Woman seeks pardon for role in string of killings in 1950s
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A woman who accompanied her older boyfriend during a string of killings in Nebraska and Wyoming more than 60 years ago is seeking an official pardon. Caril Anne Fugate was 14 years old at the time and says her then-19-year-old boyfriend, Charlie Starkweather, had threatened to kill her family if she didn’t obey. Fugate, who now goes by her married name of Caril Ann Clair and lives in Michigan, says the Nebraska Board of Pardons has a chance to right a historical wrong. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the board is scheduled to consider her request on Feb. 18. Starkweather was executed in 1959.
AP-US-BERKSHIRE-LEE-NEWSPAPER-DEAL
Warren Buffett gets out of the newspaper business
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett is giving up on the newspaper business. He’s selling all of Berkshire Hathaway’s publications to Lee Enterprises for $140 million. The deal announced Wednesday covers 31 daily newspapers in 10 states as well as 49 paid weekly publications with digital sites and 32 other print products. Buffett is a lifelong fan of newspapers but he has said for several years that he expects most of them to continue on their declining trajectory, save for a handful of national papers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Lee has been managing the BH Media publications since July 2018. Berkshire Hathaway is providing about $576 million in long-term financing to Lee.
INTERSTATE ACCIDENTS
Authorities ID Lincoln couple as victims of I-80 crash
LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the names of a Lincoln man who was killed and his wife, who was injured, in a rollover accident along Interstate 80 in central Nebraska. The Dawson County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as 33-year-old Brendan Troutman and his wife as 28-year-old Tiya Troutman. The crash occurred around 11:45 a.m. Sunday, about 3 miles east of Lexington. Authorities say the Troutmans’ westbound pickup truck ran into the median and then rolled in the westbound lanes. Two semitrailers collided as they slowed for the crash. Authorities say one of the drivers was taken to a hospital.
WORK ETHIC CAMP ESCAPE
Inmate captured less than an hour after escape in McCook
MCCOOK, Neb. (AP) — Officials say an inmate was caught less than an hour after escaping from the state Work Ethic Camp in McCook. Authorities say Ryan Lykens left the camp just before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Staffers had noticed that razor wire along the fence line had been pushed aside, and they followed tracks in the snow. Authorities say staffers used pepper spray on Lykens after he was spotted and refused several orders to stop and surrender. Deputies soon arrived and took him into custody. Lykens has been serving time for possession of a deadly weapon, domestic assault and terroristic threats in Douglas County.
REMAINS FOUND-MISSING WOMAN
2 charged in southwest Nebraska slaying plead not guilty
IMPERIAL, Neb. (AP) — Two people accused of kidnapping and killing a woman in southwest Nebraska have pleaded not guilty. Chase County District Court records say Kevin German, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Keonna Carter, of Taylorsville, Utah, entered the pleas Tuesday to charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping. They’re accused of leaving 22-year-old Annika Swanson, of Imperial, in a drainage pipe in a Chase County pasture on Nov. 14. The records say Carter told investigators that German beat up Swanson and, accompanied by Carter, forced Swanson down into the pipe. Using Carter’s information, authorities found and recovered Swanson’s lightly clad body from the pipe.
NEBRASKA HEMP
Feds approve Nebraska plan for growing hemp
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved Nebraska’s hemp plan, so the state will begin taking license applications on Monday. The Nebraska plan lays out the regulations and calls for the state to collect license fees to administer the program for 270 cultivator licenses, 30 processor-handler licenses and 15 broker licenses. It allows for 400 cultivation sites. The Nebraska Agriculture Department would sample or require USDA-approved contractors to test plants within 15 days of the anticipated harvest date to ensure the THC level isn’t too high. THC is the cannabis compound that gives marijuana its high.
