(AP) — America’s new $100 bill will feature a color-changing ink well, a 3-D security ribbon, and more texture on Benjamin Franklin’s collar.

The new C-note that goes into circulation next month is aimed at fighting back against counterfeiters with improved printers and technology.

It still carries the image of Franklin, one of America’s Founding Fathers. But it adds part of the Declaration of Independence from Franklin’s left shoulder to the right edge of the bill. A quill and an ink well are printed behind the text, and a blue ribbon runs near the center of the bill.

The ink in the well changes colors when the bill is turned.

The new $100 bill is scheduled to enter circulation on Oct. 8 after years of delays due to production issues.

A North Platte man is facing multiple felony charges after Police say he sent a Facebook message to a female who he is prohibited from contacting.

At around 10:10 p.m. on Tuesday, North Platte Police received a complaint of a protection order violation from a 29-year-old female.  The victim alleged that the suspect, Dylan Aufdengarten, had messaged her via Facebook.

The responding officer confirmed that there was an active Domestic Protection Order served on Aufdengarten, in which the victim was the protected party.

The Officer was able to locate Aufdengarten at a residence in the 2400 block of West 14th where he discovered that the owner of the home was not present, and also had a separate Protection Order in place against Aufdengarten.

Police placed Aufdengarten under arrest and charged him with two counts of  felony Violation of a Domestic Protection Order.  Additionally, Police learned Aufdengarten had just been released from a 10-day jail sentence earlier in the day, also for violating a protection order.  Because of the previous conviction, he was charged with Stalking, also a felony.

Aufdengarten is being held at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

(AP) — Gov. Dave Heineman has appointed an Omaha prison warden as the new head of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.

Heineman announced Wednesday that Michael L. Kenney, of Lincoln, will serve as the department’s new director. The 60-year-old Kenney has served as warden of the Omaha Correctional Center since 2010.

Kenney will replace director Bob Houston, who retired this month from the position he held since 2005.

In a statement, Heineman says Kenney is a respected professional with 36 years of experience in correctional services.

Kenney has previously served as warden of the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility in Omaha, where he oversaw a 100-bed facility for violent youths. He served as warden of the Nebraska State Penitentiary from 1999 to 2006.

His annual salary will be $115,000.

(AP) — The Nebraska economy continued to grow modestly in the second quarter as manufacturing businesses sold more exports and the housing construction picked up.

The Federal Reserve Bank’s Omaha branch executive Nathan Kauffman says the number of nonfarm jobs in the state grew 0.7 percent from April to the end of June.

Kauffman says the value of exported goods from Nebraska plants grew 15 percent to $1.7 billion in the quarter.

The number of single-family home building permits also jumped more than 30 percent, and permits for multi-family construction grew 80 percent.

In addition to those factors, retail sales were 5 percent higher than last year’s second quarter figure. So consumers were spending more even though earnings growth remained relatively flat.

(AP) — Gov. Dave Heineman says he will pursue changes to Nebraska’s system of awarding “good time” to prisoners, following criticism of the state corrections department and the arrest of a former inmate accused of committing four murders.

Heineman made the announcement Wednesday in an open letter to Sen. Heath Mello, of Omaha. Mello has criticized the Department of Correctional Services under Heineman’s watch for not proposing any changes and failing to address prison overcrowding.

The “good time” law gives prisoners a day of credit for every day they spend behind bars. A Heineman spokeswoman says the governor believes good time should be earned, not given automatically.

The announcement came after authorities charged Nikko Jenkins with four Omaha-area murders that took place shortly after he was released from prison.

(AP) — Central Nebraska continues to experience minor flooding along the Platte River, but it’s less severe there because some of the water has been absorbed by the state’s drought-stricken land.

The National Weather Service says a large part of why the flooding in central Nebraska is less severe than last week’s flooding upstream is that the dry river bed and surrounding land has soaked up some of the floodwaters.

But flooding of low-lying areas and agricultural land near the Platte River is expected to continue in central Nebraska for several more days.

At Kearney, the river is expected to begin flooding Wednesday afternoon and crest Thursday at 6.9 feet.

In Grand Island, the water will approach flood stage Friday when it crests at 6.4 feet but it may not flood.

 

(AP) — The state Legislature’s Tax Modernization Committee has gotten plenty of complaints about property valuations from landowners in western Nebraska.

At hearings Monday in Scottsbluff and Tuesday in North Platte, the sentiments were the same: Property taxes are too high, and so are valuation increases.

For example, Custer County rancher Jim Jones said Tuesday that the valuation on his land rose by more than $310,000 in 2012. But he said the land was worth no more to him after the increase than before. He says real estate taxes need to be based on productivity.

The committee is focusing on property, income and sales taxes and will report its findings back to the Legislature.

• Today: Sunny, with a high near 82. Breezy, with a south southeast wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 23 to 28 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 37 mph.
• Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 54. Breezy, with a south southeast wind 19 to 24 mph decreasing to 13 to 18 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph.
• Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 83. Light and variable wind becoming north 5 to 7 mph in the morning.
• Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. East wind 8 to 11 mph.

(AP) — Forty attorneys general are urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to meet its own deadline and regulate electronic cigarettes in the same way it regulates tobacco products.

The letter dated Tuesday is co-sponsored by Massachusetts Attorney Martha Coakley and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. It says e-cigarettes are being marketed to children through cartoon-like advertising characters and by offering fruit and candy flavors, at the same time they are becoming more affordable and available.

The letter says e-cigarettes are also being advertised during prime-time television hours and are portrayed as safe alternatives to traditional cigarettes. But it says they are addictive and capable of delivering high doses of nicotine.

An industry group, the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, says it agrees that e-cigarettes should be regulated as a tobacco product.