OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett says stocks remain the best option for investors — not bonds, and especially not bitcoins.

Buffett says he doesn’t think the stock market is overpriced compared with other options even though he’s had trouble finding entire businesses to buy at reasonable prices. Buffett appeared on CNBC Monday after spending Saturday answering questions before thousands of shareholders.

Buffett says cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are nonproductive assets similar to gold. So Buffett says anyone buying bitcoin is betting that someone else will pay more for it later.

Buffett reiterated his standard advice that buying an index fund, such as the S&P 500 fund, regularly over time is the best option for most people.

Roughly 40,000 people attended Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting on Saturday.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The arrest of an 18-year-old Lincoln man marks the oldest person police have arrested in the city’s first killing of the year.

The Lincoln Journal-Star reports that Anthony Young III was taken into custody last week for being an accessory in the shooting death of 22-year-old Edgar Union Jr. on March 26. Two 17-year-olds are also facing similar charges as Young, though they haven’t been ruled adults or juveniles for prosecution.

A 16-year-old shooting suspect appeared in adult court last week. Police say the teen is the youngest person accused in a Lincoln homicide since the 1980s.

Police say the case stands out due to the number of young people involved.

Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister says investigators are trying to determine the timeline of events leading up to the shooting.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s farmland values saw a decline for the second year after nearly 25 years of increases.

The Nebraska Department of Revenue released a report Friday showing that agricultural land values fell by almost 2.8 percent. They had dropped by 0.15 percent last year, which marked the first decline in a long run of increases.

Experts say farmland property values follow the price decline for corn, soybeans, beef and other commodities over the past few years.

Eric Thompson is director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Bureau of Business Research. Thompson says he sees the decline as rebalancing. He says farmland values were at “unusually high levels” early this decade.

Farmer Craig Weber says a modest drop in farmland values won’t bring extensive property tax relief.

The Alliance Public Library will host a “Registration Party” for the 2018 summer reading program on Friday, May 18 from 2-4 p.m. People of all ages are invited to sign up for summer reading while enjoying music from local students to kick off the “Libraries Rock!” theme.

Activities and reading challenges are planned for preschool aged children through adult, throughout the month of June. The first activity will be Wednesday, May 23 for children going into the first grade and older. Laura Mangas, the Alliance Middle School band instructor, will talk about and demonstrate the woodwind family of instruments, which includes the flute, clarinet, and saxophone. May 25 will begin the first week of the children’s reading program, for preschoolers through high school, and their first “check-in” to qualify for a weekly drawing and the grand prize drawing will be Friday, June 1 before 3 p.m.

Monday, June 4 will kick off “Musical Mondays, with a musical presented each Monday afternoon. Programs for grades 1-12 will continue on Wednesday afternoons with a different “family” of instruments being presented each week. There are also activities planned for teens, preschoolers, and families.

Thursday evenings will feature adult programs with a variety of music concerts and craft programs.  Our first event on Thursday, May 24 at 6 pm is “Music! Music! Music!” with Larry Holub and Cynthia Horn.  The Adult Reading Program will also include a drawing each week for two tickets to the Fort Robinson Post Playhouse. To enter, check out any music item (book or DVD) from the Library and fill out an entry form. We will also have a special drawing on Friday, June 29 for those who complete 6 categories of a separate reading contest, with more information included on the entry forms at the Circulation Desk.

For more information, please contact Elaine Bleisch, Children and Youth Services Librarian or Cynthia Horn, Adult Services Librarian at (308) 762-1387.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — The Scottsbluff City Council has approved a location for a proposed 5-megawatt solar power farm to provide more low-cost energy to its residents.

At Monday’s council meeting members agreed on a site just south and east of the Landers Soccer Complex north of the city.

Scottsbluff City Manager Nathan Johnson says a required study by the Nebraska Public Power District could start as early as 2019, with the project completion by the end of the year.

Patrick Hanrahan is assistant manager for the NPPD retail division, and he says the solar array would provide $2 million to $2.5 million savings in energy costs over the 25-year agreement period.

NPPD would purchase 100 percent of the electrical output and sell solar shares to residents and businesses interested in adding a solar component to their electric power mix.

HEBRON, Neb. (AP) — The Thayer County sheriff and a deputy have captured an inmate who escaped from the county jail in Hebron.

Authorities say 29-year-old Lance Powers fled custody Monday while being escorted from his cell to another location in the jail. He ran out the front door of the Sheriff’s Office, which sits next to the courthouse, with Sheriff David Lee in pursuit.

Several people helped Lee by pointing out Powers’ path through town. Lee and Deputy Marty Rose caught him near the city swimming pool.

Powers had been jailed awaiting action on accusations of nonpayment of child support, failure to appear and driving under suspension.

