STANTON, Neb. (KTIV) – The Stanton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a burglary at a residence on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

According to a press release, the report of a burglary in progress came shortly after 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

Upon arrival, deputies say a man and a woman were exiting the residence and drove away in a van.

The van was later located in Stanton and the subjects were contacted by the Sheriff’s Office.

The two were identified as 59-year-old Robert Goste, Jr. and 57-year-old Sandra Johnson, both from Norfolk.

An investigation found Goste and Johnson entered the residence by opening a closed garage door and took various items from inside the residence.

The stolen items were found inside their van along with marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Goste is charged with the following:

• Criminal Trespass
• Burglary
• Possession of Marijuana and Drug Paraphernalia
• Driving During Suspension

Johnson is charged with the following:

• Criminal Trespass
• Burglary

Both are scheduled to appear in court next month.

Copyright 2024 KTIV. All rights reserved.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Clouds linger in western and southwestern Nebraska Thursday with a chance of showers this afternoon. A few showers will drift into central Nebraska this evening. Mainly dry in eastern Nebraska with temperatures near average. Low pressure will lift northward from the southern plains and bring widespread rain Friday into Saturday.

Mostly cloudy with the coolest temperatures in southwestern Nebraska Thursday. Mix of clouds and sun in central and eastern Nebraska. The bottom line is you will have more sunshine in northern and eastern Nebraska compared to western Nebraska. Highs will be in the 40s and 50s with the coldest temperatures in southwest Nebraska.

Partly to mostly cloudy with a few showers in southern and southwestern Nebraska Thursday night. Lows in the 30s and 40s.

Partly to mostly cloudy Friday morning in eastern Nebraska. Showers will develop Friday afternoon and continue into Friday night across the state. Highs in the 40s and 50s.

Rain will continue into Saturday with temperatures remaining in the 50s. Milder temperatures expected Sunday through Tuesday with a chance of rain Wednesday.

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Copyright 2024 KOLN. All rights reserved.

LINCOLN — The 2024  general election marked Nebraska’s second-highest number of votes cast in the state’s history.

That’s according to Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s Office, which reported Wednesday that 934,188 ballots were cast, and that several thousand early voting and provisional ballots have yet to be counted.

Still on top of the heap, in terms of votes cast, is turnout during the pandemic-era general election of 2020, with 966,920 ballots cast.

Preliminary turnout numbers show that 73.9% of Nebraska’s registered voters participated in the 2024 general election. That’s higher than the 72% prediction that Evnen had made earlier in the week.

Final turnout results could inch up slightly as remaining ballots are counted, a spokeswoman for the office said. As is, the 73.9% puts Tuesday’s general election among at least the Top 8 ever in terms of highest share of state voter participation.

No. 1 for percentage turnout remains the 1968 general election, with 80.8% turnout. That was the year Republican presidential nominee Richard Nixon defeated the Democratic nominee, incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and the American Independent Party nominee, former Alabama Gov. George Wallace.

‘Smooth and secure’

Evnen said that county election offices across the state reported consistent voter turnout throughout Tuesday with “almost all voters” prepared with voter ID, as required by the new state law.

“County election officials and poll workers ensured a smooth and secure Election Day for thousands of Nebraskans,” said Evnen. 

Voters who did not have an accepted ID on Election Day were able to vote provisionally. For those ballots to be accepted, the voters can present acceptable ID to their county election office by the end of the business day Nov. 12.

Unofficial results are posted at electionresults.nebraska.gov. Representatives of the Secretary of State’s Office and county election offices are to conduct a post-election audit to verify accuracy of the results. That happens with all statewide elections. Members of the Nebraska State Board of Canvassers are to convene Dec. 2 to certify election results

Close to call

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, a few Nebraska legislative races remained close enough that the Nebraska Democratic Party said they were too close to call. Democrats were slightly ahead in those contests.

According to unofficial election results: Democrat Ashlei Spivey led Nick Batter, a nonpartisan, by 41 votes in northeast Douglas County’s District 13; Democrat Dan Quick led incumbent Ray Aguilar, a Republican, by 125 votes in Grand Island’s District 35; and Democrat Victor Rountree led Felix Ungerman, a Republican, by 181 votes in Sarpy County’s Legislative District 3.

Jane Kleeb, the Democratic Party’s executive director, called it a grueling election cycle.

“We stand tall that we did deliver the blue dot for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz,” she said, adding: “Our party has work to do.”

County election commissioners said they’ve yet to count early and provisional voting ballots.

In Hall County, for example, 195 largely provisional ballots in District 35 had yet to be validated and potentially included in the count, said Election Commissioner Tracy Overstreet. She said it would be seven to 10 days before the results are final.

Results within a certain range could trigger a recount. Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse said if there was any recount, it would happen on Dec 4.