CRAB ORCHARD, Neb. (AP) — Pavement work has been scheduled for State Spur 49C in southeast Nebraska.
The work is scheduled to begin Wednesday and take two days. It will affect motorists on the spur near U.S. Highway 136.
The Nebraska Roads Department says traffic will be reduced to one lane, and flaggers and a pilot car will be employed.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha school board has retained its president.
The board voted 8-4 Monday night to keep Freddie Gray as its leader. She was under fire over the Nancy Sebring case.
The board hired Sebring, the superintendent of the Des Moines, Iowa, school board, in April to replace John Mackiel, who retired. Sebring abruptly left her Iowa job in May. She lost the Omaha job after emails to a lover on her district computer became public.
At issue was whether board members thought Gray acted appropriately by withholding information about Sebring’ resignation in Iowa.
Board officers are elected by majority vote and serve for a year. Gray took the position in January.
The board action came after 90 minutes of public comment and board discussion.
Related: Video of Ben Gray Getting Upset at Meeting
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Most Nebraska crops remain in bad condition because of the persistent hot, dry temperatures.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its weekly report on the state’s crops on Monday.
The USDA says only about 35 percent of Nebraska’s corn crop is in good or excellent shape. That’s much lower than the average of 78 percent at this time of year.
About 22 percent of the soybean crop is in good or excellent shape. That also compares poorly with the average of 76 percent good or excellent.
The USDA says even irrigators are struggling to keep up with their crops’ demands for water.
Many ranchers are hauling water for their cattle because ponds have dried up. Only about 1 percent of the state’s pastures are in good or excellent condition.
PERU, Neb. (AP) — Peru State College is raising money to update it football stadium and the main road leading into its campus in Peru in southeast Nebraska.
The stadium improvements including providing handicapped accessibility to the field and adding handrails to an expanded seating area. Other upgrades include new restrooms, concession stands, a plaza area and a press box.
The Legislature has appropriated $7.5 million for the renovation, which will cost about $14 million. Peru Sate is required to raise private money to qualify for the state funds. Brothers Lee and Bill Sapp, who created a chain of interstate truck stops, have pledged $500,000 for the stadium.
The school is also raising money to renovate its entrance, which is expected to cost $2.5 million.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man charged with killing a man at a party in Lincoln has pleaded no contest to second-degree murder.
Jermaine Jackman entered the plea on Friday in Lancaster County District Court. His trial was to start on Monday.
Jackman faces 20 years to life in prison when he’s sentenced in September.
Jackman was accused of shooting Dwayne Greer in July 2011.
Two others were also charged. DaVaughn Johnson pleaded no contest to accessory to murder and making a terroristic threat. DeAnthony Love pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and using a firearm to commit a felony. They’re to be sentenced at the end of the month.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle is on his way back to the United States after spending several days in an Irish hospital.
The mayor’s office says Suttle should be back in Omaha either late Monday or early Tuesday morning.
Suttle was hospitalized in Ireland on Friday after he complained that he wasn’t feeling well.
Suttle had been on a 10-day tour of three European countries where Omaha has sister cities before he became ill.
Doctors at the hospital in Naas, Ireland, found the mayor was tired, dehydrated and had a spike in blood pressure. Suttle plans to visit his own doctor when he returns home.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman says his weeklong trip to China helped increase the state’s visibility to Chinese officials, who are more familiar with U.S. coastal states.
Heineman said Monday that the visit helped strengthen Nebraska’s relationship with China and laid the groundwork for future business growth. But he said it’s only part of a longer-term relationship that needs to develop.
The trip included several agreements between Nebraska and the Chinese government, including a “sister state” relationship between Nebraska and the Shaanxi Province, and a new trade office in Shanghai.
Heineman says he emphasized the quality of Nebraska businesses during his talks with Chinese officials, and he made sure they knew that world-famous investor Warren Buffett hails from Omaha.
OAK CREEK, Wis. (AP) — The man who opened fire in a Wisconsin Sikh temple posted frequent comments on Internet forums for skinheads, repeatedly exhorting members to act more decisively to support their cause.
A day after Wade Michael Page’s attack, authorities were trying to determine why the 40-year-old Army veteran targeted total strangers in a house of worship.
Detectives cautioned they might never know for sure. But the picture of Page that began to develop suggested he was a white supremacist who wanted to see his beliefs advanced with action.
Page, who was shot to death by police, described himself as a member of the “Hammerskins Nation,” a skinhead group rooted in Texas that has branches in Australia and Canada.
(Lincoln, Neb.) Gov. Dave Heineman today, in accordance with the proclamation from President Barack Obama, announced all U.S. and Nebraska flags to be flown at half-staff as a sign of respect for the victims of the violence in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
Flags will be flown at half-staff until sunset, August 10, 2012.
(Omaha, Neb.)- Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol Troop A-Oman took four impaired drivers off the road during high visibility
patrols in conjunction with a special enforcement effort Thursday- Saturday, August 2-4.
High visibility patrols were utilized in an effort to reduce the potential for alcohol related crashes and accidents involving motorists and pedestrians in the congested areas near the site of the Cox Classic Golf Tournament. The added enforcement was paid for thanks in part to a $9,960 grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety (NOHS).
During the effort troopers made 364 contacts and issued 252 citations & warnings. The following statistics reflect activity during the special enforcement.
| 4- Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) | 8- Open container |
| 85- Speeding citations & warnings | 3- Drug Possession |
| 9- Driving Under Suspension (DUS) | 3- Outstanding warrants |
| 9- Seat belt citations & warnings | 2- Child Restraint citations |
