The debate scheduled between Legislative candidates Judy Pederson and Mike Groene has been canceled.

Groene issued a statement saying that he is battling the stomach flu.

Groene said the debate which was slated to take place at Sutherland High School will be rescheduled.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Twenty-one Nebraska lawmakers have signed a letter defending Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bob Krist against Republican allegations that he drank alcohol on the job.

The letter released Friday was signed by current and former senators who served with Krist in the Legislature. The senators say they never saw Krist impaired by alcohol when he was in service to the state. The letter says the attack is without merit.

The Nebraska GOP released videos last week showing Krist sitting at a Lincoln restaurant with a beverage, standing behind the bar with his back turned to the camera and getting into his car outside the restaurant. State investigators who reviewed the footage say they couldn’t substantiate the allegations.

Fifteen of the signers are Democrats, five are Republicans, and one is a Republican-turned-independent.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a point to hit 2.8 percent in August, the state said in a report released Friday.

Last month’s rate remained well below the U.S. figure, which remained steady at 3.9 percent. The Nebraska Labor Department report said the state’s rate was down from 2.9 percent a year ago.

“Nebraska’s seasonally adjusted employment reached another record high this month,” state Labor Commissioner John Albin said. “The nonseasonally adjusted employment level for the Lincoln metro area is the highest since 1990, when data (were) first collected for the metro area.”

Nonfarm employment was 1,032,536, up 15,402 over the year and down 264 over the month, the report said. Private industries with the most growth year over year were manufacturing, up 4,649; leisure and hospitality, up 4,156; and education and health services, up 3,552. Month to month, the largest gains were seen in leisure and hospitality, up 1,318; education and health services, up 690; and manufacturing, up 145.

The preliminary Omaha-area rate declined to 2.7 percent from 3.1 percent in July. The new rate was three-tenths of a point lower than the 3 percent of August 2017. Lincoln’s preliminary rate dropped two-tenths of a point in August, hitting 2.6 percent, compared with to 2.8 percent in July. The year-ago figure was 2.7 percent. Grand Island’s preliminary rate for August was 2.8 percent, down three-tenths of a point from July’s 3.1 percent and down a tenth the 2.9 percent recorded in August 2017.

The unemployment rates for Grand Island, Lincoln and Omaha have not been seasonally adjusted, so they cannot be directly compared with the state unemployment rate.

Here are preliminary area labor market unemployment rates for August, followed by the July rates:

— Beatrice: 2.9, 3.4

— Columbus: 2.6, 2.9

— Fremont: 2.7, 3.0

— Hastings: 2.9, 3.2

— Kearney: 2.4, 2.6

— Lexington: 2.5, 2.9

— Norfolk: 2.4, 2.8

— North Platte: 2.8, 3.2

— Red Willow: 2.8, 3.2

— Scottsbluff: 3.1, 3.5

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Attorneys general from West Virginia and 10 other states are asking the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to further tighten the manufacture of opioids.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office says the DEA’s preliminary quotas for 2019 don’t reflect the federal agency’s position that demand shouldn’t be equated with a legitimate need. He said he believes the proposed quotas are still excessive, even with a 10 percent reduction.

The letter was signed by Morrisey and attorneys general from Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska and Utah. It was dated Wednesday.

West Virginia by far leads the nation in the rate of fatal drug overdoses.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Bob Krist says he is making one final push for another debate with Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts, a request the governor’s re-election campaign calls a publicity stunt.

Krist asked Ricketts in a press release Thursday to call him directly, without intervention from campaign attorneys or staff. Krist is seeking a debate sponsored by Omaha television station KETV, possibly in partnership with Nebraska Educational Telecommunications and C-SPAN.

Ricketts and Krist debated each other once before at the Nebraska State Fair in August. Discussions over other debates fell apart amid disagreements over who should sponsor and broadcast them.

Krist says voters deserve a fair and open discussion.

Ricketts campaign spokesman Matthew Trail says it’s a publicity stunt because Krist made the request in a press release.

