Free Republic

Jean Stothert made it look easy. The Republican City Councilwoman made history tonight as the first woman ever elected Omaha mayor. "Oh, what a ride this has been," Stothert told supporters Tuesday night. She thanked Suttle and said he'd pledged his help during the transition. "Campaigns are very competitive and ours was no exception," she said. "And yet I've always thought of him as an incredibly hard worker." Stothert entered the race as the frontrunner and never ceded her woman-to-beat status. She held a commanding vote lead even in early returns released from the Douglas County Election Commissioner.

There's no question that Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle had a rough primary election last week. But despite his weak showing, Suttle still has a chance to catch up to front-runner Jean Stothert. A World-Herald analysis of the primary numbers as well as results from the 2009 mayoral elections and the 2011 recall vote suggest that Suttle still has a path to retaining the Mayor's Office. But the same analysis shows that Suttle's margin for error is slim. And it's also possible that differences between 2009 and 2013 will allow Stothert to hold off any late Suttle charge to the finish...

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle wants Iowa to consider raising the elevation of Interstate 680 just east of Omaha to avoid the type of flood damage that struck the roadway this year. He also asked the Iowa Transportation Commission to consider doing the same for parts of flood-affected Interstate 29. The mayor addressed a commission meeting Tuesday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Council Bluffs. Suttle said western Iowa relies on Eppley Airfield in Omaha, just as Omaha relies on the Interstate system in Iowa.

OMAHA, Neb. -- KETV NewsWatch 7 has learned that Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine will ask the Nebraska State Patrol to investigate Forward Omaha -- the group opposing the recall of Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle. Kleine tells KETV NewsWatch 7 he wants investigators to look into the allegations of voter fraud, connected with Wednesday's effort to bus homeless people to vote and then paying them to train as election workers. Kleine said it's important that people in Omaha believe in the election process. Suttle's office called the Forward Omaha effort unfortunate and a mistake. Stay with KETV NewsWatch 7 for...

PALMDALE - Florida's loss may turn out to be Palmdale's gain, if space shuttle facilities damaged by Hurricane Frances cause some operations to be transferred back to The Boeing Co.'s Palmdale plant. Among the billions of dollars of damage caused when Hurricane Frances slammed into Florida last week was NASA's Kennedy Space Center, home to the nation's space shuttle fleet and launch operations. The Thermal Protection System facility, where space shuttle tile and blankets are manufactured, suffered significant damage. Work is under way to recover critical spaceflight material, such as tile molds, from exposed areas. The damage could mean finding...