GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A central Nebraska jail is now offering email service because inmates complained about the cost of in-state phone calls.

The Hall County jail added email after it started housing 80 to 100 inmates for the state this summer.

Making phone calls from the jail can add up quickly if an inmate isn’t calling in the Grand Island area. A local call costs $3.75 for 15 minutes, but a 15-minute call to Omaha costs $14.30 because the jail’s carrier charges $3.95 plus 69 cents per minute.

Calls to numbers outside the state cost only 25 cents a minute, so calling California also costs only $3.75.

County Corrections Director Fred Ruiz says the new email service costs $2 a week and it has been popular.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Participating in the ice bucket challenge to raise funds to fight Lou Gehrig’s disease landed a 20-year-old Omaha man in jail.

Police arrested Jesean Morris Friday after he posted a video of himself taking the challenge online.

Officer Kevin Wiese says a tipster who knew Morris had an outstanding warrant called police after seeing the video. The person reporting the tip was able to identify the house where Morris shot the video.

Morris was paroled in March while serving a 2010 sentence for attempted assault. Police say when they approached Morris Friday, he gave a false name and spit in an officer’s face.

The ALS Association says it’s raised more than $53 million as participants drench themselves with a bucket of ice water.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Veterans will have a chance to give feedback the Department of Veterans Affairs services at a town hall in Lincoln on Tuesday.

The VA planned the 9 a.m. event at its clinic at 600 S. 70th Street in Lincoln to hear from veterans in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.

VA hospitals and clinics have been under scrutiny since May because of a nationwide scandal over falsifying records on how long veterans wait to get care.

After the town hall meeting, VA representatives will be available to help get veterans enrolled in the health care system.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The owner of an adult website is suing Nebraska and Lincoln officials after his application for a nightclub liquor license was denied.

Shane Harrington alleges in the federal lawsuit that the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission wrongfully denied him a license that would have allowed him to open Club Smooth, a nightclub planned for downtown Lincoln. Harrington is seeking $25 million in damages.

Much of the testimony during the 2011 commission hearing focused on Harrington’s ownership of pornographic websites. Lincoln city officials told commissioners that the sites depicted public nudity in Lincoln, and they expressed doubts that Harrington would follow state liquor laws.

Harrington says he was harassed by local officials in Lincoln, and his license application was unrelated to his website.

 

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Hastings College in central Nebraska is reporting another enrollment record with its incoming class.

The school has 429 incoming students, which brings the total student population to around 1,200.

The previous record, set a year ago, was 401 students. It’s a major jump since 2012, when the college only had 270 students.

School officials say the campus residence halls and apartments are at capacity. During the summer, the college completed several renovation projects in the dorms. Hastings College President Don Jackson says the school has been working to attract more students.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Electric car owners will soon have more places to charge their vehicles in Lincoln.

Lincoln Electric System is installing two charging stations next week in a city parking garage that’s under construction. The stations should be operational in September.

Each station inside of the parking garage will have two charging ports, but one will be reserved for company-use only. The other three ports will be open to the public.

Customers will have to pay a $2 flat rate to charge their vehicles.

The company’s manger of energy services says there are between 100 and 150 electric cars registered in Lancaster County. He says that includes plug-in hybrid cars and all-electric cars.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man has been arrested in connection to a shooting in Omaha that injured one person.

The Douglas County Attorney’s Office says 22-year-old Thomas Jones-Ross was arrested Thursday. He faces charges of possession of a weapon by a prohibited person and possession of a stolen firearm.

Court records do not list an attorney.

49-year Theonis Jacobs was shot early Wednesday morning in north Omaha. He was remains in critical condition.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 95-year-old stranded by storm damage to his van has been given some new wheels so he can get to work and back to his home in Lincoln.

The outpouring of generosity has been almost overwhelming.

During a June storm a tree limb fell on his van, leaving him without a way to get to his shoe repair shop at Hillcrest Country Club.

Attorney John Aman read an earlier Journal Star story about Clark’s plight and soon gave his pickup keys to Clark, telling him to use the truck until he could find replacement wheels.

And then Kellie and Craig Johnson, who own Wayne’s Body Shop, came to the rescue, too. They gave Clark their son’s former car, a 12-year-old Pontiac.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska panel has unanimously approved a liquor license for a gun range owned by the city of Omaha.

The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission on Thursday sanctioned beer and wine sales at the Harry A. Koch Trap & Skeet Range. Omaha Parks and Recreation says patrons will only be allowed to drink after shooting. They say the move will up attendance at the city-owned facility and therefore generate revenue for Omaha.

The commissioners had expressed concern about selling alcohol at a facility where shotguns are used. City officials say a software system will track who has purchased beer and prevent them from shooting.

The city recently invested $300,000 to renovate the range’s clubhouse after taking over management from private contractors who had operated it for decades.

ALBION, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Greeley man has been killed in a traffic accident in east-central Nebraska.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office says Harold Wondercheck died on Wednesday night. The accident occurred at a highway junction in Boone County.

The crash is being investigated by the Sheriff’s Office and the Nebraska State Patrol.