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Authorities have identified the victim of the crash as 29-year-old Constantino Megariz-Carter, of North Platte.

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One person is dead following a single-vehicle accident near Maxwell.

On December 21, at around 10:00 a.m., deputies with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and first-responders responded to a single-vehicle accident near the Maxwell overpass on U.S. Highway (near mile marker 190).

It was reported that a vehicle was traveling westbound when it left the roadway at the top of the overpass, slid down the south side, then rolled and struck a tree.

The lone male occupant of the vehicle was trapped and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputies say the man was not wearing a seatbelt and they don’t believe drugs or alcohol were involved.

The man’s name has not been released, pending the notification of family members, and the investigation is ongoing.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker says he will continue advocating for voter identification requirements when the Legislature reconvenes next month.

Sen. John Murante of Gretna said Tuesday he will offer a package of bills that would provide different ways to enact voter ID requirements. Murante has proposed a ballot measure that would let voters decide the issue in the November 2018 election.

Murante made the announcement days after a national voting-rights activist visited Omaha to advocate against such measures. Critics say voter ID proposals are a solution in search of a problem and could disenfranchise voters. Murante is a Republican candidate for state treasurer.

Murante notes that the activist, Jason Kander, has ties to Democratic advocacy groups.

The bill package will also include legislation to modernize the state’s election equipment.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska court has overturned a judge’s decision to sentence a man to probation after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

The Nebraska Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned a February decision by Buffalo County District Judge Bill Wright to sentence Taylor Welty-Hackett to four years of intensive supervised probation. Welty-Hackett has been convicted of sexually assaulting the girl in 2015.

At the February sentencing hearing, Wright had called the victim the “aggressor” and said “she made the advances.” He also called for “bringing balance back into the system.”

Buffalo County Attorney Shawn Eatherton appealed the sentence.

The Court of Appeals ruled Wright’s statements about teen girls and seeking balance went beyond facts in the case.

A different judge will re-sentence Welty-Hackett.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — New U.S. Census Bureau data show Iowa and Nebraska’s populations grew slower than the national average.

Estimates released Wednesday show Iowa’s population increased to 3,145,711 as of July 1, up from 3,130,869 at the same time in 2016. That’s a growth rate of 0.47 percent.

Nebraska’s population grew to 1,920,076 during that same window, compared to 1,907,603 the previous year. That’s an increase of 0.65 percent.

The United States’ population reached 325,719,178 during that period, up from 323,405,935. That’s an increase of 0.71 percent.

The Census Bureau says Idaho was the nation’s fastest-growing state, with a population increase of 2 percent. Utah, Washington, Florida and Arizona were also among the biggest gainers.

Illinois experienced the largest population loss in terms of numbers, while Wyoming saw the largest percentage decline.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A legislative task force has released a list of goals to improve life in Whiteclay, a Nebraska village that sold massive amounts of beer near a South Dakota Indian reservation until state regulators intervened.

The report issued Wednesday calls for a new, permanent cellphone tower in the area to replace one that was vandalized and destroyed by a windstorm. It also suggests finding land for a possible treatment and detox center, a memorial for Whiteclay and additional economic development efforts.

Four stores in Whiteclay sold the equivalent of 3.5 million cans of beer annually next to South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation until April, when the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission voted not to renew their licenses. Whiteclay has a population of nine and no full-time law enforcement.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska State Patrol trooper has been fired and two officers have stepped down following a probe into allegations that the agency mishandled internal investigations.

Patrol Superintendent John Bolduc announced Wednesday that one lieutenant colonel retired, one sergeant resigned and one trooper was fired. Additionally, two officers were demoted and two others received unspecified punishments. Bolduc refused to identify any of the affected employees, citing confidentiality rules.

The investigation was launched amid allegations that patrol officials failed to adequately report and handle alleged misconduct cases.

One incident involved a man who was killed when a trooper bumped his vehicle during a high-speed chase. The other involved a trooper who struck an intoxicated man in the head with a rifle butt after the man ignored orders to get on the ground.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has released details of its plan to demolish a matching pair of high-rise dormitories that have housed thousands of students since 1963.

The 13-story Cather and Pound dormitories will be imploded on Friday.

Preparations for the demolition began in May when the university began removing windows, heavy furniture and mechanical parts from the dorms.

Controlled Demolition Inc. has spent several weeks preparing the buildings. The company is placing dynamite into support columns on select floors of the dorms. Barriers have also been put in place to minimize material being thrown outward and to prevent damage to nearby structures.

The last remnants of the dorms are expected to be taken to a landfill early next year.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska commission that approved a route for the Keystone XL pipeline through the state is declining requests to amend its decision.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission on Tuesday denied motions by pipeline developer TransCanada and leading opponents of the project. The decision to approve a route through the state is expected to be appealed in court.

Opponents have said the commission overstepped its jurisdiction and denied due process to affected landowners when it approved a different route than what TransCanada had preferred. They say the alternative pathway will affect landowners who weren’t along the company’s preferred route and didn’t have a chance to speak against it.

TransCanada had asked the commission to let it file an amended application to thwart an appeal on those grounds.

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol Troop D – North Platte have arrested a woman wanted on an outstanding warrant and found nearly 60 pounds of marijuana following a traffic stop in North Platte.

The stop occurred in a business parking lot just after a Ford Taurus exited Interstate 80 and was observed by the trooper making an improper signal. During the stop it was discovered that the driver, Jewel E. Estrada, 50, of North San Juan, California, had an active warrant from Douglas County.

Estrada was arrested for the warrant and troopers conducted a search of the vehicle. During the search, troopers discovered approximately 59 pounds of high-grade marijuana. The marijuana had an estimated street value of $295,000.

Estrada was lodged in Lincoln County Jail for the Douglas County warrant and additional charges of Possession of Marijuana – more than one pound, Possession With Intent to Deliver, and No Drug Tax Stamp.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline dropped 3 cents nationally over the past two weeks to $2.51.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that further declines are likely because U.S. gas supplies are flush.

The current gas price is 25 cents above where it was a year ago.

Gas in San Francisco was the highest in the contiguous United States at an average of $3.22 a gallon. The lowest was in Jackson, Mississippi, at $2.14 a gallon.

The U.S. average diesel price is $2.88, holding steady from two weeks ago.