LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s state revenue tax collections surged in December, possibly due to the federal tax package approved that month.

The Department of Revenue announced Friday that net tax receipts were nearly 10 percent higher than projections for the month. The state saw net tax collections of $415 million, which is $37 million more than the certified state forecast.

Net individual income tax collections were more than 16 percent higher than projections, and net sales-and-use tax revenue was 6 percent higher. Net corporate income taxes came in more than 2 percent higher than projected, while net miscellaneous tax revenue was more than 9 percent lower.

The governor’s office cited media reports that many Americans prepaid their taxes to take advantage of state and local tax deductions that the federal tax bill eliminated.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — University of Nebraska officials fear new budget cuts proposed by the governor would make it tough for the system to remain affordable and still meet state economic needs.

Gov. Pete Ricketts wants to cut the university system’s state appropriation by 2 percent — a total of $11.4 million — for the remainder of this fiscal year. He also proposed cutting $23.2 million for the 2018-19 budget year.

University officials say the cuts could result in program elimination, fewer teachers, and higher tuition.

System President Hank Bounds said Thursday the university would be swallowing one-third of the statewide total once cuts to state agencies and programs are computed, although state support for the university makes up 13 percent of the total state budget.

Bounds says university leaders will be discussing options soon.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Average prices for high-quality farmland have dropped over the past year in Nebraska but slightly risen in Iowa, according to a farm management company.

Farmers National Co. gathered sale price information about 18 states from land-grant colleges, Farm Credit banks, and other industry sources.

An acre of irrigated cropland in Nebraska averaged $9,000 last year, down from $9,500 in 2016 and $10,000 in 2015, according to the company’s report. The average for farmland in Iowa was $10,500 last year, up from $10,100 in 2016 and 2015.

Low commodity prices mean low-quality cropland and grassland has been difficult to sell, said Paul Schadegg, a sales manager in Sidney, Nebraska. The average price for high-quality land rose last year in multiple states, including Nebraska and Iowa, according to Farmers National.

Prices are more stable than in previous years, despite a slight dip in prices in many states, said Randy Dickhut, senior vice president of real estate operations for Farmers National.

“We think this is just kind of a stabilizing time,” Dickhut said. “I’d still say there’s a trend that it will soften more. We don’t think we’re done going down.”

Last year’s stability may be due to a drop in farmland and ranchland properties for sale combined with a steady to slightly increased demand, he said.

It’s unclear if the stability is an indication of a longer-term turnaround, Dickhut said. Factors such as crop yields, interest rates, grain prices, equipment expenses and payments on previous land purchases could all influence prices. The new farm bill, as well as changes to U.S. trade policy, can also impact land prices, he said.

Average prices have been dropping steadily across the U.S. since 2013 because of lower prices for farm goods.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska attorney general’s decision not to prosecute alleged liquor law violations in Whiteclay will save the state an estimated $50,000 in legal fees.

The savings were disclosed in Gov. Pete Ricketts proposed budget released Wednesday.

The attorney general’s office announced in October it would drop charges against the village’s four stores in northwest Nebraska because they had already lost their liquor licenses. Authorities had accused the stores of violations including selling to bootleggers and failing to cooperate with investigators.

The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission originally requested the money to pay an attorney who had done most of the legal work on the case but was no longer employed by the state. The decision not to prosecute made his services unnecessary.

State regulators effectively closed the stores in April when they voted not to renew their licenses.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A western Nebraska man and convicted sex offender has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography.

Federal prosecutors say 38-year-old Bobby Joe Ansley, of Mullen, was sentenced Friday in Lincoln’s federal court.

Prosecutors say the Nebraska State Patrol received tips in February 2016 about images of sexually explicit conduct involving minors being attached to Ansley’s email address. After an investigation, the patrol searched Ansley’s home and seized an external hard drive that held 1,950 images of child pornography, many including prepubescent children.

Ansley had previously been convicted in 2003 of aggravated sexual abuse in California.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Spring turkey hunting permits for 2018 are now available from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

The commission says Nebraska offers the best turkey hunting opportunities in the country, with the wild birds in all 93 counties, including the highly-sought Merriam’s wild turkey in some areas. The state also offers plentiful and affordable permits, long seasons, great public access and $5 permits for youth.

In the spring, hunters can purchase as many as three permits, with a bag limit of one turkey per permit.

The spring archery season opens March 25, and youth shotgun season opens April 7. The regular shotgun season opens April 14. All spring turkey seasons close May 31.

 

UPDATE (1.15.18, 1:00 pm)

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A Kearney woman has been reported as missing and is believed to be endangered.

Amanda Young departed her Kearney residence on 01/11/2018 between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., driving a beige 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport Van with Nebraska License plate #9C2013.

She was last observed wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, and gray sweatpants. Amanda is age40, 5’-8”, 135 lbs, Brown hair, green eyes. Amanda is possibly suicidal, and has been entered into NCIC as Missing-Endangered.

Please contact the Kearney Police Department at 308-237-2104 if you have any information or if you have seen Amanda or her vehicle.

 

FRANKLIN, Neb. (AP) — A south-central Nebraska man accused of injuring his 2-month-old daughter has been sent to prison.

Court records say 21-year-old Dalton Howard, of Upland, was sentenced Tuesday in Franklin to eight to 10 years in prison and given credit for 182 days already served. He’d pleaded guilty to attempted intentional child abuse. Prosecutors had lowered the charge in exchange for his plea.

Howard was arrested in February 2016 after the girl was taken by her mother to a Minden hospital, where the baby was found to have bruising and a brain bleed. The little girl eventually was taken to an Omaha hospital for treatment.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Residents near a high school in eastern Nebraska have been complaining about students who loiter outside their homes.

Several residents near Northeast High School in Lincoln asked the Lincoln Board of Education for help with the issue at a meeting Tuesday.

Students smoke and leave trash, according to resident Marty Ramirez. Students sit in their driveways, drink alcohol and have urinated on their property, other neighbors said. Some students have become increasingly confrontational and some residents are afraid to go outside, the homeowners said.

“It’s escalated to a crisis situation,” Ramirez said.

School officials said they’ve worked to address the issues. Some of the young people who gather in the neighborhood have been kicked out of school or no longer attend, but go there to see friends, officials said.

“I think at every school we have a group of students that probably smoke and would like to have the opportunity to be out of class once in a while,” said Principal Kurt Glathar. “It’s not a group of students who decided to go out and make the neighborhood miserable.”

The situation began to improve a few years ago once police and city officials moved a bus stop in the neighborhood closer to the school.

“Since then it’s worked quite well,” Glathar said. “We’ve been able to monitor the bus stop.”

While the move did help for a while, students have since moved back to loitering in the neighborhood near the home of a student, Ramirez said.

Lincoln Police Officer Nate Hill, the school resource officer, said many of the students who gather outside homes don’t cause problems and do as he asks, though there are exceptions. Hill said he’s issued tickets for littering and alcohol possession.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska officials will target potential sex traffickers this year with more proactive law enforcement and an ad campaign at rest stops and other places where trafficking takes place.

Attorney General Doug Peterson announced the initiative Thursday with dozens of state officials and advocates. The Demand an End awareness campaign seeks to clamp down on child sex trafficking by focusing on johns who purchase sex.

The Human Trafficking Initiative reports that 11 percent of the people sold for sex in Nebraska are advertised as under the age of 21.

Lawmakers and Gov. Pete Ricketts have increased penalties in recent years for sex traffickers and johns who prey on underage victims. Peterson says he wants to make clear that traffickers “are going to pay a really high price” if they get caught.