MILFORD, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say four people killed in a crash on Interstate 80 in Nebraska were from eastern Iowa.

The victims were identified Monday as 49-year-old Susan Selser, 20-year-old Cody Richardson, 20-year-old Troy Wanzek and 19-year-old Cole Austin, all of Clinton, Iowa.

Authorities say 20-year-old Madison Selser-Smith, of Clinton, was driving westbound in a 2005 Chevy Equinox when she hit rumble bars on the north shoulder, overcorrected, crossed the center median and entered the eastbound lanes. The car was then struck by a 2010 Buick Lacerne driven by 75-year-old Anna Richert, of rural Gresham, Nebraska.

Selser-Smith and Richert were flown to a Lincoln hospital with life-threatening injuries. Authorities say Richert, Selser and Selser-Smith were wearing seat belts. Richardson, Wanzek and Austin were not, and were ejected from the car’s back seats.

CHADRON, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a 3-year-old boy in northwest Nebraska.
The boy was reported unconscious and not breathing around 11 a.m. Saturday in a Chadron residence.

The boy’s name and other information about what happened have not been released.

This past Saturday morning many residents in the City of Alliance experienced a power outage, which happened around 10:30pm. Allliance Eletric Superintendent Kirby Bridge told Panhandle Post that the power was restored between 11:45am and 11:50am. We spoke with Bridge about more detailed information in the audio interview below.

At approximately 11:30 p.m. on Monday, May 7, a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) attempted a traffic stop on a 2005 Chevrolet Impala that was being sought by the Hastings Police Department.

The trooper first noticed the vehicle traveling northbound on Highway 281 just north of Interstate 80. The trooper attempted a traffic stop, but the driver refused to stop and continued northbound, running a red light at the intersection of Highway 281 and Highway 34.

After a pursuit of approximately two minutes, the driver failed to negotiate a turn at Webb Road and crashed the vehicle. The driver was ejected during the crash and was found unresponsive at the scene.

The trooper immediately began performing CPR on the driver and continued until paramedics arrived. The driver was initially taken to St. Francis Hospital in Grand Island and was then flown by helicopter to Bryan West Campus in Lincoln. He has since been transferred to UNMC in Omaha and is in critical but stable condition.

The Grand Island Police Department has handled the initial accident investigation. NSP is conducting the accident reconstruction and will bring in an outside agency to assist. The investigation is ongoing.

OGALLALA, Neb. (AP) — A truck driver from Florida has pleaded no contest to charges stemming from a 2016 crash in western Nebraska that killed six people, including a family of five from Minnesota.

Court records say 55-year-old Tony Weekly Jr. entered the pleas Tuesday in Keith County District Court. The charges: three felony and three misdemeanor counts of vehicular homicide and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving.

Sentencing is set for July 20.

Investigators say Weekly was distracted July 31, 2016, and didn’t slow down in an Interstate 80 construction zone near Brule (brool), smashing into the back of a minivan. Inside were Jamison and Kathryne Pals, of St. Paul, and their three children, aged 3 years, 2½ and 23 months.

Another man injured in the crash, Terry Sullivan, of Denver, died later.

BOX ELDER, S.D. (AP) — Firefighters are evacuating people around a burning South Dakota ammunition company for fear that exploding ammunition could strike someone.

The blaze was reported around 10:40 a.m. Tuesday at the Ultramax Ammunition company in Box Elder, a city just east of Rapid City.

Rapid City Fire Department spokesman Lt. Jim Bussell says the building has been evacuated and several other businesses in the area have closed. Authorities also are evacuating people around the facility, but it wasn’t immediately clear how many people were being asked to leave.

The Rapid City Journal reports that the facility contains millions of rounds of ammunition and that firefighters have established a half-mile “standoff distance.”

Photos of the scene show the facility engulfed in flames and billowing black smoke.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — One of the largest Applebee’s franchisees that operates 163 restaurants in 15 states has filed for bankruptcy protection.

Atlanta-based RMH Franchise holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday.

RMH spokeswoman Robin Jenkins said the company’s restaurants are expected to continue operating during the bankruptcy reorganization.

In the bankruptcy filing, the company said it owes between $100 million and $500 million, and it has assets within the same range.

RMH has restaurants in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wyoming.

BATTLE CREEK, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man who died on a northeast Nebraska farm was accidentally electrocuted.

The accident Friday near Battle Creek killed 54-year-old Greg Weidner, who lived in Madison.

Madison County Attorney Joe Smith said that Weidner was injured while working on an irrigation pivot well. No autopsy was ordered.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are investigating after the body of a man was found just outside of Hastings.
The Hastings Tribune reports that the body — believed to be that of a middle-aged man — was found around noon Monday by a groundskeeper who was mowing at the Motorsport Park Hastings.

