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DEVELOPING: MUSLIM PRAYER COMPLAINT, TASER DEATH, FINANCIAL MELTDOWN-HAGEL, BEATRICE PROBLEMS,
ADDS: GHOST CATS, GAMBLING, VERASUN-STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES,
MUSLIM PRAYER COMPLAINT
OMAHA—A Somali leader upset by a dispute over prayer at a Grand Island meatpacking plant says the community needs to come together to sort through the differences. Omaha Somali-American Community Organization leader Mohamed Rage says he has invited civic leaders, Somalians and members of the Hispanic community to talk about the issues. He says he hopes such a meeting could occur in the next few weeks. By Jean Ortiz.
TASER DEATH
LINCOLN—A 23-year-old Lincoln man who refused police orders to drop his knife stopped breathing after a 5-second Taser blast, then died at a hospital, police said Friday. By Nelson Lampe.
AP Photo pursuing
FINANCIAL MELTDOWN-HAGEL
OMAHA—U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel says urgent governmental action is needed to resolve the nation’s financial troubles, which he warns has the potential to eclipse the Great Depression. “It is a crisis … it’s not overstating the seriousness of what we have here,” the Nebraska Republican said Friday after meeting with the Senate Banking Committee. The committee expects to have a short-term relief package prepared by Tuesday. By Timberly Ross.
BEATRICE PROBLEMS
LINCOLN—Nebraska lawmakers are questioning whether enough is done to ensure the type of patient abuse reported at Beatrice State Developmental Center doesn’t happen elsewhere. The official in charge of regulating facilities for the developmentally disabled told a legislative committee on Friday that privately run, community-based operators are required to be inspected once every four years. By Nate Jenkins.
GHOST CATS
BLACKSTONE, Va.—Like some other residents of this small town, Mary Elizabeth Goodwyn doesn’t go outside after dark much anymore. Goodwyn, 81, used to welcome the dusk under a red maple tree in her front yard every evening, but that was before cougars started showing up in Blackstone—at least in the local newspaper. By Dena Potter. Eds: Note Nebraska mention. Also moving on national lines.
AP Photos VASH102, VASH105, VASH101.
With:
— WITH: BC-GHOST CATS-GLANCE
GAMBLING
TOPEKA, Kan.—A partnership involving Kansas Speedway won a contract Friday to build and manage a state-owned casino in Wyandotte County. The Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board’s decision to pick Kansas Entertainment over two other applicants ties a high-profile attraction in the state’s biggest tourist-drawing area to what officials believe will be Kansas’ most lucrative casino. The proposed casino would overlook a turn at the racetrack and be known as the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. By Carl Manning. Eds: Note Nebraska interest.
BUSINESS:
VERASUN-STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—Shares of VeraSun Energy Corp. jumped more than 50 percent in premarket trading Friday after the ethanol producer said late Thursday that it has retained Morgan Stanley to help it evaluate strategic alternatives. The phrase “strategic alternatives” is often used by companies seeking a buyer, merger or acquisition, but Piper Jaffray analyst Michael E. Cox said in a client note that asset sales could prove to be the most likely option. The company owns three ethanol plants in Nebraska.
ALSO GETTING ATTENTION:
— INJURED FOOT—A judge is considering the case of a 48-year-old Lincoln man who is suing the city after he says a police officer ran over his foot last year.
— HUMAN TRAFFICKING—A preliminary hearing will be held for a woman accused of helping a man recruit two Nebraska teens for prostitution.
— BODY FOUND—A body has been found near a homeless shelter in Lincoln.
— MACY WATER—Water restrictions have been lifted in Macy in northeast Nebraska after a pump failure backed up the city’s sewer system.
— THEFT SENTENCE—A woman accused of getting away with over $1,500 in fraudulent returns at a Home Depot in Lincoln is going to jail.
— GIRL DIES—A man accused of killing a 4-year-old girl in her home in Sutherland has waived his preliminary hearing.
— WELFARE WEB—Plans to update the application process for Nebraska’s welfare services include the elimination of 225 jobs, saving the state $8.4 million.
— SHOOTING DEATH—An 18-year-old man accused of gunning down a Millard South High School student this summer will stand trial on first-degree murder.
— SLAUGHTERHOUSE WORKER-LAWSUIT—A man who says he was fired from his job as a supervisor at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, is seeking $3 million in a lawsuit he filed against the company. Eds: Note Nebraska mention. Also moving on state financial lines.
— TEACHER HONORED—An Omaha elementary schoolteacher has been honored with the American Star Teacher for 2008 for the state of Nebraska.
— BAYARD RECALL—Bayard voters will decide this fall whether to recall the mayor of their Nebraska Panhandle town.
— HISTORIC TRAIN—One of Union Pacific’s historic steam locomotives is out on tour again, and it will be in North Platte for the annual Rail Fest. AP Photo WYCHE101.
The AP, Omaha.
