Today

Rain before noon, then rain and snow between noon and 1pm, then snow after 1pm. Widespread blowing snow, mainly after 3pm. Temperature rising to near 41 by 8am, then falling to around 31 during the remainder of the day. Windy, with a north wind 25 to 33 mph, with gusts as high as 49 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.

Winter Storm Warning

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
410 AM CDT WED MAR 23 2016

KEYA PAHA-BROWN-THOMAS-BLAINE-MCPHERSON-LOGAN-PERKINS-LINCOLN-
CHASE-HAYES-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...SPRINGVIEW...AINSWORTH...THEDFORD...
HALSEY...DUNNING...PURDUM...BREWSTER...TRYON...RINGGOLD...
STAPLETON...GRANT...NORTH PLATTE...CHAMPION...ENDERS...IMPERIAL...
WAUNETA...HAYES CENTER
410 AM CDT WED MAR 23 2016 /310 AM MDT WED MAR 23 2016/

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM CDT /6 AM
MDT/ THIS MORNING TO 1 AM CDT /MIDNIGHT MDT/ THURSDAY...

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM CDT /6 AM MDT/
THIS MORNING TO 1 AM CDT /MIDNIGHT MDT/ THURSDAY.

* TIMING...RAIN WILL CHANGE TO SNOW BY MIDDAY. SNOW MAY BE HEAVY
  AT TIMES WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. SNOW
  WILL END FROM WEST TO EAST BY LATE EVENING.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...5 TO 9 INCHES.

* WIND...NORTH AT 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 50 MPH.

* IMPACTS...SNOW WILL COMBINE WITH THE STRONG WINDS...PRODUCING
  AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AND NEAR BLIZZARD
  CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS THIS AFTERNOON AND
  EARLY THIS EVENING. RANCHERS WITH CALVING INTERESTS SHOULD TAKE
  ADDITIONAL ACTION TO PROTECT YOUNG AND NEWBORN LIVESTOCK. ANY
  MELTED SNOW MAY REFREEZE TONIGHT AS TEMPERATURES DROP INTO THE
  UPPER TEENS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING.  SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF
SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN
AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT...
FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators are investigating a trench collapse that killed a 61-year-old plumber in western Nebraska and injured another man.

Alliance Police say Jimmy Spencer of Minatare died Monday after being buried in an eight-foot-deep trench while installing sewer lines for a home.

It took several minutes for rescuers to remove enough dirt to check Spencer’s vital signs. He died at the scene. Another construction worker was injured and treated at the hospital.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident. The company, Clau-Chin Construction, doesn’t have any history of OSHA violations.

OSHA rules require any trench deeper than five feet to be reinforced to prevent collapse.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An effort to repeal Nebraska’s ban on federal food assistance for drug felons is all but dead for the year.

Opponents defeated the measure Tuesday with a filibuster during second-round debate in the Legislature.

Nebraska currently prohibits people from collecting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits if they were convicted of three felony drug possession charges or one felony distribution charge.

The repeal bill by Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln was part of a larger package that would have made changes to Nebraska’s parole system.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services says it denied benefits to 676 applicants last year because of drug felony convictions, and others likely didn’t apply because they knew they would be rejected.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Anyone looking to learn more about retirement planning can attend several free seminars TD Ameritrade is offering online on Wednesday.

The online brokerage has scheduled seven different hour-long webcasts throughout the day on different aspects of retirement planning.

The sessions will cover topics such as estimating the cost of retirement, how central bank policies are affecting investments and ways to use options to buy and sell stocks.

TD Ameritrade says the education event will start at 9 a.m. Central on Wednesday and continue until 7 p.m.

More details about the event are available online at www.tdameritrade.com/educationday.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is one step closer to creating a statewide plan for 911 technology with the ability to receive video and photos from smartphones.

Lawmakers gave first-round approval Tuesday to a bill that would lay the groundwork for the Internet-based service, known as Next Generation 911.

Supporters say Next Generation 911 helps emergency dispatchers gather more information from callers, such as video footage of a crime in progress or a cellphone photo of a car crash.

