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Insurer to provide aid to employees losing jobs in Lincoln

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nationwide Insurance spokesman says the company intends to provide career management resources and other aid to employees who will be losing their jobs in Lincoln.

Nationwide spokesman Eric Hardgrove said Tuesday that the company announced in 2015 plans to close the Allied Insurance office by the end of 2018. The closing is part of the company’s long-term strategy for service, claims and sales office locations.

Nationwide and Allied combined once employed more than 700 people in Lincoln in several locations. Allied Insurance has been in Lincoln since 1965. Nationwide bought the company in 1998.

Hardgrove says about 90 people still work at the Allied office and says some will continue to work for the company from home after the office closes for good.

Lincoln schools update security policies for active shooters

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln’s public schools will now be required to conduct two drills to respond to active shooters after a district review of emergency procedures this summer.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that district administrators re-assessed emergency protocols after a parent group raised security concerns following the mass shooting at a Florida school in February. Parents United for Greater School Safety advocated for more school resource officers, improved security at school entrances and better communication with parents about emergency drills.

Administrators have decided that all schools must conduct two lockdown and lockout drills. Lockdown refers to locking classrooms, turning off lights and getting out of sight. Lockouts involve bringing students inside and locking the school when there’s a threat outside the building.

Teachers will receive training Tuesday on flexible decision-making with a new video on all procedures.

Former golf coach to be sentenced in loan scam

Karl Dierman
COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A September sentencing has been scheduled for a former golf coach charged in a loan scam.

The Columbus Telegram reports that 54-year-old Karl Dierman, of Lincoln, has pleaded no contest Platte County District Court to a forgery charge. Prosecutors dismissed 11 other counts in return for Dierman’s plea. His sentencing is set for Sept. 4.

Court documents say the former Scotus Central Catholic coach requested a cash loan against an insurance policy with Mass Mutual Financial Group listing his in-laws as the insureds and identifying the payee as his wife.

Dierman acknowledged forging his in-laws’ signatures on the loan application and forging his wife’s signature to deposit the loan funds in his business account, over which she had no control.

He faces restitution of $14,500.

Invasive zebra mussels confirmed in Cunningham Lake at Omaha

Zebra Mussel
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says adults of the invasive zebra mussel have been confirmed in Glenn Cunningham Lake just north of Omaha.

The lake had been considered suspect since May, when larvae were found but no adults.

The small black-and-white striped mussels are native to eastern Europe and voracious eaters that gobble up plankton many native freshwater fish need to survive. The mussels can also attach themselves to boat motors, bait buckets and dam mechanisms and cause damage to motors and facilities.

Game and Parks officials worry that boats will be transporting the mussel to other bodies of water in the region. Boaters are urged to clean, drain and dry watercraft to prevent the spread.

Suspect in woman’s slaying files death penalty challenge

Bailey Boswell
WILBER, Neb. (AP) — One of two people accused of killing a Lincoln woman, dismembering her and dumping her remains in a southeast Nebraska field is challenging the state’s death penalty.

Last Wednesday state prosecutors cited the slaying’s “exceptional depravity” in a filing regarding the state’s intentions toward 24-year-old Bailey Boswell. Court records say Boswell and 51-year-old Aubrey Trail are charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors allege Trail strangled Sydney Loofe and Boswell helped Trail cut up Loofe’s body and stuff the remains into trash bags. The remains were found Dec. 4 in Clay County, weeks after Loofe was reported missing.

Boswell’s motion filed Friday says the state’s sentencing procedure in death penalty cases is unconstitutional for several reasons. A judge has set a Sept. 17 hearing on her challenge.

Saline County District Court records show Trail hasn’t filed a similar motion.

Troopers find 46 lbs of meth in traffic stop near Omaha

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) have arrested three people and seized 46.5 pounds of methamphetamine during a traffic stop Friday evening on Interstate 80 near Omaha.

At approximately 7:15 p.m. Friday, August 3, a trooper observed an eastbound 2006 Mercedes SUV following too closely near mile marker 436. During the traffic stop, an NSP K9 detected the odor of a controlled substance coming from the vehicle.

A search of the vehicle revealed 46.5 pounds of methamphetamine hidden under the floorboards. A small amount of marijuana was also found. The estimated street value of the methamphetamine is $400,000.

The driver, Erminia Everett, 19, and passengers, Marcos Lee, 18, and Evan Adamson, 19, all of Minnesota, were arrested for possession with intent to deliver and no Drug Tax stamp. All three were lodged in Sarpy County Jail.

Motorcyclist dies in collision on southwest side of Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a motorcyclist was killed in a collision on the southwest side of Omaha.

Medics and officers were dispatched to the scene around 10:35 p.m. Thursday. Officers say the westbound motorcycle collided with an eastbound vehicle that was turning left, to the north.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that the motorcyclist was declared dead at the scene and identified as Evan Welsh, of Omaha. The other driver was identified as 17-year-old Dalton Glenn, of Omaha. It’s unclear whether Glenn was injured.

Troopers arrest 4 men, recover stolen items, including SUV

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska state troopers arrested four men and recovered hundreds of stolen items after stopping their sport utility vehicle along Interstate 80.

Troopers started looking for the SUV Wednesday after it was reported that several men were trying to use potentially stolen gift cards to buy new gift cards in several communities. The vehicle was spotted and stopped near Grand Island, and troopers soon learned that it was a rental reported stolen by the rental company.

Troopers say they found video game consoles, dozens of fraudulent gift and credit cards and a small amount of marijuana. Troopers valued the stolen items at $50,000.

The men were arrested on suspicion of criminal possession of a forgery device and of other crimes. Online court records don’t show that they’ve been formally charged.

Slaying suspects sentenced in unrelated gold coin scheme

Bailey Boswell
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man and woman charged with murder in the slaying of a Lincoln woman have been sentenced to prison for an unrelated gold coin scheme.

Twenty-four-year-old Bailey Boswell was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Lincoln to five years in prison, while 51-year-old Aubrey Trail was sentenced to 10 years.

Each pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of stolen property. Prosecutors agreed to drop several other counts in return.

Investigators say Trail and Boswell defrauded two people of thousands of dollars in a scheme to buy and then sell a coin they falsely claimed was valuable.

The two are charged with first-degree murder in the death of 24-year-old Sydney Loofe. Loofe disappeared Nov. 15, a day after going on a date with Boswell. Loofe’s cut-up remains were found in December in rural Clay County.

Lincoln man charged with sexually assaulting young girl

Alex Garden
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Police have arrested a 31-year-old man already serving federal parole for a child sex crime, accusing him of sexually assaulting a girl in Lincoln earlier this year.

The Lincoln Journal Star says Alex Garden was charged Wednesday with first-degree sexual assault of a child and intentional child abuse.

Police say he sexually assaulted a girl he knew in February. The girl is younger than 12.

Garden has been in the Saline County jail in Wilber since June, when federal prosecutors said he violated the terms of his parole.

In 2016, Garden admitted to possessing child pornography and was sentenced to federal prison. He was put on house arrest late last year, and then put on supervised release months later.

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