LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — State officials say the flooding that swept Nebraska has caused nearly $1.4 billion in estimated losses and damage.

Gov. Pete Ricketts said Wednesday that roads, levies and other infrastructure have sustained an estimated $449 million in damage. Damage to private homes and businesses has reached $85 million so far, and farmers have experienced $400 million in cattle losses and $440 million in crop losses.

HWY 34 bridge in Plattsmouth. The impacts to transportation in Eastern Nebraska will require a great deal of patience. Thankfully Nebraskans are known for this quality! pic.twitter.com/VoSb9bsbIJ

— Col. John A. Bolduc (@NSPColonel) March 17, 2019

Ricketts says an estimated 2,067 homes and 341 businesses have been damaged or destroyed in the flood.

Ricketts stressed that the numbers are preliminary and subject to change. The numbers were included in the governor’s request for expedited assistance from the federal government.

We understand how important your pets are.

So when troopers come to the rescue, the pets gets rescued too.

(Not pictured: a massive dog who got to ride in the NSP helicopter!)

Great work, troops! pic.twitter.com/ZOJwxV3o3X

— NEStatePatrol (@NEStatePatrol) March 17, 2019

The governor says 74 of Nebraska’s 93 counties and 85 of its cities are in a declared state of emergency.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A 3-year-old boy is dead after breaking away from his father’s hand in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, running into traffic and being struck by a gas company truck.

The accident happened around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The boy was in critical condition when officers arrived, but died at a hospital. His name has not been released.

A preliminary investigation showed that the child and his father came out of a store on 11th Street when the child “broke away from his father’s hand” and ran between two parked vehicles into the street.

He was struck by a truck belonging to Spire, a company based in St. Louis.

Police say the truck driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with police.

An investigation continues.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The murder trial of a Lawrence man who has been in custody for more than four years will be delayed to give attorneys time to assess new evidence from the victim’s recently unlocked phone, a judge has ruled.

Rontarus Washington Jr., 22, was set to go on trial Monday for first-degree murder and aggravated burglary charges in the November 2014 slaying of 19-year-old Justina Altamirano Mosso. But Judge James McCabria this week pushed the trial back until September.

Washington has been held at the Douglas County Jail since March 2015. McCabria said he understood the delay was frustrating, but that he felt it was necessary to give time for attorneys to sift through the data from Mosso’s phone.

“It’s kind of a critical piece of evidence,” said prosecutor C.J. Rieg. “That’s why I’ve been trying to get it open for the past four years.”

Mosso was found stabbed and bludgeoned inside the Lawrence apartment of her estranged husband, Felipe Cantu Ruiz. Ruiz had testified that he moved out of town with a friend on Nov. 7 and had left her the keys.

Washington lived in an apartment on the same floor as Ruiz. Washington had told detectives he entered Ruiz’s apartment that night to steal money and found a dead woman in the bathroom.

Lawrence police said they found Mosso’s phone several weeks after the slaying on the roof of the apartment complex, wrapped in mismatched socks whose corresponding pairs were found in Washington’s apartment.

Rieg said she learned that the Heart of America Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory in Clay County, Missouri, had the software capabilities to open Mosso’s phone in February. McCabria ordered the FBI electronics lab to unlock the phone, and attorneys received the data earlier this month.

Washington’s attorney, Angela Keck, said it would be foolish to go to trial without looking through the phone data for evidence that could help the defendant.

Washington and attorneys will meet with the judge next week to set a new trial date, which is tentatively scheduled for mid-September.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — The man believed to be the last Kansas City-area resident to survive the attack at Pearl Harbor has died.

96-year-old Dorwin Lamkin of Overland Park, Kansas, died March 17. A cause of death was not disclosed.

Born in Wisconsin, Lamkin joined the Navy in 1940. He was a corpsman on the USS Nevada when the Japanese attacked at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941.

Lamkin later served at several battles while on the USS San Francisco in 1943 and 1944. He was awarded several medals and citations.

He was the longtime president of a chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and helped lead the drive to create the Pearl Harbor Memorial Park in Mission, Kansas.

TOPEKA, KAN. – A Kansas man pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge that he drove to Missouri to meet what he believed was a mother who was willing to sell her 10-year-old daughter for sex, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Michael David Mitchell, 64, Ottawa, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of interstate travel to engage in unlawful sexual conduct. The investigation began when investigators received information that Mitchell was looking for a woman with a minor child who he could make his sex slaves.

