LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Lt. Gov. Lavon Heidemann has resigned from office and ended his candidacy one day after a judge granted a protection order to keep him away from his sister, who accused him of assault.

Heidemann made the announcement Tuesday at the Capitol alongside Gov. Dave Heineman.

The Elk Creek farmer had been the running mate of Republican gubernatorial candidate Pete Ricketts.

The protection order was granted Monday after Heidemann’s sister, Lois Bohling, testified that she was afraid of her brother. Bohling said in a sworn statement that her brother grabbed her wrists and pushed her out of their mother’s bedroom during an August dispute involving farmland and their 84-year-old mother’s care.

Heidemann has said he disputes much of his sister’s story, but has not elaborated.

A North Platte man is facing a felony domestic assault charge after he allegedly assaulted a female on Monday night.

At around 10:45 p.m., on September 8, North Platte Police responded to a physical disturbance in the parking lot of the Country Inn Motel, 321 South Dewey.

Officers were advised that a male suspect had been observed punching a female in the face.

Witnesses say the couple then got into a vehicle and left together.

A short time later, officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle matching the description given to police near E and Chestnut Streets.

Officers made contact with 25-year-old Jeremiah Fuoss and a 23-year-old female.

Officer Rodney Brown said officers were able to determine that there was probable cause to arrest Fuoss, and charge him with felony 3rd degree domestic assault.

Fuoss was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

 

A North Platte man is facing a burglary charge after he and an accomplice allegedly burglarized two North Platte residences.

At around 9:45 p.m., on September 8, officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to the report of a burglary in the 1300 block of West 14th Street.

Upon arrival, officers learned that two male subjects were observed entering two neighboring residences.

According to witnesses, the men were observed removing a stove, door and free barbell weights.

Officers were able to identify one of the suspects as 38-year-old Neil Gray.

According to Officer Rodney Brown, officers were able to locate Gray and place him under arrest.

He’s been charged with felony burglary and felony aiding and abetting burglary.

Gray was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

Brown said the investigation into the identity of the second suspect is ongoing.

 

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governors from five Midwest states joined Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad on Monday in meetings with Japanese governors, officials, and company executives for the annual gathering of the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association.

The group, founded in 1967, meets yearly to discuss the growth and progress of economic relations of the American Midwest and Japan.

Governors from Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin planned to give speeches. The Japanese ambassador and the consulate general from Chicago attended the meeting.

The speakers also included Kikkoman Corp. Honorary CEO Yuzaburo Mogi, who is credited with introducing soy sauce to the United States in 1959. He is the Japanese conference chairman.

“The theme this year is building a robust and sustainable future,” he said. “We hope this meeting will help identify and develop business opportunities for all of us.”

Mogi joined executives from Nippon Airways, Toshiba and Toyota at the conference to discuss continued trade, government and business relationships between the two countries.

It is the 46th year the organization has met. Former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson, the U.S. conference chairman, said this year’s goal is to find new synergies between the states highlighting growth in environmental industries and in the health and wellness sectors as the population of Japan and the U.S. states age.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska authorities say separate traffic stops on Interstate 80 have resulted in several arrests and the seizure of methamphetamine and heroin.

The Nebraska State Patrol says a traffic stop Friday night in Lincoln led to the seizure of nearly four pounds of methamphetamine. Three men in two vehicles were arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.

Authorities arrested two people Saturday morning near Hershey. More than 27 pounds of methamphetamine and more than a pound of heroin were seized. The men were charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

• Today: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon.
• Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. Breezy, with a north wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 16 to 21 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
• Wednesday: A 10 percent chance of showers before 7am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. Breezy, with a north wind 14 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.
• Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. North northeast wind 7 to 13 mph.
• Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. East wind around 9 mph.
• Thursday Night: Rain likely, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
• Friday: A 20 percent chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 55.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has granted a protection order against Nebraska Lt. Gov. Lavon Heidemann after his sister accused him of violent behavior.

The order issued Monday against Heidemann, an Elk Creek farmer, comes as he looks to return to the office as the running mate of Republican gubernatorial candidate Pete Ricketts.

Heidemann’s sister, Lois Bohling, filed a sworn statement last month in which she says he grabbed her wrists and screamed at her in a dispute involving their mother and their family’s farmland.

Heidemann released a statement saying he disputes many of his sister’s claims, but did not elaborate. The statement describes the situation as a “private, legal family matter” relating to his late father’s estate and medical treatment for their mother.

Heidemann was appointed lieutenant governor in February 2013.

CHICAGO (AP) — Hundreds of children in about a dozen states have been sickened by a severe respiratory illness that public health officials suspect may be caused by an uncommon virus similar to the germ that causes the common cold.

Nearly 500 children have been treated at one hospital alone — Children’s Mercy in Kansas City, Missouri — and some required intensive care, according to authorities.

The suspected germ, enterovirus 68, is an uncommon strain of a very common family of viruses that typically hit from summertime through the fall.

The virus can cause mild coldlike symptoms but this summer’s cases are unusually severe, said Mark Pallansch, director of the viral diseases division at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s not highly unusual but we’re trying to understand what happened this year in terms of these noticeable and much larger clusters of severe respiratory disease,” Pallansch said Monday.

The virus typically causes illness lasting about a week and most children recover with no lasting problems.

Authorities in Illinois and Colorado said their states are among those with suspected or confirmed cases.

Children with asthma and other health problems are especially at risk, but reported cases include children without asthma who have developed asthmalike breathing problems, Pallansch said. He said no deaths have been reported in the outbreak.

Dr. Mary Anne Jackson, director of infectious diseases at Children’s Mercy, said local cases began appearing in mid-August and they appear to have peaked in her area.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Student enrollment at the University of Nebraska has grown to its highest level in 21 years.

The university announced Monday that the total student population has reached 51,215, a 1 percent increase from the fall of last year.

The report says enrollment increased by 2.3 percent at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 0.4 percent at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and 28 percent at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.

Enrollment at the University of Nebraska at Kearney decreased by 2.1 percent, while the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s numbers remained unchanged.

Interim University of Nebraska President James Linder says the university has set enrollment goals aligned with the needs of the state economy, which is expected to require more workers with college degrees.

 

A man convicted of burglarizing Winfield’s Coffee, in North Platte, will spend the next one and a half to three years in prison.

Christopher Herring was sentenced in Lincoln County District Court on Monday.

Herring is accused of burglarizing Winfield’s last November.

North Platte Police found the front glass window of the business broken out, and discovered that the cash register was missing.  It was later found empty in a nearby alley.

Officers were able to identify Herring, who had been cited for shoplifting earlier in the day, after viewing surveillance video.

Herring addressed the court with a lengthy prepared speech before sentencing, in which he apologized for the burglary and stated that he had turned his life around.

Judge Donald Rowlands then sentenced him to one and a half to three years in prison, which will be served upon his completion of a prison sentence in South Dakota.