SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — A Scottsbluff man accused of abusing his infant son will face trial on a child abuse charge.

Nathan Pace is suspected of injuring his 2-month-old son in February. His son was transferred to a Denver hospital with serious head injuries. Pace was arrested after doctors said the injuries were not accidental.

Pace’s case has been transferred to Scotts Bluff County District Court for trial. An arraignment is set for Friday. Pace is being held in the Scotts Bluff County jail on a $750,000 bond.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — Two former students at Lindsay Holy Family school in Lindsay are denying allegations that they secretly made videos of the girls basketball team in the locker rooms.

A Platte County juvenile court judge accepted the boys’ denials on Monday and scheduled pretrial hearings on March 26.

The boys are accused of videotaping members of the team during a three-week period in January. One boy is accused of unlawful intrusion. The other is accused of aiding and abetting unlawful intrusion.

School officials and the county attorney’s office have not released details of the allegations.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska’s unemployment rate improved to 4 percent in January to come in at less than half the national rate of 8.3 percent. The state Labor Department released the preliminary January figures on Tuesday. The January rate for Nebraska is better than the revised December rate of 4.2 percent. Labor Commissioner Catherine Lang says the rates show that Nebraska’s economy continues to recover from the recession. Nebraska again had the second-lowest unemployment rate in January behind North Dakota’s 3.2 percent. The number of unemployed people in Nebraska was estimated at 41,010 in January. That was smaller than December’s 42,947 and last January’s 45,083. The total workforce in the state is just over 1 million.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A national advocate for children says Nebraska’s proposed child welfare reforms won’t solve what the group sees as the core problem: That too many children are yanked from their homes and kept in foster care.

The National Coalition for Child Protection Reform criticized the state’s reform proposals on Monday, saying they will not change the Nebraska’s “take the child and run” mentality.

Richard Wexler, the group’s executive director, says Nebraska social workers too often see poverty in homes and assume the children are suffering from neglect.

Lawmakers are preparing to give final approval to several child welfare measures, including one that would end the state’s experiment with privatized services in all but two Omaha-area counties

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Two inmates who escaped from a southeast South Dakota jail have been located in Nebraska.

The Charles Mix County Sheriff’s Office and the Division of Criminal Investigation says 34-year-old Edward Antelope and 28-year-old Donald Cournoyer were apprehended Monday near Norfolk, Neb., without incident.

The two inmates were being held on Yankton Sioux Tribe charges and had state charges pending when they escaped from the Charles Mix County jail Wednesday.

Authorities say the two men are awaiting extradition.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Travelers driving west of Lincoln on Interstate 80 can expect delays, lane changes and other construction related issues beginning this week.

The Department of Roads says construction is resuming between Exit 381 and Exit 395 if the weather permits.

Pavement repair, bridge deck repair, milling and asphalt overlay will be included. Werner Construction LLC has the contracts totaling $9.3 million.

I-80 traffic will be maintained, but travelers should expect temporary lane closures, in both the eastbound and westbound directions. Message boards will be used to update motorists about lane restrictions and the speed limit will be reduced within the lane closure areas.

The project is expected to be completed by this fall.

 

A 45-year-old Lincoln man has been sentenced for his role in a Nebraska-based conspiracy to make methamphetamine. Mark Skoda was sentenced last week to 24 years and four months in a federal prison. He must serve 10 years of supervised release after he leaves prison. Skoda was found convicted of conspiracy to manufacture 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Prosecutors say four co-conspirators accused Skoda of making the meth over a 20-month period at a rural location just east of Lincoln. In court, Skoda said the United States ought to find a better treatment for people addicted to meth. The conviction is Skoda’s second connected to making meth. He’s already served time in prison.