LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Republican Pete Ricketts, a multimillionaire former executive at TD Ameritrade, has been elected governor of Nebraska.

Voters on Tuesday chose Ricketts of Omaha over Democrat Chuck Hassebrook, who for decades headed a center in Lyons that advocated for family farms and rural communities.

Ricketts will replace Republican Dave Heineman, who served nine years as governor but is being forced out by term limits.

In the campaign, Ricketts said his priority as governor would be to cut taxes. He also argued that benefits should not be given to immigrants in the country illegally and supported career and vocational training to expand manufacturing jobs.

Ricketts is a former executive at TD Ameritrade, an online brokerage founded by his father. His family owns the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

• Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 64. Breezy, with a northwest wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 21 to 26 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 36 mph.
• Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 27. Northwest wind 5 to 13 mph.
• Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 58. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.
• Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 30. South wind 6 to 9 mph.
• Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 7 to 12 mph becoming north northwest 16 to 21 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.
• Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 35.
• Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 54.
• Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A federal report says Nebraska’s soybean harvest was 95 percent complete by the end of last week.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture report says the corn harvest still trailed the average by Sunday’s date. The USDA says 60 percent of the corn had been harvested, compared with 69 percent last year and the average of 71 percent by the date.

The state’s sorghum harvest was 71 percent complete, compared with the average of 67 percent by the date.

The report says 96 percent of the winter wheat had emerged, compared with 93 percent for the five-year average.

SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) — More than 2 inches of heavy, wet snow has fallen in the Nebraska Panhandle, but weather officials say it should melt quickly.

The National Weather Service says a band of snow on Monday left more than 2 inches of snow in Sidney. Some surrounding areas had over an inch.

Meteorologist Shawn Liebl in the Cheyenne, Wyoming, office says any snow on the ground should be melted by Tuesday because of warmer temperatures in the area. He says no snow was expected in the eastern half of the state.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska’s presidential search committee has named four finalists to replace former President J.B. Milliken.

The finalists announced on Monday are Hank Bounds, Mississippi’s commissioner for higher education; Michael Martin, chancellor of the Colorado State University System; Sally Rockey, deputy director for extramural research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland; and George Ross; president of Central Michigan University.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, who announced publicly that he would apply for the job, was not among the finalists. The list will be submitted to the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, which will make the final selection.

Milliken left in May to become chancellor for the City University of New York.

A 21-year-old North Platte man is facing charges following a traffic stop.

At around 12:15 a.m., on November 1, an officer with the North Platte Police Department received a report that Christopher Perez may be driving drunk.

The officer then observed a Lincoln Town Car stopped across two southbound lanes at a flashing yellow light in the intersection of 4th Street and Jeffers Street.

The officer made contact, and identified the driver as Perez.

During his investigation, the officer noticed an unmarked prescription medication bottle located near Perez in the car.  It was determined that the bottle contained Alprazolam, a schedule IV controlled substance commonly used to treat anxiety and panic disorders.  Police say Perez did not have a prescription for the medication.

It was also determined that Perez was under the influence of drugs while he operated the motor vehicle.

Perez was placed under arrest and charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and driving under the influence of drugs.

He was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center.

A North Platte woman, who was part of a band of thieves that burglarized the home of a recently deceased man, has been sentenced to prison.

Kim Spotts appeared in Lincoln County District Court on Monday for sentencing.

According to prosecutors, Spotts and several other Lincoln County residents burglarized  the rural home of a man who had recently passed away in February.

Witnesses observed the pack enter the home and leave a short time later.

Family members were able to confirm that numerous items had been taken from the home.

Spotts’ attorney, P. Stephen Potter, asked the court to consider giving Spotts some kind of intensive probation.  He said that, while she was a part of the crime, she didn’t play as big a part as her husband, Brian Spotts, and the others.

Potter said being with Brian Spotts is what led to the problems Kim Spotts is having today.

Lincoln County Attorney, Rebecca Harling, simply asked Judge Richard Birch to give Spotts a lengthy prison sentence.

Judge Birch did give Spotts credit for entering a plea in the case, saving the State the time and expense of a trial.

He also noted that Kim Spotts’ record was not nearly as bad as that of Brian Spotts’.

Birch then said that, because possession of a stolen weapon is a Class 1D felony, it carried a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison, so he had no choice.

He then sentenced Spotts to two to four years in prison on the burglary charge, and three to four years for possessing a stolen firearm.

