LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are once again looking at a bill that would prevent the state from splitting its electoral votes, as it did for Democrat Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race.

Sen. John Murante of Gretna argued to a legislative committee Thursday that his proposal would allow the state to speak with one voice in presidential elections.

The bill is backed by the Nebraska Republican Party and GOP elected leaders. Opponents say it reduces the incentive for Omaha-area voters to participate in elections in the overwhelmingly rural, conservative state.

Nebraska and Maine are the only states where it’s possible to divide electoral votes between opposing presidential candidates in a general election. Nebraska did so for the first time with Obama, who won the 2nd congressional district in 2008.

Two North Platte men are facing felony charges after an altercation at a party involving minors and alcohol.

At around 1:00 a.m., on March 4, deputies with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office responded to the emergency room at Great Plains Health where a man was being treated for injuries allegedly sustained in an assault.

Deputies met with the man who stated that he had been assaulted by “a bunch of people” while he was at a party on Platte Valley Road.  He reported that the suspects used stereo equipment and furniture to assault him.

Authorities investigated further and learned that the party was located at 8461 West Platte Valley Road, just west of North Platte. However, when deputies arrived, the party was over.

Following further investigation, deputies learned that the alleged victim, 20-year-old Terrence Alexander, was instead a suspect in the altercation.

On March 9, Alexander was arrested and charged with terroristic threats and use of a weapon to commit a felony, both felonies, and disturbing the peace.  Chief Deputy Roland Kramer said witnesses reported seeing Alexander display a large caliber semi-automatic pistol just prior to the altercation.

Also arrested was 19-year-old Jobie Loving.  Kramer says investigators determined that Loving was also involved in the altercation. He’s been charged with first-degree assault, a felony, and disturbing the peace.

Both men were jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

The investigation is ongoing.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are moving forward with a new effort to try to fix problems in a tiny village that sells millions of cans each year next to a South Dakota Indian reservation.

Senators gave first-round approval Thursday to a bill that would create a legislative task force to examine the public health problems in Whiteclay, a town blamed for fueling alcoholism on the neighboring Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Whiteclay’s four beer stores sold the equivalent of 3.5 million cans of beer in 2015, despite having only about a dozen residents.

Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln says she introduced the bill because the problem has festered for too long. Pansing Brooks worked with Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe whose district includes Whiteclay.

TECUMSEH, Neb. (AP) — A corrections staffer has been accused of exchanging unauthorized emails with a Tecumseh prison inmate.

Online court records say 28-year-old Chelsea Guiffre (GUHF’-ree) is charged with unlawful acts by a corrections employee.

Guiffre told Judge Steven Timm that she wanted to enter a plea Wednesday of not guilty. But Timm told her he wouldn’t take her plea until after she’d been able to meet with a lawyer.

Corrections spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith said Thursday that Guiffre has been suspended without pay from her job as a case manager at the Tecumseh prison.

A court affidavit says Guiffre used the name Gemma Jansen to exchange emails with inmate Troy Giles, who’s serving a sentence of 15 to 20 years for an assault in Douglas County.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Employees of billionaire Warren Buffett’s company will again have the chance to win as much as $1 million a year for life if they can correctly guess the sweet 16 of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

The contest is open only to the more than 350,000 employees of the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate Buffett leads.

Winning that top prize is difficult because upsets routinely happen in the NCAA tournament.

But Berkshire will also offer a $100,000 prize for the person with the bracket that remains perfect the longest.

If more than one person ties in the contest the prize will be split. For instance, last year two people tied and each received $50,000.

Berkshire owns more than 90 companies, including Geico insurance, BNSF railroad, See’s Candy and Fruit of the Loom.