The supervisor in Omaha is Nelson Lampe. Jean Ortiz takes over at 3 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: CONTRACT CONFLICT
ADDS: SURVEY-PRISON CROWDING, FARM SCENE-SEEKING HELP
CONTRACT CONFLICT
LINCOLN—An audit of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services has uncovered what state Auditor Mike Foley calls a serious breach of conflict-of-interest rules. In an audit of the department released on Monday, Foley’s office says that a $200,000 contract was briefly awarded to a company led by a state psychologist and owned by the psychologist’s wife. The psychologist wrote the bid proposals and scoring criteria for the contract. By Nate Jenkins.
SURVEY-PRISON CROWDING
LINCOLN—Prison crowding that often has Nebraska teetering on the edge of an emergency situation as defined by state law hasn’t convinced many lawmakers that another prison is needed. The majority of lawmakers who responded to an annual legislative survey from The Associated Press said they didn’t think preparations to build another state prison were necessary, with some saying that alternatives to incarceration should be pursued. By Nate Jenkins.
With:
— BC-NE-XGR–SURVEY-PRISON CROWDING-QUESTION
BUSINESS:
FARM SCENE-SEEKING HELP
ALBANY, N.Y.—Huck Heintz has spent a busy year providing free financial consulting to dairy farmers in upstate New York. With milk selling for less than it cost to produce this year, a lot more dairy farmers turned to NY FarmNet, the Ithaca-based not-for-profit agency that employs Heintz. Others called agricultural help lines with their personal and professional woes. By Michael Hill. Eds: Note Nebraska mention. Moved on state and national news and financial lines.
AP Photos NYKR101, NYKR102.
SPORTS:
— NEBRASKA-COLEMAN—Nebraska coach Doc Sadler says freshman Adrien Coleman is leaving the Cornhuskers.
— NEBRASKA TRAINER—The latest from University of Nebraska football practice leading up to Wednesday night’s Holiday Bowl in San Diego.
— NEBRASKA MEET AND GREET—Fans in central Nebraska will have a chance to meet the 2010 Nebraska baseball team on Saturday, Jan. 16, as the Husker Home Run Club will sponsor the Grand Island Meet and Greet. Eds: Moved on state news and sports lines.
— FISH INSTRUCTORS—Adults may be certified as volunteer youth fishing instructors for the Youth Fishing Program. Eds: Moved on state news and sports lines.
ALSO GETTING ATTENTION:
— HALLAM EMBEZZLEMENT—A 36-year-old Lincoln man is scheduled for sentencing in February, convicted of stealing from a restaurant he used to manage in Hallam.
— PANHANDLE CHASE-SUICIDE—The Nebraska State Patrol says a 25-year-old man fatally shot himself in the head at the end of an 80-mile police chase in the Nebraska Panhandle.
— SNOW-REMOVAL FATALITY—A 19-year-old man has died after being struck by a payloader removing snow from a school parking lot in east-central Nebraska.
— CHRISTMAS WISH—An Omaha couple who had waited more than three years to adopt a baby were able to bring home their new son on Christmas.
— BLUE ANGELS-NEBRASKA—The Navy’s Blue Angels aerial exhibition team has agreed to join the Nebraska Air National Guard’s air show in 2011 and help the Guard mark an eventful day in U.S. history: Sept. 11, 2001.
The AP, Omaha.
