SPM News

052819 504 Strong thunderstorms that affected eastern Nebraska and western Iowa dumped heavy rain and, in southwest Omaha, piles of hail that temporarily stranded some motorists. The Omaha World-Herald reported dozens of cars pulled off Interstate 80 with broken windshields. North Platte also received reports of baseball-sized hail. Southwest Omaha also saw large amounts of hail that piled up on streets that brought out at least one city snowplow to clear the mess. The U.S. Army Corps of

052819 432 Strong thunderstorms that raked eastern Nebraska and western Iowa dumped heavy rain and, in southwest Omaha, piles of hail that left some motorists temporarily stranded. Western Nebraska was first to endure the storms Monday night, with hail larger than 2 inches in diameter. The Omaha World-Herald reported dozens of cars pulled off Interstate 80 with broken windshields. About 8,000 Omaha Public Power District customers lost power. In Council Bluffs, Iowa, a number of streets flooded

052819 404 Water releases from Gavins Point Dam will be increased today and Wednesday because of heavy rainfall over a large portion of the Missouri River basin above Sioux City. Rainfall in Nebraska, South Dakota and central North Dakota for the past seven days has been 200 percent to 600 percent of normal, leading to higher inflows to South Dakota reservoirs. Increasing Gavins Point releases will allow more water to pass through the system and slow the rise at reservoirs upriver from Gavins

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has approved a new $9.3 billion, two-year state budget. The budget calls for a $51 million annual boost to the state's property tax credit fund, for a total of $275 million a year. That’s nearly double the amount distributed to taxpayers in 2015. With the extra funding, the owner of a $150,000 home will get a $106 discount on their property tax bill. State spending under the new budget will increase by an average of 2.9 percent per year, which is less than average.

Story written and told by Bob Protexter of Sioux City, Iowa and produced by Siouxland Public Media. This is my father's flag; of Donald Homer Protexter. This is my father's flag in memoriam . . . of his dedicated and diligent service to the United States of America. I have to write this because I knew he never would. This is my father's flag that is located in the row of flags in the front row of Graceland Park Cemetery that is located on Lakeport Avenue in the neighborhood of Morningside that

While the school year is winding down, food insecure kids who normally rely on school lunches have some options. There will be hundreds of meal sites across the state this summer where children can go to eat at no charge. The Department of Education’s Stephanie Dross coordinates the program, which she says strives to meet kids where they are. “And so we have more and more sponsors trying to go out into the community, right where the kids are in their home environment. So we’re seeing apartment

052419 532 Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds was in Sioux City today signing a bill into that extends the 1 cent sales tax. The statewide sales tax for school infrastructure improvements set to expire in 10 years has been extended through 2051. Sioux City Community School District Superintendent Dr. Paul Gausman (GAUS-min) attended the signing ceremony downtown and said the sales tax has helped the school district in the past and it will also be helpful in the future. He says the money will help the

052419 504 A statewide sales tax for school infrastructure improvements set to expire in 10 years has been extended through 2051. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill extending that sales tax into law in Sioux City today (yesterday/Friday). Sioux City Community School District Superintendent Dr. Paul Gausman (GAUS-min) says the state’s 1-cent sales tax has helped the school district in the past and will help them in the future. ((0524gausman 0:10)) We’ve got a couple of elementary facilities

052419 432 Planned Parenthood is asking an Iowa judge to put a law on hold that bars the organization from participating in two federally-funded sex education programs. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Ogden says the law shouldn’t be blocked because Planned Parenthood won’t be “irreparably harmed.” He says under the law, they could still provide sex education outside of the federal programs. 0524ogden2: 16 “Yes they will have to do it without the assistance of the CAPP and PREP grant money, but

052419 404 Crews have contained a large fire at a Hastings fertilizer plant. The fire was reported about 11:30 p.m. Thursday at the CPI Dry Fertilizer Plant and was contained just before 4 a.m. Friday. The blaze forced authorities to close U.S. Highway 6, but the road was reopened early Friday. A news release from the Adams County Emergency Management office says railroad tracks just north of the plant also were closed for a time during the fire, but have reopened. The Hastings Tribune reports