JOHNSON, Neb. (AP) — Pavement work has been scheduled for state Highway 105 in southeast Nebraska.
The work is scheduled to begin Aug. 8 and take two days. It will affect motorists on a stretch north of Johnson.
The Nebraska Roads Department says traffic will be reduced to one lane, and flaggers and a pilot car will be employed.
(AP)-The drought affecting Midwest and Plains states has put a further drag on the regional economy.
A report released Wednesday says July’s Mid-America Business Conditions Index plunged below growth neutral for the first time since 2008. The index hit 48.7, compared with 57.2 in June.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the drought has already harmed ethanol and food processors in the region.
The survey of business leaders and supply managers uses a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Any score above 50 suggests growth while a score below 50 suggests decline for that factor.
The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Another report on the health of the economy in nine Midwest and Plains states should show whether business is continuing to slow down.
Creighton University will release the latest monthly report on the region’s economy on Wednesday morning.
In recent months, the survey of business leaders suggested the economy was slowing down because of global economic concerns even though farm income had remained healthy.
The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A Platte County judge has ordered a Columbus man to trial on charges that he created a false paper trail for a classic muscle car to pump up the asking price.
A judge sent Mickey Dush’s case to district court for trial on charges of theft by deception and a sales tax violation.
Prosecutors say he bought a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle from a Florida dealer in 2011 for $37,500 and misrepresented its origins when he sold it to an Iowa buyer for $87,000
The Chevelle SS 396 was a mass produced model. The Chevelle LS-6 454 model was a limited edition and is highly prized. Prosecutors claim Dush swapped engines and created false documents.
Dush’s defense attorney declined to comment on the state’s case.
MADISON, Neb. (AP) — A former police chief of Newman Grove in northeast Nebraska has made a plea deal in a January shooting incident.
The 43-year-old Todd Jennings pleaded no contest to a felony charge of making terroristic threats. Prosecutors dropped a weapons charge in return.
Madison County authorities say two teenagers reported in January that they approached Jennings’ vehicle while it was stopped at an intersection in Tilden, thinking he was someone else. The teenagers say Jennings pointed a gun at them, said “Do you really want to do this?” and then drove away.
The teenagers said they heard gunshots that they believe were aimed in their direction. No one was injured.
Jennings is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 21.
AUBURN, Neb. (AP) — Federal officials have scheduled a public meeting to discuss the process involved in a safety exercise that’s being conducted at the Cooper Nuclear Station in southeast Nebraska.
The exercise is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday at the Nebraska Public Power District plant near Brownville. The exercise involves state and county agencies and officials from Nebraska and some across the Missouri River in the state of Missouri.
Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be observing the exercise. But their conclusions and reports about what they observe won’t be discussed at the public meeting.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Friday at the NPPD emergency operations facility auditorium in Auburn.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The condition of Nebraska’s crops continues to deteriorate because of this summer’s hot and dry weather
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday in its weekly report on Nebraska’s crops that some damaged corn fields are being cut for hay because of the drought.
Little precipitation fell in the state last week, and temperatures averaged 4 degrees above normal.
About 35 percent of the corn crop is in good or excellent condition. That’s well behind the 78 percent average.
The USDA says 24 percent of the soybean crop is in good or excellent shape. That’s behind the 75 percent average.
About 3 percent of the state’s pastures are in good or excellent shape. And livestock producers who are short on feed are culling their herds.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln police say a 19-year-old man died after he was shot in the chest during an argument between his friends and another group in a neighborhood.
Police say Naif Al-Kazahy was shot late Sunday. Police say he and some friends walked by a house and got into an argument with some people who were sitting on a porch. Police say a man then pulled out a shotgun and shot Al-Kazahy. He was taken to a hospital, where he died Monday morning.
No arrests have been reported.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Republican Senate candidate Deb Fischer says Social Security is on the road to bankruptcy, but she is committed to needed reforms.
The rancher from Valentine discussed Social Security on Monday after her Democratic opponent, Bob Kerrey, released a detailed reform proposal for the program.
Fischer’s campaign spokesman Daniel Keylin says the state senator has proposed increasing the retirement age for people younger than 40 and adding a means test for benefits.
And Fischer wants to prevent Congress from being able to use money from the Social Security trust fund for other purposes. But Fischer has signed a pledge not to support any tax increases.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
26-year-old Josue Isaias Martinez Umana pleaded no contest in June to attempted first-degree sexual assault of a child and child abuse. A judge last week sentenced him to the 20-year maximum on the attempted sex assault charge and two to five years on the child abuse charge, to be served concurrently.
Umana was arrested last year. Police says the child told family members that Umana assaulted her several times in 2011.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha school board has named an interim superintendent during a nationwide search for a permanent leader.
The board named Virginia Moon to the post during a special meeting on Monday. Moon, previously superintendent of Ralston schools, was selected on an 8-4 vote following heated discussion and calls for board President Freddie Gray to step down.
The board hired Nancy Sebring, the superintendent of the Des Moines, Iowa, school district, in April to replace John Mackiel, who’s retiring. Sebring abruptly left her Iowa job in May. She lost the Omaha job after emails to a lover on her district computer were made public.
The question of whether Gray should remain as president was put on the agenda for next week’s regular meeting.
