Nebraska
Former Nebraska State Patrol employee sentenced for stealing drugs from evidence room
![Former Nebraska State Patrol employee sentenced for stealing drugs from evidence room](https://gray-koln-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/FppRTO0STrXaSxegJby2emEes44=/1200x600/smart/filters:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/FZKWUGQ2J5DEDMRGB7MSX4EBBA.jpg)
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – A former Nebraska State Patrol employee will spend the next two decades in prison for stealing more than $1 million worth of drugs from a NSP evidence locker and selling them.
Anna Idigima was sentenced Wednesday in Federal Court to 21 years and 10 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 50 kilograms or more of marijuana, resulting in serious bodily injury. Following her release from prison, Idigima will serve five years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
In February, Idigima took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to one of the charges: conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, a detectable amount of fentanyl, and marijuana.
As part of the deal, two charges related to distributing drugs that lead to serious bodily injury were dismissed.
Idigima was accused of taking $1.2 million worth of cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana from an NSP evidence locker and worked with another man to sell those drugs.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, video surveillance from NSP’s Lincoln evidence storage facility shows Idigima opening sealed boxes, taking items from those boxes, putting them in garbage bags and loading the bags into her personal vehicle on several occasions between June 16, 2021, and August 12, 2021.
The Lincoln Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force conducted an audit of the NSP evidence storage areas to which Idigima had access during this timeframe and found a number of drugs missing including:
- 154 pounds of Marijuana
- 19 pounds of Cocaine
- 6 pounds of Fentanyl
- 10 pounds of Heroin
- 3 pounds of Meth
- 32 pounds of THC
- 1,720 THC vape cartridges
- Numerous assorted pills
Investigators believe the stolen drugs were responsible for at least three overdoses in Lincoln.
The man she sold drugs with, George Weaver Jr., will be sentenced in October.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force (Lincoln Police Department, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and UNL Police Department), the Nebraska State Patrol, the Nebraska City Police Department, and the Saline County Sheriff’s Office.
Copyright 2023 KOLN. All rights reserved.
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Nebraska
Sidney graduate Karsyn Leeling earns Gatorade Nebraska Girls Track and Field Player of the Year
![Sidney graduate Karsyn Leeling earns Gatorade Nebraska Girls Track and Field Player of the Year](https://gray-knop-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/7OMBGHLRLBHDVMPYXCM7MMAEVY.bmp?auth=e131ecf6c53b9ad53c35e1c9da03c2cf732d221f8a23a9329331c217b29a1bb6&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
SIDNEY, Neb. (KNOP) – Karsyn Leeling was named 2023-2024 Gatorade Nebraska Girls Track and Field Player of the Year. The Sidney High School athlete had a senior season to remember in track and field. In May she wrapped up her high school career with three Class B state championships claiming titles in the long jump, triple jump and the high jump. She would also break a state record in the high jump back in April.
Leeling went on to win a national title in the high jump at Nike Outdoor Nationals clearing six feet even to earn All-American honors.
She maintained a 3.66 PGA in the classroom and will continue her track and field career at the University of Nebraska this coming fall.
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Copyright 2024 KNOP. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Pillen officially announces intent to call special session for Nebraska tax reform
![Pillen officially announces intent to call special session for Nebraska tax reform](https://gray-wowt-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/IBXS3S7P6BC2DNXCKBS63ZM5IE.jpeg?auth=00307d3ab2209da92735a473983f3f823ecda558fc486288eae5478d6dd874cd&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen took the next step in securing a special session in the state’s legislature this summer.
Gov. Pillen on Tuesday sent a letter to Speaker John Arch, officially announcing his plans to call senators back to Lincoln on July 25. The purpose of the session is to make more headway on addressing property taxes in Nebraska.
“In my sine die address in April, I stated that I would call a special session this summer to facilitate another opportunity for us to meet Nebraskans’ demand that their elected leaders fix this crisis now,” read the Governor’s letter, in part. “I have traveled extensively across the state since the Legislature adjourned and have heard from a wide range of people. Their message is clear: stop this massive overall tax increase by fixing property taxes.”
Gov. Pillen has been hosting town halls across the state over the past two months since the legislative session ended, working to educate Nebraskans on what he calls a “tax crisis.”
He still has several of those meetings planned:
Wednesday, June 26
1:30 p.m. (CT) Columbus: Columbus Chamber of Commerce, 753 33rd Ave, Columbus
Thursday, June 27
10:00 a.m. (CT) Valentine: Mid Plains Community College, 715 E Hwy 20, Valentine
1:00 p.m. (MT) Chadron: Chadron State College, Student Center – Lakota Room, 1000 Main Street, Chadron
4:30 p.m. (MT) Alliance: Westside Events Center, 2472 County Road 62, Alliance
Friday, June 28
8:30 a.m. (MT) Ogallala: Petrified Wood Gallery, 418 East 1st Street, Ogallala
1:00 p.m. (CT) McCook: Coppermill Steakhouse, 202 Coppermill St., McCook
4:00 p.m. (CT) Lexington: Central Community College – The Opportunity Center, 1501 Plum Creek Pkwy, Lexington
Along with slashing property taxes, Gov. Pillen also wants to ensure that the legislature knows he will call a special session regarding other “unfinished business” leftover from the 2024 legislative session, which could include Nebraska’s move to a “winner-take-all” state during elections.
Copyright 2024 WOWT. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Nebraska Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 2.5% in May
![Nebraska Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 2.5% in May](https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/2741/files/2021/04/ne-dept-of-labor.png)
Nebraska’s unemployment rate in May was unchanged at a seasonally adjusted rate of 2.5%. That rate is unchanged from September 2023 and up 0.4% from May 2023.
Nebraska’s rate is the fourth lowest in the nation. The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2024 is 4.0 percent, up 0.1 percentage points from the April 2024 rate of 3.9 percent and up 0.3 percentage points from the May 2023 rate of 3.7 percent.
“Nebraska’s total nonfarm employment has been on an upward trajectory since February and reached an all-time high in May at 1,077,200,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin. “Omaha’s leisure and hospitality industry saw a large gain over the month, with all the metro areas reaching record highs in total nonfarm employment.”
Further details are available here
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