If you want to see a simple assault charge enhanced to a felony, just wear brass knuckles.

On Saturday, at around 2:59 p.m., North Platte Police responded to Memorial Park, 1200 East 4th Street, on the report of two males fighting.

Officers arrived and met with the males involved in the disturbance and several independent witnesses.

It was reported that 24-year-old Colby Dewey and a 25-year-old man had been arguing back and forth via text message.

According to witnesses, the alleged victim was already at the park when Dewey arrived in a vehicle. They say Dewey exited the vehicle, charged the victim and punched him in the face while wearing brass knuckles.

Investigator John Deal says witnesses told officers that the victim didn’t retaliate and that Dewey was the aggressor.

Officers placed Dewey under arrest and charged him with felony 2nd-degree assault and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

Once in the patrol car, Deal says Dewey headbutted the metal partition in the cruiser, causing a laceration to his forehead.

Dewey was transported to Great Plains Health for treatment, then jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

The victim suffered facial injuries which did not require medical attention.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Three Nebraska state legislators are lending their voices of support to a South Dakota constitutional amendment that would remove candidates’ party affiliations from primary and general election ballots.

Nebraska has a nonpartisan, one-chamber legislature, in which Republican and Democratic candidates run against each other in primaries and the top vote-getters advance to the general election.

Nebraska Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley, a Republican, says the system has worked well there for nearly 80 years, as it puts ideas ahead of affiliation. Instead of party leaders and caucuses setting agendas, bill sponsors have to build their own coalitions.

The South Dakota Republican Party opposes the measure, saying that removing party affiliation from ballots denies voters of relevant information. The South Dakota Democratic Party has not taken an official stance.

VAN NUYS, Calif. (AP) — About 180,000 pacifiers have been recalled due to a choking hazard.

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission says the recall involves Munchkin-brand Latch lightweight pacifiers and clips, which are sold as a set. The commission says the clip cover can detach from the clip itself, creating a choking hazard.

Commission spokeswoman Patty Davis says Munchkin is conducting a voluntary recall in cooperation with the government.

There have been 10 reports of the clip cover coming off in the U.S. and Canada, but no injuries have been reported.

The sets were sold between March 2014 and March of this year at retailers nationwide, including Babies ‘R’ Us, Target, Wal-Mart and Amazon.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska hotel company and an executive have been given probation and fined for unlawfully employing someone who authorities say was living in the country illegally.

Prosecutors say Paul Younes (YOO’-nihs) was given five years’ probation Monday and fined $3,000. Kearney Hospitality Inc., which Younes says he owns, was fined $150,000 and also given five years of probation.

Prosecutors say a Mexican citizen who was working at a Hastings hotel operated by Kearney Hospitality quit in 2014 as she was being investigated. Prosecutors say Younes arranged a job for her, under a different name, at a motel in Kearney that also was run by Kearney Hospitality. She later returned under a different name to the Hastings hotel.

Younes’ attorney has said Kearney Hospitality has implemented corrective measures.

CHICAGO (AP) — Electronic cigarettes have sickened rising numbers of young children, and most cases involve swallowing liquid nicotine.

That’s according to a new study of U.S. poison center calls from 2012 through April 2015.

Most kids weren’t seriously harmed, but one child died and several had severe complications including comas and seizures.

The researchers say the results highlight a need for better parent awareness about the importance of keeping the devices out of sight and reach of young kids. They also recommend stricter regulation and applauded long-awaited restrictions the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued last Thursday.

The study was published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The National Weather Service says it received reports of tornadoes in central Nebraska amid severe storms but no word of damage or injuries.

Meteorologist Jeremy Martin says it is likely that two separate tornadoes touched down in Red Willow County near the town of Indianola. He says another tornado was reported in open country in Frontier County.

Martin says the weather service didn’t receive any reports of damage from local authorities.

Five central Nebraska counties along the Kansas border are under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. Sunday.

More storms are possible Monday afternoon and evening.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — One ticket sold in New Jersey has matched all six numbers in the Powerball drawing worth $429.6 million.

Powerball officials said early Sunday the location of where the ticket was sold was not immediately known.

The winning Powerball numbers drawn Saturday night were 5-25-26-44-66 and the Powerball number is 9.

The jackpot Saturday had climbed to nearly $430 million, making the prize the largest since a record $1.6 billion payout in January.

Powerball is played in 44 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The odds of winning are one in 292.2 million.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — An overnight fire caused significant damage to a church in Scottsbluff.

Authorities believe lightning caused the fire at Zion Evangelical Church.

A neighbor called firefighters around 12:30 a.m. Sunday after noticing flames coming from the roof of the building.

Investigator Anthony Murphy says most of the damage affected the church’s activity center. A kitchen area also sustained some water damage.

Church member Mark Harris says services were held at the building Sunday morning.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average price of gasoline has jumped by 9 cents over the past two weeks to $2.27 a gallon for regular grade.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that the hike is mostly due to crude oil prices edging up. The price at the pump has risen 50 cents over the past 12 weeks.

In the Lower 48, the highest average price of regular gasoline was $2.83 per gallon in San Francisco. The lowest was $1.92 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The U.S. average diesel price is $2.28 per gallon, up 8 cents from two weeks ago.