LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will consider at its Jan. 20meeting a regulation amendment that would allow people to obtain boating safety certification via an online course. The meeting is at 8 a.m. in the third-floor conference room of the Commission’s Lincoln headquarters, 2200 N. 33rd St.

If passed, the amended regulation would help streamline boater education by increasing opportunities for constituents, while retaining the classroom and home-study options for obtaining certification.

Another boating regulation amendment up for consideration would update the maps in the Special Rules and Regulations for Nonpublic Lake Associations.

Also on the agenda are recommendations to:

— approve grant awards for the Land and Water Conservation Fund Stateside Assistance Program to Beatrice, Beemer, David City, Elmwood, Fullerton, Ord, Paxton, Greeley, Lexington, Lincoln, and Palmyra.

— approve the following outdoor trail projects for federal funding through the Recreational Trails Program: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for the Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail, Fullerton for the Powerhouse Park Trail, Tekamah for the Tekamah Tiger Trail Loop, and Norfolk for the Underpass Trail.

— amend wildlife regulations regarding game breeding and controlled shooting areas.

— approve an increase to the Cash Change Fund at Summit Lake State Recreation Area to support the coinage requirements at the new shower house.

For a complete meeting agenda, visit: OutdoorNebraska.gov/commissioners/.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — The Kearney City Council has approved a measure that will see The Archway get an annual payment of $225,000.

The City Council voted Tuesday to approve the payment. The vote will see the city contribute $75,000 annually to the monument. That award is contingent upon the Kearney Area Visitor’s Bureau contributing $150,000 annually, which the group plans to do.

The Archway, which spans Interstate 80 at Kearney, features exhibits commemorating the Oregon, Mormon and California pioneer trails and the nation’s highway systems and railroads. It struggled after its opening in 2001 and was forced into bankruptcy in 2013 following years of disappointing attendance.

However, attendance has exceeded expectations in recent years. About 1.5 million visitors have passed through The Archway since it opened.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska has been chosen to serve on the House Agriculture Committee.

The committee assignment announced Wednesday gives Nebraska a voice on major federal farm policies, including the farm bill. It’s also noteworthy because, for the first time in decades, Nebraska will not have a representative on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Bacon says he’s eager to serve on the committee as a member of the state’s congressional delegation.

Bacon grew up and worked on a family farm in Momence, Illinois, until he was 21 years old. He now represents the state’s 2nd congressional district, encompassing the Omaha area.

Nebraska has nearly 49,000 farms. Bacon says residents have spoken to him about opening markets overseas, lowering the costs of health insurance and loosening regulations.

A fight at a North Platte bar on Wednesday morning ended with two people facing assault charges and another facing a minor in possession charge.

At around 1:25 a.m., officers responded to Kelsey’s Place, 219 Rodeo Road, on the report of a fight in progress.

Officers arrived and made contact with numerous subjects in an attempt to identify who was involved.

Their investigation revealed that a fight had taken place inside the bar between 45-year-old Anthony Gattone, of Dallas, Texas, and 30-year-old Raymond Smith, of North Platte. They also learned that a third person, a 32-year-old male, had attempted to intervene and had been struck in the face by Gattone.  They say, during the fight, Smith pushed over an arcade machine and broke it.

Investigator John Deal says Smith was contacted outside the bar and arrested on charges of criminal mischief and 3rd-degree assault.  An officer also found some shot glasses from the bar in Smith’s pocket, so he was also charged with theft.

Deal says Gattone had fled the scene but was contacted by officers in the area and taken into custody. He was charged with 3rd-degree assault.

Also during the investigation, officers made contact with 18-year-old Bailey Weaver, of Thayer, Missouri, and determined that he had been consuming alcohol inside the bar.  He was arrested and charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol.  Deal says the case has been forwarded to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission for their review.

Deal said the combatants only suffered minor injuries during the fight.

Students at North Platte High School were placed on lockdown Wednesday morning after a student refused to leave a classroom.

According to Associate Superintendent Tami Eshelman, a student became disruptive in a classroom during Second Period and refused to leave.

Eshelman says the teacher contacted school administrators, who responded to the classroom along with North Platte Police Department School Resource Officer Jeremiah Johnson.

Due to the potential for the situation to escalate further, administrators decided to lockdown the school for the safety of the students.

The lockdown was lifted after about 45 minutes, and Eshelman says there was never any imminent threat to the safety of the student body.

Eshelman says the North Platte Public Schools work in conjunction with local law enforcement to ensure the safety of students at all times.

The student was removed from the classroom by Officer Johnson without further incident.  We have no reports of possible disciplinary action by the school.