LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s chief justice says the state is detaining fewer juveniles and providing more with community-based treatment services in an effort to keep them from reoffending.

Justice Michael Heavican highlighted the progress Thursday in his annual State of the Judiciary address to lawmakers. But he warned that rural areas still face a shortage of mental health and substance abuse treatment providers.

Many of the changes came through a law passed in 2013 that allows juveniles to access treatment services without becoming state wards.

Heavican says the state has seen a nearly 12 percent reduction in juveniles detained over the last six months. Out-of-home placements declined by nearly 8 percent during that same period. Heavican says the trend represents a significant step toward keeping youths near their families and support groups.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A survey shows some bankers had a dire view of the rural economy in their 10 Western and Plains states.

A report released Thursday says January’s Rural Mainstreet Index plunged to 34.8 from 41.5 in December. It’s the lowest overall index figure since August 2009. Survey officials say any score below 50 on any of the survey’s indexes suggests that factor will decline.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the monthly survey of rural bankers and says it’s the fifth straight month for a decline. He again blames lower prices for agriculture and energy commodities and downturns in manufacturing.

The farmland and ranchland price index dropped to 23.9 in January from December’s 28.8

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

BRIDGEPORT, Neb. (AP) — Two men have been fined and given probation for killing 25 antelopes in a western Nebraska field and leaving the carcasses to rot.

Twenty-four-year-old Taylor Mueller and 21-year-old Brent Hoerler pleaded guilty to several misdemeanor counts, including hunting without a permit and wanton waste. They were sentenced Wednesday in Morrill County Court to 18 months of probation and were fined $950 each.

Authorities say the antelope were illegally shot and killed in a wheat field in early November. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission officials discovered the animals while checking area residents’ reports about the killings.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska’s governing board would no longer disclose the names of four finalists when selecting a new president but would require a vetting period for its one “priority candidate” under a bill in the Legislature.

Sen. John Murante of Gretna introduced the measure Wednesday at the request of Regent Howard Hawks, who says the state’s disclosure requirements prevent good candidates from applying.

The bill would allow the disclosure of a single “priority candidate” for president or chancellor, who would then be subject to a 30-day public vetting period before the regents could take action. The candidate’s name, application materials, letters of reference and school transcripts would be made public.

Open-government advocates have argued that competing finalists should be willing to face public scrutiny.