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

Iowa Man Resentenced to Prison in 1977 Nebraska Shooting Death

Kelvin Anderson (Image Credit: NE Dept. of Corrections)
Kelvin Anderson (Image Credit: NE Dept. of Corrections)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa man who was previously sentenced to life in prison for a murder committed in Nebraska when he was teenager has been resentenced.

Douglas County District Judge Mark Ashford on Monday sentenced 53-year-old Kelvin Anderson, of Waterloo, Iowa, to 82 to 100 years in prison for the 1977 killing of Robert McGinnis.

Anderson will be eligible for parole in three years.

Anderson, who was 15 at the time, shot and killed McGinnis during a robbery in Omaha.

The new sentence was prompted by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says judges must have the ability to sentence juveniles to something other than an automatic life term.

Driver Died After Car Rammed Tree in Omaha Yard, Police Say

fatal-accidentOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a driver has died after ramming a car into a tree in a western Omaha yard.

Firefighters and officers were dispatched after the accident was reported around 1:40 Monday morning. Police say the car had been recklessly driven through the neighborhood, striking several mailboxes and a parked pickup before it ran through the yard and struck the tree.

Police say the driver was pronounced at the scene. Police identified him as 31-year-old Blake Ridenour, of Omaha.

Officials ID Men Injured in Iowa Grain Elevator Explosion

Iowas-Department-of-Public-SafetyHINTON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified two men who were injured in a northwest Iowa grain elevator explosion.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety announced Monday that 28-year-old Shane Noreen and 24-year-old Gustavo Gutierrez were seriously injured in a Thursday explosion at Central Valley Ag in Hinton.

Both men were transported to an Omaha hospital. An official with Nebraska Medical Center said Noreen was in critical condition and Gutierrez was in fair condition as of Monday afternoon.

Officials with Central Valley Ag did not confirm whether the two men were company employees.

The cause of the explosion hasn’t been determined. The State Fire Marshal Division is assisting the Hinton Fire Department with the investigation.

Nebraska Mom Faces New Charges After Daughter’s Death

handcuffsNORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — A Norfolk woman whose 4-year-old daughter has died has been charged with intentional child abuse resulting in death.

Jail records say 21-year-old Carla Montoya remained in Madison County custody Monday. Her attorney didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press. Montoya originally was charged with negligent child abuse.

Madison County Attorney Joseph Smith says Montoya’s daughter, Caylee Hoehne, was pronounced dead Sunday evening at an Omaha hospital. She’d been flown there after being treated at a Norfolk hospital for a skull fracture and other injuries.

Court documents say Montoya told Norfolk investigators that she had tossed Caylee into her bed three times between 11 a.m. and noon on March 12. Montoya said she thought her daughter may have hit her head on the bed frame or a wall.

Omaha Utility Hasn’t Followed 2014 Pension Status Law

OPPDLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha Public Power District hasn’t complied with a Nebraska law passed two years ago that requires government entities to report the status of their underfunded pension systems to the Legislature.

State Sen. Mark Kolterman of Seward, chairman of the Legislature’s Retirement Systems Committee, told the district’s president and CEO, Tim Burke, in a letter that the issue recently came to the committee’s attention. The committee asked the public utility to submit a report of its defined benefit retirement plan’s fiscal health.

The district must also appear before state lawmakers before the legislative session ends April 20.

Kolterman says the goal is to make sure the committee understands what the public utility’s plans are because the legislatures have a fiduciary liability.

Nebraskan Died After Truck Hit Tree, Sheriff’s Office Says

lancaster-county-sheriffRAYMOND, Neb. (AP) — A Raymond man has died after his truck veered off a Lancaster County road and ran into a tree.

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says the accident occurred around 6:15 a.m. Sunday about two miles south of Raymond. The office says the truck was headed west on West Waverly Road when it went into the north ditch, rammed through a barbed-wire fence and struck the tree.

The Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as 55-year-old Clyde Anderson.

Authorities ID Man Who Died at Iowa Construction Site

police-lights-redSERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a worker who died while working to build a fertilizer plant in northwest Iowa.

The Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as 44-year-old Arturo Castor-Cavanzon, of Tecumseh, Nebraska.

He was one of two men were working inside a tower tank Saturday afternoon when the problem occurred at the CF Industries construction site near Sergeant Bluff. Authorities say Castor-Cavanzon fell unconscious inside the tank and couldn’t be rescued before his death.

The second man escaped the tank and was hospitalized in Sioux City. His name hasn’t been released.

The company is nearing the completion of a $2 billion expansion of its Port Neal fertilizer plant. The project includes new ammonia and urea plants.

Highway Worker Hit, Killed in Thurston County

state-patrol-logoA member of a highway construction crew was killed after being struck by a car in a work zone on Highway 94 in Thurston County.

The accident occurred around 9:30 a.m., Sunday, March 20, approximately two miles east of Walthill on Highway 94.  John A. Hansen, 42, Lincoln was a flagman working in a construction zone when he was struck by an eastbound 2002 Honda Civic.  Hansen was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the car, Kenneth R. Gilpin, 31, Walthill was not injured. Gilpin was lodged in the Thurston County Jail on a charge of Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID).

“This is a senseless tragedy. Our thoughts are with family of the deceased and our partners at the Department of Roads,” said Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Schwarten. “As we move into the start of road construction season, it is the duty of all drivers to help ensure our road crews stay safe during this very busy time.”

Motorists are reminded to use extra caution in work zones, obey posted speed limits, stay alert and always be prepared keeping an eye out for workers and equipment.  For more information on work zone safety visit the Nebraska Department of Roads website.

Teens Survive After Plane Crashes on Kansas Golf Course

plane-crashWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A pair of teenagers was able to walk away from a rented airplane one of them was flying when it crashed onto a Kansas golf course.

Wichita police say the pilot was a 17-year-old boy and the passenger an 18-year-old woman who were on their way from Nashville, Tennessee, to Jabara Airport in Wichita on Friday when they crashed.

The 1966 single-engine Mooney came down on the 14th hole at the Tallgrass Country Club, narrowly missing nearby homes. Nikki Womack says she and her daughter saw the plane fly very low over their neighbor’s home before crashing onto the golf course.

Womack says the boy got out and was bleeding from the head, followed by the woman, who had a serious eye injury.

Lincoln Babysitter Gets 220 Days for Stealing Gold Bars, Jewelry

gavel-moreLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 27-year-old Lincoln woman has been given 220 days in jail for stealing gold bars and jewelry while baby-sitting.

Online court records say Alexandra Pack was sentenced Wednesday. She’d pleaded no contest in January after prosecutors lowered the charge.

Police say a man reported that Pack was a baby sitter at his house in November 2014 when thousands of dollars in gold bars and jewelry went missing. Police say Pack had taken the items and sold them for more than $10,000.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File