SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) — A judge has upheld the conviction and sentencing of a western Nebraska police chief who didn’t pursue a criminal case against a city official.

Court records say Judge Travis O’Gorman of Cheyenne County District Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by Sidney Police Chief B.J. Wilkinson.

State prosecutors say Wilkinson failed to pursue criminal charges against city Public Works Director John Hehnke after Hehnke’s ex-girlfriend filed a complaint in January 2014 against Hehnke. The case came to the attention of state prosecutors, who later charged Hehnke.

Wilkinson’s attorney, Thomas Sonntag, said in court Monday that Wilkinson’s 30-day jail sentence was unfairly tough when compared to Hehnke’s $300 fine for disturbing the peace.

O’Gorman says Wilkinson abused his power by failing to uphold and enforce the law.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The developer of the Keystone XL pipeline is reversing course in Nebraska and will drop its eminent domain lawsuits against landowners who don’t want the pipeline running through their property.

TransCanada Inc. announced Tuesday that it will stop pushing for the project under a state law that’s now being challenged in the courts.

The company says it will instead seek approval through the Nebraska Public Service Commission, an agency that regulates pipelines, warehouses and grain bins.

TransCanada won approval from former Gov. Dave Heineman, but the state law that allowed him to do so remains mired in court. TransCanada spokesman Mark Cooper says the company believes that applying through the commission will reduce the local conflicts.

Jane Kleeb, a leading pipeline opponent, says the company was losing ground in Nebraska.

North Platte Police say they have made an arrest after a North Platte man was seriously injured by a homemade explosive device.

At around 1:00 a.m., on September 15, officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to the emergency room at Great Plains Health, where a 24-year-old male was being treated for a serious injury to his hand.  Staff at the hospital told police the injury was caused by a homemade explosive device.

Officer met with the victim, who told them that he and another 26-year-old male had been riding in a van with Daniel Smith.

The victim alleged that as they traveled down East Philip Street, in between Bicentennial Street and Newberry Access, Smith lit the fuse on a pipe bomb type explosive device and handed it to him.

The victim said Smith told him to throw it out the window of the vehicle.

According to the victim, and the other passenger, the device exploded before the victim was able to throw it out the window, instead, police say the device detonated in the victim’s hand, causing serious injury to his hand and wrist.

Smith then transported the victim to the hospital and fled the scene.

Officers soon located the vehicle, which had sustained damage to the windshield and several other areas, and towed it to a secure facility.

On September 28, an officer met with Smith, who was being held at the Lincoln County Detention Center on unrelated charges, and questioned him regarding this case.

After further investigation, Smith was arrested and charged with felony 2nd-degree assault and felony use of an explosive device to commit a felony.

Smith remains in custody at the LCDC