(AP) — A Nebraska university if being praised for its affordable online degrees.

The website AffordableCollegesOnline.org ranked Bellevue University second in its list of affordable online programs.

The ranking was based partly on the net cost to students and the average starting salaries of graduates. Only accredited, four-year nonprofit colleges were included.

Bellevue University President Mary Hawkins says her college focuses on providing cost-effective degrees in relevant subjects.

Hawkins says Bellevue’s professors work to make sure their teaching is engaging.

(AP) — A new state water task force is scheduled to meet for the first time in Lincoln.

The 34-member task force will meet Friday to start its work on recommendations to make Nebraska’s water supply more sustainable for farmers, ranchers, cities, wildlife and recreational users.

The task force meeting is set to run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Holiday inn in Lincoln.

The task force chairman, Sen. Tom Carlson of Holdrege, says members will work to develop a “good, sensible, believable plan.”

Carlson says the first meeting will focus on hiring a consultant to help the group with its work.

(AP) — A lettuce thinner, a pruner for wine grapes, a strawberry harvester — they’re examples of a new generation of machines that target the last frontier of agricultural mechanization.

Fruits and vegetables destined for the fresh market, not processing, have thus far resisted mechanization because they’re sensitive to bruising. But researchers are now designing robots for these crops by integrating advanced sensors, robotic hardware and GPS technologies.

Though they cost millions of dollars, farmers say, the robots could provide relief from recent labor shortages, reduce costs, increase quality and yield a more consistent product.

Farmworker advocates say mechanization would lead to workers losing jobs, growers using more pesticides and the food supply becoming less safe. Most ag robots won’t be commercially available for at least 10 years.

(AP) — The Nebraska State Board of Education has launched an online survey to guide its search for the state’s next education commissioner.

The survey asks for opinions regarding the strengths and challenges of the Nebraska Department of Education and public education in the state. Respondents are also asked to identify the characteristics they deem most important for the next education commissioner to possess.

The survey may be accessed on the Nebraska Department of Education’s website at https://www.education.ne.gov/. The survey is open to the public and will be available through 6 p.m. on July 29.

(AP) — Officials have authorized fish salvage from the Platte River in Buffalo County to its confluence with the Loup River in Platte County.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will allow the harvest of stranded fish of all species except the pallid sturgeon. The salvage runs from Saturday through the end of July.

Officials say localized fish die-offs are occurring because of low water flows and high water temperatures.

The salvage area does not include the north channel of the Platte River from Kearney to Shelton. That serves as a refuge and receives return flows from a canal.

The approved methods of harvest still require a permit.

(AP) — A committee representing Grand Island in its bid to win a new state veterans home plans to fight Gov. Dave Heineman’s decision to select Kearney for the site.

The GI Home for Our Heroes Committee announced Friday that it will involve the Legislature in an effort to keep the Central Nebraska Veterans’ Home in Grand Island, where it currently has a 225-bed facility with about 375 employees.

The committee called the selection process unfair because the Veterans Home Selection Committee had private conversations with Kearney officials ahead of the bidding process.

Heineman announced Friday that Kearney beat out Grand Island, Hastings and North Platte as the site of the new veterans home. A message left with Heineman’s spokeswoman was not immediately returned Friday afternoon.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Board of Commissioners will consider creating the state’s inaugural mountain lion hunting season when they meet July 26 in Lincoln.

The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. in the third-floor conference room of Game and Parks headquarters, 2200 N. 33rd St.

The commissioners also will consider staff recommendations for 2013 waterfowl, crow and falconry seasons. In addition, they will consider:

— a recommendation to allow restricted hunting in several state park areas.

— an interlocal agreement with the City of Gothenburg to rehabilitate Lake Helen.

— a flood protection levee easement for the Peru Dike and Drainage District No. 1 of Nemaha County to build, maintain and operate a levee by accessing Peru Bottoms Wildlife Management Area (WMA).

— acquisition of 461 acres of land in Cherry County to be designated as Chat Canyon WMA.

Gov. Dave Heineman will make an appearance and draw the winning entry in the Nebraska Super Tag Lottery. More than 2,000 people paid $25 to enter the lottery for the four-species (deer, elk, antelope and turkey) hunting permit.

(AP) — The number of confirmed cases of a rare food-borne illness in Nebraska has climbed to 23 as state and federal public health agencies try to figure out where it’s coming from.

An outbreak of cyclosporiasis (cyclo spoh RYE uh sis) is confined mostly to eastern Nebraska and could be linked to Iowa where 45 people were confirmed sick as of Friday.

Iowa’s public health medical director Dr. Patricia Quinlisk says fresh vegetables may be the culprit but the investigation continues.

Consumers should wash fruits and vegetables to reduce the risk of getting the illness, which causes diarrhea lasting an average of 57 days. It’s caused by a parasite carried in human feces that contaminates food.

The illness is rare in Nebraska. No cases were reported in the last four years.

