State leaders have announced details of the biggest drug bust in Nebraska history. This comes after over 50-million dollars worth of marijuana, THC products and mushrooms were seized during a traffic stop on I-80 earlier this month. The products weighed just under 20-thousand pounds. Col. Bryan Waugh praised the troopers of the NSP, saying they've been "looking beyond the typical traffic stops for indicators of criminal activity."
Federal and state officials are in Omaha to talk about Nebraska's disaster recovery efforts. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts are set to sit down with FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton for a roundtable. Later in the day, they'll will meet with the family of Sarah Root, a Bellevue University graduate killed in 2016 by an undocumented driver in Omaha. Root's family is also set to met with investigators from HSI who worked on the case.
Costs for Iowans and Nebraskans are still on the rise. Midwest inflation rose to three-point-six-percent in August, the highest reading for the month since before the pandemic. A study by the Common Sense Institute estimates housing, transportation and food costs alone have risen by just over 200-dollars a month since 2020.Consumer prices are up more than 30-percent in the past six years. Midwest inflation has now outpaced the national rate for seven consecutive months.
While Iowans settle into cooler, fall-like weather, the state is setting its sights on winter. The Iowa Department of Transportation wants to hire more than 500 snow plow drivers this year. The department is holding job fairs in six cities across the state this month in hopes of recruiting enough snow plow operators for the upcoming winter. Job seekers will be able to apply on site, meet DOT staff and ask questions.
Construction is underway on a new casino in Council Bluffs. Officials broke ground yesterday on the Hollywood Casino Hotel. The 200-million-dollar project will replace the Ameristar Riverboat Casino, which has been in operation since the mid 1990s. The casino is scheduled to open in 2028.
A court hearing is held for a man who is accused of bringing an explosive in his bag through the security checkpoint at Eppley Airfield. Che Salpas was arrested after the four-inch explosive passed through a TSA checkpoint at the airport on September 5th.Salpas told the court that he did not put the item in his carry-on bag, and that his father mistakenly put it in his bag. A federal magistrate ruled that Salpas is not a risk, and Salpas was allowed to return home to Oregon with conditions.