LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Treasurer’s office says assets of the NEST college savings plan have reached a record $4.5 billion.

State Treasurer Don Stenberg says the state-sponsored 529 college savings program hit the mark as of June 30. The program maintains more than 252,000 active accounts across the country, and 76,000 of those are owned by Nebraskans.

Stenberg says more than 20,000 new accounts have been added annually since 2011, with 10,162 new accounts added so far in 2017. Stenberg says the total assets in NEST have increased by 87.5 percent since December 2010.

He attributed the growth, in part, to ongoing efforts to make parents and grandparents aware of NEST and the benefits it offers families looking for ways to save for college for their children and grandchildren.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal appeals court has agreed with a lower court’s ruling upholding Nebraska’s law requiring picketers to stay at least 500 feet from funerals.

The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday said that all speakers, including members of Westboro Baptist Church, have a constitutionally-protected right to express their beliefs at funerals. But the appeals court also said that those rights “are not absolute and some time, place, and/or manner restrictions are allowed.”

Shirley Phelps-Roper, a prominent member of the Topeka-Kansas based church, sued in 2009, arguing, among other things, that the Nebraska law is selectively enforced.

The church protests at funerals throughout the country using anti-gay chants and signs because it believes God is punishing U.S. military members and others for defending a nation that tolerates homosexuality.

LINCOLN, Neb. – Tyler Nelson has been selected as the park superintendent for Lake McConaughy and Lake Ogallala state recreation areas (SRA).

Nelson was most recently the assistant superintendent at Lake McConaughy and Lake Ogallala, where he served since 2014. Prior to that appointment, he was the assistant superintendent at Two Rivers SRA in Douglas County.

Nelson takes over management of the park areas from Colby Johnson, who recently was appointed as the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s regional park superintendent of the Southern Panhandle Region.

“Tyler brings a wealth of knowledge to the Parks Division and will be an excellent asset to the team at Lake McConaughy,” Johnson said.

For more information on Nebraska’s state park areas, visit outdoornebraska.gov/parks/.

Posted 8.11.17

• Todd Eugene Hlavaty, 61, North Platte and Julie Marie Mroczek, 55, North Platte

 

• Eric Joseph Kackmeister, 28, North Platte and Sisi Chen, 31, North Platte

 

• Arye Joseph Barmore, 22, Sutherland and Amanda Lee Stoner, 22, Sutherland

 

• Joshua Ryan Eskew, 27, Hershey and Leslie Nichole Leon, 26, North Platte

 

• Joseph Trent Pafford, 22, North Platte and Kathleen Marie Utter, 27, North Platte

 

• Kyle Duane Clough, 28, Wallace and Katelynn Marie Hild, 24, Wallace

 

• Justin Kean Snyder, 42, North Platte and Jessica Renee Lakey, 33, North Platte

 

• Willie Earl Purvis III, 38, North Platte and Amanda Rose Grandel, 30, North Platte

 

• Tanner Wade McIntosh, 28, North Platte and Ashley Ann Golden, 26, North Platte

 

• Jesse Chapman Shirley, 35, North Platte and Alejandra Nicole Reyna, 20, North Platte

 

• William Riley Merritt, 31, North Platte and Tiffany Kay Dimmitt, 24, North Platte

 

• Randall Scott Laubscher, 45, North Platte and Erin Evangeline Stark, 46, North Platte

 

• Joseph Alan Baker, 37, Hutchinson, KS and Danielle Renee Forsythe, 33, Maywood NE

 

• Michael Alfred Robb, 61, North Platte and Rochelle Lynn Beman, 48, North Platte

 

• Benjamin Michael Brezenski, 28, North Platte and Cathy Ann Vaughan, 21, North Platte

 

• Daryl Kevin Higginbotham,63, North Platte and Cynthia Irene Shupe, 61, North Platte

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will consider a staff recommendation to authorize one auction and one lottery permit for the 2018 bighorn sheep season when it meets Aug. 17 in North Platte.

The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. at the West Central Research and Extension Center, 402 W. State Farm Road.