Adams County Sheriff’s Deputy Gary Reed says officials are looking into whether the remains belong to a man who was reported missing in October. Reed says an autopsy will be conducted Wednesday in Omaha.

Reed says there are no obvious signs of foul play, but investigators aren’t ruling anything out and are collecting evidence for possible use later.

Chadron, Nebraska will represent the 85^th location in the Runza^® Restaurant chain. Franchisees Neal & Lora Blomenkamp plan to open the store along Highway 20 this fall. The Blomenkamp’s also own the Runza^® Restaurant locations in Scottsbluff and Gering.

“We are proud to expand our store network and excited to bring a Runza^® Restaurant to the area,” stated Donald Everett, Jr., President of Runza^® National.

“Chadron is a thriving community and we are pleased to be part of the growth,” said Neal Blomenkamp.

Runza^® Restaurants – famous for the Runza^® Sandwich with its delicious blend of ground beef, cabbage, onions and secret spices baked inside homemade bread; made-to-order hamburgers; and homemade onion rings – operates and franchises restaurants in Nebraska (78), Colorado (Loveland), Iowa (Clarinda & Council Bluffs), and Kansas (Lawrence). Learn more at www.runza.com

SANTEE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have been unable to find the body of a man missing since he and his girlfriend accidentally drove off a cliff into the water near where the Missouri River flows into Lewis and Clark Lake in northeast Nebraska.

Authorities say 39-year-old Artuoro Rouillard and 41-year-old Adrienne Denney had been night fishing when they were last seen early Saturday. It’s thought they were on an all-terrain vehicle when it plunged off a cliff into the water.

Denney’s body was recovered later Saturday, but the search for Rouillard or his body has been hampered by the current.

The two lived in Santee.

YORK, Neb. (AP) — The York County Sheriff’s Department says one of its deputies seized 12 pounds of methamphetamine during a routine traffic stop.

The York News-Times reports that the deputy found the meth Tuesday afternoon after stopping a car in York in southeast Nebraska.

Lt. Paul Vrbka says the deputy was on patrol when he stopped a vehicle for suspicion of a traffic violation. Vrbka says the driver gave consent to search the vehicle and during that search, he found the methamphetamine.
The street value of the meth is estimated at $520,000.

Two people — a 36-year-old woman from Las Vegas and a 35-year-old woman from New Jersey — were arrested. Both remained Wednesday at the York County Jail on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police in Omaha are investigating a drive-by shooting that injured four people.

Police say the shooting happened Wednesday afternoon outside an apartment building in north Omaha. Police say three of the victims suffered serious injuries and are expected to recover. A fourth suffered life-threatening injuries and was in critical condition.

All four were taken to an Omaha hospital.

Police had not announced any arrests by late Wednesday afternoon, but investigators were looking for a vehicle and were reviewing security video from the apartment building.

The Knight Museum & Sandhills Center is hosting the Grasslands Artifact Roadshow Saturday, May 19, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Alliance, NE. The public is invited to bring in personal American Indian artifact collections and their pieces will be shared, identified and logged as a part of cultural history.

An archaeological field study team from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, led by Dr. Matthew Douglass is assisting with the project. “Many folk have a shoe box of artifacts handed down through the family, or may have collections of their own, “Douglass said. “We are interested in documenting these and talking with landowners.”

A primary goal of this event is to document local artifacts and form a digital version of the collections. The team will scan the artifacts using a high-resolution flatbed scanner. Students, along with trained professional archaeologists will assist with artifact identification and will interpret how these tools affected past human cultures. They will also discuss the best practices for recording archaeological finds form private property.

An artifact is any material item created by people; such as arrowheads, pottery, spear points, and stone mauls. Knowledge that helps archaeologists understand human cultures can be gained from studying these artifacts. The Artifact Roadshow will benefit archaeologists and private landowners (who may have discovered an unidentified but historically meaningful artifact). It is an amazing opportunity to increase awareness and stewardship of artifacts and the lands they are found in.

“This project is significant because it is targeting private collections that have the potential to be tucked away forever, without ever being placed within a historical timeline,” Park Ranger Erin Snuggs said. “There is always something to be learned, and artifacts of the grasslands are the perfect resource for personal connection to history.”

The US Forest Service has developed a professional cultural resource staff to help manage the public lands and its many archaeological resources. Artifacts are irreplaceable, one of a kind resource that needs protected for future generations. The US Forest Service requests the public’s help to conserve these resources. If you find an artifact on public land, it is best to leave it and contact your nearest Forest Service office.

For more information, please contact the Knight Museum & Sandhills Center at 308-762-2384