Mitchell communicated with an undercover investigator posing as a broker who could find Mitchell what he wanted. In his plea, Mitchell admitted that in June 2017 he drove from Ottawa, Kan., to Independence, Mo., to meet a woman he had been told was willing to make the deal. He brought money with him to pay a $5,000 finder’s fee.

Sentencing is set for April 24. He faces up to 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Richard Greever, who represents landlords in Hutchinson, sparked controversy at the latest city council meeting when he accused city staff of peeking in windows

“You’re allowing inspectors the right of way to peek in windows where our mothers, wives, daughters, granddaughters might be undressing,” he said.  “One city inspector was in the yard, looking in the window of one of my female, single, tenants. It scared the bejabbers out of her.  I tried to get her to file charges under the breach of privacy, the peeping Tom statute.  She refused and said, “he knows where I live.’ ”

Greever’s comments didn’t stop there. He warned the council that convicted murderer Dennis Rader also worked for a government organization. That brought a sharp response from councilwoman Jade Piros de Carvalho who told Greever, ” We are not going to apply at all that out city staff who work hard every day to make this place run and provide valuable amenities are rapists or murderers. That is not going down! You’re saying it in a public forum and it’s sickening.

Her interjection brought an end to Greever’s accusations. However, he did ask the council to limit city officials from entering private property unless they have a warrant or a complaint from the resident of that property. This all has to do with the rental inspection program which is set to sunset at the end of the year, so the council will look at it again in the fall on whether they want to continue it.

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SALINE COUNTY – The suspect from the officer involved shooting that occurred Feb. 5, in Saline County has been arrested.

According to a media release from the KBI, on March 19, Colt F. Wright, 25, of Derby, was released from Ascension Via Christi St. Francis in Wichita, where he received medical treatment from injuries sustained in the shooting with police.

When released from the hospital, Wright was arrested and booked into the Saline County Jail on seven counts of attempted capital murder, aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer, aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer.

The Kansas Attorney General’s Office is expected to prosecute the case

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Lawrence City Commission is backing a plan that would decrease the fine for possessing small amounts of marijuana to $1.

The commission voted 4-1 Tuesday to amend the city ordinance related to penalties for marijuana possession. The change would apply to people age 18 and older convicted of possessing 32 grams or less.

Commissioner Matthew Herbert says the vote sends a message to state lawmakers, especially since surrounding states have legalized marijuana in some form.

Missouri voters in November approved medical marijuana.

But Commissioner Stuart Boley, who cast the lone dissenting vote, says he’s concerned that people will be confused because while the fine for the first and second offenses will be $1, the third marijuana possession offense constitutes a felony under state law.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Some crop art in Central Texas features the face of Democrat Beto O’Rourke as the former congressman runs for president.

A field near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has been carved out with a 2-acre circle, an image of the El Paso politician’s face and the words “Beto 2020.”

Kansas artist Stan Herd says he wanted to show his support for O’Rourke, who rose to prominence in his failed 2018 bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Herd says he used grass, mulch, clay to create the portrait, which was unveiled Sunday at Carson Creek Ranch on land donated for the project. Herd expects the portrait, visible from flights above the field, to last about two weeks before deteriorating due to weather.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Regulators have reversed course and given the go-ahead to one of the nation’s largest renewable energy projects.

The Grain Belt Express power line approved Wednesday would carry wind power from Kansas on a 780-mile path across Missouri and Illinois before hooking into a power grid in Indiana that serves eastern states.

The Missouri Public Service Commission had rejected the project twice previously, but it reconsidered following a ruling last year by the state Supreme Court.

In November, Chicago-based Invenergy announced it was buying the project from Houston-based Clean Line Energy Partners. That deal should bolster the financing, but the sale still needs regulatory approval.

The transmission line also would need regulatory approval in Illinois, where a state appeals court overturned the state’s previous approval.

The Hays Area Chamber of Commerce in Hays, Kansas, a vibrant city of 21,000 and a regional center for education, health care, professional services and retail, is recruiting for the position of President/CEO.

The successful candidate will provide collaborative leadership with the staff of three, the Board of Directors, 500-strong membership and other community organizations. Applicants should have executive management leadership experience in business, non-profit or chamber association, and experience leading an organization through growth and change to achieve strategic objectives. Bachelor’s degree in the area(s) of association management and/or business is required. Personal computer and excellent communication skills are required.

Occasional travel outside of Hays is required. The Hays Chamber offers a competitive salary and excellent benefits package. Please email cover letter and resume to [email protected] by March 22 for priority consideration. Resumes will continue to be accepted until the position is filled.

2700 Vine St.
Hays, KS 67601
(785) 628-8201
www.discoverhays.com
Equal Opportunity Employer