OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A college student is recovering after being shot in the face while in a Burger King drive-through because he refused to give up his car to a would-be thief.

Omaha police say 21-year-old Alexander Dike was shot shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday while at a restaurant in central Omaha near 72nd and Grover streets.

Dike told police that a man with a gun approached his car while he was in the drive-through and demanded that Dike get out of the car.

Instead of complying, Dike instead rolled up his window and then heard gunshots.

Police interviewed witnesses at the Burger King for more than two hours Tuesday, but hadn’t made any arrests by Wednesday afternoon.

Dike, who is from Norfolk, attends the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln and other Midwest cities are setting records for the lack of snow.

Thursday in Lincoln is the 297th in a row without measurable snow. The former record was 295 snow-free days in 2004.

The National Weather Service says the 285 snowless days as of Wednesday in Omaha breaks the record 284 days that ended Dec. 30, 2006.

The Des Moines, Iowa, record of 277 days set in 1889 is being matched on Thursday.

Elsewhere in the Midwest, Chicago and Milwaukee have yet to have their first measurable snow of the season.

But good news may be ahead for winter wonderland fans: The service says snow is in the forecasts for Saturday night or Sunday in Nebraska and Iowa, the next day in Chicago.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ Nebraska’s outgoing Speaker of the Legislature Mike Flood is bowing out of the governor’s race less than a month after he declared he was running.

Flood said Thursday in a statement posted online that he is withdrawing from the 2014 race to care for his family because his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer this week.

Flood is a respected Republican lawmaker who helped broker compromises on difficult issues while leading the Legislature. But term limits are forcing him to leave office.

Current Gov. Dave Heineman cannot run in 2014 because of term limits. Republican Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy is running for the governor’s job.

 

     The federal Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment on a new uranium mine in Wyoming proposed by Cameco….the same company that owns the Crow Butte uranium mine near Crawford.

The BLM held a public meeting on the proposed mine in Fremont County on in Riverton and another last night in Lander. It is accepting written comments through January 31.

Cameco plans to do in-situ injection mining, as it does at Crawford. A chemical solution similar to bicarbonate of soda is pumped into the aquifer and dissolves the uranium. The water is pumped out and the uranium processed out.

The BLM is looking at three plans and considering how to limit surface disturbance and reduce vegetation loss. The agency is also looking at how the mine would affect previous reclamation efforts, livestock grazing and air and water quality.

LINCOLN, Neb. – Hunters may still offer deer to 14 contracted meat processors and, if accepted, have processing costs paid by the Hunters Helping the Hungry program. Processors will accept deer until their quotas are met.

Processors still accepting deer and the quantity they may accept are:

• Bayard Processing, Bayard, two
• KDK Meats, Bridgeport, one
• Kelley’s Custom Pack, North Platte, six
• The Butcher Shop, Fairfield, four
• Melcher’s Locker, Lindsay, eight
• County Butcher, Humphrey, six
• Butchery, Ulysses, 10
• Bob’s Custom Meats, North Bend, nine
• Wahoo Locker, Wahoo, one
• Panama Locker, Panama, two
• Van Fleet Meats, Ralston, one
• Stoysich House of Sausage, Omaha, seven
• Den’s Country Meats, Table Rock, five
• Pelican’s Meat Processing, Johnson, 12.

Once quotas are met, hunters may consider using the free Deer Exchange program to find and contact persons who would like to receive venison.

Hunters Helping the Hungry combines cash donations and donated deer to produce ground venison that is distributed to Nebraskans in need. No permit or tax dollars are used.

Visit OutdoorNebraska.org to make a cash donation to the program or to participate in the Deer Exchange.

S.D.  (AP) — A Mitchell man who was driving drunk when he led police on a high-speed chase through residential areas has been sentenced.

Eighteen-year-old Dahjrick Clark was sentenced to 75 days in jail, or about 2 ½ months behind bars. The Daily Republic newspaper reports that he also was ordered to pay more than $2,000 in restitution.

Clark was arrested May 26 after a chase that authorities say involved speeds approaching 100 mph in a 25 mph zone where other traffic and pedestrians were present. He pleaded guilty in October to aggravated eluding and second-offense drunken driving.

Judge Rodney Steele told Clark during his sentencing Tuesday that Clark’s actions put people’s lives in jeopardy.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A 71-year-old Gibbon man has died following a two-vehicle crash Monday night east of Kearney.

The Nebraska State Patrol says Kermit Keller was driving his pickup eastbound on U.S. Highway 30 around 6 p.m. Monday when he slammed into the back of a semitrailer that had slowed to turn.

Keller was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, where he died. Investigators say Keller was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.

An autopsy has been ordered.

The 63-year-old driver of the semi was not injured.

The crash closed a stretch of the highway for about two hours.

        A crowd estimated at between 600 and 800 packed a hearing in Albion Tuesday night to discuss TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would run 1,700 miles from the oil sands of Canada to refineries in Texas.

It  was the first and only hearing on the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality’s environmental review that generally supports the proposed route across Nebraska…one developed because of strong opposition to the original route, which crossed the environmentally sensitive Sandhills.

The crowd in Albion was boisterous and rowdy at times, with opponents of the pipeline generally more vocal than supporters…frequently booing or applauding speakers despite being told not to.

Speakers split the time at the hearing, with 163 people signed up to address the packed hall at the Boone County fairgrounds. In attendance were two representatives of the U.S. State Department, whose secretary has the final decision on approving the pipeline because it would cross an international border.

TransCanada vice president Corey Goulet told the hearing that the company believes the new route is a good one, that Nebraska’s review of the $7 billion project was good, and the project should be approved.

Oglala Sioux Tribe Vice President Tom Poor Bear followed Goulet to the microphone but to oppose the pipeline, saying that if the pipeline were to leak and oil were to get “in the water, our water is no good.”

Although the opponents were generally farmers, ranchers, other landowners, and environmentalists while supporters were generally pro-business and free market advocates and workers who’d help build the pipeline, some ranchers spoke in favor of it and some business owners testified against it.

Most of the points made by both sides were those made repeatedly during earlier battles over the pipeline, with supporters emphasizing its economic benefits and impact on energy independence while opponents stressed the threat to the Ogallala Aquifer should the pipeline leak.

After reviewing last night’s comments on its 600-page report, the DEQ will send a final version to Governor Dave Heineman, who expects to make a recommendation to the federal government early next year.

It will then be up to the Secretary of State to decide on granting a permit, although the final decision is essentially up to President Obama.

 

Authorities in York County say it was YouTube that helped lead them to the woman accused of robbing a bank in Waco last week.

York County Sheriff Dale Radcliff says in the York News-Times that 19-year old Hannah Sabata of Stromsburg posted a video on YouTube last Wednesday, bragging about the robbery that occurred the day before.

Sabata was arrested on robbery and theft charges within hours of the posting of the video…which shows a woman holding handwritten signs that say she robbed a bank and stole a car, then holding up a large bundle of cash.

Sheriff Radcliff says a copy of the video will be turned over to prosecutors as evidence against Sabata.