LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Costs concerns have been raised about a proposal that all Nebraska schools give students statewide tests online beginning next year.
State school board member John Sieler, of Omaha, says the requirement proposed by the Nebraska Education Department could be a burden for some districts.
Schools have been able to choose whether to administer the tests online or the old-fashioned way: pencil or pencil applied to paper.
Pat Roschewski is assessment director for the department. She says about 80 percent of the state’s students took the reading test online last year, but less than 60 percent went online for the math test.
Roschewski says that cost the state $56,000 to buy more math test booklets.

MCCOOK, Neb. (AP) – Questions about whether two McCook City Council members convicted of misdemeanors can remain in office may be answered by an outside attorney.
Aaron Kircher and Shane Hilker have been advised to refrain from voting until the issue is settled. Kircher has been convicted of disturbing the peace. Hilker has been found guilty of harboring a potentially vicious dog.
According to Nebraska law, council members who’ve been convicted of crimes while in office must step down.
The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office says that because Hilker had violated only a city ordinance, the state law likely doesn’t apply.
But City Attorney Nate Schneider remains reluctant to make that determination, so he’s advising the council to seek counsel from an outside law firm. The council is expected to vote on that suggestion Thursday.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (North Platte Post)- Local law enforcement now has another tool in the fight against crime. The key to the new crime scene trailer/command post changed hands on Wednesday at Larry’s RV in North Platte.The unit is co-owned by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and North Platte Police Department and will be a valuable asset by providing more efficient crime scene processing, saving time and resources. The unit was made available through combined money from the Nebraska Cattlewomen and The U.S. Bureau of Justice, Edward Burn Memorial.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The issue may be dust in the wind, but Republicans are still moving to block it.
Environmental Protection Agency officials have said repeatedly that they won’t propose new regulations to limit dust kicked up by farm equipment. But anti-regulation sentiment is strong this year on the campaign trail – which is why House Republicans are planning to vote this week to prevent the imaginary regulation.
Republicans and even some Democrats have told farm-state audiences that the EPA is considering a crackdown on farms, despite an agency statement last month calling that a “myth.”
Republicans say they want more certainty for the agriculture industry. The House GOP has pushed a host of measures aimed at weakening, delaying or scrapping environmental regulations in recent months, saying they view them as job killers.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (North Platte Post)- According to federal officials, “failure is not an option” in regards to the Kingsley Dam. At the annual Emergency Action Plan meeting hosted by the Nebraska Public Power District and the Central Nebraska Public Power District, emergency action steps were discussed in the event of a failure at the Kingsley Dam, Lake Maloney Reservoir, Sutherland Reservoir and other area high risk locations. According to officials, in the unlikely event that a full scale breach would occur at Kingsley Dam, the city of North Platte would have 11-12 hours to evacuate. After that time, the North Platte River would flood to 20 feet or more. At the peak of this summer’s flood, the river flooded to around 8 feet.  The city would be inundated with water of varying depths.  However, both agencies regularly inspect all areas and action plans are in place in case of any type of calamity.
The forecast for spring flooding was also addressed at the meeting. It is still unclear to what extent the North Platte River will rise in 2012 as a result of upriver releases and snow run-off. Factors such as Wyoming basin and Lake McConaughy carry-over storage and La Nina weather patterns indicate a possible repeat of last year, perhaps to lesser severity. It still remains to be seen how the snowfall this winter will impact the situation, as well.

LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) – Dawson County authorities have discovered the body of a 36-year-old man who they suspect was hit and killed by a hit-and-run driver.
A news release from the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office says the body of Domingo Lujan Jr., of Oxford, was found a little after 2:15 a.m. Tuesday. It was near the roadway at an intersection southeast of Lexington.
No arrests have been reported. A search for the suspect vehicle is continuing.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska officials hope people will keep track of their own online purchases and pay taxes on them when they file their tax returns.
State Tax Commissioner Doug Ewald says Nebraskans are required to pay sales or use taxes on all their purchases even when retailers don’t collect it, and many online stores don’t.
Ewald says Nebraskans should keep track of their online purchases and report them on their income tax return. At that point, residents can pay the tax that’s due on those items.
The state tax rate Nebraskans are obligated to pay is the same as the sales tax rate the retailer would have collected.