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Lancaster Co. Leader Cited for DUI

Brent Smoyer
Brent Smoyer

(AP) — A Lancaster County Board member says he is sorry for driving under the influence.

Brent Smoyer said in a written statement Monday that he takes full responsibility for the incident.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln police say the 32-year-old Smoyer was stopped early Friday morning for making an illegal turn. Police say Smoyer told an officer he had been drinking alcohol earlier. He appeared impaired during a field sobriety test and his blood alcohol content was above the legal limit to drive.

Smoyer was cited for driving while intoxicated and failure to obey a traffic control device. He called the incident embarrassing.

Smoyer, a Republican, is running to represent northeast Lincoln in the Nebraska Legislature.

Southeast Neb. Crash Fatally Injures Passenger

lancaster-county-sheriff(AP) — A 27-year-old woman has been fatally injured in a car crash off an icy road in southeast Nebraska’s Lancaster County.,

The accident occurred about 3:20 a.m. Monday. Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner says the car spun out of control and into a ditch after it ran onto some ice a few miles southwest of Lincoln.

A woman in the back seat was thrown out. Wagner says she was flown to a Lincoln hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She was identified as Jessica Lyons. Her husband, John, and the car driver, 45-year-old John Norbert, were injured.

Couple Die in Northeast Nebraska Crash

fatal-accident(AP) — An elderly couple have died after a collision on a snowy spring day in northeast Nebraska.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office says the accident occurred around 3:25 p.m. Sunday about two miles east of Hoskins on Nebraska Highway 35.

The office says an eastbound pickup driven by 85-year-old Virlyn Lukens, of Emerson, went out of control on the slick roadway and was struck by an eastbound sport utility vehicle. Lukens and his wife, 77-year-old Marvel Lukens, were killed.

The SUV driver was identified as 45-year-old Robbi Johnson, of Norfolk. Johnson was taken to a Norfolk hospital.

Omaha Hearing Set on Guilty Pleas in 4 Slayings

gavel-more(AP) — A Wednesday hearing is set on a motion by the defendant to plead guilty to killing four people in Omaha last summer.

Douglas County District Judge Peter Bataillon (buh-TAL’-yuhn) scheduled the hearing and is expected to tell 27-year-old Nikko Jenkins that he is giving up several rights by changing his earlier pleas.

Jenkins filed the motion Friday. He’d previously pleaded not guilty to four murder and eight weapons charges. Earlier last week Jenkins tried to plead no contest to the charges, but Bataillon said he wouldn’t accept the pleas because of the severity of the cases. In February Bataillon ruled that Jenkins was mentally competent to stand trial.

Police say the four victims were shot in the three weeks after Jenkins’ release from prison on July 30, 2013.

Driver Dies After Crashing on Snowy Night in Omaha

omaha-police(AP) — Police say an Omaha man who was driving too fast for the snowy conditions has died after crashing in his van.

Omaha police say the accident occurred just after 9:45 p.m. Sunday as the van was heading south off westbound Storz Expressway onto U.S. Highway 75.

Police say the van went out of control and struck a guardrail twice, ejecting the driver. Police say he died later at Nebraska Medical Center. He was identified as 58-year-old Roy Tiller, of Omaha.

Officials say an inch or more of heavy, wet snow followed rain that pelted much of eastern Nebraska on Sunday, slickening streets and sidewalks.

Program Brings Ben Franklin Actor to Neb. Schools

Don Stenberg
Don Stenberg

(AP) — Some Nebraska elementary students will get a chance to learn good financial habits from someone portraying Ben Franklin.

The Nebraska Treasurer’s office is bringing the Franklin character to 16 elementary schools in eastern Nebraska. First National Bank is also supporting the program.

The Franklin character will visit with students about the importance of saving money.

And every fourth-grader who hears the presentation will get a backpack with more materials.

Treasurer Don Stenberg says he’s proud to help teach children the value of saving and making good financial decisions.

Supremacist ID’d as Suspect in Kansas Attacks

Frazier Glenn Cross.
Frazier Glenn Cross.

(AP) — A Johnson County jail official says the man accused of killing three people outside of Jewish sites near Kansas City is Frazier Glenn Cross.

The official confirmed that Cross is the suspect in Sunday’s attacks in Overland Park. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the case publicly.

Public records show that the 73-year-old Cross also goes by the last name Miller. The Southern Poverty Law Center says he has long been an outspoken white supremacist and was once a “grand dragon” of the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

The group reports on its website that it spoke to Miller’s wife, Marge, by phone Sunday and she said police told her that her husband had been arrested in Sunday’s attacks.

Unruly Passenger Forces Flight to Divert to Omaha

Southwest-Airlines(AP) — A California-bound Southwest Airlines flight was diverted to Omaha, Neb. after witnesses said a passenger tried to open a door midflight.

The airline said the Chicago-to-Sacramento plane landed on Eppley Airfield Sunday to “have an unruly passenger removed” before continuing on to its destination. The flight with 5 crew members and 134 passengers arrived in Sacramento about two hours behind schedule.

Once on the ground, a doctor onboard told KCRA-TV he and two other passengers tackled the man in the back of the cabin and restrained him until air marshals escorted him off the plane. Scott Porter said the man “was going to do bad things to the plane.”

The airline had no further details about the passenger. A call to the Omaha Airport Authority wasn’t immediately returned.

Motorcycle Driver Dies in Neb. Crash

fatal-motorcycle-crash(AP) — Omaha Police have identified the motorcycle rider who was killed in a weekend crash after failing to negotiate a corner in the road.

Omaha police say 27-year-old David Plassmann of Bellevue died Saturday afternoon while out riding with others.

The accident happened shortly after noon along John J. Pershing Drive near the Missouri River on the northeast edge of the city.

Police say Plassman failed to negotiate a corner in the road, lost control and slammed into a tree.

Some of Plassman’s fellow riders and paramedics tried to revive him, but he died at the scene.

Plassman was wearing a helmet.

Longtime Neb. Rabbi Who Invested with Buffett Dies

warrenbuffet
Warren Buffett

(AP) — A longtime Omaha rabbi who became a philanthropist after investing with Warren Buffett in the 1960s has died.

Rabbi Myer Kripke died Friday at the age of 100.

Rabbi Steven Abraham says his predecessor at Omaha’s Beth El Synagogue remains beloved by the congregation he led from 1947 to 1975.

Kripke stayed active in the community long after becoming rabbi emeritus at Beth El, and he often gave talks explaining his faith to non-Jewish audiences.

Kripke was able to become a philanthropist later in life because he invested with his friend Buffett, who he’d met during the 1950s.

One of the bigger gifts Kripke and his wife made was a $7 million donation to the Jewish Theological Seminary he attended in New York City.

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