 

A North Platte man who was disturbing the peace of several residents, is now facing charges after he struggles with police.

At around 8:30 pm on Thursday, North Platte Police responded to the 1200 block of East 4th on the report of a male subject refusing to leave an apartment.  The suspect left before police arrived.

The reporting party told police that Matt Griffis had showed up at his apartment unwanted and refused to leave.  Officers were told Griffis left only after police were called.

Police searched the area, but were unable to locate Griffis.

Then, at 10:21 pm, Police were called back to the area after it was reported that Griffis was now at a different apartment.  Again, Griffis departed as soon as Police were called.

Officers then met with another subject who told them Griffis had also banged on there door wanting to come inside to hide from Police.

Instead of offering a hiding place, the subject called the Police.

Officers were eventually able to locate Griffis in the area of 5th and Poplar after they received a call from yet another citizen who reported an intoxicated male walking in the area and being loud.

When Police went to take Griffis into custody, he refused to cooperate, and it took three Officers to eventually subdue him.

Griffis was placed in custody and charged with Disturbing the Peace, Trespassing and Resisting Arrest.

He was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

Gov. Dave Heineman today announced Kearney as the new location of the Central Nebraska Veterans Home. Kearney was chosen through a thorough and open bidding process to replace the current 125-year-old Grand Island Veterans Home.

“This was not an easy decision,” said Gov. Heineman. “We have four outstanding communities who submitted outstanding proposals. The proposals were financially stronger and better than we anticipated. I appreciate that each community focused on their strengths and what was best for veterans.”

After the thorough review process, the Site Selection Committee recommended Kearney based on several factors of their comprehensive proposal including the financial proposal; the workforce development plan; and subsidized electrical, water and sewer rates and refuse discounts. Additional factors include no cost equipment such as compactors; the infrastructure and environmental proposals; the physical site; and their outstanding program enhancements which include the woodshop, kiln, library, chapel, landscaping, a veterans memorial, and transportation.

“The Kearney application was rated highest of the four quality applications we received,” said John Hilgert, Director of the Division of Veterans Homes and Veterans Affairs. “Their application was comprehensive and responsive to all categories listed in the Request for Statement of Interest and Offer.”

A request for statement of interest and offer was released on April 29 and four communities sent an offer. Those were North Platte, Kearney, Hastings and Grand Island. The site selection committee was made up of Carlos Castillo, Director, Department of Administrative Services; Catherine Lang, Director, Nebraska Department of Economic Development and Labor; and John Hilgert, Director, Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs and Director, Division of Veterans Homes within the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

The committee met with those interested in making an offer on May 10. The deadline for receipt of written questions and clarifications was May 17 with a response deadline of May 23. Final offers were due by June 11 and site visits by the committee were conducted on June 13 and 14.

Nine principal categories were evaluated and each category was assigned a score based on an overall model of 1200 points from nine categories. Those categories include physical factors, utilities and infrastructure, cultural factors, environmental factors, community services, regulatory factors, workforce factors, community support factors and program enhancements.
Kearney received a score of 1033, Hastings 977, Grand Island 889 and North Platte 855.

Gov. Heineman signed LB 198 into law on May 25, allowing the appropriation of funds for capital construction and property acquisition. In compliance with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Community Living Communities current standards, one 225-bed long-term care facility will be constructed for use by veterans. The site must be located no farther than a two hour driving distance from the existing Grand Island Veterans Home, nor within a two hour driving distance of the other three existing Nebraska Veterans Homes located in Scottsbluff, Norfolk and Bellevue.

Additionally, The Schemmer Associates, whose home office is in Omaha was hired as consultants to aid in the selection process. Their cost was approximately $176,000 which included support of the site selection process and the submission of the application to the USVA which includes schematic and budgeting expenses. They helped valuate and score the different sites from a professional engineering viewpoint. This team assisted with veterans home site selection for the Eastern Nebraska Veterans Home as well as planning and design projects including Iowa Veterans Home Master Plan Implementation in Marshalltown, IA; Madonna Manor (A Franciscan Living Community) in Villa Hills KY; Villa St. Benedict Continuing Care Retirement Community in Lisle IL; Immanuel Communities Lakeside Village Addition in Omaha; and Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society in Beatrice NE.

In the new Central Nebraska Veterans Home, the resident rooms will be distributed among five services – Long-Term Care, Medically Complex, Dementia, Hospice, and Assisted Living in households of 12-15 members. The cost of the budgeted project is $121 million with an approximate cost of $102 million for the facility. The project funded by a federal and state match and would employee over 350 fulltime positions.

“I know I speak for every Nebraskan when I say how very proud we are of our military personnel and our veterans. We want to thank the staff and leadership of the Grand Island Veterans Home for the manner in which they take care of our veterans, and I hope that the staff and leadership at the current home will continue to be part of the new Central Nebraska Veterans Home in Kearney,” said Gov. Heineman.