(AP) — The flooding along the South Platte River continues to set records in western Nebraska, but the defenses communities built are generally holding and the floodwater is slowly flowing east across the state.

The National Weather Service says the South Platte rose to a record of 14.36 feet early Monday morning.

The river had continued to rise since Sunday when it exceeded the old record of 14 feet that was set in June 1935.

The South Platte declined slightly to 14.1 feet by 8 a.m. Monday. The gauges upstream from North Platte show that the water flowing in from Colorado has started to decline.

But the Weather Service predicts minor flooding this week in several central Nebraska cities. The river is already rising near Lexington and Overton.

(AP) — A 36-year-old woman has been ordered to stand trial on a charge that she took her 13-month-old niece from the girl’s Chadron home and fled to South Dakota.

Court records say Aimy Dixon, of Chadron, is accused of felony false imprisonment. Prosecutors dropped two related misdemeanor charges. She has told authorities she’d been granted custody of her niece last spring.

Authorities say Dixon and Jesse Morrison broke into the home on June 21, scuffled with two adults there and then fled to South Dakota. Authorities issued an Amber alert. The toddler was recovered unharmed a few hours near Hot Springs, S.D., as another couple was driving the girl back to Chadron.

Records say Morrison has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors. He was given 30 days in jail and fined $500.

(AP) — Nebraska’s two Democratic candidates for governor are emphasizing their rural backgrounds as they campaign across the state.

Nebraska state Sen. Annette Dubas kicked off a statewide tour on Monday, one day after she formally announced her candidacy at her family farm in Fullerton. Former University of Nebraska Regent Chuck Hassebrook launched his campaign in June, and has talked about his experience with the Center for Rural Affairs in his hometown of Lyons.

Both candidates are looking to replace Gov. Dave Heineman, who can’t seek re-election due to term limits.

University of Nebraska Omaha political science professor Paul Landow says both candidates have demonstrated an ability to win in rural districts, and their knowledge of rural issues could help win votes in the Republican-dominated state.

The Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, local natural resources districts, and irrigation districts in the Platte River Basin have taken steps to divert floodwaters out of the river as they moved into Nebraska from Colorado. These efforts consisted of developing agreements and coordinating the timing of the diversions of this flow in an attempt to attenuate the peak flood flows. The diversion of these floodwaters will have the added benefit of recharging the aquifer as these waters seep into the ground beneath the canals and lakes along the South Platte, North Platte, and Platte Rivers.

The flows on the South Platte River measured at the Colorado stateline peaked at 21,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) on September 18. While flows are slowly receding, they are expected to remain elevated for several weeks. The diversions will continue as long as these excess flows are available in order to maximize the aquifer recharge benefits. These groundwater recharge benefits will be realized in both the Platte and Republican River Basins as this groundwater slowly percolates through the ground into these rivers and their tributaries over time.

These diversion projects were set up in a very short time frame as Nebraska braced for the large flows expected after the devastating floods in Colorado. The Director of the Department of Natural Resources, Brian Dunnigan, said “the expeditious work by all parties in developing and implementing these agreements is a wonderful demonstration of what can be achieved when all parties are able to work in close collaboration toward the same goal.” This effort is similar to the diversion of flood waters carried out along the Platte River in 2011 by the Department and the local natural resources districts and irrigation districts, which also provided significant flood mitigation and aquifer recharge benefits.

(AP) — Authorities are searching for a pickup and stock trailer involved in a fatal crash on Interstate 80 in south-central Nebraska.

The crash occurred around 5:20 p.m. Saturday about four miles east of the Elm Creek interchange.

The Nebraska State Patrol says 29-year-old Juan Rivas, of Grand Island, died after being ejected from a pickup that had gone onto the median and rolled. Two other men in the truck were hospitalized.

The patrol says the pickup driver had swerved onto the median to avoid the other truck and trailer as they changed lanes. Witnesses say the pickup hit the left rear side of the trailer before leaving the roadway.

The truck and trailer didn’t stop after the accident. It’s unclear whether the truck driver knew there had been an accident.

• Today: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before noon, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between noon and 3pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69. Breezy, with a south wind 14 to 23 mph becoming west northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
• Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 47. Breezy, with a northwest wind 18 to 23 mph decreasing to 9 to 14 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 32 mph.
• Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 75. North northwest wind 7 to 11 mph.
• Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 49. Calm wind becoming east southeast 5 to 7 mph in the evening.

...THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING RIVERS IN
NEBRASKA...

  SOUTH PLATTE RIVER NEAR ROSCOE AFFECTING DEUEL AND KEITH COUNTIES.

  SOUTH PLATTE RIVER AT NORTH PLATTE AFFECTING LINCOLN COUNTY.

  PLATTE RIVER AT BRADY NORTH CHANNEL AFFECTING LINCOLN COUNTY.

.FLOODING CONTINUES ALONG THE SOUTH PLATTE RIVER FROM THE
NEBRASKA/COLORADO BORDER INTO THE PLATTE RIVER THROUGH CENTRAL
NEBRASKA. THE SOUTH PLATTE RIVER WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY FALL FROM
THE NEBRASKA/COLORADO BORDER TO EAST OF ROSCOE. DOWNSTREAM AROUND
NORTH PLATTE...THE SOUTH PLATTE RIVER WILL REMAIN STEADY BEFORE
BEGINNING TO SLOWLY FALL ON MONDAY.

THE PLATTE RIVER ACROSS EASTERN LINCOLN COUNTY WILL STAY STEADY
THROUGH THE DAY MONDAY BEFORE SLOWLY STARTING TO FALL ON TUESDAY
MORNING. SLIGHT FLUCTUATIONS ARE POSSIBLE...BUT DO NOT EXPECT THE
RIVER TO RISE MORE THAN A FEW ADDITIONAL TENTHS OF A FOOT IN THE
BRADY AREA.

EVEN THOUGH THE SOUTH PLATTE RIVER LEVEL IS REMAINING STEADY...SLIGHT
FLUCTUATIONS ARE POSSIBLE. THE RIVER WILL REMAIN ABOVE FLOOD STAGE
FOR SEVERAL DAYS AND ELEVATED RIVER LEVELS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE
END OF SEPTEMBER.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

SAFETY MESSAGE...DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER
COVERS THE ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR
CAR TO CROSS SAFELY AND THE ROAD BENEATH MAY NOT BE INTACT. VEHICLES
CAUGHT IN RISING WATERS SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.

SAFETY MESSAGE...STAY OUT OF FLOOD WATERS. THE VELOCITY OF THE WATER
WILL BE FASTER THAN USUAL AND UNSAFE. ALSO THE WATER CAN CONTAIN
SEWAGE...DEBRIS... BACTERIA AND OTHER ITEMS.

(AP) — Nebraska state Sen. Annette Dubas is beginning a 12-city campaign kickoff tour in her bid for governor.

The Democratic lawmaker from Fullerton said Sunday that, if elected, she would focus on renewable energy, ways to reduce property taxes, and local economic development.

Dubas announced her bid at her family farm near Fullerton, in a conservative district she has represented for nearly seven years. The 57-year-old mother and grandmother was born in Omaha, but returned to her father’s hometown when she was 16.

Her entry into the governor’s race gives Democrats a rare competitive primary, with the potential to energize the party after several lopsided defeats. Dubas will face fellow Democrat Chuck Hassebrook, a former University of Nebraska Regent who also headed an advocacy group for small towns.

(AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is surveying businesses statewide to learn more about how they use broadband Internet technology.

The Nebraska Broadband Initiative posted the survey online at www.tinyurl.com/BusinessAssessmentSurvey earlier this month.

Researchers hope to get a better idea of how Nebraska businesses are using broadband Internet at this point.

The survey takes about 20 minutes to fill out, and researchers hope a large number of businesses will respond.

The results will be presented at the Broadband Connecting Nebraska conference in Kearney on Oct. 16-17.

(AP) — The first public-input hearings of the Legislature’s Tax Modernization Committee are set to begin in western Nebraska.

Lawmakers will convene the first hearing on Monday at 4 p.m., at Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff. The committee will hold a public hearing on Tuesday starting at 1:30 p.m. at North Platte Community College in North Platte. Its final hearing for the week will take place at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Northeast Community College in Norfolk.

The committee has been assigned to review Nebraska’s tax system for fairness, simplicity and stability, while helping to compete with other states. The panel is expected to release a report by mid-December.

Hearings in Lincoln and Omaha are scheduled in October.