REMAINS FOUND-MISSING WOMAN
Prosecutors drop charges filed against man in murder case
IMPERIAL, Neb. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped charges against a man accused of involvement in the disappearance and slaying of a woman in southwest Nebraska. The North Platte Telegraph reports Russell Mann, of Enders, had been charged with two accessory counts. The charges can be refiled later. The charges stemmed from the disappearance and killing of 22-year-old Annika Swanson and the kidnapping and assault of another woman who’s now safe. Two other people have pleaded not guilty to murder and kidnapping charges. They are Kevin German, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Keonna Carter, of Taylorsville, Utah.
HORMEL FOODS-PAPILLION
Hormel Foods confirms new manufacturing plant in Papillion
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Hormel Foods has confirmed that it will be opening a new manufacturing plant in the Omaha suburb of Papillion, bringing about 200 jobs to the area. The Omaha World-Herald reports that Papillion Foods LLC, an offshoot of Hormel, recently bought a former Shopko distribution center in Sarpy County that closed last year. Hormel says the center will undergo a $60 million renovation to convert it into a manufacturing plant for its food brands, which include Spam, Skippy peanut butter and Jennie-O turkeys. Hormel says it paid about $25 million for the building and the land it’s on.
DEPUTY-INVOLVED SHOOTING
Deputy-involved shooting injures 1 in southwestern Nebraska
TRENTON, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Patrol says it’s investigating a shooting involving a Hitchcock County sheriff’s deputy in southwestern Nebraska. The patrol says in a news release that the shooting occurred early Tuesday morning, after deputies were called just after 1 a.m. for reports of a man shooting a gun near a home in Trenton. The patrol says deputies arrived on the scene around 1:30 a.m., and requested medics about 10 minutes later, saying shots had been fired. A man who was shot was taken to a McCook hospital, then flown to a Lincoln hospital, where the patrol said he was in stable condition. His name has not been released. No officers were injured.
IRRIGATION EMERGENCY
Feds providing $2.3M for repairs to irrigation system tunnel
GERING, Neb. (AP) — A federal agency intends to provide a $2.3 million loan to help pay for repairs to an irrigation system tunnel that collapsed last July, cutting off water to farmers in western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming. The loan will be in addition to a $3.8 million grant that Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has said the state will provide to the irrigation district. The collapse left more than 150 square miles of cropland without water at the peak of summer. Temporary repairs got the water flowing again by the end of August. Officials say permanent repairs are expected to cost about $16 million.
OMAHA FATALITY
Police: 1 dead in single-vehicle crash in west Omaha
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a person has died in a single-vehicle crash in west Omaha. Police say in a news release that the crash happened around 11:15 a.m. Tuesday near 108th and West Dodge Road when a northbound car took an off-ramp from Interstate 680 onto West Dodge and went off the road. Police say the car crossed all lanes of West Dodge before rolling into a ditch. The driver and lone occupant of the car was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are investigating whether a medical condition of the driver contributed to the crash.
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY-NEW HOME
New home sought for genealogical society’s collection
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society needs a new home for its 8,000-piece collection. The collection’s been housed at the Union College library for the past 30 years. But the college has decided to turn the collection space into a student tutoring center. Michael George is the genealogical society president, and he told the Lincoln Journal Star the society has until mid-March to find a new place or the collection will go into storage. The collection includes items such as a 1924 Tobias telephone directory and an index to the marriage records of Lancaster County from 1866 to 1893.
