LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Recent dry weather is helping Nebraska farmers move forward with this fall’s harvest.  But the U.S. Department of Agriculture says moisture levels in grain remain high across most of the state, so the amount of progress farmers can make is limited right now. The USDA says in its weekly report the dry bean harvest is about 49 percent done, but the harvest of soybeans and sugar beets is just getting started. And only about 6 percent of Nebraska’s corn crop has been harvested. About 76 percent of the corn rates in good or excellent condition. That’s close to the average at this time of year of 75 percent. About 79 percent of the soybean crop is in good or excellent shape. That’s better than the 74 percent average.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A 24-year- old North Platte man has been given 5-to-10 years in prison for using a hammer to beat a man and steal his prescription medications. Court records say Ryan Houghtaling had pleaded no contest to the assault charge and guilty to two felony drug charges. In return, prosecutors dropped robbery and weapons charges. He was sentenced on Monday by Lincoln County District Judge Donald Rowlands. Rowlands gave Houghtaling the prison time for the assault and 231 days for each drug charge, then credited Houghtaling for 231 days already served while awaiting disposition of his case. Houghtaling had been arrested Feb. 8 after assaulting another resident of his apartment complex.

PORT ARTHUR, Texas (AP) – After a largely amicable first round of public hearings into a proposed Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline, U.S. State Department officials could encounter fierce resistance during a listening session in Nebraska.  Environmentalists and some landowners are planning to rally outside the Pershing Center near the state Capitol in Lincoln. They argue the Keystone XL pipeline would carry dirty oil. The proposed $7 billion pipeline would move tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, through six U.S. states. During the opening round of hearings Monday, Texans praised the project while Kansas residents were concerned about its potential dangers. But the opposition could be stronger Tuesday in Nebraska. There’s growing concern about the pipeline’s effect on a vast subterranean reservoir that provides water across a large swath of the Great Plains.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (North Platte Post)- A 64 year old North Platte man has been arrested for assaulting a fellow resident at Buffalo Bill Manor. Steven C. Van Horn was taken into custody on Saturday and charged with attempted second degree murder, first degree false imprisonment, strangulation and other felonies after accosting a 61 year old woman in the elevator at the apartment complex. The victim reported having been choked by Van Horn and having a firearm thrust into her neck and abdomen while being threatened with her life. When approached by police, Van Horn had a loaded .32 caliber firearm in his front pants pocket. Van Horn remains in custody at the Lincoln County Jail.