BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Jury selection has begun for a man accused of killing a Peru State College student. Attorneys began selecting the jury at the Gage County Courthouse in Beatrice for the trial of 38-year-old Joshua Keadle. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Tyler “Ty” Thomas, of Omaha. Thomas disappeared in 2010, after leaving a party near the southeast Nebraska campus. Although her body was never found, the state issued a death certificate for Thomas in 2013. Prosecutors charged Keadle in 2017. His trial was moved from Nemaha County to Gage County. The Lincoln Journal Star reports opening statements are expected to take place Tuesday.
PANHANDLE COLLISION
Nebraska Panhandle collision claims the life of car driver
ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) — A highway collision in the Nebraska Panhandle has claimed the life of one driver and seriously injured another. The collision occurred around 6 p.m. Monday on U.S. Highway 385, just northwest of Alliance. Authorities say a northbound car crossed the center line and rammed into an oncoming pickup truck. The car driver died. The Nebraska State Patrol identified him as 68-year-old Bruce Engel, who lived in Hemingford. The pickup driver has been taken to a Scottsbluff hospital. He’s been identified as 21-year-old Levi Clouse, also of Hemingford.
INTERSTATE ACCIDENTS
Rollover crash kills man, injures woman in Dawson County
LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — A rollover accident has killed one person and injured another along Interstate 80 in central Nebraska’s Dawson County. The crash occurred around 11:45 a.m. Sunday, about 3 miles east of Lexington. Authorities say a westbound pickup truck ran into the median and then rolled in the westbound lanes. The crash killed a man in the pickup, and the woman with him was taken to a Lexington hospital before being flown to a Kearney hospital for treatment. Their names haven’t been released. Two semitrailers collided as they slowed for the crash. Authorities say one of the drivers was taken to a hospital.
HOUSING OFFICIAL ARRESTED
Former housing authority director gets probation, jail time
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — A former director of the North Platte Housing Authorities has been given three years of probation and 24 days of jail time. The North Platte Telegraph reports that 44-year-old Jennifer Smith was sentenced Monday. She’d pleaded no contest to felony theft. Prosecutors dropped other charges in exchange for her pleas. Court documents say Smith obtained a man’s property by deception and proceeds that were, “derived, directly or indirectly, from racketeering or from collection of unlawful debt.”
HY-VEE-SHOPKO DEAL
Hy-Vee buying 6 former Shopko locations in Iowa
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials say at least six former Shopko locations across Iowa will reopen as Hy-Vee Dollar Fresh stores. Hy-Vee announced purchase agreements Monday for Shopko buildings in Cresco, Dyersville, Hampton, Oelwein, Vinton and Waukon. Hy-Vee intends to open the stores by late summer, after some construction work. The sale terms were not disclosed. The Dollar Fresh stores are designed for smaller communities. Wisconsin-based Shopko filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2019, citing “excess debt.” The company announced two months later that it would liquidate its remaining stores, because executives had been unable to find a buyer.
PLATTSMOUTH BLAZE
3 people taken to Omaha hospital after Plattsmouth fire
PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say three people were taken to an Omaha hospital after being rescued from a residential fire in Plattsmouth. The fire was reported about 12:30 p.m. Monday at a home about two blocks west of City Hall. The Omaha World-Herald reports that a 13-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman were treated for smoke inhalation. A man in his 40s was taken to the hospital in serious condition. Authorities say all three people are expected to survive their injuries. The fire cause is being investigated.
