CHADRON, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a 3-year-old boy in northwest Nebraska.

Chadron radio station KCSR reports that the boy was reported unconscious and not breathing around 11 a.m. Saturday in a Chadron residence.

The boy’s name and other information about what happened have not been released.

OGALLALA, Neb. (AP) — A truck driver from Florida has pleaded no contest to charges stemming from a 2016 crash in western Nebraska that killed six people, including a family of five from Minnesota.

Court records say 55-year-old Tony Weekly Jr. entered the pleas Tuesday in Keith County District Court. The charges: three felony and three misdemeanor counts of vehicular homicide and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving.

Sentencing is set for July 20.

Investigators say Weekly was distracted July 31, 2016, and didn’t slow down in an Interstate 80 construction zone near Brule (brool), smashing into the back of a minivan. Inside were Jamison and Kathryne Pals, of St. Paul, and their three children, aged 3 years, 2½ and 23 months.

Another man injured in the crash, Terry Sullivan, of Denver, died later.

Kearney police are asking the public to help them find a missing male.

Andrew J.Callahan, white male, 6’2”, 280 pounds, 30 years old, DOB 08/23/1986 was last heard from on May 2, 2018 around 6 p.m. when he told his roommate he was going camping and planned to return by Friday, May 4, 2018. Andrew did not return.

He is believed to be traveling in a blue, 2004, Ford F-150 Super Crew pickup, Nebraska Commercial license plate # 98590A. The pickup has a Houston Texans sticker in the back window.

If you see Andrew, please contact the Kearney Police Department at 308-237-2104.

Foul play is not suspected at this point in the investigation, but police would like to find Andrew in
order to assure he is safe.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts will travel to Mexico in August for an international trade mission.

Ricketts said Monday that Mexico is the second largest agricultural export market in North America and he plans to look for opportunities to expand Nebraska’s relationship with the country.

Mexico accounts for nearly $1 billion of America’s $6.4 billion annual export revenue. Nebraska exports corn, soybeans and beef to Mexico.

Ricketts says he hopes to thank the country for its business and find more ways for Nebraska to highlight and expand agriculture connections.

He has traveled to Asia and Europe in previous years for trade missions.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s farmland values saw a decline for the second consecutive year after decades of increases.

The Nebraska Department of Revenue released a report Friday showing that agricultural land values fell by almost 2.8 percent. The values dropped by 0.15 percent last year, which marked the first decline after nearly 25 years of increases.

Residential and commercial property values increased this year by 5.4 percent and 6.9 percent respectively.

Experts said the farmland property values follow the price decline for corn, soybeans, beef and other commodities over the past few years.

“It’s a reflection of the farm economy right now,” said Jay Rempe, an agricultural economist with the Nebraska Farm Bureau.

The decline can be seen as a “rebalancing,” said Eric Thompson, director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Bureau of Business Research. Farmland values were at “unusually high levels” early this decade, he said.

A modest drop in farmland values won’t bring extensive property tax relief, according to Craig Weber, a farmer north of Kearney.

“It’s going to take a lot of 2.7 percents to get our property taxes where they’re a little more reasonable,” Weber said.

Farmland values took the biggest hit in Hitchcock County, where they dropped by more than 10 percent.

Gov. Pete Ricketts proposed reforming agricultural land valuations last year to lower property taxes on farmers and ranchers, said Taylor Gage, the governor’s spokesman.

“The governor has continued to fight for property tax relief in spite of the failure of senators to adopt his proposal,” Gage said.

Weber said the agriculture industry is “cyclical,” and that “we’ll be headed back to more profitable times.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Although spring storms initially slowed spring planting progress in Iowa and Nebraska, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports farmers have nearly caught up to five-year averages in the past week.

Iowa farmers have 40 percent of the corn crop planted, about three days behind the average at this point in the season. Three percent of corn plants have emerged, a slower pace than the five-year average of 9 percent.

The USDA said Monday in its weekly crop update that Iowa soybean planting is at the average of 12 percent completed.

Farmers in Nebraska have 42 percent of the corn planted, near the 46 percent average. About 2 percent of the plants emerged behind the five-year average of 10 percent.

Soybean planting is slightly ahead of schedule with 16 percent completed.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Omaha attorney Jonathan Papik was sworn in to the Nebraska Supreme Court on Monday by U.S. Supreme Court Judge Neil Gorsuch.

Papik served as Gorsuch’s law clerk, and the judge said Papik has a natural judicial temperament.

“Where character is concerned, Jonathan Papik arrived in my chambers fully formed,” Gorsuch said, describing his former clerk as a hard-worker who was “precise in his reasons, confident, but never brash.”

Gorsuch was appointed to the Supreme Court last year by President Donald Trump to replace Antonin Scalia.

Papik was nominated by Gov. Pete Ricketts to replace Justice Max Kelch, who resigned after less than two years on the bench following an ethics complaint filed against him. Papik is Ricketts’ third nomination to the state Supreme Court.

Ricketts said Papik has a sharp mind, the respect of his colleagues and is dedicated to understanding the constitution how it was written.

Papik also clerked for Judge Laurence H. Silberman in the U.S. Court of Appeals after graduating with honors from Harvard Law School. He has practiced law as a partner at Cline Williams Wright Johnson & Oldfather for nearly eight years.

Papik, who was born in Stromsburg, said he feels blessed for the opportunity to serve as a judge.

“As a judge, there’s not a lot I can say about how I will do my job,” he said. “It’s improper to say that I would rule this way or rule that way on a particular issue or particular case, but I can commit before everyone here today that I will do my absolute best to apply the law faithfully and impartially.”

The 36-year-old Papik is the youngest judge to serve on the high court. His wife and three young children placed his judicial robe on him during Monday’s official ceremony.

Papik will represent the 4th Judicial District, which includes portions of Douglas and Sarpy counties.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — The Riverside Discovery Center in western Nebraska’s Scottsbluff has announced the addition of two bison calves to its herd.

The new bison go on display this weekend.

Zoo officials went to Kansas last month to pick up the female bison.

The new additions join Riverside’s older male bison, Doc.

Bison are herd animals. Zoo Director Anthony Mason says the addition of the two female calves will improve Doc’s overall well-being.

Mason says his priority is to bring more animals to the zoo.

LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — An Elwood native has been selected as the new county court clerk magistrate for Dawson and Gosper counties in south-central Nebraska.

Myndee Hagan began her duties Monday, replacing retired Clerk Magistrate Dianna Wheeler.

Born and raised in Elwood, Hagan and her family returned to the area about two years ago. She began working with the county court system in late 2016 as a records clerk for Gosper County Court.

County court clerk magistrates work under the direction of the presiding county court judge supervising, assigning and directing the work of county court staff. Hagan is responsible for ensuring the efficiency of the court’s administrative functions and for investigating and evaluating procedural changes within the court.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska will pay $8.8 million to contractors next year for statewide standardized testing of public school students.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that the Nebraska State Board of Education on Friday authorized Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt to negotiate contracts with the state’s testing providers for another year.

Blomstedt said the current contractors delivered this year’s testing relatively free of issues.

The board authorized contracting with ACT for a third year of high school testing. The $1.5 million contract includes providing the ACT college entry exam plus writing for all public school juniors and access to online ACT prep and the PreACT.

The board also authorized $6.1 million to contract with NWEA for state standardized testing for third- through eighth-grades for the 2018-19 school year.