Judge Birch ordered that the sentences be served consecutively, or one after the other.

Spotts was reprimanded to the custody of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to await transport.

Brian Spotts was sentenced to seven to fourteen years in prison in September.

 

A North Platte man, who could possibly hold the record for DUI convictions in Nebraska, will spend the next five to ten years in prison.

Richard Smith was sentenced in Lincoln County District Court on Monday.

Police stopped Smith in May, after he was observed driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen.

When officers made contact with Smith, they believed he was under the influence of alcohol, a suspicion that was confirmed by a breath test and a series of field sobriety tests.

Smith was placed under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol, and possession of stolen property.  He also had an open container in the vehicle.

Smith reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

Prior to sentencing, Deputy Lincoln County Attorney, Austin Leighty, told the court that Smith was charged with his ninth offense DUI, but stated that he had several convictions that were too old to consider when filing charges.

Leighty asked for a lengthy prison sentence.

Smith’s attorney, Blaine Gillette, then addressed the court, saying that Smith made no excuses for his actions, and admitted that he was an alcoholic.

Before sentencing Smith, Lincoln County District Court Judge, Richard Birch, told Smith that his driving record may be the worst that he has seen in his over 35-year career practicing law.

Birch noted that, by his count, Smith had 12 or 13 convictions for DUI, dating back to 1976, a conviction for motor-vehicle homicide and had been to the State Penitentiary twice.

Birch said it didn’t appear that Smith had done anything to try to overcome his addiction to alcohol.

He then sentenced Smith to not less than five or more than 10 years in the custody of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.

He also revoked Smith’s license for 15-years, and gave him credit for 174 days already served in jail.

Smith was remanded to the custody of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to await transport to Lincoln.

 

 

A 54-year-old North Platte woman is facing felony charges after she allegedly used a glass vase as a weapon during a fight.

At around 9:15 p.m., on Halloween, officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to the report of an assault in the 1800 block of Front Street.

Upon arrival, officers learned that multiple women had been at the residence drinking when a fight broke out.

According to Officer Rodney Brown, it was reported that Cindy Grass and 45-year-old Claudia Philbrick began to fight.

At one point, Grass allegedly threw a glass vase at Philbrick and hit her in the face.

Brown says Philbrick was transported to Great Plains Health, where she received multiple stitches.

Following further investigation, officers determined that there was probable cause to charge Grass with felony 1st degree assault, due to the possibility of long-term injury to Philbrick.

It was also determined that there was probable cause to charge Philbrick and another female, 45-year-old Kimberly McCarter, with 3rd degree mutual assault.

They were cited and released, Grass was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

Four people lost their lives in four crashes on Nebraska roads over the weekend, making for a deadly start to the month of November.

Fatality crashes occurred in Douglas, Hall, Richardson and Seward Counties resulting in the deaths of three drivers and one passenger.  Authorities were able to determine that of the four people killed, one was wearing a seat belt.

“Today we have four families dealing with the loss of a loved one as the result of a traffic crash,” said Colonel David Sankey, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “We all know, one life lost in a crash is one too many. We encourage all motorists to help us prevent roadways deaths through voluntary compliance will all traffic safety laws.”

Of the four crashes, the Nebraska State Patrol investigated a car- semi crash on Interstate 80, near the Alda exit. The crash involving an eastbound 1999 Honda Accord and a westbound semi-trailer truck occurred at 5:30 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 2.  The preliminary investigation indicates the driver of the car lost control when the vehicle blew a tire. The car crossed the median and struck a westbound semi. The force of the collision caused both vehicles to roll, ending up in the north ditch. The front seat passenger in the car, Abdifatah Ahmed, 30, of Grand Island, died at the scene of the crash. He was wearing a seat belt.  The driver of the car and a backseat passenger were transported to St. Francis Medical Center, before being transferred to Bryan Trauma Center in Lincoln with critical injuries. Two others in the car were transported to St. Francis Medical center. The driver of the semi was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.

The three other fatality crashes were worked by the Sheriff’s Departments in Douglas, Richardson and Seward Counties.

The four fatalities bring the total number of fatalities on Nebraska roads to date in 2014 to 192, compared with 179 on this same date in 2013.

Col. Sankey said, “We need your help to save lives on our roadways, always wear your seat belt, obey the posted speed limit and never drive impaired or distracted.”