Iowa will receive about two-point-four-million dollars as part of a multi-state settlement with pesticide producer Corteva. The case argued that Corteva's loyalty program violated existing monopoly laws. The state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission say Corteva paid distributors to limit sales of generic, less expensive pesticides produced by competitors, allowing Corteva to maintain higher prices for its products. The company agreed to a 35-million-dollar settlement.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has been awarded a five-million dollar TRIO grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The funds will be used to expand college access services for low-income and first-generation students. The university will receive around one-million dollars annually over the next five years for its Talent Search programming, with the number of middle and high school students served moving from 950 to about two-thousand. Nebraska was selected through a highly competitive grant process that attracted more than 725 applications nationwide.
The FBI is looking for potential victims of an Omaha travel agent accused of financial fraud. Investigators say Connie Seastedt is believed to have targeted travel clients through her business, Captivating Travels by Connie. The case follows complaints from customers who say they lost thousands of dollars on trips that were never booked or were later canceled. The FBI is asking anyone who believes they may have been affected to come forward.
Authorities have recovered a body from the Missouri River in Cass County. Emergency crews were called Saturday morning for a report of a possible person floating in the water. Deputies with the CCSO, along with multiple other agencies, responded and located the body in the river. The identity has not been determined, and an autopsy has been scheduled for a later date.
The Omaha City Council is set to consider a redevelopment agreement for the old grain silos on Vinton Street. The plan calls for tearing down a section of the silos and replacing them with more than 230 rentable apartments and townhomes. The redevelopment project is expected to cost more than 56-million-dollars.
Ralston Public Schools is increasing its transportation budget. Officials say rising diesel prices are a factor in the district raising its transportation budget by about five percent. According to Triple-A, diesel fuel prices in Nebraska have increased by 80 percent over the past year.