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Nebraska county reserves beds in Kansas county jail

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Gage County has reserved beds at a jail across the state line in northern Kansas and at a jail in south-central Nebraska.

The Gage County Board of Supervisors approved a contract Wednesday for 10 beds in the Washington County, Kansas, jail and five at the jail in Nebraska’s Dawson County. Both one-year contracts call for a rate of $45 a bed per day, regardless of whether they’re used by inmates from Gage County.

Contracting with other jails intensified this summer as the number of inmates reached double the Gage County jail’s capacity of around 27. The overflow inmates were housed at up to seven different counties at one time, causing transportation problems for jail workers.

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Omaha proposal would address panhandling on street medians

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A proposed ordinance would ban people from being on certain types of medians at many Omaha intersections for any reason except for crossing the street or doing construction work. The proposal doesn’t mention its primary target: panhandling.

Mayor Jean Stothert (STAH’-thurt) and city attorneys hope the wording will head off any complaints about violating anyone’s rights to free speech. The mayor says federal courts have said panhandling is free speech and thus is protected by the Constitution. The ordinance wouldn’t apply to sidewalks, street corners or medians that don’t meet the criteria spelled out in the proposal.

The mayor submitted the proposal Tuesda

Woman ordered to repay nearly $181K she stole from county

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A woman has been ordered to repay nearly $181,000 she stole from Cherry County while working as deputy county clerk.

A judge released the ruling last week in a Lancaster County lawsuit filed last year by Cherry County and its insurer against Monica Bristow.

Bristow was arrested in July 2015 and later pleaded guilty. She finished serving her prison sentence in January.

A state audit performed after Bristow’s arrest found more than 1,000 credit card transactions totaling $83,000 that appeared to be for the personal use of Bristow. Auditors also found discrepancies in claim procedures, payroll issues and county expenditures.

Ex-Omaha gymnastics coach faces trial in hidden camera case

Bryce Fogg

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a former Omaha gymnastics coach accused of secretly recording a 14-year-old girl as she changed clothes was caught on the video setting up the hidden camera before the girl entered the room.

An Omaha officer testified Monday that 28-year-old James Bryce Fogg recorded the girl earlier this year in an Omaha gym where he worked.

Fogg will stand trial on two counts of visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct and one count of unlawful intrusion. He faces up to 102 years in prison convicted.

Fogg’s public defender says he wasn’t trying to record the girl.

Police say he also recorded a 22-year-old woman. Fogg was arrested in July in Emporia, Kansas, where he’d moved for another coaching job.

He remains jailed on $500,000 bail.

Man accused of peeping on women at gym takes plea deal

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man accused of spying on nude women at a Lincoln fitness gym and making videos has taken a plea deal.

29-year-old Jade Hawklen pleaded no contest Monday to three counts of unlawful intrusion. Prosecutors agreed in exchange not to file separate charges for the 15 women he’s suspected of watching. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 20.

Hawklen told police he used to work at the gym and used a key he’d acquired to access a room that contained a light therapy machine.

Omaha police charge woman in shooting of 15-year-old girl

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say they have arrested a woman in connection with the shooting of a 15-year-old girl.

Police say 25-year-old Catessa Barnum was arrested Monday afternoon and booked into the Douglas County jail on charges of 1st-degree felony assault and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

The charges follow a shooting early Saturday of Shadaisja Hill. Police say died at an Omaha hospital.

Woman dies in northeast Nebraska car crash

WALTHILL, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 38-year-old woman has been killed in a northeast Nebraska car crash.

The accident occurred around 10:30 a.m. Monday on Nebraska Highway 94, about 2 miles (3 kilometers) southwest of Walthill. The Nebraska State Patrol says the car ran off the roadway and rolled, ejecting the driver.

She’s been identified as Diona Jo Doenhoefer, who lived in Walthill.

Nebraska mayor pleads not guilty in child sexual abuse case

HARTINGTON, Neb. (AP) — A northeast Nebraska mayor has pleaded not guilty to four counts of child sexual abuse and one of intentional child abuse.

Court records say 61-year-old Dwayne Schutt (shuht) entered the pleas Monday in Cedar County District Court in Hartington. The judge scheduled a pretrial conference for Nov. 27. The records don’t show that a trial date has been set.

Schutt has been mayor of Randolph since 2011. The Cedar County city has about 940 residents.

Slaying suspect must undergo competency evaluation

stabbNORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — A competency evaluation has been ordered for a man accused of stabbing to death a neighbor at a Norfolk apartment complex.

The test was ordered Friday for 48-year-old Rodolfo Castaneda-Morejon, who is charged with murder and a weapons crime. He’s accused of killing 39-year-old Yosvanis Velazquez Gomez at the complex on Aug. 25.

Court records say Castaneda-Morejon told investigators he confronted Velazquez Gomez about an inappropriate text message sent to Castaneda-Morejon’s girlfriend, suspecting the two were having a secret relationship. The records also say Castaneda-Morejon acknowledged stabbing Velazquez Gomez several times.

Winnebago Tribe hoping to reclaim land in Iowa

SLOAN, Iowa (AP) — The Winnebago Tribe is hoping to reclaim land in Iowa that was once part of its reservation in northeast Nebraska, but local hunters are concerned they might lose access.

The 1,643 acres (6648990.98 sq. meters) of land is owned by the federal government and attracts hundreds of hunters each year.

The land, which is near the tribe’s WinnaVegas Casino, was part of the Winnebago reservation when it was created in 1865. But the eastern border of the reservation was the Missouri River, which changed course over the years.

U.S. Rep. Steve King introduced a bill earlier this month to transfer the land to the Bureau of Indian Affairs where it would be held in trust for the tribe.

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