A monthly survey of bankers says that strong farm income continues to boost the economy in rural areas of 10 Midwest and Plains states.

The overall economic index for the region grew to 58.3 in April from March’s 56.9.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey. He says agricultural businesses and energy-producing firms continue to thrive in the region.

But the continued growth in farmland price index that hit 66.9 in April remains a concern for smaller farmers.

The index ranges from 0 to 100, with 50 representing growth neutral. Any score above 50 suggests economic growth in the months ahead.

The index is based on a survey of rural bankers in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Soaking rain across much of the nation’s midsection has helped further alleviate drought in the crop growing states of Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Small portions of Nebraska also saw improvement.

A weekly drought monitor, released Thursday by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, showed a few regions missed out from the wet weather, including Texas, where southern counties are in exceptional drought — the driest level possible level.

Eastern Nebraska and the western edge of the state improved. Most of Nebraska remains in extreme drought. Kansas saw little change, remaining in exceptional or extreme drought.

With snow in parts of Nebraska and heavy rain in much of the Midwest, some farmers are now hoping for a dry spell so they can get into fields.

Health officials are seeing more food poisonings caused by a bacteria commonly linked to raw milk and poultry.

A study released Thursday said campylobacter (camp-eh-lo-BACK’-ter) cases grew by 14 percent over the last five years.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report was based on foodborne infections in only 10 states — about 15 percent of the American population. But it is seen as a good indicator of food poisoning trends.

Overall, food poisonings held fairly steady in recent years. There were no significant jumps in cases from most other food bugs, including salmonella and E. coli. But campylobacter rose, and last year accounted for more than a third of food poisoning illnesses in those states and about a 10th of the deaths.

A North Platte man faces a felony charge after pawning a handgun.

North Platte Police launched an investigation into a locally pawned handgun on Wednesday, April 17.

Following the investigation, it was discovered that the gun had been pawned by Donald Broeder, 56, of North Platte.

Broeder was convicted of a felony approximately 35 years ago.

Investigators arrested Broeder and charged him with Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

He was processed at the Lincoln County Detention Center and released.

Nearly 300 teachers and other education professionals from across Nebraska will convene at the Younes Convention Center in Kearney on April 19-20 to discuss issues facing public education. This is the 152nd Delegate Assembly of the 28,000-member Nebraska State Education Association.

A highlight will be an address by Dr. John Draper, a nationally-recognized education leader, during the Assembly’s opening session on Saturday morning. Dr. Draper has worked as a newspaper reporter, a construction worker, a jailor, an actor, a timber buyer, a musician, a door-to-door aluminum siding salesman and a small business owner. For the past 30 years, he has been a middle and high school teacher, assistant principal, principal, executive director of the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools and then CEO of the Educational Research Service in Washington, D.C. Today, he is president of Cambridge Strategic Services, which works with school districts to develop extraordinary learning communities.  Dr. Draper’s life-long journey has given him a wonderful perspective on teaching, learning and public schools.

Also on the agenda for the Assembly is debate on educational and organizational policies for the coming 2013-14 Association year. The annual meeting draws educators from every corner of the state. Locally-elected delegates will update the organization’s Bylaws and Resolutions, and will also propose, debate, and vote on New Business Items, which direct Association leaders to take specific courses of action.

2013 Friend of Education Award

During the Horace Mann Awards ceremony on Saturday morning, NSEA will present several awards, including the Rookie of the Year Award, Teaching Excellence Award, and the Great Plains Milestone Award, which celebrates the development, advancement and protection of human and civil rights. In addition, the recipient of the 2013 Friend of Education award will be announced. This award is given to an organization or individual who has made a statewide contribution to public education.

This will be the 152nd Delegate Assembly in the Association’s 146-year history and it marks the first time since 1970 that the meeting has been held outside the Omaha or Lincoln area. The 1970 meeting was also in Kearney. NSEA was founded in August 1867 in Brownville.

