A North Platte man has been charged after he allegedly assaulted a female.

At around 6:00 a.m., on October 10, officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to a residence in the 600 block of North Garfield after receiving a report of an assault.

Upon arrival, a 28-year-old female told officers that 44-year-old Jay Keitges returned home intoxicated.

The victim said, following an argument, Keitges slapped her in the face and pushed her down.

She alleged that Keitges then placed her in a choke hold and kicked her while she was on the ground.

Officer Rodney Brown says officers investigated and determined that probable cause existed to arrest Keitges.

He was charged with 3rd degree domestic assault and criminal mischief, and jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

A 31-year-old North Platte man has been charged with multiple felonies after he allegedly threatened to kill an employee at a North Platte business.

At around 12:30 p.m., on October 10, an officer with the North Platte Police Department responded to the report of an assault at Menards, 4571 South Parkway Road.

A 30-year-old employee at the store alleged that Andrew Myers approached him and became angry over personal issues between the men.

The victim told police that Myers brandished an 18″ crowbar, grabbed him by the neck, forced him back against some shelving and threatened to “kill” him.

The victim said Myers then left the store.

The officer was able to locate Myers at Great Plains Health, where he was receiving treatment for an injury he allegedly sustained when the victim pushed him to the floor.

Following further investigation, the officer determined that there was probable cause to arrest Myers.

He was charged with felony terroristic threats, use of a weapon to commit a felony and 3rd degree assault.

Myers was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

SUTHERLAND, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska authorities say a man has died in Lincoln County after crashing his car head-on into a semitrailer.

The Nebraska State Patrol says 49-year-old Casey Shannon of Colorado was killed Saturday night. Troopers say he was driving down Interstate 80 near Hershey when he crossed over the median.

They say Shannon hit the semitrailer head-on and was pronounced dead at the scene. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

The semi caught fire. Its 23-year-old driver escaped uninjured.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.

• Columbus Day: Sunny, with a high near 62. Breezy, with a north northwest wind 16 to 21 mph increasing to 24 to 29 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph.
• Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 31. West northwest wind 6 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 69. West northwest wind 5 to 7 mph.
• Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 36. Southeast wind 3 to 7 mph.
• Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 75. South wind 6 to 14 mph.
• Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 44.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Some Nebraska county election officials are seeing an uptick in their workload as voters cast early ballots for governor, U.S. Senate and other races.

Requests for mail-in ballots have prompted county election commissioners to hire additional staff to send ballots and process them as they’re returned.

Lancaster County Election Commissioner Dave Shively says early voting has grown popular because of the convenience, and it’s encouraged by political campaigns and parties.

Despite the high-profile races and a minimum wage ballot measure, county officials predict early voting won’t top the numbers from the 2012 presidential election. More than 804,000 Nebraskans voted in that election and 26 percent cast early ballots.

Counties mailed the first wave of requested ballots on Sept. 29, and early in-person voting began on Oct. 4.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Law enforcement officials in small Nebraska communities near the Colorado border say they are struggling to keep up with the amount of marijuana crossing the state line.

Drug arrests are increasing, straining county budgets and putting more pressure on Nebraska law enforcement.

Deule County Sheriff Adam Hayward says just finding enough room for all the evidence in the cases in a problem.

In Sidney, Nebraska, a small city of less than 7,000 people located 10 miles from the Colorado border, police made the same number of marijuana arrests in the first five months of this year as all of last year.

Police Chief, B.J. Wilkinson says five of every 10 traffic stops results in a marijuana arrest.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Beekeepers in Iowa and Nebraska are joining a national movement to encourage farmers and gardeners to avoid new pesticides which kill bees and to promote the health of bees as integral to food production.

It’s just one priority of a group of beekeepers who hope to launch a public awareness campaign to save bees.

Clarence Seale, president of the Loess Hills Beekeepers Association, and beekeepers in Iowa and Nebraska hope to establish a nonprofit organization to raise money for a bee sanctuary and to spread awareness about the importance of bees to human life

Seale said people don’t realize how important bees are to food production.

The National Resources Defense Council says the U.S. could lose $15 billion in crops without bees to pollinate plants.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — A national survey of gas prices reports that Americans are paying 12 cents on average less than they were three weeks ago.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that the average for regular grade gas is $3.26 per gallon, while midgrade averages $3.48 and premium $3.64. Retail diesel averages $3.74.

Lundberg said the price has decreased for 16 weeks, crediting lower crude oil prices.

She forecast further cuts of a dime or more, thanks to decreases in the price of crude oil and ethanol.

In the lower 48 states, San Francisco averaged the highest average price at $3.66 per gallon, while Tulsa, Oklahoma, had the lowest average at $2.93.

The average price for a gallon of regular in Nebraska is $3.17.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — A central Nebraska homeless shelter will receive more than $100,000 from a settlement with AT&T’s wireless company over an unlawfully billing practice known as cramming.

As part of that settlement, AT&T was ordered to pay $20 million to all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nebraska’s share comes to more than $235,000.

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has decided to divide the money, giving half to The Connection Homeless Shelter in North Platte and the other half to the Food Bank of Lincoln.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska offers tax breaks to beginning farmers, but anyone interested in receiving the incentives next year must apply before Nov. 1.

State Agriculture Director Greg Ibach (EYE’-bah) says the program offers both a tax exemption for beginning farmers and tax credits for any established farmer or rancher who works with a beginning farmer or rancher.

Beginning farmers can get an exemption on up to $100,000 of equipment or property used in farming.

To qualify for tax credits, the begging farmer and experienced farmer must apply together, and the begging farmer must be leasing land from the experienced farmer.

The program has helped 308 beginning farmers and ranchers and provided $6.4 million in tax credits since 1999.