HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A family is asking whoever burglarized a home in south-central Nebraska’s Adams County to return the ashes of the family patriarch.
A box of cremated remains was among items stolen during a daytime burglary on Friday.
Adams County sheriff’s investigator Glenn Kemp says the thief or thieves could take the box to a local clergy member or someone else who could keep the identity of the thief or thieves secret.
Kemp says “the family would like their dad back.”
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — TD Ameritrade executives don’t want the online brokerage linked to its founder’s political activities.
Ameritrade CEO Fred Tomczyk said Tuesday the company lost some customers earlier this year when Joe Ricketts reportedly, considered and then dropped a proposal to revive controversy over the relationship between President Barack Obama and his former pastor.
But Tomczyk says the number of customers that left wasn’t significant compared to Ameritrade’s 5.74 million funded accounts.
Tomczyk says Ricketts’ conservative political views don’t reflect Ameritrade’s views because the company generally stays out of politics.
Ricketts retired from Ameritrade’s board last fall to focus on other interests, including his family’s ownership of the Chicago Cubs. Ricketts’ family still owns about 15 percent of Ameritrade’s stock, and two of his sons serve on the board.
HUMBOLDT, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a man who died when he apparently jumped from a pickup during a chase with officers in southeast Nebraska.
The Nebraska State Patrol on Wednesday identified the man as 19-year-old Justin Kanniard, of Pawnee City and Steinauer.
Kanniard died late Monday near Humboldt after leading officers on a chase in Richardson and Pawnee counties.
The patrol says a preliminary investigation shows the pickup left the road and went into a soybean field after the front tires were flattened by stop sticks deployed by officers.
Officials say the driver had a rope around his neck that was attached to the vehicle, and he apparently jumped out of the truck while it was moving. An autopsy is pending.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A federal trial is under way in Lincoln over a challenge to changes made in Nebraska’s sex offender laws in 2009
Three dozen sex offenders claim the state went too far. The case before U.S. Senior District Judge Richard Kopf, which began Monday, is expected to last two weeksIf the state wins, convicted sex offenders would be forced to disclose to law enforcement the online names they use and sites where they’ve posted comments. They would also be banned from using social networking sites, instant messaging and chat rooms that can be used by minors.
Defense attorneys say the law violates First Amendment rights. Prosecutors say sex offenders can look at websites, so long as they aren’t communicating.
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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska environmental regulators say a new proposed corridor for the Keystone XL pipeline still crosses areas of fragile, sandy soil, even though it avoids what they defined as the Sandhills.
A report released Tuesday says the 2,000-foot-wide corridor runs through land that could erode, and passes near unconfined aquifers that supply drinking water to residents and livestock. Officials say most of the aquifers lie near the town of Stuart.
Regulators say pipeline developer TransCanada should carefully consider a route that avoids the aquifers, and document what safety precautions the company takes if doing so is not possible.
The pipeline is expected to carry Canadian crude oil through Nebraska on its way to Texas refineries. The report is part of an effort to find a route that avoids environmentally sensitive areas.
COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Public Power District is asking customers to use less electricity.
High heat and high demand for power to run irrigation equipment have combined to tax NPPD’s transmission system.
NPPC Chief Operating Officer Tom Kent says in a news release issued Tuesday that for 16 of the past 19 days, the customer electrical load has peaked higher than the system load record of 2,671 megawatts sets in 2006.
Kent says the utility has enough power to meet the demand, but the amount of power carried raises NPPD’s concerns about maintaining reliable service. The power demand puts an extra load on transformers, substations and other equipment.
Consequently, NPPD has joined other utilities in Nebraska in asking customers to cut their power consumption.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Operators say the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant is about halfway through several studies, changes and inspections that have been ordered before the plant can resume operation.
A public meeting with Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials in Omaha on Tuesday, plant manager Mike Prospero said a lot of work remains before the Omaha Public Power District presses the NRC for a restart.
Prospero says “that will not happen until we are convinced we can restart safely and operate reliably for a long time in the future.”
Fort Calhoun, which sits about 20 miles north of Omaha, has been offline since April 2011. It was initially shut down for refueling maintenance, but flooding along the Missouri River and safety violations forced it to remain offline.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An attorney accused of trying to take a dagger into the Lancaster County Courthouse has been acquitted.
William O’Brien was found not guilty after a nonjury trial last week in front of Lancaster County Judge Mary Doyle.
O’Brien, of Omaha, had been charged with a misdemeanor of possessing a dangerous weapon in a city or county facility.
The dagger was found Feb. 8 as security officers passed O’Brien’s briefcase through a courthouse X-ray machine.
The 51-year-old told officers the dagger belonged to his son and that he had forgotten it was in his briefcase.
The local ordinance requires that for a violation to occur, the person must knowingly possess the weapon.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An advocacy group has filed a complaint against Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, alleging that the Republican improperly used state resources to promote the candidacy of presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.
The complaint by Common Cause Nebraska, a government watchdog, takes issue with a press release from Heineman’s office about the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the health care law. The release quoted Heineman as saying it was “more important than ever” to elect Romney, who has vowed to repeal the law if elected.
Heineman defended the decision on Tuesday, saying the health care law and the presidential election were inter-related issues. Heineman says he was making a statement of fact, and responding to press inquiries for his opinion on the ruling.
(Lincoln, Neb.) Gov. Dave Heineman today named Francie C. Riedmann of Omaha to the Nebraska Court of Appeals in the Third Judicial District.
Riedmann, 48, is currently practicing law with Gross & Welch, P.C., L.L.O. in Omaha. Her areas of legal practice include insurance disputes, construction law, contract disputes, employment, inverse condemnation, medical malpractice, admiralty law, and products liability, among others.
Riedmann has handled over 60 appeals to the Nebraska Supreme Court, Nebraska Court of Appeal, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. She has briefed and argued hundreds of motions in the Nebraska State and Federal Courts.
Riedmann has received numerous awards and recognitions for her legal work, including being a fellow for the Nebraska Bar Association and the Litigation Counsel of America. She has earned the American Jurisprudence Award in three areas: Trusts & Estates, Property, and Insurance. Additionally, she is active in many community services and organizations including the Black Student Catholic Scholarship Fund, Friends of the Library for the Gretna Public Library, and Gretna Public Schools Citizens’ Committee.
Riedmann earned her Juris Doctor from Creighton University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Science from Kearney State College, now the University of Nebraska -Kearney.
The Third Judicial District of the State Court of Appeals includes several counties in northeast Nebraska (Antelope, Boone, Boyd, Burt, Cedar, Cuming, Dakota, Dixon, Dodge, Holt, Knox, Madison, Pierce, Platte, Stanton, Thurston, Washington, Wayne, and Wheeler Counties, in addition to portions of Douglas and Sarpy Counties).
The vacancy was created when Gov. Heineman appointed Judge William B. Cassel to serve on the Nebraska Supreme Court, Third Judicial District.
