OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Police are investigating two separate homicides that happened just a few blocks apart in Omaha.
One man died after he was found near 31st and Jackson streets with a stab wound. The second victim, a 19-year-old man, was fatally shot outside an apartment building several blocks away.
The names of both victims were not immediately released, and police didn’t announce any arrests Thursday morning.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says larvae of the invasive zebra mussel have been found in a water sample taken from Glenn Cunningham Lake just north of Omaha.
Officials say field sampling for adult zebra mussels will be completed on the lake’s boat ramps, rocks and other hard structures over the next several weeks. Until an adult is found, Cunningham Lake will be considered a suspect water body.
The small black-and-white striped mussels are native to eastern Europe and voracious eaters that gobble up plankton many native freshwater fish need to survive.
The mussels can also attach themselves to boat motors, bait buckets and dam mechanisms and cause damage to motors and facilities.
Boaters are urged to clean, drain and dry watercraft to prevent the spread of the mussels.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A new federal study could speed up the construction of several more lakes in the Omaha area to help control flooding and boost recreation options.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District will reopen a study of the Papillion Creek Watershed that hasn’t been touched since the early 1970s. The federal agency approved the study in June as Nebraska’s only project to receive funding this year.
The decision to resume the decades-dormant study could lead to lakes near the district opening to the public in about 15 years. The lakes were projected to take about 50 years to construct.
The move comes as the latest addition to the Omaha area’s system of flood-control reservoirs, Flanagan Lake, opened last month.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An 11-year-old boy has died more than a week after he was rescued from an Omaha area apartment pool.
The Sarpy County Sheriff’s office says the boy died Monday evening, but his name wasn’t immediately released.
The boy was rescued from the pool on June 23, and had been treated at a local hospital since then.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha school district has agreed to a $175,000 settlement with a former student who says she was abused by a middle school teacher who was later convicted of sexual misconduct.
The Omaha World-Herald reports the school board approved the settlement Monday with a girl who said in a lawsuit the district didn’t do enough when she complained about Shad Knutson’s conduct in 2009.
The girl said in the lawsuit Knutson had touched her inappropriately and persuaded her to expose herself. He has been in prison since 2013 serving a 9- to 14-year sentence.
The district changed its abuse reporting procedures in 2012 to require staff to notify law enforcement within 24 hours of a sexual misconduct allegation from a student.
The district did not admit liability in the settlement.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Patrol says a Texas man has been arrested after an undercover investigator found 11 pounds of heroin on him, including some strapped to his torso.
The patrol says the investigator was at the bus station near downtown Omaha when he saw a man wearing a jacket at 6 a.m. Monday, while temperatures were in the 70s.
The patrol says the man agreed to a search of his bag and backpack, which turned up two clear-wrapped packages of drugs. The patrol says eight more packages wrapped in a band around his torso were found. The estimated street value of the heroin is $250,000.
Investigators say the 25-year-old man from El Paso, Texas, was headed to Iowa City. He’s charged with possession of 140 grams or more of heroin and having no drug tax stamp. He remains in the Douglas County jail.
ASHLAND, Neb. (AP) — State officials say one person has died in the collision of a dump truck and a train near Mahoney State Park in eastern Nebraska.
The Cass County Sheriff’s Office tells the Lincoln Journal Star that the crash happened just before 8 a.m. Tuesday, near Interstate 80 and the Platte River. Sheriff William Brueggemann says 57-year-old Shawn Sandrin, of Lincoln, who was driving the dump truck, died at the scene.
Investigators say Sandrin failed to yield at the railroad crossing and was hit by a westbound BNSF train traveling 50 mph. Officials say the train had been using its whistle and applied its emergency brakes before the collision at the crossing, which has signs but not crossing arms.
Officials are still investigating the crash.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — High winds from a weekend thunderstorm have caused extensive damage to a Lincoln sports complex.
The winds on Sunday burst the bubble-shaped dome that covered a playing field and tennis courts at the Abbott Sports Complex. They also bent fences around the complex’s soccer fields and peeled off part of the roof from the building that houses basketball and volleyball courts.
The Lincoln Airport reported winds gusting to 49 mph at 1 a.m. Sunday. Northern parts of Lancaster County were included in a severe thunderstorm warning at the time.
Dan Lesoing of the Lincoln Sports Foundation says the damage to the dome is unrepairable. He says the damage to the roof of the separate building can be repaired in two or three weeks.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Three finalists have been sent to Gov. Pete Ricketts for an open seat on the district court judicial bench in eastern Nebraska.
The nominees are Denise J. Kracl, of Schuyler; Christina M. Marroquin, of Seward; and Jason D. Mielak, of Columbus. The governor’s office said Monday it received the names from the Judicial Nominating District, 5th Judicial District.
The 5th Judicial District consists of Boone, Butler, Colfax, Hamilton, Merrick, Nance, Platte, Polk, Saunders, Seward and York counties.
The judge who is chosen will be located in either Wahoo or Schuyler. The vacancy was created with the retirement of Judge Mary C. Gilbride.
JULY 2, 2018 (GRAND ISLAND, NEB.) — Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) have arrested two men and seized 52 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop on Interstate 80.
The stop occurred at approximately 1:45 p.m. Sunday near Aurora, when a trooper observed an eastbound 2018 Jeep speeding near mile marker 329. During the traffic stop, the trooper became suspicious of criminal activity and conducted a search of the vehicle.
The search revealed marijuana inside two large boxes in the rear of the vehicle. Additional packages of marijuana were found hidden in the tire compartment. The total weight of the marijuana seized was 52 pounds. The estimated street value is $156,000.
The driver, Fahiem Faiyaz, 23, and passenger, Ameer Ghafoori, 21, both of California, were arrested for possession of marijuana – more than one pound, possession with intent to deliver, and no Drug Tax stamp. Both men were lodged in Hamilton County Jail.
