MADISON, Neb. (AP) — A Norfolk woman convicted of setting fire to a mobile home was sentenced to 10 to 12 years in prison, prompting her to unleash a torrent of obscenities at the judge.

28-year-old Cassie Zoubek was sentenced Friday. She had previously pleaded guilty to second-degree arson.

In sentencing her, Madison County District Judge James Kube noted Zoubek lack of remorse and her statement that she “would do it again with a big, happy face.”

Her outburst Friday was not her first in court. The judge ordered her to undergo a competency evaluation after she ranted in an April hearing about what she said was a corrupt court system and made comments about a number of her tattoos.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Dakota County has received the state of Nebraska’s “Livestock Friendly” designation for its support of the industry.

Gov. Pete Ricketts announced the award on Friday during a visit to South Sioux City. Dakota County is the 30th county in Nebraska that is now part of the state program. Dakota County is home to many livestock and poultry operations and meat processing facilities.

Ricketts says Dakota County officials have shown a strong commitment to rural economic development and agriculture.

Counties that wish to receive the designation must hold a public hearing, and the county board must pass a resolution to apply. A completed application must be submitted to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former University of Nebraska- Lincoln college student has been sentenced to prison for downloading child pornography using the university’s Wi-Fi.

29-year-old Joseph Anderson, originally from De Pere, Wisconsin, was sentenced Monday to five to eight years.

Prosecutors say Anderson was already on probation in Idaho for doing the same thing when he was a student there. Last year, UNL police were tipped by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Anderson’s email account had been used to download child porn. He was arrested Aug. 25.

He later pleaded no contest to possession of child pornography.

Anderson will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has found a Lincoln man was guilty of trespassing when he handed out religious leaflets too close to the front of Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Judge James Foster found Larry Ball guilty of two misdemeanor charges and fined him $50 for each offense. He also ordered Bell to pay court costs.

The 78-year-old man was cited after incident in March when he handed out religious pamphlets on a plaza about 30 feet from the Lincoln arena’s doors.

The matter went to trial in June, and the judge had taken his decision under advisement.

Ball has filed a civil lawsuit, alleging his free speech rights under the First Amendment have been violated.

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WYMORE, Neb. (AP) — An early morning thunderstorm packing strong winds damaged some buildings in southeast Nebraska’s Gage County.

The storm struck Wymore early Friday morning. Assistant Wymore Fire Chief Mark Meints told the station that the straight-line winds toppled trees and knocked branches onto buildings and vehicles.

No injuries have been reported.

 

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — A 24-year-old Norfolk woman accused of starting a small fire in an apartment complex hallway has been convicted of making terroristic threats.

Johna Richards pleaded guilty on Thursday after Madison County prosecutors amended the charge from felony arson. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 18.

Police say the charge stemmed from a Dec. 29 fire. A resident of the complex used a rug to put out the flames, and another resident told officers about threatening messages he’d been getting on Facebook. Investigators eventually were able to obtain information from Facebook about the person who posted the messages, and Richards was arrested.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The family of a University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate student who was swept away by floodwaters in May say they know she probably isn’t alive but that they’re holding out hope.

Anwesha Dey went missing May 3 while on her way to campus from a friend’s house nearby. She was reported missing May 6.

Police say surveillance video shows Dey falling into a fast-moving creek and her struggling as the water swept her away.

Dey’s cousin told the newspaper in a telephone interview that Dey’s parents, who live in India, don’t want to believe that she drowned. The cousin said the only thing that will bring the family closure is finding Dey’s body.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Rescue crews have responded to an industrial accident in Omaha that saw part of a man’s hand severed.

Omaha police said in a news release Thursday that the 59-year-old man got his hand caught in machinery at a Tyson Foods plant on Thursday morning. Police say the accident partially severed several of his fingers.

The man was taken to an Omaha hospital in critical condition, but was conscious.

Police say the accident is under investigation.

The Omaha office of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration says it, too, has opened an investigation into the workplace accident.

WINNEBAGO, Neb. (AP) — A federal report says inadequate treatment at a hospital in northeast Nebraska resulted in one death earlier this year and harm to at least nine other patients.

The Winnebago Indian Health Service Hospital in Winnebago is scheduled to lose its Medicare and Medicaid funding Thursday as a result of what the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says are treatment deficiencies.

The report issued after a survey team’s visit in May cited the case of a patient who reported extreme back pain on Dec. 30, 2014. He was sent home. A hospital staff member then left him a voicemail telling him his kidneys were failing and did not attempt to make additional contact. The patient died Jan. 1 at his sister’s house.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former Douglas County sheriff’s deputy has been found not guilty of violating narcotics laws in acquiring medication.

Thirty-eight-year-old Kristin Jones was acquitted after a bench trial that began Monday. Jones was accused of failing to tell a doctor about a prescription she already had in an attempt to acquire more pain pills.

Jones’ attorney, Desirae Solomon, said Thursday that there were several pieces of evidence that showed Jones “had no intent to acquire subscriptions by fraud,” and the judge agreed.

Solomon says Jones was fired by the sheriff’s office as a result of the allegations but is seeking reinstatement.