LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts says his administration is still pursuing lethal injection drugs for executions but will not decide how to proceed until state officials verify the signatures on a petition to keep capital punishment legal.

Ricketts said Tuesday that he first wants to ensure that Nebraskans for the Death Penalty has collected enough valid voter signatures to prevent the law from being repealed.

Nebraska lawmakers voted in May to abolish the death penalty, overriding the governor’s veto. Death penalty supporters responded with the petition drive that sought to halt the repeal before it went into effect and place the issue before voters in 2016.

The group announced last week that it had collected nearly 167,000 signatures. At least 113,883 valid signatures are needed to suspend the repeal.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts has unveiled a new way to track the performance of Nebraska’s economy, education, public safety, health and welfare.

Ricketts announced Tuesday that the state will list various rankings on a public website to show Nebraska’s strengths and areas that need improvement.

Ricketts, a former TD Ameritrade executive, says the new tool is part of his push to apply business principles to state government. The governor says data on the page will be tracked and updated regularly to show trends.

The page ranks Nebraska among the top 10 states for its low unemployment, high labor force participation and high school graduation rates, but low when it comes to employment growth and average annual wages.

The webpage is https://governor.nebraska.gov/statistics .

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge in North Dakota is giving attorneys until Tuesday night to file briefs arguing the scope of his injunction blocking a new Obama administration water rule.

U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson last week issued a temporary injunction requested by North Dakota and 12 other states to stop the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers from regulating some small waterways under the Clean Water Act.

The EPA says the injunction applied only to the 13 states that filed the lawsuit. Attorneys for the 13 states say the judge’s ruling has “nationwide scope.”

The states say the regulation is an overreach by the federal government. The federal agencies say the rule clarifies the law and actually makes it easier for the states to manage some waterways.

University of Michigan researchers say more U.S. college students are making a habit of using marijuana.

A study released Tuesday found that pot supplanted cigarettes last year as the smoke-able substance of choice among full-time undergraduates who light up regularly.

Just under 6 percent of full-time students surveyed for the annual “Monitoring the Future” study reported using marijuana at least 20 times in the previous 30 days, a frequency the researchers said made them daily or near-daily users.

By contrast, 5 percent of respondents indicated they smoked cigarettes that often.

Lead investigator Lloyd Johnston says 2014 marked the first time the study found that pot was consumed more routinely than cigarettes in the three-and-a-half decades that the university’s Institute for Social Research has surveyed a nationally representative sample of college students.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An August survey suggests there will be little or no economic growth over the next three months in a nine-state region of the Midwest and Plains.

A report issued Tuesday says the overall Mid-American Business Conditions Index dropped to 49.6, compared with 50.6 in July.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and South Dakota companies reported growth last month, but businesses in Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and Oklahoma reported less economic activity,

The survey results from supply managers are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests economic growth. A score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

A vehicle-pedestrian accident on Monday, August 31, in Lexington, Dawson County, claimed the life of a Lexington woman and critically injured an infant.

Alejandra Zamora, 32, of Lexington was killed and Eileen Arredondo, a female infant she was pushing in a stroller, was critically injured after they were struck by a vehicle. The accident occurred just after dark on North Taft Road near East 13th Street, on the west edge of Lexington.

Troopers, responding to the call just before 9:00 p.m., report the accident occurred when Zamora, along with the infant’s mother, Cindy Arredondo, 24, Lexington, were walking with the infant in a stroller south along N. Taft Road when they were struck by southbound 2007 Chevy Trailblazer.

Zamora, who is the infant’s aunt, was transported to the Lexington Regional Health Center, where she died of her injuries. The female infant, 2 month old Eileen Arredondo after being transported to the local hospital was flown by medical helicopter to Children’s Hospital in Omaha with critical injuries. The infant’s mother, Cindy Arredondo, was not injured.

The driver of the vehicle, Krystal J. Saunders, 25, Lexington, was not injured.

The investigation into the cause of the accident continues. The Nebraska State Patrol was assisted by the Lexington Police Department, Dawson County Sheriff’s Office and Lexington Fire & Rescue.