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Patrick Kopke must repay $158,170

Judge Andrew Butler ordered Patrick Kopke, the former State Fair finance director, to pay back the $160,000 stolen from the Nebraska State Fair.

Nebraska governor Pete Ricketts enacted a hospital staffing emergency in the state. Ricketts says the problem does come from a list of issues: staff

From missing State Fair money to multiple shootings to sexual assaults of teens, 2020 was an unusual year for stories from the crime and courts beat at the Grand Island Independent. 1. Former Nebraska State Fair Chief Financial Officer Patrick Kopke was charged with stealing money from the Fair in 2019. In November, Kopke pleaded not guilty to three theft charges in Hall County District Court. Kopke, 29, is charged with three counts of theft by unlawful taking totaling $5,000 or more, which is a Class IIA felony, in February, July 12 and Sept. 3. Kopke resigned from his job in November 2019. ...

A months-long feud between State Fair board members came to a head Friday during the group's monthly meeting. Board members voted to approve what was described as a "conservative" budget for 2021, but not before board Chairwoman Beth Smith of Lincoln and board member Jeremy Jensen argued about whether the budget process had been transparent enough. Jensen, a former Grand Island mayor who was appointed in 2019 as the city's representative on the board, said he felt the proposed budget should have been discussed more extensively in a public session before being voted on. Jensen contended that h...