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2nd Measles Case Confirmed in Eastern Nebraska

measles-virusFREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Health officials have confirmed a second case of measles in a child residing in eastern Nebraska.

The Three Rivers Health Department, along with the Douglas County Health Department, issued a news release Thursday announcing the case. The confirmation comes after officials last week announced a woman who spent time in Omaha and Blair had been diagnosed with measles.

Officials say the child visited a childcare center and a restaurant in Blair when he or she could have infected others.

Measles is a highly contagious viral illness that spreads through the air through breathing, coughing or sneezing. Officials say any person exposed to it who has not been vaccinated is likely to contract the disease.

Officials have urged anyone who may have been in the patient’s vicinity to check vaccine records.

Omaha Police Release Names of Officers Who Shot Woman

officer-involved-shootingOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha authorities have released the names of two police officers who shot a 39-year-old woman who they say threw a knife and lunged toward one of them.

The officers were identified as 23-year-old Emilio Luna and 40-year-old Matthew Digilio.

Five officers responded late Tuesday afternoon to a report of an assault at a home. Police say the woman had three knives with her when she confronted Luna on her front porch and lunged at him. She’s been identified as Tiffany Terry.

Officers and witnesses say Terry ignored the officers’ shouts to drop the knife, and then Luna and Digilio fired when Terry threw the knife at Luna. She was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center with several wounds.

Police: Victim in Omaha Park Shooting Has Died at Hospital

crime-scene-police-shootOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say a 46-year-old man who was shot earlier this week in a park has died at a hospital.

Authorities say no arrests have been made yet in the death of Ray Patterson, who was shot Monday night in Norwick Park.

Patterson’s death is the ninth criminal homicide in Omaha this year. The Omaha World-Herald says that at this time last year, there had been one criminal homicide in the city.

Anyone with information is asked to call authorities. Omaha television station KETV reports a $10,000 reward is being offered if a tip leads to a conviction.

Nebraska College Hires Organization to Probe Gymnast’s Fall

union-collegeLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Union College in Lincoln has hired an outside organization to investigate the Jan. 14 accident that seriously injured a 23-year-old gymnast from California.

Heather Boulais, of Laguna Niguel, California, fell 23 feet while installing aerial silks in the college gym before one of the acrobatics team’s practices. Her parents, Terry and Cheryl Boulais, say doctors are trying to regulate the pressure on her brain from the trauma. Her skull was fractured.

Union College President Vinita Sauder says the outside organization will gather facts, determine what happened and make recommendations. Sauder didn’t there was no timetable for the investigation.

Union College is a four-year college that’s owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

OPPD Board Delays Search for CEO Amid Concerns About Process

OPPDOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha Public Power District board has delayed action on naming a new CEO as the Omaha World-Herald considers challenging the legality of the secret process.

At a special meeting Thursday morning the board acknowledged that its choice to replace retiring CEO Gary Gates is Tim Burke, who is district vice president of customer service and public affairs. But board members tabled the resolution to promote Burke until the next regular board meeting, citing public concerns about the process.

District board chairwoman Anne McGuire said Wednesday that board members interviewed four finalists in secret last week, but the district has refused to release their names. World-Herald officials say that under the state’s open records law, the district must release information about the final four candidates.

Dynamite Attack Cancelled After Platte River Ice Jam Breaks Up

ice-jam-np-riverWATERLOO, Neb. (AP) — A Platte River ice jam near Omaha has broken up on its own, so officials have canceled plans to attack it with dynamite.

The 1½-mile-long jam had backed up river water in western Douglas County, just west of Omaha, and parts of Saunders County, threatening homes, well fields and a National Guard camp.

But the jam broke up on its own by 9:45 a.m. Thursday.

Officials Catch Man with Thousands of Pot Pills in Nebraska

Ryan Cooper
Ryan Cooper

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska authorities say they caught a 31-year-old Minnesota man with nearly 30,000 marijuana pills in a U-Haul trailer attached to his car.

Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner says police noticed on Tuesday that Ryan Scott Cooper, of Plymouth, Minnesota, didn’t have a license plate on the front of his car when he was getting gas at a station in Lincoln. He says a police dog then signaled the smell of drugs coming from the attached trailer.

Officials say they searched the trailer and found 29,400 capsules filled with cannabis oil and 322 Adderall pills, along with other drugs and equipment to make the oil.

Cooper was arrested on suspicion of breaking four drug laws, including two felonies. An attorney for Cooper couldn’t be located.

Officials to Use Dynamite if Platte River Ice Jam Remains

ice-jam-np-riverWATERLOO, Neb. (AP) — Officials say they plan to use dynamite to blast an ice jam on the Platte River if it doesn’t start moving downstream.

John Winkler, general manager of the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, says explosives will be used if the mile-long ice jam doesn’t move by Thursday morning. The ice jam caused flooding Tuesday in western Douglas County, just west of Omaha, and parts of Saunders County.

A helicopter would be used to drop the dynamite onto the ice jam. He says he’ll join emergency management officials to assess the situation and decide whether blasting is necessary.

Winkler says no evacuations are planned at this time, and levees along the river are currently holding.

Denver Airport Bans Sale of Marijuana-Themed Souvenirs

Colorado-MarijuanaDENVER (AP) — Tourists who fly to Colorado to try legal pot can forget about buying souvenir boxer shorts, socks or sandals with a marijuana leaf on them at the Denver airport.

The airport has banned pot-themed souvenirs, fearing the kitsch could taint the state’s image.

Marijuana possession and any pot-related advertising were already forbidden. Airport executives extended the ban this month after a retailer sought a kiosk to sell the boxer shorts and similar items that played off Colorado’s place as the first state to allow recreational marijuana sales.

Ann Jordan is owner of High-ly Legal Colorado, which makes the souvenirs.

She asked why airport officials were “so riled up about the picture of a plant,” and she noted that the airport has an exhibit celebrating another adult product, Colorado craft beer.

Man Gets 10 Years in Prison for Fatal Shooting

Zachary Grummert
Zachary Grummert

DEWITT, Neb. (AP) — A 26-year-old DeWitt resident convicted of shooting another man has been given up to 10 years in prison.

Zachary Grummert was sentenced on Monday. Grummert was given six to eight years for attempted assault and 10 to 12 months each for terroristic threats and possessing a short shotgun. The sentences are to be served consecutively.

He was arrested last May after the shooting of a Beatrice man, Joshua Voorhees. Witnesses say Voorhees was shot after stepping between Grummert and another man who were arguing at a party in DeWitt. Grummert told police that Voorhees and another man were starting fights at the party.

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