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Nebraska Men Charged in Convenience Store Robbery

Grand-Island-PoliceGRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Two Grand Island men have been charged with felonies in connection to a convenience store robbery last month.

Grand Island police on Monday charged 22-year-olds Daniel Left Hand and Eduardo Santos.

Left Hand is charged with robbery, using a handgun to commit a felony and possession of a handgun by a prohibited person. Santos is charged with aiding and abetting a robbery.

Court documents indicate that Left Hand admitted to police he was responsible for the armed robbery at the area Snac Shac in July. They indicate Santos admitted to driving Left Hand to and from the robbery.

Both men are being held at the Hall County Jail. Left Hand’s bond is set at $100,000 and Santos’ at $25,000.

Online jail records did not indicate an attorney for either man.

Federal Agency Orders Changes at Nebraska Hospital

Winnebago-TribeWINNEBAGO, Neb. (AP) — Federal authorities are giving a northeast Nebraska hospital less than three months to make corrections before they pull Medicare funding.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave Winnebago Indian Health Service Hospital a 14-page list of mandatory corrections on Monday.

A hospital official says CMS launched an investigation after patient complaints. It warned the hospital in a May letter it could lose its Medicare funding if it failed to correct a series of alleged deficiencies.

The hospital official says the list includes equipment changes and modifications to staff training.

He says the hospital staff will discuss the changes next week.

Motorcyclist Dies After Lincoln Collision

fatal-motorcycle-crashLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A motorcyclist has died after a collision with a car in central Lincoln.

Police Capt. David Beggs says the motorcycle was eastbound on O Street a little before 7 p.m. Monday when it struck the westbound car as the car turned left onto 52nd Street. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead later at a Lincoln hospital.

The motorcyclist was identified on Tuesday as 24-year-old Jaclyn Kehling, of Lincoln.

Psychiatric Hospital Won’t Accept Murder Convict

Nikko Jenkins
Nikko Jenkins

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state psychiatric hospital is refusing to accept a man who faces the death penalty for killing four people in Omaha last year.

The Nebraska attorney general’s office says in a letter that the Lincoln Regional Center doesn’t have adequate security or a bed for Nikko Jenkins. Jenkins was convicted of murder but declared incompetent to face the sentencing portion of his case.

Judge Peter Bataillon ordered Jenkins to the Lincoln Regional Center for treatment last month. Bataillon ordered a new hearing Monday to try to find a facility that can restore Nikko Jenkins to competency.

Bataillon’s order says he wishes hospital officials had made their intent known and suggested other options during a hearing last month.

The judge says he’ll consider other locations, including those out of state.

Lincoln Authorities Say 6 Hurt in Bus Crash

lincoln-policeLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln authorities say six people received minor injuries after a city bus crashed into two cars and hit a brick wall.

The StarTran bus was turning onto a street Monday when the driver of another vehicle ran a red light and crashed into the bus.

The collision forced the bus to collide with a second vehicle. It then jumped the curb and smashed into a brick wall at a retirement home.

Firefighters had to use extrication equipment to pry the bus driver out of the vehicle. Lincoln Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Derald Murrell says the driver and five others were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. They included cuts and soreness.

Another Erroneous Warning Sent for Nebraska Nuke Plant

cooper_powerBROWNVILLE, Neb. (AP) — Another erroneous warning has been sent about a supposed problem at the Cooper Nuclear Station in southeast Nebraska.

Nebraska Public Power District says the warning was sent around 3:50 p.m. Sunday to cellular customers by the National Weather Service. The district says a correction was sent about 10 minutes later and a correction message was placed on the weather service website.

The district says that as part of its emergency response efforts, the weather service will broadcast alert messages to the media, various agencies and the public. On Sunday weather service personnel were updating the wording programmed into a computer system, and the message was mistakenly issued.

On July 24 an erroneous evacuation warning about a hazardous material spill was broadcast in Nemaha, a village that sits near the plant.

Colorado Governor Aims to Reach Deal on Fracking

john-hickenlooper
Gov. John Hickenlooper

DENVER (AP) — Colorado’s Democratic governor urged those pushing dueling proposals on oil and gas drilling to stop their campaigns to avoid a messy ballot fight and called for a task force to deal with energy development.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Polis joined Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday to detail what they’re pitching as a compromise to prevent four initiatives that support or oppose fracking.

Polis has financially backed two of the measures seeking limits on drilling, including increasing the distance between homes and rigs. The governor says drilling restrictions would seriously hurt Colorado’s economy.

It’s unclear whether backers of the other two measures sympathetic to the industry will drop their proposals.

As a compromise, Hickenlooper said an 18-member task force would issue recommendations to Legislature next year on how to minimize conflicts between residents and the energy industry.

Official Says Nebraska Man Drowned in Sewer Lagoon

ruskin-nebraskaRUSKIN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 44-year-old man drowned after his car ran into a sewer lagoon in south-central Nebraska.

The accident occurred a little before1 p.m. Sunday about a mile east of Ruskin. Nuckolls County Attorney Tim Schmidt says Donavon Holtzen, of Belvidere, was westbound on U.S. Highway 136 when his vehicle left the roadway, burst through a wire fence and into the lagoon.

Schmidt told The Associated Press on Monday that two passers-by saw the vehicle appear to float in the liquid and saw Holtzen get out one of the vehicle windows and try to swim to safety. Schmidt estimates the vehicle was about 30 feet from shore.

Nebraska Man Accused of Embezzling $2.5M Dies

Dennis Hesman
Dennis Hesman

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — A 66-year-old man accused of embezzling $2.5 million from his employer in Fremont has died at an Omaha hospital.

Dodge County Attorney Oliver Glass says Dennis Hesman died Thursday at the Veterans Affairs hospital.

Hesman was arrested in June and charged with 10 counts of theft and one of conspiracy. He was accused of falsifying documents at the Gavilon Grain elevator where he worked.

Authorities say Hesman created the false documents in the name of his daughter, 43-year-old Joleen Cameron, or his daughter-in-law, 50-year-old Kathy Springer-Hesman. They’ve pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit theft by deception, accessory to a felony, and aiding consummation of a felony.

Nebraskan Fined for Videoing Naked Inmate

jail-cellLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former jailer in Lincoln has been fined $500 for making a video recording of a naked female inmate.

Online court records say 54-year-old Michael Going was sentenced on Friday. Going had pleaded no contest to attempted official misconduct after prosecutors lowered the charge.

Police say Going used his smartphone to record the 46-year-old woman on May 29 last year after she disrobed and sat naked in a holding cell at the Lancaster County Jail.

Going eventually lost his job.

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