MCCOOK, Neb. (AP) — McCook city officials will be asked to wait until next year to schedule a vote on whether to continue a 1.5 percent sales tax.

The city’s sales-tax ballot language committee wants more time to refine its ballot question and educate the public about how the revenue would be used.

Committee members will recommend that the McCook City Council wait until May 2015 and schedule a special election. The city’s 1 percent local option sales tax and a separate half-percent sales tax are both set to expire in 2018.

If the ballot issue is defeated in May, city officials are required to wait 23 months before bringing it back to a public vote.

BROKEN BOW, Neb. (AP) — A booming economy in Broken Bow is prompting calls for a city manager who would oversee the central Nebraska’s city’s development.

Some residents are trying to place the issue on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Many of the city’s current management duties are handled by the mayor, acting on advice from a city administrator. A city manager would have power to act on the city’s day-to-day business, like the CEO of a major business. The city council would act as a board of directors, focused on a long-term vision.

Supporters of a city manager form of government argue that the workload generated by Broken Bow’s growth is too much for one poorly compensated elected official.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln-base student loan company Nelnet has agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused it of illegally recording collections calls.

The federal lawsuit, filed in California, accused Nelnet Servicing LLC of calling lead plaintiff Than Zaw about a relative’s student loan debt. Zaw said that call and others were recorded without the receiver’s permission — a violation of California privacy laws.

Nelnet did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

In a statement, the company said it believes the claims in the lawsuit were questionable but is happy to “put this matter behind us for an immaterial amount to avoid the costs and distractions of ongoing litigation.”

A 34-year old Sutherland woman is dead following a crash near Sutherland.

According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Janel Godfrey was traveling northbound on Pioneer Trace Road at around 6:30 p.m., on Friday, when she lost control of her vehicle after hitting a railroad crossing.

Investigators say Godfrey’s vehicle struck a tree head on.

Godfrey was transported by Sutherland Rescue to Great Plains Health, where she died.

Deputies say Godfrey was not wearing a seatbelt, and they believe alcohol was a factor in the crash.

Godfrey’s obituary can be seen here:

https://www.northplattepost.com/2014/08/09/janel-gamble-godfrey/

 

 

GERING, Neb. (AP) — A man facing trial for the death of a 2-year-old girl is asking a judge to quash the original indictment against him.

A lawyer for 28-year-old Dustin Chauncey filed motions to withdraw Chauncey’s not guilty plea and to quash the indictment against him.

A motion to quash argues that errors by a judge or prosecutor should void the charges against a defendant.

Chauncey is set to go to trial in late October on a charge of intentional child abuse resulting in the death of Juliette Geurts in July 2008. Chauncey was the boyfriend of the girl’s mother, Charyse Geurts, at the time of the girl’s death.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Same-sex marriage bans across the country are falling while some Nebraska officials are holding strong to the state’s status of having one of the nation’s most restrictive laws.

Nebraska voters passed a state constitutional amendment in 2000 banning same-sex marriages, civil unions or even legalized domestic partnerships. It has withstood all legal challenges.

Sue Stroesser, a Nebraska native who recently moved back, learned how far-reaching the ban is when she was denied a Nebraska driver’s license in her married name. Officials wouldn’t accept her Iowa marriage license to another woman.

Amanda Bergeron-Bauer lives with the fear that should anything happen to her, her 5-year-old son could be taken from her wife, who is not recognized by Nebraska as a parent.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Mourners joined the wife and two young children of Army Staff Sgt. Benjamin Gill Prange to honor the slain soldier as an American hero.

Prange died July 24 after the vehicle he was riding in hit an explosive device in Afghanistan.

The Rev. Michael Ryan described the 30-year-old Prange as a hero in many ways.

He was a hero after losing his parents at a young age and helping raise his brother and sister. And he was a hero when, after marrying his wife, Elizabeth, he decided he needed to enlist in the military in part to provide for them.

Ryan noted, “We thank God for giving us Benjamin.”

Flags lined a 3½ mile route to the Lincoln cemetery where Prange was buried.

• Matthew Jacob Heimbuch, 28, North Platte and Alicia Patrice Nila, 29, North Platte

 

• Kyle Camden Osborne, 28, North Platte and Christina Marie Black, 24, North Platte

 

• Jeffrey Scott Owens, 42, Sigourney IA and Joanna Marie Freier, 21, Sigourney IA

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The nation’s corn and soybean farmers are on track to produce record crops this year as a mild summer has provided optimum growing conditions.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has predicted a record soybean crop of 3.8 billion bushels.

The USDA said last month the corn crop will be just under last year’s record of 13.9 billion bushels, but many market analysts and farmers expect that to be revised upward Tuesday in a much anticipated report.

Technology is also aiding the large harvests with high-yield seeds and planting systems that use GPS.

The harvest forecast has driven corn and soybean prices significantly lower, but it isn’t expected to make much of a short-time difference in consumer food prices.

Fall Term classes will begin on Monday, Aug. 25, at all MPCC locations.

Printed copies of the 2014 Fall Course Schedule are available at MPCC locations, including the extended campuses in Broken Bow, Imperial, Ogallala and Valentine. The schedule can also be viewed and downloaded from the MPCC website at www.mpcc.edu.

Students may register through the first week of the class that is being offered. It is strongly recommended that students wishing to register make an advising appointment by calling (308) 535-3774 in North Platte or (308) 345-8102 in McCook

MPCC offers numerous scholarships, grants and loans available to all qualified students and financial situations. For more information, contact Juanita Czarnick in North Platte at (308) 535-3708 or Dale Brown in McCook at (308) 345-8112.