— Starting today at 9:00PM —

I-80 North Platte 177 WB Exit Ramp will be closed to South Bound 83 traffic.

Ramp traffic will be directed to the NB 83 ramp to exit I-80.

Traffic affected: I-80 & US 83 to McCook (North Platte) via US 83. The WB exit SB ramp is closed starting today at 9:00PM until tomorrow morning at about 8:00AM.

The Westbound exit ramp for Hwy 83 South traffic will be closed for accident damage repair. Ramp traffic will be directed by flaggers to the North Bound 83 ramp, to return southbound, use the nearest intersection or cross 83 into the southbound lanes.

 

Today: Sunny, with a high near 87. West northwest wind 6 to 8 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 59. West northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 94. West wind 3 to 7 mph.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61. West northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. East northeast wind 7 to 13 mph becoming south southeast in the afternoon.

Wednesday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 79.

Thursday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58.

Friday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72.

Friday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The number of abortions in Nebraska has declined by nearly 8 percent since 2010, but the reason for the drop depends on who you ask.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services says there were 2,270 abortions reported in 2014, compared with 2,464 in 2010.

Julie Schmit-Albin, director of Nebraska Right to Life, credits state laws intended to restrict abortions, such as the 2010 ban on abortions after 20 weeks of gestation.

But Angie Remington, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, says the decline correlates to a drop in the overall birth rate and better access to different types of birth control, such as IUDs and hormonal injections and implants.

An Associated Press survey shows a decrease in abortions nationwide of about 12 percent since 2010.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha woman has been named Miss Nebraska.

Alyssa Howell won the title Saturday night in North Platte.

Howell, who went into the pageant as Miss Douglas County, also won a talent award early in the competition with her piano performance.

Howell won a $10,000 scholarship with the title, and she will represent Nebraska in the national competition.

Miss Crane Festival Allison Tietjen of Chester was named the first runner-up.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska and Iowa residents are bracing for the possibility of more bad weather this weekend.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for both states through Saturday night and into Sunday morning for eastern Iowa.

The weather service says the highest potential for severe storms is in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.

The service reports that atmospheric instability and wind shear could lead to scattered super cell thunderstorms in that region late Saturday afternoon. The main hazards with the system are large hail, damaging winds and heavy rain in areas that have already seen some flooding.

The service says tornadoes will be possible with the strongest storms.

GERING, Neb. (AP) — A Gering man charged in an attack on his grandparents is also wanted in Colorado.

24-year-old Levi Hartman was back in court Friday on a fugitive warrant from Colorado. Logan County officials in Colorado say he’s wanted for fleeing police, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and criminal impersonation.

Hartman was arrested May 30 in Scottsbluff. He was charged in a Nebraska warrant with felony robbery in the case of his grandparents, John and Marsha Hegwood, who were robbed by people at their home on May 24.

Police say the grandmother was pepper-sprayed before the Hegwoods were taken to their basement and tied up. Their two vehicles, $155 cash and two credit cards were stolen.

North Platte Police are investigating an assault on Friday evening, that left a 19-year-old man with a stab wound.

At around 11:10 p.m., on June 5, officers with the NPPD responded to a home in the 2000 block of East 2nd Street, after receiving a report that a man had been stabbed.

Police say the stabbing occurred during a scuffle involving as many as five people.

At some point, police say the 19-year-old male sustained an abdominal stab wound.

Authorities say the investigation is still active, so very few details were available, and investigators are still working to identify all the parties involved in the disturbance.

The victim’s name and condition were not released.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers spent years building the state’s tough-on-crime reputation, but an overhaul approved this year reflects a new strategy.

Senators increased behavioral health services and passed sentencing reforms to keep more low-level, nonviolent offenders out of prison.

They’ve spent the last two years overhauling the justice system with expanded mental health and substance abuse programs, juvenile services, and greater post-release supervision.

Nebraska is the latest state to shift its focus to treatment and rehabilitation instead of building more prisons. The reforms follow a review by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, a national group that has worked with 21 states on prison crowding and related problems.

Marc Pelka, the group’s program director, says the changes reflect a “watershed moment” of support for new criminal justice policies.

• Tory James Smith, 53, North Platte and Ginger Lou Daigger,48, North Platte

 

• Jarin Alan Jacobs, 21, North Platte and Rebecca Chandel Olsen, 22, North Platte

 

• Taylor Elliott Bailey, 25, Oronogo MI and Alyssa Faith Wright, 19, North Platte

 

• Brady Michael Prietauer, 23, North Platte and Alexandra Lee Mitchell, 23, North Platte

 

• Nathan Ryan Moerke, 31, North Platte and Brandee Dawn Hipwell, 38, North Platte

 

• Daryl James Cauffman, 31, North Platte and Leslie Ann Myers, 30, North Platte

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska president is proposing tuition increases for the next two school years after two years of tuition freezes for resident students.

The university said in a news release Friday that President Hank Bounds’ proposed budget includes tuition increases of 1.75 percent for 2015-16 and 2.5 percent for 2016-17. If approved by the Board of Regents at its June 12 meeting, most Nebraska students would pay, on average, about $3.50 more per credit hour this coming school year and an additional $5 per credit hour the next school year.

The tuition freezes resulted from a 2012 deal with the Nebraska Legislature that provided a 4 percent increase in state appropriations in exchange for keeping tuition rates flat for Nebraska students.