The proposal by Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion would put the Nebraska Public Service Commission in charge of developing the plan and reporting back to the Legislature with its recommendations by December 2017.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska senator says public support and backing from the business community for a measure banning workplace discrimination against members of the LGBT community will ensure a stronger showing for the idea in the Legislature, despite staunch opposition from a conservative majority and Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Hundreds of supporters filled the Capitol rotunda in Lincoln on Tuesday to celebrate the measure by Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln to prohibit discrimination against employees based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

Morfeld is gearing up for a second showdown this week after the bill failed to gain enough votes last year. Morfeld said he has crafted a compromise amendment that he said he expects to bring additional votes.

Opponents say discrimination is not enough of a problem to create special protections for certain groups.

Investigators with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office have arrested a Hershey man after they say he sexually assaulted a child.

On March 22, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a sexual assault of a child.

According to Chief Deputy Roland Kramer, the child was taken to Bridge of Hope Child Advocacy Center, where a forensic interview was conducted.

“The results of the interview showed the child was touched inappropriately by a male subject residing in Hershey,” said Kramer.

Investigators identified the subject as 47-year-old Jose Alfredo Tehozol-Gonzales.  Deputies made contact with Tehozol-Gonzales and placed him under arrest.

Kramer said Tehozol-Gonzales was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center on a charge of 3rd-degree sexual assault of a child, a Class IIIA felony.

The investigation is ongoing, according to Kramer.

Tehozol-Gonzales is being held without bond.

A Georgia woman is being lodged in the Dawson County Jail after a traffic stop led to the seizure of over 22 pounds of methamphetamine.

According to the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office, a K-9 unit stopped a red 2015 Volkswagon Passat for failure to signal a lane change on Interstate 80, near Darr.

Chief Deputy Mike Hudson says the deputy was given consent to search the vehicle by its lone occupant, 29-year-old Stephanie Cogle of Gainsville, Georgia.

During the search, the deputy located 22.2 pounds of meth, with an estimated street value of $600,000.

Cogle was placed under arrest and jailed at the Dawson County Jail on a charge of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver.

Abel James Einspahr, AKA “Superman” was born with a severe congenital heart defect.

This little guy has undergone two open heart surgeries and two heart catheters at the young age of six months. Now his family is faced with yet another trial. During Abel’s latest corrective heart surgery, his vocal cords were affected, which leads to breathing complications and the danger of aspiration. A routine stay following open heart surgery turned into well over a month at the hospital in Omaha.

Abel is the son of Sutherland residents Andrew and Conchita Einspahr, and brother to his older sister Paiten. The family returned home late last week, and Abel continues his recovery at home.

A fundraising event is scheduled for April 2, 2016, at Creekside Event Center, 5801 East Long School Road in North Platte.

There will be a Baked Potato Bar, Silent Auction and gun raffle from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. All proceeds will benefit the Einspahr family to help with expenses from travel and medical bills.

Then, at 3 pm, there will be a “Create a Canvas” party, also held at Creekside Event Center on April 2nd. The cost is $40 per person and includes the canvas, brushes, paint and all supplies needed to create your very own masterpiece. Famed North Platte artist Wava Best will lead participants in a step-by-step painting demonstration.  The finished image will be a 10” x 20” watercolor painting of spring flowers.

Wine and cheese refreshments will be provided. The event is perfect for a girlfriend getaway, adult mother-daughter fun or a couple’s occasion. RSVP’s for the “Create a Canvas” party are appreciated but not required. Space is limited to 50 people. Email [email protected] or call308-386-8257 to RSVP or for more information.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked the state from placing a 13-year-old boy who moved to Nebraska from Minnesota on its public list of sex offenders.

The Nebraska State Patrol determined the boy had to register when he moved to Nebraska because of a subsection of a law that opted to exclude minors from the Nebraska Sex Offender Registration Act unless they were prosecuted criminally in adult court.

The boy’s family filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the patrol from putting him on the public registry.

Senior U.S. District Judge Richard G. Kopf concluded that Nebraska’s law doesn’t apply because the boy wasn’t required to register in Minnesota since he was adjudicated in juvenile court, not adult court.