The supervisor in Omaha is Nelson Lampe. Timberly Ross takes over at 3:30 p.m. If you have a news tip or questions about the report, call (800) 642-9920 or (402) 391-0031.
AP stories, along with the photos that accompany them, can also be obtained from . Reruns are also available from the Service Desk (877-836-9477).
Please send stories of state or regional interest by electronic carbon, by fax at (402) 391-1412 or e-mail to omahane(at)ap.org. Technical problems may be reported to (800) 822-9921.
DEVELOPING: EXECUTION EXHIBITION, XGR–SMOKING BAN, ETHANOL ENZYMES, BKC–NIT-KENTUCKY-CREIGHTON,
ADDS: SEVERE WEATHER-NEBRASKA
EXECUTION EXHIBITION
LINCOLN—Visitors to a small southwest Nebraska town could see the chair where 15 men were executed by the state, if an effort to bring the electric chair to McCook is successful. Some residents of the city—population just under 8,000—have offered to take the chair off the Nebraska Department of Corrections’ hands. “If it’s sitting somewhere collecting dust, we have a place for it,” said Duane Tappe, who said it could bring thousands of tourists to the town every year. By Anna Jo Bratton
AP Photo
SEVERE WEATHER-NEBRASKA
OMAHA—Forecasters posted a tornado watch Monday for much of eastern Nebraska while the western end of the state reeled from a last wintry blast. The National Weather Service said Monday that the tornado watch roughly covered the northeastern quarter of the state, falling just short of the heavily populated counties that include Omaha and its suburbs. By Nelson Lampe. Eds: NOTE Nebraska mention in story moving nationally, BC-Spring Blizzard.
AP Photo pursuing.
With:
— BLIZZARD-MOUNT RUSHMORE—An early spring snowstorm that began belting western South Dakota on Monday has forced officials to close Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota’s Black Hills.
XGR–SMOKING BAN
LINCOLN—Nebraska lawmakers appear close to reaching a compromise that would carve out an exemption for cigar bars in the statewide smoking ban. They stopped short of voting on the measure (LB355) on Monday and are expected to resume debate on Tuesday. By Nate Jenkins.
BUSINESS:
ETHANOL ENZYMES, HFR. EDS: HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL 9:00 P.M. CDT ON MONDAY, MARCH 23. THIS STORY MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST OR POSTED ONLINE BEFORE 9:00 P.M. CDT ON MONDAY, MARCH 23.
OMAHA—Novozymes will double its investment in a new enzyme plant in Nebraska, so the Danish company will be ready for the ethanol boom company officials still expect. At a groundbreaking on Tuesday, Novozymes officials will announce the company now plans to spend $160 million to $200 million. That’s double the amount discussed last summer when Novozymes announced the plant would be built on a 30-acre site south of Blair. By Business Writer Josh Funk.
With:
— DENMARK-ROYALS—Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik and his wife, Mary, will be in Nebraska as part of a five-day visit to the United States.
ALSO:
— BANK CLOSINGS-NEBRASKA—Three Nebraska branches of a Kansas bank are now part of a Missouri bank because federal regulators shut down and sold Teambank N.A.
SPORTS:
BKC–NIT-KENTUCKY-CREIGHTON
OMAHA—With the future of embattled coach Billy Gillispie in limbo, Kentucky visits Creighton in a second-round NIT game. The Wildcats and Bluejays haven’t met since 1948. The winner plays Notre Dame on Thursday. By Sports Writer Eric Olson. Game starts 6 p.m.
AP Photos by Nati Harnik.
ALSO GETTING ATTENTION:
— ROBBERY-RAPES—Lincoln police are searching for a man they believe is responsible for a string of business robberies—the last two of which included the rape of female clerks.
— SMOKING-LANCASTER COUNTY—The Lancaster County Board is considering a ban on smoking or chewing tobacco products outdoors on county- and city-owned property.
— CAR-TRAIN COLLISION—Saunders County authorities say they are investigating a car-train collision that happened over the weekend at a railroad crossing in eastern Nebraska.
— FORT HOOD DEATH—A funeral Mass is scheduled for this week for an Omaha soldier who was found dead in his barracks in Fort Hood, Texas.
— DOANE RENOVATION—The Doane College board of trustees is proposing a cool-down at Frees Hall.
— FALSE ACCUSATION—A Columbus woman who recanted her story of being sexually assaulted by a man she met over the Internet has been fined and told to pay restitution.
— KOSHER SLAUGHTERHOUSE-AUCTION—The auction of an embattled kosher slaughterhouse in northeast Iowa is scheduled to move forward in Cedar Rapids. Eds: Note Nebraska mention. Also moved on state financial lines.
— ROAD RAGE—Police say a Lincoln driver faces charges for ramming two cars in an apparent fit of road rage.
The AP, Omaha.
