OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Colorado man has been given five years of probation for a tractor sale scheme in Nebraska.

Federal prosecutors say 63-year-old Benedict Palen Jr., of Denver, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Omaha. He was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service and pay the remaining unpaid restitution of $2,500.

Prosecutors say Palen, acting through his company, Great Plains Farms, sold a tractor in September 2012 to a party in Holdrege, Nebraska, and to someone in North Dakota. Investigators say the tractor actually was sold in 2011 by Palen to a company in Florida.

Prosecutors say Palen also sold a different tractor to someone in Bertrand, Nebraska, that also had been sold to the Florida company.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services has launched a children and families crisis response program that the governor says will help families navigate the behavioral health system.

Officials say the initiative announced Monday aims to connect a family with a mental health professional, either at home or online, within an hour of calling for help. A therapist would talk with all family members to de-escalate the situation, figure out a safety plan and refer them to other resources.

The behavioral health system Gov. Pete Ricketts says the initiative will help is supported by a $12 million, four-year grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Health and Human Services official Sheri Dawson says the grant means families won’t have to pay for crisis response services.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers have passed an $8.9 billion, two-year state budget after a showdown over state spending and tax collections.

The budget would increase spending by an average of 1.1 percent annually, well below the historical average, starting July 1. The final-round vote on Tuesday followed a contentious debate among lawmakers, some of whom argued that more cuts were needed.

Lawmakers began the session with a projected revenue shortfall of nearly $900 million. They balanced the budget with a combination of cuts, withdrawals from the state’s rainy-day fund and tapping money from various cash accounts.

Some senators say the budget could force the Legislature into a special session in which lawmakers might have to consider sharper cuts or tax increases.

Gov. Pete Ricketts has voiced concerns about parts of the budget.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — Two parents have been given 300 days in jail for child abuse in western Nebraska’s Lincoln County.

Online court records say 59-year-old James Burditt and 34-year-old Deborah Burditt were sentenced Monday. They both pleaded no contest to felony intentional child abuse after prosecutors dropped other charges.

The Burditts had a baby boy with special needs, including a feeding tube. A prosecutor said at a March plea hearing that the boy’s health seemed to decline rather than improve and that he missed appointments at an Omaha hospital. On Monday prosecutor Tanya Roberts-Connick said the boy is thriving since being removed from his parents’ home.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A city council candidate who finished a distant second in the Omaha primary election has been sentenced for threatening his mother.

Thirty-one-year-old D’Shawn Cunningham had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault after prosecutors lowered the charge from a felony. Prosecutors say he threatened his mother and other family members in an August letter. The mother was granted a protection order.

On Monday, the day before Omaha’s general election, Cass County District Judge Michael Smith decided the 15 days Cunningham spent in jail after being charged was enough. Smith sentenced him to time served.

Cunningham finished second with 10.6 percent of the votes April 4, beating the other challengers to incumbent Chris Jerram in Omaha’s 3rd District. Jerram won 66 percent of the votes and advanced to Tuesday’s general election with Cunningham.