LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A selection committee has chosen architecture and engineering firms to consult on two major renovation projects at the Nebraska Capitol.

The five-member committee picked Bahr Vermeer & Haecker Architects and Alvine Engineering to help with the work.

The Nebraska firms were selected out of five companies that applied to consult on renovations of the Capitol’s heating and air condition system and the installation of four new courtyard fountains. The heating and air conditioning renovations will cost an estimated $77.5 million over 10 years. The courtyard fountains project is expected to cost $2.5 million.

Capitol Administrator Bob Ripley says the cost of the consulting services has yet to be negotiated. The firms were picked based on their qualifications, skills and experience, not cost.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A man convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

The office of U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg (gilj) announced Tuesday that Daniel Ariza-Garcia pleaded guilty to the charge in February. Ariza-Garcia was also sentenced to five years of supervised release once his prison sentence ends.

Prosecutors say Ariza-Garcia had been involved in the distribution of methamphetamine in Lincoln and eastern Nebraska. They say a search of his apartment uncovered nearly $40,000 in cash and 9.6 pounds of methamphetamine.

Ariza-Garcia is expected to be deported to his native Mexico after serving his prison sentence.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Two Fremont women are accused of helping embezzle nearly $2.5 million from Gavilon Grain over several years, so three people now face charges in the scheme.

Fremont Police arrested 66-year-old Dennis Hesman last week. He is charged with falsifying documents at the grain elevator he ran to create fake receipts for grain.

Authorities say Hesman created the false documents under the names of his daughter, 42-year-old Joleen Cameron, and his daughter-in-law, 50-year-old Kathy Springer-Hesman. They were both arrested over the past few days.

Investigators at Gavilon found 307 examples of falsified documents between 2007 and 2013.

Both Cameron and Springer-Hesman posted $3,000 bond on Monday. Court records do not list an attorney for the women.

Hesman remained in jail Tuesday. His attorney, Clarence Mock, did not immediately respond to a message Tuesday.

WAYNE, Neb. (AP) — More than 175 drivers are expected to gather in Wayne to begin the Great Nebraska Tractor Ride — an easygoing caravan of mechanized workhorses through part of northeastern Nebraska.

Carol Fuoss said she and her husband, Roger, will enjoy the chance to “drive and see things.”

The Fuosses belong to the Tri-State Old Iron Association, an antique tractor group based in Yankton, South Dakota, which sponsors a number of tractor rides. The ride begins Friday and ends Saturday at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Wayne.

A similar ride began Monday in the Waterloo, Iowa, area.

SEWARD, Neb. (AP) — Roadway work is expected to slow traffic next week on U.S. Highway 34 in southeast Nebraska.

The Nebraska Roads Department says the work near Seward is expected to take six days.

The speed limit will be reduced, and a pilot car and flaggers will be used to control one-lane traffic.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — The Hastings City Council has passed an ordinance to ban parking in front and side yards.

The ordinance passed unanimously at the council’s meeting on Monday night. The ordinance would still allow for yard parking if it was part of a home’s approved development plan. Parking areas intended for multi-family dwellings would also be excluded from the ban.

Hastings City Attorney Dave Ptak says the city made some changes to its initial proposed ordinance after receiving calls from residents who had questions about it.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The resume of Gov. Dave Heineman may not reflect the desires of the university regents looking for the next president of the University of Nebraska system.

On Monday the university released a presidential profile that outlines the qualities and experience the Board of Regents wants in the person who will replace J.B. Milliken, who has left to become chancellor of the City University of New York.

Regents chairman Howard Hawks says the ideal candidate “will have a deep understanding of and experience in higher education and proven success in leading a major organization.” Hawks says the profile was in the works before the governor announced last month that he would seek the job.

The governor has a bachelor’s from West Point.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 54-year-old Lincoln man who had videoed a naked female inmate while working as a jailer has made plea deal and been convicted of a misdemeanor.

Online court records say Michael Going is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 1. On Friday he 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.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 48-year-old man has been found not guilty in the stabbing death of a friend in a Lincoln apartment.

A Lancaster County District Court jury on Monday acquitted Ivan Fourhorns of second-degree murder and a weapons charge. He was accused of fatally stabbing 58-year-old Joe Solomon on July 23 last year.

Police had said Solomon and Fourhorns got into an argument after drinking alcohol with others at the apartment. Fourhorns testified that he wasn’t in the room when someone stabbed Solomon in the chest.

BURR, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a southeast Nebraska couple kept a 3-year-old boy in a makeshift cage for hours at a time.

23-year-old Louis Arms and 22-year-old Kelsi Gaube were arrested and face charges of child abuse.

An Otoe County jailer said Arms remained in custody on Tuesday. Gaube has bonded out of jail. A phone listing for her couldn’t be found. Court records don’t list attorneys for either of them.

Otoe County Attorney David Partsch says a sheriff’s deputy found the makeshift cage Saturday when responding to a report in Burr about a disturbance. The cage was in a closet that had crib bars rigged across it.

Partsch says deputies think Arms and Gaube called the structure “The Prison” and would keep the boy in it.