Democrat Kate Bolz files to run for Nebraska’s 1st District
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Democratic congressional hopeful Kate Bolz has officially entered the race Tuesday for Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District. Bolz, a state senator from Lincoln, filed papers to seek the seat held by eight-term U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Republican. Bolz said she would work to ensure that people in the eastern Nebraska district have access to affordable health care. She says she would support legislation to lower prescription drug costs and promised never to take away insurance coverage from people with preexisting conditions.
NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE-MORE SENATORS
Proposal that could grow Nebraska Legislature hits roadblock
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A proposal that could allow Nebraska’s Legislature to expand from 49 to 55 senators has hit a wave of opposition. The proposal by Speaker of the Legislature Jim Scheer would give voters the chance to increase the maximum number of state lawmakers in Nebraska. If voters approved the ballot measure in the November election, lawmakers would then need to pass a bill to increase their ranks. Scheer says he introduced the measure to ensure that rural constituents have easier access to their elected representatives. Some lawmakers raised concerns about the cost of adding more senators. Adding more senators could also boost the Republican majority in the officially nonpartisan Legislature.
BC-FATAL PIPELINE LEAK
Investigators say corrosion caused deadly 2016 pipeline leak
TEKAMAH, Neb. (AP) — Federal investigators say corrosion caused a deadly leak in an anhydrous ammonia pipeline in 2016 in northeast Nebraska. The National Transportation Safety Board says in a report released last week that a series of small fatigue cracks caused by corrosion merged to create the leak in the pipeline operated by Magellan Midstream Partners. The leak killed 59-year-old Phillip Henning who drove into a toxic cloud created by the fertilizer, and 23 rural homes were evacuated north of Tekamah in October 2016. Magellan announced plans last year to decommission the 1,100-mile anhydrous ammonia pipeline that runs from Texas to the upper Midwest.
MISSING COLLEGE STUDENT-CHARGE
Ex-classmates testify that defendant had asked them to lie
BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Former classmates testified that a college student charged with killing a woman asked them to lie about his whereabouts the December 2010 night the woman went missing in southeast Nebraska. Joshua Keadle is charged with killing another classmate, Tyler Thomas. According to testimony, Keadle had driven to a Nebraska City theater with three other students to see a movie. One of those who’d gone to see the movie, Jacob Aguirre, testified Monday. He says Keadle approached him a couple days after Thomas was reported missing and asked him to tell anyone who asked that he was with the moviegoers that night.
INFANT DIES
Sentencing set for mom who fell asleep and suffocated baby
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An April 7 sentencing is scheduled for a southeast Nebraska woman accused of smothering her 3-week-old son after she fell asleep drunk. Court records say Ashley Bean pleaded no contest Tuesday to child abuse. First responders were called to her rural Waverly home on Dec. 17, 2017. The boy was taken to a Lincoln hospital and then transferred to an Omaha hospital, where he died later that day. An autopsy determined he’d died of asphyxia stemming from suffocation and overlay. A prosecutor says Bean fell asleep while breastfeeding the boy. Her blood tested out at more than twice the legal limit.
COLLEGE PRESIDENT RETIRING
York College president intends to retire this year
YORK, Neb. (AP) — The president of York College intends to retire this year. The college announced Monday that Dr. Steve Eckman will stop down after his successor is named. He’s the 20th president in the school’s 129-year history and has held the post since 2009. The college reached a record enrollment of 519 during the spring 2020 semester, largely due to the growth of York’s online programs.