First United Methodist Church in North Platte has launched a capital campaign for a remodel of its sanctuary located at the corner of E and McDonald. Built in the early 1970’s, the Church’s unique sanctuary has largely gone untouched since it was erected.

Among the activities planned during the next several months, the Church’s Youth Ministry is hosting a garage sale this Saturday (April 20) from 7am to 2pm inside the church. Members of the church, as well as others from the community have donated a wide variety of items that will be offered. Donations are still being accepted through Thursday.

The Church’s remodeling team continues to work on plans for the project, with an estimated cost of around $1.3 million dollars. Among the elements identified are additions that will create additional seating, renovation of the bathroom facilities, improvements to the heating and cooling system, and improvements to make the sanctuary more accessible.

The Capital Campaign team has set their goal at $950,000. The Campaign Team is hosting a number of functions for church members in the next month in an effort to raise the funds needed to complete the project.

The church moved to its current location in the 1960’s after spending the first part of its existence near downtown North Platte. The Sanctuary was added to the church in the 70’s, followed by the educational wing in the 1980’s.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. During this time the Nebraska Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is drawing attention to the need to keep our children safe online.

In 1998, the United States Department of Justice began an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force to help deal with the growing problem of Internet-related exploitation of children. The ICAC Task Force laid the foundation for what would become a nationwide partnership of law enforcement agencies with the mission of protecting children online. Currently there are 61 ICAC Task Forces located across the United States representing over 2,000 federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies. Since its inception, the ICAC Task Force program has investigated over 280,000 complaints of alleged child sexual exploitation and arrested almost 30,000 individuals.

“The Nebraska ICAC Task Force is a collaborative effort under the direction of the Patrol,” said Colonel David Sankey, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “Through their involvement in this task force, officers and prosecutors across the state work to combat the growing problem of the online abuse of our children.”

The Nebraska ICAC Task Force is comprised of 54 federal, state and local enforcement agencies and prosecutorial offices. In 2012, the Nebraska ICAC task force initiated 343 investigations, resulting in 60 arrests across the state. That compares with 565 investigations in 2011 resulting in 86 arrests.

In addition to conducting investigations the Nebraska ICAC Task Force provides training for law enforcement and performs educational presentations on internet safety.

Authorities have closed a portion of Interstate 80 in western Nebraska because of hazardous driving conditions caused by a spring storm.

The state Department of Roads says Wednesday that the westbound lanes of the interstate are closed between Big Springs in western Nebraska and the Wyoming state line. The Wyoming Department of Transportation requested the closure due to hazardous driving conditions in Wyoming.

The National Weather Service says the storm may drop several inches of snow in western and north central Nebraska between Wednesday and Thursday morning. Several winter weather advisories are in effect through Thursday as the storm moves east.

Strong wind gusts of up to 20-30 mph will cause blowing and drifting snow.

Authorities are advising drivers to reduce speed because of the snow.

A national conference being held in Omaha this week is designed to help counties learn better ways to protect their computer networks from hackers.

The National Association of Counties event began Wednesday at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and it will continue through Friday.

The sessions will focus on strategies counties can take to protect the sensitive data they hold about court records, taxes and employees.

Douglas County Commissioner Chris Rodgers says it’s critical for counties to have up-to-date cyber security plans. Rodgers is president of the national counties group.

The conference is also sponsored by AT&T and the Peter Kiewit Institute.

North Platte Police have located the third Suspect in last Thursday’s shooting.

At around 1:00 a.m. this morning, Officers from the North Platte Police Department located Ethen Bentley, 21, waiting at the Bus Stop at 1801 South Jeffers.

Officers had probable cause to arrest Bentley due to his involvement in the April 11 shooting that occurred near 17th and Franklin.

Officers watched as Bentley left the area of the Bus Stop and made contact with him on the South River Bridge.

Bentley was taken into custody, and charged with Being an Accessory to a Felony.

It was originally reported that Bentley was arrested along with two other suspects, Matthew Bobo and Britton Renfrow, but Officers were not able to locate Bentley until this morning.