NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – A federal relief center has been opened to help residents affected by flooding in North Platte. An estimated 78 families have been affected by the swollen Platte River. The relief center open in the Westfield Shopping Center is operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA can help flood victims find temporary housing and make repairs to their homes.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Environmentalists hoping to block a proposed underground pipeline that would funnel oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico have pinned their hopes on an unlikely ally: the conservative state of Nebraska. Few states are as red as Nebraska, which hasn’t supported a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964. But opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline has risen steadily since the project was proposed three years ago. The reason is fear of contaminating the Ogallala Aquifer, a subterranean reservoir that spans a large swath of the Great Plains and provides water to much of Nebraska, as well as seven other states. Opponents have grown to include Nebraska’s conservative governor along with the state’s U.S. senators, a Republican and a conservative Democrat. Many in the public also are hostile to the idea.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (North Platte Post)- North Platte residents no longer have to leave town for heart catheterization or specialized cardiac care. Great Plains Regional Medical Center has opened their Heart & Vascular Services Center. Cardiologists Dr.’s Ali and Arteaga along with APRN Sydney Buckland and staff can now provide a wide range of treatments including cardiac stents which previously had to be handled elsewhere. The Great Plains Heart and Vascular Center is the only interventional cardiology and vascular facility in Nebraska west of Kearney.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – A North Platte woman has been sentenced to one to three years in prison for giving her daughter a prescription drug that was passed to another teen. The North Platte Telegraph reports that 36-year-old Amie Jackson was sentenced Tuesday. Jackson made a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in August to a reduced charge of attempting to commit a class three felony. Prosecutors say Jackson gave her teen daughter the anti-anxiety medication Xanax, and her daughter gave the pills to a friend. Jackson was arrested in June. Jackson received credit for the 71 days she has already spent in jail.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – New U.S. Census estimates show Nebraska’s median household income increased more than $300 per family between 2009 and 2010, the largest proportional gain of any state. The report released Thursday shows income grew to $48,408 last year, a nearly 1 percent gain. The only larger increase was the District of Columbia. David Drozd, a researcher for the Center for Public Affairs Research, attributes Nebraska’s growth to its low unemployment and higher commodity prices that helped farmers. Rural western Nebraska saw the largest income increase, while the Omaha area saw a decline. Nebraska was one of only five states that saw median income growth. The others were South Dakota, North Dakota, West Virginia and Virginia.