RANDOLPH, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 16-year-old girl has died after a rollover crash in northeast Nebraska.
The accident occurred around 1:30 a.m. Friday about a half-mile southeast of Randolph. The Cedar County Sheriff’s Office says Emily Bloomquist, who lived in Randolph, was ejected when her car went out of control. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
She was a junior and an athlete at Randolph High School.
Bryan Reiber, of Lincoln, was sentenced Thursday. He’d pleaded no contest to attempted robbery, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person for three separate incidents.
At the time of the attempted robbery on Christmas Day, he was out of jail on bond on gun charges from December 2014 and January 2015.
Twenty-seven-year-old Farah Diriye was arrested Wednesday on a warrant that listed a charge of sexual assault. A judge set $250,000 as his bail, and Diriye bonded out of Douglas County Jail on Thursday.
Diriye’s attorney, Jeremy Jorgenson, says Diriye denies the accusation and is cooperating with authorities.
A court documents says the woman hailed a cab driven by Diriye after a May 8 concert in Omaha and agreed to pay $145 for the trip to her Lincoln apartment. She says she fell asleep on the way but awoke while the cab was stopped somewhere and realized the driver sexually assaulting her.
PIERCE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say the Pierce utilities manager has died after touching a live electrical line.
A news release sent Friday by the Pierce County attorney’s office says 59-year-old Dave Hoogestraat (HOO’-geh-strat) was killed Thursday afternoon while helping to replace a damaged utility pole in Pierce.
The release says the investigation so far shows that Hoogestraat apparently touched the line while working in the bucket of a boom truck.
Pierce is a city of about 1,750 people and is the seat of Pierce County in northeast Nebraska.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A veteran Hall County board chairman’s daughter is running for a county board seat of her own.
Shanell McCabe, daughter of chairman Scott Arnold, filed Tuesday for the District 6 Hall County board seat, which is currently held by Supervisor Gary Quandt.
McCabe and Quandt, both of whom are Republicans, will compete in the May primary election for a chance to run against Democrat Brian Whitecalf in the November general election.
McCabe said her father inspired her decision to run for office, but he didn’t encourage her to do so. She says her motivation is to get involved with the community and to represent the district.
The filing deadline to appear on the 2016 primary and general election ballots was Tuesday.
FALLS CITY, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators want to punish a southeast Nebraska company that the regulators say wrongfully fired a driver who refused to operate a truck that violated Iowa law.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a news release Thursday that Jake Rieger Farms LLC violated federal whistleblower law. OSHA says Rieger should not have retaliated against an employee who wouldn’t drive a truck that Iowa law enforcement had deemed unsafe.
A Falls City phone listed for Rieger rang unanswered Thursday.
OSHA proposes that Rieger Farms pay the driver $25,000 in punitive damages and $30,000 in compensatory damages, which includes back wages.
The incident occurred in January 2015.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha could get a $136 million medical facility built next to the ailing veterans hospital if a public-private initiative is carried through.
Congressman Brad Ashford, of Omaha, represents Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, and he said Wednesday the Department of Veterans Affairs plan would provide 157,000 square feet of new medical space. Ashford told Omaha TV station KETV the VA would provide $56 million, and private donors would be asked to supply the remaining $80 million.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald told the Omaha World-Herald that his department is interested in testing the financing arrangement. He said, “Omaha is a great case to do that with, and that’s why we’re pursuing it so hard.”
A 2007 study found the hospital was plagued by heating, cooling and other problems.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has sequestered the jury after a brawl broke out in the Douglas County Courthouse as trial began in the case of a January 2015 double homicide at a northwest Omaha party.
Courthouse security officials say more than 30 people were involved in the fight Wednesday morning, and four were arrested. There were no significant injuries in the brawl.
The fight involved family and friends of the defendant, Charles Trotter, and of the shooting victims, 26-year-olds Dexter Joseph and Marcel Lovejoy. Trotter is accused of fatally shooting Joseph and Lovejoy on Jan. 3, 2015.
The judge said he hopes isolating the jury will prevent the incident from affecting the jurors’ ability to hear the case fairly.
Security has been increased on the floor.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say a man has died after being critically injured in a shooting.
Authorities say they responded to a report of a shooting at 10:48 a.m. Wednesday and found 22-year-old Jarrell Haynes in critical condition.
Haynes was transported to an Omaha hospital. Police say he was taken into surgery, but died from his injuries.
The shooting remains under investigation.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Some neighbors say Omaha would be breaking a promise if it were to build an outdoor shooting range at the city’s Public Safety Training Center.
Officials say the range is needed so officers can train with rifles in an outdoor environment that simulates job conditions.
Construction of the center was approved in 2000 after a heated public discussion. A condition of the approval barred any outdoor shooting at the site. But officials now are asking the City Council to remove that provision.
The neighbors asked the council at a public hearing Tuesday to not remove the condition. They say that if it is, they want assurances the range would be safe and not too noisy.
The council took no action.
