We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Highway crash kills teenager in southeast Nebraska

RULO, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 16-year-old boy has been killed in a southeast Nebraska collision.

The crash was reported around 2:30 p.m. Monday on U.S. Highway 159, about 1½ miles (3 kilometers) west of Rulo.

The Richardson County Sheriff’s Office says an eastbound pickup truck crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a pickup truck and then a trailer it was towing.

The Sheriff’s Office says the teenager was pronounced dead at the scene. He’s been identified as Easton Vonderschmidt, who lived in Rulo. The other driver has been identified as 48-year-old Bob Campbell, of Rulo. He was taken to a Falls City hospital and then to a Lincoln hospital.

Colorado man killed in Nebraska collision, authorities say

CHAPMAN, Neb. (AP) — A Colorado man has been killed in a central Nebraska highway accident.

The collision occurred Friday afternoon on U.S. Highway 30, about 2 miles (3 kilometers) southwest of Chapman. Merrick County authorities say a westbound minivan and an eastbound pickup truck collided. It’s unclear what led to the collision.

The minivan driver was pronounced dead at the scene. He’s been identified as 74-year-old Robert Campos, who lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Authorities say his passenger and the pickup driver were taken to a Grand Island hospital.

Man died after being pinned under ATV, sheriff says

MCCOOL JUNCTION, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 65-year-old man has died after being pinned under an all-terrain vehicle in eastern Nebraska.

The accident occurred in a pasture about 3 miles (5 kilometers) west and a half-mile (1 kilometer) north of McCool Junction. York County Sheriff Dale Radcliff says Harry Herron’s body was found around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

Herron had been seen in the field around noon Saturday, spraying weeds, so it’s assumed the accident occurred later Saturday. The sheriff says it appears Herron was driving up a steep embankment when he hit a washout, and the four-wheeler tipped over, pinning him underneath.

Nebraska village rebuilds after 2014 tornado damage

PILGER, Neb. (AP) — A number of businesses have been rebuilt in and around an eastern Nebraska village since experiencing severe damage from a tornado.

Businesses and homes had been destroyed in a 2014 tornado that ripped through Pilger (PIHL’-gur). The wreckage included Pilger’s Village Office, where building permits for homes and businesses go through the village clerk and utilities superintendent.

The village has since rebuilt the office, which includes improvements such as a storm shelter and storage space.

A ribbon cutting ceremony this month celebrated the reopening of the village’s Midwest Bank. Pilger Pride general manager Aaron Becker says his convenience store opens this month as well.

Village Clerk Kim Neiman says that she’s glad “to have everything in one place again.”

Lincoln schools mull replacing class ranking system

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A committee is recommending schools in Lincoln do away with class rank and replace it with a recognition system of academic achievement based on different ranges of grade-point averages.

The Lincoln Public Schools committee studied class rank for a year before recommending the district get rid of the system and replace it with a system similar to colleges that recognize students for graduating with distinction.

Jane Stavem is an associate superintendent of instruction at the district. Stavem says the suggestion was based on a national trend away from using class rank, the inability to compare one school’s rank to another and an unhealthy competition it creates among students.

The Lincoln Board of Education will discuss the issue July 25.

___

Lincoln man gets 40 years to life in roommate’s slaying

Trenton Reiner

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A man who took a plea deal in the slaying of his roommate has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.

46-year-old Trenton Reiner was sentenced Monday following his decision to plead no contest last month to second-degree murder after prosecutors lowered the charge. Police say Reiner killed 35-year-old Robert Leazer sometime after May 7, 2016, in the mobile home they shared.

Officers discovered the decomposing body May 26.

An autopsy showed Leazer died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Ralston man charged in death of man found in garage

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police have arrested a Ralston man in the death of a man whose body was found in a garage after a vehicle crash.

Officers on Monday arrested 52-year-old Dustin Salisbury, who faces charges of second-degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

The arrest of Salisbury stems from a crash in the early morning hours of June 21, when police claim he used his pickup truck to hit 23-year-old Jessi Domingo.

Emergency crews responded to the crash and helped Salisbury out of the pickup. Hours later, Domingo’s body was found in a nearby garage.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine says an autopsy shows Domingo died of massive trauma consistent with being hit by a vehicle.

Kleine says the men had argued before the crash.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office seeking to hire deputies

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is recruiting candidates to fill deputy ranks.

The office, located in Omaha, says the entry-level selection process includes written tests, a physical fitness assessment, structured interview, polygraph, background, psychological and medical examinations, and a drug-screening test.

Some of the minimum qualifications include having a high school diploma or GED and a valid driver’s license, being a U.S. citizen, the ability to carry a firearm, and being at least 21.

Registration forms are available online at www.morrowhr.com, and a $50 non-refundable registration fee is required. Registration for the exam is open until Aug. 2. The exam date is Aug. 26.

Official: Omaha school improved enough to end intervention

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska school official says an Omaha elementary school has made enough progress in one year to remove it from priority status and discontinue state intervention.

State assessment scores during the 2015-16 school year showed that Druid Hill Elementary increased in several grade levels.

Principal Cherice Williams says the “culture” of the school has changed.

Druid Hill was one of three schools that were tapped for intervention in December 2015 based on the state’s first-ever performance ratings.

Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt says he’ll recommend that Santee Middle School and Loup County Elementary remain listed for another year.

Blomstedt plans to request Druid Hill’s removal during the State Board of Education meeting in August.

Omaha area property damage from June storms could hit $400K

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Property damage claims from separate June storms in the Omaha area could top $400 million.

An estimated 52,000 could be filed from June 16 and June 29 storms.

State Farm Insurance, the state’s largest insurer, says its clients have filed 6,670 claims for hail damage to cars and 3,730 claims for hail damage to houses, plus wind damage to 410 cars and 2,210 houses. That’s about 13,000 claims from both storms.

State Farm holds about one-fourth of the state’s property insurance policies, so the total number of claims could top 50,000 for all insurance companies.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File