LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Agriculture Department is offering $100,000 in grants to help Nebraska farmers create habitat for monarch butterflies.

Nebraska farmers and ranchers have until March 18 to apply for funding.

State Wildlife Biologist Ritch Nelson says monarch butterflies are becoming less common in Nebraska because their total population has declined significantly over the past 20 years.

The butterflies, like honey bees, play an important role in nature of helping pollinate plants.

In addition to the grants, experts will advise farmers on planting milkweed and nectar-rich plans in buffer areas between fields or around wetlands and in pastures.

NEW YORK (AP) — Labrador retrievers still reign supreme after a quarter century as America’s most prevalent purebred dog. But French bulldogs are riding their je ne sais quoi toward new heights, and some lesser-known breeds are climbing the popularity ladder.

That’s according to the American Kennel Club, which released its annual breed rankings Monday.

Labs have held the top spot for longer than any other breed since the AKC started counting in the 1880s.

German shepherds, golden retrievers, bulldogs and beagles fill out the top five. After that come French bulldogs, Yorkshire terriers, poodles, Rottweilers and boxers.

AKC Vice President Gina DiNardo says the list shows Americans “like easy-to-care-for, fun family dogs,” whether big or small.

The rankings reflect puppies and other newly registered dogs belonging to some 184 AKC-recognized breeds.

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks is changing the terms of its rewards program so that people who just get a regular cup of coffee will have to spend significantly more to earn a freebie.

The Seattle-based coffee chain says its loyalty program will award stars based on the dollars spent starting in April. Currently, people earn a star for each transaction, regardless of how much they spend, and get a free food or item of their choice after earning 12 stars.

People will now have to earn 125 stars for a free item, with each dollar spent being worth two stars — meaning they have to spend $62.50 to get their free item. That means that people who now spend around $5 or less per visit are losing out.

For instance, someone who regularly gets a $2 regular drip coffee would currently earn a free item after spending around $24 over 12 visits. Someone who gets a large latte for $4.45 currently spends around $53.40 over a dozen visits before getting a free item.

Still, Starbucks Corp. says the change is the No. 1 request among loyalty program members and predicts it will lead to higher spending by customers eager to earn more stars.

In a call with analysts, Starbucks Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ryan said the vast majority of customers will earn rewards at an equal or better rate with the change. Without providing details, he said a “small minority” of customers will earn rewards at a slower pace.

The change is not an opportunity to “opaquely reduce” the value of the program, Ryan said.

The current rewards system can also increase waiting times in store lines, Ryan said, because some people try to get additional stars by asking to ring up multiple items separately. Such instances account for 1 percent of all transactions, he said.

The change comes as Starbucks has been pushing to get more people signed up for its My Starbucks Rewards program. Loyalty members spend three times as much as non-members, and help push up profit, according to the company.

Last month, Starbucks said it had 11.1 million loyalty program members in the U.S., up 23 percent from the previous year.

The coming change will not benefit customers such as Vincent Fiorese, who works in construction management and spends less than $3 on a cup of coffee whenever he goes to work. But Fiorese said it wouldn’t deter him from getting his coffee.

“It sucks, but what am I going to do,” he said.

O’NEILL, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the fatal stabbing of a 37-year-old woman in O’Neill.

Officers were sent to an O’Neill residence around 9 p.m. Saturday to investigate a stabbing. The woman and a man found there were taken to Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital in O’Neill. The woman soon was pronounced dead at the hospital. Her name hasn’t been released. An autopsy has been ordered.

There’s been no word on the man’s injuries, and his name hasn’t been released.

No arrests have been reported.