Nebraska

Judge rejects plea to drop charges against former History Nebraska director | Nebraska Examiner

Published

2 years ago

February 26, 2024

Judge rejects plea to drop charges against former History Nebraska director | Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — A Lancaster County judge has rejected a request by former History Nebraska Director Trevor Jones to dismiss the felony theft charge he faces.

District Judge Susan Strong, in an eight-page decision released Monday, ruled that the State of Nebraska had provided enough evidence to show that the case against Jones should proceed to trial.

Jones, through his attorney, John Ball of Lincoln, had contested a recent decision to bind his case over from county court for a trial, prompting a hearing before Strong a month ago.

The judge ruled that state prosecutors had met their burden of providing “probable cause” that a crime had been committed.

The headquarters of History Nebraska (formerly called the Nebraska State Historical Society) is just north of downtown Lincoln. The agency changed its name to History Nebraska in 2018. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)

Jones, 51, faces up to 20 years in prison for felony theft by deception, a charge that was spawned by a critical state audit in 2022 — an audit first reported by the Examiner.

Jones, who resigned shortly before that audit came out, is accused of redirecting about $270,000 in funds provided by the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation to cover financial losses caused by COVID-19.

Instead of depositing the fund with the state treasurer, as required, Jones deposited the funds into a private foundation he had helped create, to bolster its accounts.

Money never used for intended purpose

Investigators also testified that the funds were never used for their intended purpose — to cover lost revenue due to the pandemic.

Jones, according to court files, has maintained that he was directed to deposit the funds into the newly created History Nebraska Foundation by the executive committee of the History Nebraska Board of Trustees.

The former director also argued that he had full discretion on how to spend the money, a contention disputed by the donor of the funds, which were provided, at Jones’ request, for the purpose of covering financial losses caused by the closing of history museums during the pandemic.

Corey O’Brien, a chief prosecutor in the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, has maintained that Jones either lied about his intended use of the money or failed to correct a false impression in order to get the $270,000 donated.

Enough evidence to bind over for a trial

Judge Strong, in her ruling, said that “the evidence supports the inference that defendant knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully obtained the funds by deception.”

“This evidence is sufficient to establish probable cause to believe that the Defendant committed the crime of theft by deception,” she added.

Jones’ stint at History Nebraska director covered six years and was marked by efforts to modernize the agency’s collections, but also by employees’ complaints about unnecessary and heavy-handed supervision of their work.

He also spatted with the long-established Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation, a spat that prompted him eventually to establish a new replacement to raise funds, the History Nebraska Foundation.

A bill is pending in the Nebraska Legislature to end History Nebraska’s status as an independent state agency and put it under the governor’s director. Debate on Legislative Bill 1169 has not yet been scheduled.

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Nebraska

‘Best we’ve played all year.’ Trent Perry scores 20 points as UCLA routs No. 9 Nebraska

Published

12 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

‘Best we’ve played all year.’ Trent Perry scores 20 points as UCLA routs No. 9 Nebraska

The UCLA men’s basketball team made Senior Night one to savor Tuesday, dominating No. 9 Nebraska 72-52 at Pauley Pavilion for its 20th victory of the season and third over a top-10 ranked opponent.

The Bruins improved to 20-10 overall and 12-7 in the Big Ten with one regular season game remaining, Saturday at crosstown rival USC.

Trent Perry scored 20 points, Eric Dailey Jr. had 14 and three players — Tyler Bilodeau, Skyy Clark and Xavier Booker — each added eight points.

“Nebraska’s got a great team,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “This is the best we’ve played all year — they brought out the best in us. We went from our worst defensive effort to our best. They outhustle everyone they play, but not us. Tonight we were great, but I love the way they play. If we had their attitude we’d have their record.”

Eric Freeny had four points, five rebounds and three steals in 18 minutes for UCLA, which got 26 points in the paint and 17 second-chance points.

“Effort is what it takes to win in March,” Freeny said. “It was our last home game. Coach keeps on pushing me to be better everyday.”

Sam Hoiberg had 12 points to lead Nebraska, but Pryce Sandfort, who began the game leading the conference in three-pointers made per game, was held to nine points.