Also on the agenda are staff recommendations to:

— amend fisheries aquaculture regulations regarding the application for importation of aquatic organisms and requirements related to the discovery of pathogens;

— approve an increase in the cash change fund at the Rock Creek State Fish Hatchery and to establish a cash change fund at the Valentine State Fish Hatchery;

— approve a permanent easement request from the Loup River Public Power District to bury an overhead power line on Wilkinson Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Platte County;

— approve a land trade in Sioux County with the state’s Board of Educational Lands and Funds for 15 acres adjacent to Gilbert-Baker WMA in exchange for a 27-acre tract;

— approve acquisition of 747.81 acres in Banner County adjacent to William’s Gap WMA;

— approve hunting seasons in specific state parks and state historical parks; and

— approve a resolution supporting the recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America’s Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources and the Alliance for America’s Fish and Wildlife Campaign.

The Commission also will hear public testimony regarding the Lake McConaughy/Lake Ogallala Master Plan. It will hear a staff update on the Berggren Plan for Pheasants/Open Fields and Waters Program.

In addition, staff will give presentations on the Conservation Environmental Review Tool and the Nebraska Natural Legacy Project’s Loess Canyon Biologically Unique Landscape.

A complete agenda is available at outdoornebraska.gov/commissioners/.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a passenger jet has landed safely in western Nebraska after losing power in one of its two engines on a flight to South Dakota.

Aerodynamics Inc. says Flight 217 carrying 46 passengers and three crew members set down at Western Nebraska Regional Airport in Scottsbluff around 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, 70 minutes after its Denver takeoff. The Embraer 145 aircraft was headed for Pierre and then Watertown, South Dakota.

Aerodynamics Chief Operating Officer Mickey Bowman said Thursday that all the passengers used ground transportation to continue their journeys. He says the plane remains at the Scottsbluff airport for repairs.

Aerodynamics is based in Kennesaw, Georgia. Bowman says the flight was operating under an affiliation with Great Lakes Airlines.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska residents are sharing decades-old stories about the last time a total solar eclipse was visible from the state, as another one approaches.

Dennis Riesselman was 12 and living in Butte, Nebraska, when the eclipse took place on June 30, 1954. He says his mother woke him at dawn that day and drove them to a hilltop to see the moon cover the sun.

That day, the newspaper predicted Omaha would see a “black sunrise” with 96 percent of the sun obscured. But clouds gave Omaha residents an underwhelming view.

Areas in the far north region of Nebraska, like Butte, saw the total eclipse.

Riesselman is now 75. He says he’ll head south from his Omaha home to watch the Aug. 21 eclipse.

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ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) — The executive director of the Nebraska Brand Committee is quitting for a new job in Texas.

Committee chairman John Widdowsen announced at the committee Wednesday in Alliance that Bill Bunce will be leaving at the end of August.

The Brand Committee records ranchers’ brands, inspects cattle to verify ownership and investigates missing livestock and cattle rustling.

Bunce says he’s accepted a position as vice president of the Houston-based American Brahman Breeders Association. He says the opportunity is “the best thing for my family.”

The Brand Committee hired Bunce in November after its previous executive director, Shawn Harvey, resigned in the wake of a critical state audit.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A November trial has been scheduled for a Kearney day care owner who had been caring for four children who police say were found walking unsupervised along a busy street a mile (2 kilometers) away.

Court records say 41-year-old Meredith Spencer filed written pleas of not guilty Wednesday to four counts of misdemeanor child abuse and neglect. Her trial is set to begin Nov. 6.

Prosecutors say someone called police July 13 after spotting the children: an 8-year-old, a 6-year-old and two 5-year-olds. Police say the kids were unharmed.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts is trying to lure Canadian businesses to Nebraska on his trade mission to the country.

Ricketts said Wednesday he spoke with a company the night before about expanding into this state. He says he’s also had several discussions about the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he supports.

The five-day trade mission will include meetings with government, agricultural and manufacturing officials in Toronto and Ottawa.

Ricketts has said he chose Canada for a trade mission because it’s Nebraska’s largest export market, and thus the state’s best customer. The trade delegation is comprised of state agriculture and economic development administrators, the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Corn Growers, Nebraska Cattlemen Association and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.