One person is under arrest following an ICE operation in Columbus, Nebraska. Police say ICE agents were in Columbus and the Platte County area yesterday to contact people who had failed to comply with a previous deportation order. Columbus police announced yesterday afternoon that the ICE operation was complete and one person, who was a convicted sex offender who had been previously deported, had been apprehended.
The U.S. Treasury Department says an audit finding Governor Kim Reynolds improperly spent COVID money to boost her employees salaries is not supported. State Auditor Rob Sand's office produced the report five years ago, stating the governor should pay back the nearly half-a-million dollars in COVID relief money spent on salaries and bonuses for her staff. The new Treasury Department report says the spending was justified as the employees were dedicated to responding to the pandemic. Sand, who is the Democratic Party candidate for Iowa Governor says he stands by the report.
Criminal charges have been announced for four Nebraska suspects in connection to alleged schemes to defraud Medicare and Medicaid. The charges are part of the DOJ's national health care fraud takedown. Two suspects were charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering after submitting false claims that resulted in more than 975-thousand dollars in overpayments. A third suspect is charged with false statements in connection with health care services she didn't provide, costing Nebraska Medicaid more than 92-thousand dollars. Meanwhile, a fourth suspect is accused of billing products that patients never got, leading to the submission of false claims and other insurers that totaled around 445-thousand dollars.
A construction milestone is reached in the construction of a water park in Bellevue. Crews installed the final rafter for the last vertical piece of the project yesterday. The water park, which will be the fourth largest in the country, will include water slides, a lazy river, a swim-up bar and a retractable roof when it opens by the end of 2027.
Former University of Nebraska men's basketball player Rienk Mast is headed to the NBA. Mast has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Indiana Pacers. Mast averaged 13-point-three points and five-point-eight rebounds per game for the Huskers this past season. Former Nebraska point guard Sam Hoiberg is reportedly getting an NBA opportunity. That's according to The Stein Line insider Jake Fischer, who says Hoiberg "intends to sign" an undrafted free agent deal with the Phoenix Suns. He previously led Nebraska to its most successful season in program history, culminating in the school's first two wins at the NCAA Tournament in March. Hoiberg had started all 35-games as a senior, averaging nine-point-three points per game.