Governor Dave Heineman spoke to the noon Rotary Club at the Quality Inn & Suites yesterday praising the state for its fiscal responsibility and low 4.1% unemployment rate. Heineman discussed the national rate of 9.1% and that other governors approach him at conferences envious of Nebraska’s status. Heineman talked about Nebraska’s internship program, designed to keep young people in the state, how to pay for road improvements in the state and the negative impact the Health Care Reform bill will have calling it a disaster for Nebraska and the U.S. Heineman also said that most Nebraskans oppose the Keystone XL Pipeline mainly because of its proposed route over the Ogallala aquifer and that an alternate course may eventually be sought.

BRULE, Neb. (AP) – A blown tire has been blamed for a crash that killed a Colorado woman who was headed to her son’s court appearance in Nebraska. The Nebraska State Patrol says 57-year old Janie Hackbart, of Julesburg, Colo., was eastbound on Interstate 80 Monday when the tire blew, sending her vehicle out of control onto the median about three miles west of Brule. The patrol says Hackbart died at the scene. Her two passengers were injured, including her 20-year-old daughter, Alisha. She was flown to a Denver hospital for treatment. The other passenger, 30-year-old Teresa Leonard, was taken to an Ogallala hospital. North Platte television station KNOP says the three were traveling to North Platte for a court appearance by Hackbart’s son, Dean Hackbart. He pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a child.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is selling fall turkey permits through the end of the year. The fall seasons runs from Sept. 15 through Dec. 31. A fall turkey permit allows hunters to shoot a gobbler with a shotgun or archery equipment, including crossbows. The bag limit is two turkeys of either sex. Each hunter may have up to two permits. The permits are valid statewide and allow the take of turkeys from 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset. Turkey permits cost $24 for residents, $91 for nonresidents and $6 for all youths aged 15 or younger. There is no minimum age requirement for youth. Turkey hunters must wear at least 400 square inches of hunter orange on their head, chest and back during the November firearm deer season.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical
Park and its recreation area near North Platte have been reopened to the public. The area was closed in early June because of potential flooding from the North Platte River. It was feared river floodwaters would spill over into Scout Creek, which runs through the park. The park sits on the northwest side of North Platte. Berms and other flood-protection measures had to be undone or cleared away before the park could be reopened. North Platte television station KNOP says the park reopened on Monday. The park’s superintendent estimated the park lost more than 20,000 visitors as much as $30,000 in income.

HAYES CENTER, Neb. (AP) – A lack of volunteer help has led the Hayes Center Lions Club to cancel this year’s “Grand Duke Alexis Rendezvous,” an event the group has hosted for 10 years. Rendezvous coordinator Doris Vlasin tells the McCook Daily Gazette that several club members have moved away in recent years and a number of others are simply no longer involved in events. The event offered a historical experience that recreated the 1872 visit by Russia’s Grand Duke Alexis for a buffalo hunt led by Buffalo Bill Cody, General George Custer and General Phil Sheridan. Those attending Hayes Center’s rendezvous could participate in everything from throwing tomahawks to shooting black powder rifles, as well as having tea on the prairie and listening to tales of the Old West.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) – A cougar has been sighted in Kearney but authorities have been unable to locate the animal. The Kearney Hub reports a golfer at Meadowlark Golf Course told police he spotted a cougar running across the course near the clubhouse about 1 p.m. Saturday. Nick Fryda with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says the ground in the area was dry, so he couldn’t find the animal’s tracks. There have been several reports in recent weeks of cougar sightings in nearby York and Hall counties. Cougars, which also are called mountain lions or pumas, have turned up as far east in Nebraska as Omaha.

LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) – The water level at Johnson County lake south of Lexington will be lowered for a maintenance project.  KNOP-TV reports that the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District needs to lower the water after Labor Day weekend to replace a circuit breaker and related measures at the hydroelectric plant at the lake. The district says the water level will begin to drop Sept. 6 and should be down about 3 feet by Sept. 26. This allows water to be diverted around the plant. Water levels will return to normal after the project is complete.

Lincoln County Chief Deputy Todd Engleman and his 10 year old daughter were injured in a scooter accident Thursday afternoon near Hershey. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office reported that Engleman crashed the motor scooter about a mile and a half south of town as he was taking his daughter to school just before 8 a.m. Engleman suffered a broken collarbone in the accident; his daughter came away with road rash. Both were wearing helmets.

The Buffalo Bill extension project has finally been completed. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held this morning to officially open the route which includes a bridge over the South Platte River and a viaduct over I-80. North Platte residents can now drive from the Lincoln County Historical Museum to the inlet at Lake Maloney with one straight shot on Buffalo Bill Avenue. The project has been decades in the planning and completion.

(Above) Mayor Kaschke speaks prior to cutting the ribbon on the Buffalo Bill extension (Below) A virtual tour of the newly opened access