The Cedar Bowl in North Platte may be here to stay.

The long-time North Platte business closed its doors earlier this month, but new owners are hoping to take over.

According to a post on the Facebook page, “Save Bowling in North Platte,” local entrepreneurs Lonnie and Kelly Parsons and Chris and Gary Suhr have plans to purchase the business, pending financing.

According to the post, “All are long-time North Platters with a commitment to seeing our community grow and prosper.”

The Parsons and Suhrs say they are preparing their business plan to transform the Cedar Bowl into a state-of-the-art bowling alley and family entertainment center.  The facility will also feature a “family-friendly” restaurant.

They say keeping the business open will create 35 plus jobs, bring sales tax dollars to North Platte and increase the quality of life for residents.

Parsons said the purchase is contingent upon the city making Quality Growth Funds available.  He said they are not requesting funding for the full amount of restoration, just a percentage of the cost.

The Cedar Bowl has operated in its current location since 1978.

No date has been set for the reopening, however, the new owners hope to be operational in time to hold fall bowling leagues.

 

 

 

• Today: Sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon.
• Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 57. Southeast wind 7 to 10 mph.
• Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 88. Southeast wind 7 to 14 mph.
• Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 57. Southeast wind 9 to 13 mph.
• Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. South southeast wind 9 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.
• Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 59.
• Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 82.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska wildlife officials have determined that a reported mountain lion near The Archway in Kearney was actually just a dog.

A man fishing on a lake north of the monument, which spans Interstate 80 at Kearney, called Kearney police around noon Sunday to report seeing a mountain lion in the area.

Local law enforcement officers and a conservation officer from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission searched the area and found a set of animal tracks, but determined those tracks came from a dog, not a cougar.

Dale Johnson, a Buffalo County conservation officer, took photographs of the animal’s tracks and will forward them to a state biologist for a second opinion.

A North Platte woman was arrested Monday night for going to Walmart, a store from which she had been banned.

According to Investigator John Deal, officers received a report that Latosha Ryan was inside Walmart, even though she had previously been banned from the store.

An officer stopped Ryan as she was exiting the store.

Deal said Ryan voluntarily showed the contents of her purse to the officer, which revealed an unmarked pill bottle containing a scheduled controlled substance.

Ryan was eventually able to prove that she had a prescription for the substance, but, because it was not in the original container, she was cited for misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance-other than the original container.

She was also charged with trespassing.

• Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind.
• Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. Light and variable wind.
• Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 89. South southeast wind 3 to 8 mph.
• Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 58. Southeast wind 7 to 9 mph.
• Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 87. Southeast wind 6 to 13 mph.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — University of Nebraska-Lincoln scientists have received more than $1.1 million in grants to research one of corn’s most pernicious pests.

Three teams of entomologists were awarded the three-year grants from Monsanto. The grants will help pay for research and corn grower education on western corn rootworm management.

Researchers received the grants amid signs that the corn rootworms are becoming resistant to some of the traits in genetically modified corn.

Corn rootworms can destroy corn roots and reduce yields. The loss of roots also causes plants to fall over in strong winds or rain.

This is the second year UNL scientists have received funding from Monsanto’s western corn rootworm program.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have recovered the bodies of two Scottsbluff men who drowned at Lake Minatare in western Nebraska.

The men were identified as 19-year-old Dylan Peters and 23-year-old Chris Romey. Authorities say the two died when they attempted to swim between two islands on the north side of the lake. Their bodies were recovered Sunday night.

Scotts Bluff County Attorney Doug Warner says the men’s bodies were found in a shallow area, about 6 feet deep. He says drugs and alcohol weren’t factors in the drowning.

The Nebraska State Patrol and Scotts Bluff County sheriff’s office are investigating the incident.

ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) — The former Boys Ranch in the Nebraska Panhandle is being renovated and should resume serving the community later this year.

The facility located 17 miles south of Alliance will reopen in the fall as a Teen Challenge of the Midlands facility.

The facility will focus on drug and alcohol issues and negative behaviors in boys ages 13 to 17.

The dormitory, offices and other facilities are all being renovated.

Isaac Hunsberger, with Teen Challenge of the Midlands, says the facility will also have an area honoring the history of the Boys Ranch, which served as a home for more than 750 youths between 1965 and 2010 when it closed.

(AP) — Two years after lawmakers began a major overhaul of Nebraska’s child welfare system, the number of state wards has fallen but challenges remain in caring for some of the youngest children.

State officials say the decline is driven by several factors, including a new assessment system that helps case managers decide whether children should be taken from their homes.

Vicki Maca, deputy director of the state’s Children and Family Services division, says department officials worked to improve their response times once the state receives reports of child abuse or neglect. Nebraska has also hired additional case workers to give them more time to work with families.

Maca says the state is working to expand services for younger children who are at risk of getting into trouble in the future.

(AP) — Some makers of the liquid nicotine used in electronic cigarettes are using notable brand names like Thin Mint, Tootsie Roll and Cinnamon Toast Crunch to sell their wares.

Now the owners of those trademarks are fighting back to make sure their brands aren’t being used to sell an addictive drug or make it appealing to to children.

General Mills, the Girl Scouts and the maker of Tootsie Rolls say they’ve sent cease-and-desist letters to keep the brands geared toward children of all ages off the digital tobacco products.

The move comes amid the debate about flavors available for the popular battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution, creating vapor that users inhale.

Some worry candy-like e-cigarette flavors, which already are banned for their old-fashioned cousins, could appeal to children.