OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Midland University is looking for innovative ways to boost enrollment, including offering scholarships in sports programs such as shotgun and powerlifting, and even esports.

The university is recruiting students with scholarships in 32 competitive activities. Administrators say it’s the largest number of varsity activities offered by any Nebraska college. Midland is also planning to give each student an iPad and an Apple Pencil next fall.

Midland’s president, Jody Horner, says the college must be “relentlessly relevant” to today’s students. The university’s enrollment has grown from 640 in 2009 to nearly 1,400 in 2018.

Sophomore nursing student Joe Peña is a super-heavyweight powerlifter who was recruited to Midland. He says Midland is a rare college that offers scholarships to powerlifters.

Administrators say they’ve received little criticism for their creative recruitment approach.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has unveiled a plan to provide scholarships for college students in a variety of high-demand fields.

Ricketts announced Monday he will propose a Nebraska Talent Scholarships program to lawmakers. It will provide $4,000-per-year scholarships for four-year students and $2,000 annually for two-year students.

Scholarships for the University of Nebraska will go to students studying math, engineering, industrial technology and computer information systems. Community and state college students can qualify if they’re studying rangeland management, industrial technology, computer information systems and criminal justice.

Ricketts says the program for four-year colleges will start with 250 scholarships in its first year, at a cost of about $1 million. Community colleges will get 65 scholarships, at a cost of $260,000 in its first year.

Mid-Plains Community College will host a Visit Day on Jan. 16, giving prospective students and their families an opportunity to experience MPCC’s programs first-hand. The event will take place simultaneously in North Platte and McCook from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The college’s Visit Days showcase its campuses, offerings and services. Among other things, participants will be able to tour their programs of interest, sit in on a class, meet instructors, join in hands-on projects, learn about the various services MPCC offers and meet new friends through fun activities led by current Mid-Plains students.

Specialists from a variety of departments will be available to answer questions and provide information about financial aid, housing and credit transfer among many other topics.

“Visit days are a great opportunity as they offer a different take on the typical campus visit and include several activities students might otherwise have to plan individually,” said Mindy Hope, area director of recruiting and admissions. “They provide a more complete perspective on what it’s like to be a college student. Visit Days let prospective students experience a lot of what the college has to offer, from academic programs, instructors and potential classmates to student organizations, residence halls and life outside of the classroom. Visitors get a complete view of the college’s resources in a single day.”

Anyone thinking about taking college classes is encouraged to attend. Lunch will be provided, and all prospective students will receive a free hoodie.

Additional Visit Days are planned for Feb. 13 and March 6. RSVPs are required at https://campus.mpcc.edu/ICS/RSVP/.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A 24-year-old Kearney woman who stole a state investigator’s unmarked car from an accident scene has been given five years of probation.

Buffalo County District Court records say Tori White had pleaded no contest to felony theft and flight to avoid of arrest and no contest to misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol, third offense. She also was sentenced last week to 90 days in jail but credited for time already served. Prosecutors dropped several other charges in exchange for White’s pleas.

The Kearney Hub reports that the Nebraska State Patrol investigator stopped Aug. 8 on Interstate 80 near Kearney to help people involved in a collision between a car and a semitrailer. Prosecutors say White got out of the car, got into the investigator’s car and fled west.

The chase ended 4 miles (7 kilometers) west of Elm Creek, after officers managed to flatten the car’s four tires.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are set to kick off a new session Wednesday with proposals to balance a tight state budget, lower property taxes and legalize medical marijuana in the face of a potential ballot measure.

The new, 90-day session will also usher in 13 new state senators who will reshape the officially nonpartisan Legislature in ways not yet known.

Here are some things to watch:

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THE BUDGET

A persistent state revenue shortfall could create budget headaches once again for lawmakers, who have relied on Nebraska’s rainy-day fund the last several years.

Nebraska faces a projected $95.1 million revenue shortfall in its upcoming two-year, general fund budget.

It’s a tiny fraction of the roughly $9 billion total state budget and smaller than other recent shortfalls, but some lawmakers worry the downturn will continue and they won’t have enough money left in the rainy-day fund to cover state expenses. The fund holds about $296 million, down sharply from the $729 million stashed away in 2016.