“Sandford has been unbelievable so to hold him to nine points is amazing,” Cronin said. “Brandon Williams was the unsung hero.”

Williams had six points and three rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.

The Bruins were in control from the opening tip-off and never trailed the Cornhuskers (25-5, 14-5). UCLA improved to 10-3 in all-time against Nebraska and the win greatly strengthened its resume for the NCAA tournament as the Bruins also beat then-No. 4 Purdue 69-67 on Jan. 20 and then-No. 10 Illinois 95-94 in overtime on Feb. 21 on Donovan Dent’s layup with one second left.

“We have to take attitude we came with tonight, bottle it up and take it on the road,” Dailey Jr. said. “We’ve got so much left. The season’s not over… we’re only as good as our last game. It’s all about how you respond. I love the fight that we played with tonight.”

This is the fifth time in Cronin’s seven seasons that the Bruins have won 20 or more games. They are 17-1 at home (their only loss in overtime to Indiana on Jan. 31).

“Since I’ve been here we don’t lose much at home.” Cronin said.

UCLA went ahead by 15 points, 37-22, on Perry’s three-pointer with 2:41 left and led 37-24 at intermission. The Bruins shot 50% from the field in the first half (15 for 30) while Nebraska was only 31% (nine for 29).

The Bruins increased their advantage to 18 points on Dailey’s dunk less than five minutes into the second half and the visitors got no closer than nine the rest of the way.

Prior to pregame introductions the Bruins honored seniors Bilodeau, Dent and Clark; fifth-year player Jamar Brown; redshirt seniors Steven Jamerson II, Jack Seidler and Anthony Peoples Jr; and redshirt junior Evan Manjikian. In a media timeout, midway through the first half, former coach Jim Harrick (who led UCLA to its 11th national championship in 1995) was honored and got a loud ovation.

“I’m happy for our seniors, I didn’t want them to lose their last game at Pauley,” said Perry, who reversed a subpar performance at Minnesota, where he was 0-for-7 from the field with one rebound and one assist in 26 minutes. “I had to come out here tonight and bounce back for my team. I play for something bigger than myself and I’m fortunate to have the type of guys I do around me.”

UCLA guard Skyy Clark looks to pass while under pressure from Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg and forward Berke Buyuktuncel in the second half.

(William Liang / Associated Press)

Over the last four games, Dent has 46 assists and just two turnovers.

Bilodeau has scored in double figures in 26 of 28 games played, totaling 20 points or more nine times.

Dailey moved to within five points of reaching the 1,000-career point milestone.

UCLA has now made at least one three-pointer in 887 of 888 games dating to February 2000.

“We had one practice this week, that’s it,” Cronin said. “We watched film, had a heart-to-heart talk and a shoot around today but that’s it.”

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Nebraska

4.1-magnitude earthquake hits south-central Nebraska

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

4.1-magnitude earthquake hits south-central Nebraska

People across Nebraska and Kansas reported feeling an earthquake Sunday afternoon.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a quake measuring 4.1 on the Richter Scale struck around 1 p.m. about 3 miles east of the Webster County village of Cowles, which is in south-central Nebraska near the Kansas border.

A quake of that magnitude is considered “light” and not likely to cause damage.

But the USGS received dozens of reports from people who said they felt the quake, some as far away as Omaha and Manhattan, Kansas. Numerous people took to social media to report feeling the quake.

Two aftershocks of 2.6 magnitude later occurred near the original quake site, one about 90 minutes after the initial quake and one later Sunday night.

Earthquakes are relatively rare in Nebraska, but the state does usually record one or two minor ones per year. The last time Nebraska recorded a quake of a magnitude 4 or above was in December 2023, also in Webster County.

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Nebraska

Nebraska Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on March 2, 2026

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Monday, March 2, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 2.

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing

7-5-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-09-17-25

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning 2 By 2 numbers from March 2 drawing

Red Balls: 14-26, White Balls: 17-18

Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning MyDay numbers from March 2 drawing

Month: 05, Day: 03, Year: 23

Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing

28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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