We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Nebraska Man Accused of Crimes Found in Iowa Cornfield

Michael Beard
Michael Beard

(AP) — Authorities say a Nebraska man stole multiple vehicles and burglarized at least two homes before he was found hiding in an Iowa cornfield over the weekend.

Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner says the three-day crime spree began Thursday in Lincoln and concluded Saturday morning near a western Iowa town by the Nebraska state line.

31-year-old Michael A. Beard is accused of causing damage in two states and at least five counties.

In one case, a car that Beard is accused of stealing was found in a burning garage. In another, an alleged stolen van was found abandoned with an empty Bud Light can inside.

Investigators say they haven’t hashed out which jurisdiction will get Beard first. It’s unclear if he has an attorney.

Charge Dropped Against Omaha Woman Linked to Deaths

Christine Bordeaux
Christine Bordeaux

(AP) — Prosecutors have dropped a federal charge against an Omaha woman accused of supplying ammunition to a man suspected of killing several people.

It’s unclear why an acting U.S. attorney dismissed the charge against 39-year-old Christine Bordeaux. A judge signed the order Friday.

Bordeaux was accused of illegally buying two boxes of Brenneke Classic Magnum 12-gauge ammunition in early August. Authorities have linked the ammunition to several killings in the Omaha area. Nikko Jenkins faces four counts of first-degree murder in the slayings.

The station reports that Bordeaux still faces charges of terroristic threats and shoplifting. Court records do not indicate if she has an attorney.

Health Care Law Reuniting Obama, Bill Clinton

obama(AP) — Health care is reuniting President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton.

The two are set to appear together Tuesday to discuss Obama’s health care law during a session sponsored by the former president’s foundation.

The joint appearance comes exactly one week before people without health insurance can start signing up for health coverage through new insurance marketplaces. It will be Clinton’s second effort in recent weeks to promote the 3-year-old law. Congressional Republicans insist it must be repealed.

In a speech earlier this month in Arkansas, Clinton urged opponents of the law to quit trying to undo it and to work instead to improve it.

Obama also plans to promote the law during a speech this week in Maryland.

Man Wanted in California Imprisoned in Nebraska

jail(AP) — A 42-year-old Florida man wanted on a California warrant has been given prison time in a Nebraska drug case.

Online court records say Shane Barrett, of Naples, Fla., last week was sentenced to one to two years. He’d pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. Prosecutors dropped a related charge in exchange for Barrett’s plea.

A Nebraska state trooper had stopped Barrett on Feb. 15 for following another vehicle too closely on Interstate 80 near the Lincoln airport. He was arrested after the trooper learned that Barrett was wanted on a drug possession warrant out of Sonoma County, Calif. The Nebraska State Patrol says a bottle of prescription painkillers and nearly 90 pounds of marijuana were found in the pickup Barrett was driving.

Nebraska Sex Offender Pleads Not Guilty in New Case

sex-offenders(AP) — A convicted sex offender released from a Nebraska prison in March has been charged with sexually assaulting a 7-year-old child last month in York County.

48-year-old Ross Shepherd, of rural Hampton, has pleaded not guilty to four counts.

Records say Shepherd was convicted in August 1997 and in October 2010 of sexually assaulting children. For the 2010 conviction, he was sentenced to five years in prison. He was released from custody this past March.

His trial is scheduled to begin on Nov. 13.

Omaha Man Gets 40 to 60 Years for Raping Girls Ages 12 and 14

Clintus Alfus
Clintus Alfus

(AP) — A 37-year-old Omaha man has been sentenced to prison for raping two girls who say his cologne gave him away.

Clintus Alford on Monday was given 40 to 60 years in prison. He’d been convicted in July on two counts of sexual assault of a child.

Authorities say Alford had blindfolded the girls in the separate incidents last summer. He’d taken them to Omaha hotel rooms and told them they had to have sex with other men for money. But the girls told investigators that they were acquainted with Alford and recognized his cologne when he raped them.

Ex-Nebraska Lawmaker Agrees to Have License Suspended

Brenda-Council(AP) — Former state Sen. Brenda Council has agreed to a temporary suspension of her law license as she awaits a disciplinary hearing.

An ethics complaint against Council was filed with the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Counsel for Discipline after she pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of abusing public records. She admitted to using campaign funds to gamble at casinos but didn’t report the expenditures or deposits on her campaign finance reports.

Earlier this month she pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge stemming from her use of campaign cash to gamble at casinos in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend probation for the Omaha attorney when she’s sentenced on Dec. 5.

The state Supreme Court could disbar Council.

Trial Set for Fremont Man Accused of Choking Toddler

gavel-and-scale(AP) — Sentencing has been scheduled in November for a Fremont man accused of choking his girlfriend’s toddler son.

The Fremont Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1gWw1Ph) that 24-year-old David Hill Jr. pleaded no contest on Monday to one felony count of negligent child abuse. Prosecutors had lowered the charge and dropped another that alleged strangulation, in exchange for Hill’s plea.

The incident occurred on April 28. Prosecutors say Hill told his girlfriend that he’d been using a bathroom when he heard a thump. Hill told her he soon found the boy on the floor, out of his crib, with blood around his mouth.

When she took the 19-month-old boy to a hospital the next day, doctors concluded the boy had been choked.

Hill is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 18.

99-Year-Old Iowa Woman Gets High School Diploma

high-school-diploma(AP) — A 99-year-old Iowa woman who dropped out of a high school in 1932 has finally received her diploma.

Audrey Crabtree was surrounded by family and friends on Monday as Waterloo Community Schools presented her with an honorary diploma during an education board meeting.

Crabtree dropped out of high school as a senior in 1932 due to an injury and to care for her grandmother. She went on to run her own business for nearly three decades.

At the meeting, Crabtree received a diploma, a copy of her last report card and high school memorabilia from her time at Waterloo East High School. She also received more than 100 handmade congratulatory cards from middle school students.

Ft. Calhoun Nuclear Plant Closer to Restarting

ft-calhoun-nuclear-plant(AP) — Regulators say the idle Fort Calhoun nuclear plant is making good progress toward restarting for the first time in more than two years, but some significant issues remain unresolved.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to provide an update on Fort Calhoun at a public meeting Tuesday night. The nuclear plant sits across from Iowa on the Missouri River about 20 miles north of Omaha.

Fort Calhoun initially shut down for routine maintenance, but significant flooding in 2011, a small fire and a series of safety violations forced it to remain closed.

The NRC says Fort Calhoun has resolved about 70 percent of the items that must be dealt with before the plant will be allowed to restart. And about 25 percent of the items are being reviewed.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File