“I think we may be getting to the point where we can’t afford to use any more of that,” said Speaker of the Legislature Jim Scheer, of Norfolk.

In an interview last week, Gov. Pete Ricketts said tapping the cash reserve was appropriate given the downturn in agriculture, the state’s largest industry. Ricketts has previously said he’d like to keep about $500 million in the rainy-day fund.

“The reason you have a rainy-day fund is to help cushion against economic downtimes,” he said. “In agriculture, it’s clearly raining.”

Lawmakers will also debate how to pay for a voter-approved measure to expand Medicaid to an estimated 90,000 low-income residents. Ricketts said he will fit that expense into his budget proposal to lawmakers, but it’s likely to crowd out other priorities over time.

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PROPERTY TAXES

Lawmakers will try once again to address the complaints of farmers, ranchers and homeowners who have seen sharp increases in their local property tax bills.

The issue rises to the forefront nearly every year, but lawmakers seldom agree on how to pay for property tax cuts and who should receive most of the benefits.

“I’m relatively optimistic we can get something done this year,” said Sen. Tom Briese, an Albion farmer who has introduced numerous property-tax proposals. “A lot more folks are realizing the gravity of the situation.”

The biggest recipient of property tax dollars are K-12 public schools, particularly in rural districts that no longer qualify for state equalization aid because they contain too much valuable land. Farmers argue that they’re paying higher property taxes even though lower commodity prices have reduced their incomes.

Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, of Lincoln, said she understands the pressure farmers are facing and wants to help, but she also sees needs in her urban district.

“We have to work together,” she said. “The conservative and rural members need to work with the urban senators and the progressives to really get something done.”

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ELECTING NEW LEADERS, SETTING THE RULES… AND MORE GRIDLOCK?

Lawmakers will choose new committee leaders in a secret-ballot election that’s often full of surprises.

During the last elections in 2017, conservative Republicans won nearly all of the Legislature’s leadership positions and tried to force through a change that would have made it harder for Democrats to win committee chairmanships in the future. Democrats and even some moderate Republicans blasted the moves as a partisan power grab, and the dispute brought the Legislature to a virtual standstill for 30 days.

The leadership votes were highly unusual in an officially nonpartisan Legislature, where committees are traditionally led by a mix of Republicans and Democrats. The new session will mark the first time lawmakers have formally addressed those issues since 2017.

Pansing Brooks said she’s hopeful lawmakers will try to build coalitions more than they have in previous years.

“The original my-way-or-the-highway approach doesn’t work,” she said. “People are starting to realize it takes coalitions, it takes people working together.”

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MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Nebraska lawmakers could face more pressure to legalize medical marijuana in some form, thanks to a group of senators and activists who are promising to put the issue on the 2020 ballot if nothing passes this year.

A newly formed ballot committee, Nebraskans for Sensible Marijuana Laws, plans to launch a signature-gathering campaign, although organizers said they’d prefer that lawmakers address the issue. Sen. Anna Wishart, of Lincoln, a leading proponent, will introduce a medical marijuana bill this year.

Similar measures won approval last year in Missouri, Oklahoma and Utah, bringing the total to 33 states that have legalized the drug for medicinal purposes. Unlike past efforts in Nebraska that have faltered, the latest campaign is backed by the Marijuana Policy Project, a national group that has helped lead five successful marijuana-related ballot measures.

ORD, Neb. (AP) — A central Nebraska prosecutor says she intends to charge a Roman Catholic priest who’s been accused of sexually assaulting a woman.

Valley County Attorney Kayla Clark said Friday that she didn’t yet know which charges the Rev. John Kakkuzhiyil (kah-kuh-ree-AL’) will face because she hasn’t reviewed all the investigation reports. He was arrested Wednesday and remains in custody. It’s unclear whether he has an attorney.

The woman who accused him has obtained a protection order against the 63-year-old cleric. She says he assaulted her in November. She says she went to his Ord home on business and blacked out after having a couple drinks with him.

The Grand Island Diocese says Kakkuzhiyil has been serving as pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Ord and Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Burwell. The diocese says Bishop Joseph Hanefeldt placed Kakkuzhiyil on leave Dec. 15 upon learning that the Nebraska State Patrol was investigating the allegations.