• Tyler Ray Maxwell, 25, North Platte and Emily Frances Schieffer, 25, North Platte

• Gerald Leroy Wood, 71, Imperial NE and Dorothy Jane Regier 62, Imperial NE

• Tyrel James Sprague, 26, North Platte and Alyssa Joan Manzano, 25, North Platte

• Dennis Dale White, 56, North Platte and Denise DeAnn Nickerson, 51, North Platte

• Randy Lee Tallmon, 21, North Platte and Emily Rene Pellegrin, 20, North Platte

• Timothy Allen Pirnie, 39, North Platte and Brandy Bertha Beachy, 38, North Platte

• Daynlee Mae Miller, 24, North Platte and Ashley Nichole DeCent. 29, North Platte

• Nathaniel Tyler Davis, 30, North Platte and Sheree Danyel Klie, 26, North Platte

• James Leroy Tomlinson, North Platte and Nicole Marie Miller, 40, North Platte

Jake Owen and Kane Brown will headline the 2019 US Cellular Summer Jam Concert Series in 2019. Owen will lead off on Friday, June 21st, with Brown closing Nebraska’s Official State Celebration on Saturday, June 22nd
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Owen has had seven number 1 singles to date, including his latest, “I Was Jack (You Were Diane)”. His other six number ones include the 2X PLATINUM anthem “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” PLATINUM-certified hits “Beachin’,” “Anywhere with You,” “Alone with You,” “The One That Got Away,” and, GOLD-certified “American Country Love Song.” Owen’s fifth studio album, AMERICAN LOVE, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and No. 4 on the Billboard 200 allgenre chart.

Most recently, Owen signed a new label deal with Big Loud Records, reuniting him with award-winning producer Joey Moi. Owen’s debut single for Big Loud, “I Was Jack (You Were Diane),” was the most-added single at country radio for two consecutive weeks and the fastest rising single of his career. Owen and Moi are currently in the studio working on the forthcoming project.

Brown recently announced plans for his first-ever headlining tour, the Kane Brown LiveForever Tour, as well as the track listing and album preorder information for his new album Experiment. Noted by the New York Times as “one of Nashville’s most promising young stars and also one of its most flexible,” Brown continues to shatter records and his “Lose It” was just selected to be spotlighted in Amazon Music’s brand-new advertising campaign A Voice is All You Need which also includes hits from Ariana Grande, Kendrick Lamar, SZA and Queen. Additionally,

Brown was just named as an official New Era brand ambassador for their 2018-2019 NFL football season and seasonal ad campaign which is a first ever for a country artist. Brown also recently received word of his three 2018 American Music Awards nominations, which make him the most nominated artist in this year’s AMA Country Categories.

“We’ve had really good success with our concert series featuring artists from a couple of different points in their careers,” said NEBRASKAland DAYS Executive Director David Fudge. “Jake’s been around for over a decade and has a proven track record in the industry, while Kane is one of the most exciting new artists in the industry. We’re really pleased with how this worked out.”

Opening acts will be announced in the near future.

Tickets for both concerts will be priced at $99 for Golden Circle, $79 for Party Pit, and $49 for GA. Combo passes, which give the ticket holder entry to both shows, will be $88. NEBRASKAland DAYS Sustaining Members and Artist Fan Club Pre-Sale will begin on Tuesday, September 25th at 9 am. Public
sale will begin Thursday, September 27th at 9:00 AM.

OSHKOSH, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Patrol says it’s investigating the death of a woman being held in western Nebraska’s Garden County Jail.

The patrol says it was notified around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday that 37-year-old Candy Flood, of Sidney, had died at the jail in Oshkosh. Flood was being housed in the jail for Cheyenne County after being arrested Saturday on suspicion of disturbing the peace. That charge was filed against Flood by the Cheyenne County Attorney around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Within 1.5 hours, a motion to dismiss the charge was filed, citing Flood’s death.

In a news release Wednesday, the patrol said preliminary information indicates a medical issue may have led to Flood’s death.

State law requires a grand jury investigation of all in-custody deaths.

Campus police officers have begun carrying handguns at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, 44 years after college officials decided to disarm them.

University spokeswoman Kelly Bartling told the Kearney Hub the change was made to align university police with the policies, procedures, standards and equipment of its peer agencies.

She also said students and the campus community “will be safer with armed officers.”

University Police Chief Jim Davis says his officer candidates must complete 16 weeks of basic training at the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center in Grand Island, which is the same training completed by city and county officers.

The university officers are paired with field training officers after graduating from the Grand Island academy so they can learn collegiate law enforcement.

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