuesday.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s secretary of state says he will allow Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bob Krist to appear on the party’s primary ballot, despite a challenge from one of Krist’s opponents.
Secretary of State John Gale rejected arguments Tuesday from Democratic hopeful Tyler Davis. Davis says Krist didn’t follow a law that requires candidates to change party affiliation before the first Friday in December of the previous year. The Nebraska Republican Party raised the same question.
Krist had been a Republican but switched to “nonpartisan” in September. He took initial steps to create a “United Nebraska” party but never finished the process. Earlier this month, he registered as a Democrat for that party’s May 15 primary.
Gale says changing from nonpartisan to Democrat is considered a declaration of party, not switching parties.
OSHKOSH, Neb. (AP) — A western Nebraska school superintendent has been charged with the misdemeanor assault of an 8-year-old child.
Court records say 61-year-old Paula Sissel is scheduled to be arraigned April 5 in Garden County Court in Oshkosh. She and her attorney didn’t immediately return messages left Tuesday by The Associated Press.
It’s unclear whether the allegation concerns a student or some other child and what exactly happened to prompt the charge. The county prosecutor didn’t return a message.
District officials say Sissel remains in her post as superintendent of the Garden County Schools district.
A 46-year-old North Platte woman is facing charges after authorities say she used someone else’s debit card.
On February 3, 2018, a citizen from the Lake Maloney area reported a theft from her bank account. Deputies investigated the matter and found a debit card was taken out of the citizen’s mailbox, activated and used by an unknown subject.
Deputies continued to investigate and found a person of interest in the case.
Deputies discovered Brenda Smith of North Platte had used the debit card on several occasions.
Smith was located on February 26 and was interviewed at the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. Following questioning, Smith was arrested and incarcerated in the Lincoln County Detention Center.
Smith’s charges include; Felony Circulation of a Financial Transaction Device, Criminal Possession of a Financial Transaction Device, Possession of Stolen Property and Fourteen Counts of Theft.
The investigation in this matter continues.
A 35-year-old North Platte man has been sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison for shooting a man he found with his wife.
Judge Richard Birch sentenced Dustin Sauer on Monday in Lincoln County District Court.
In February of 2017, North Platte police officers responded to the report of a shooting in the parking lot of Nebraskaland National Bank, 121 North Dewey, at around 2:27 a.m.
The party calling 911 reported that her husband, Dustin L. Sauer, had shot a 36-year-old male in the neck.
An investigation revealed that Sauer went looking for his wife when she wasn’t at their home.
He eventually found her and the male, as well as another female, in the parking lot of the bank and confronted him. A physical disturbance between the two men occurred and, at some point, Sauer produced a large caliber handgun and shot the man in the neck, according to prosecutors.
The victim was treated for non-life threatening injuries, but Judge Birch says the man should have died as a result of the shooting.
Sauer had originally been charged with attempted murder but, through a plea bargain, the charge was reduced to 1st-degree assault, a Class II felony.
Sauer was given credit for 29 days he already served in jail and was approved for good time credit.
