LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The flooding that devastated huge swaths of Nebraska may put a dent in the state budget and force the postponement of other expenses, but officials said the recovery costs should be manageable.

Lawmakers are bracing for a likely wave of state agency budget requests in the next fiscal year as the state government’s share of the disaster recovery costs become clearer.

Members of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee want to ensure the state has enough cash to handle new flood-related expenses as well as future weather disasters, said Sen. John Stinner, the committee’s chairman.

“It became a priority, obviously,” he said. “Other things that we might have done were left out of the budget.”

For instance, Stinner said lawmakers may postpone some funding increases to the state Department of Health and Human Services that aren’t immediately needed.

He said the Appropriations Committee is proposing an $11 million boost to the state’s disaster response fund over the next two years to replenish money that was used to help local communities hit by flooding.

The account held around $3.9 million when the flooding began, and state officials have since obligated about $3.5 million, leaving an available balance of $400,000. The fund is used for immediate recovery efforts, such as debris removal and rescue operations, but also provides matching funds that are required to receive federal disaster aid.

Lawmakers typically try to maintain a balance of $5 million, but state emergency officials predict the fund could require an additional $3 million to $5 million in the next fiscal year and another $5 million the year after that.

The Nebraska State Patrol expects to see an uptick in overtime and travel expenses as a result of the flood but doesn’t yet have an exact estimate, said spokesman Cody Thomas. Troopers worked longer hours to respond to last month’s flooding and blizzard, and some were dispatched to other hard-hit parts of the state.

Thomas said the federal government will likely reimburse some of the expense.

“There was quite a bit of extra manpower on the roads,” he said.

The Nebraska Department of Transportation estimated last week that it will face an estimated $100 million in repair and rebuilding costs, although the federal government could cover up to 80 percent of those expenses.

The amount the federal government reimburses is still unclear, however, because state and federal officials are still sorting through all the projects and deadlines, said Jeni Campana, a department spokeswoman. The state’s $100 million estimate is substantially lower than the original projection, which pegged the cost at $429 million.

Campana said the department has completed a lot of the work. As of Friday, all but 19 of the 2,000 miles of highway that were closed due to flooding have reopened. The department will pay its share of the repair costs out of the state’s highway cash fund, which holds around $600 million.

Campana said the department is working to absorb the cost of flood repairs without disrupting other planned road projects.

“We’re still trying to operate with business as usual,” she said. “We’re feeling pretty confident we’re not going to see a huge impact.”

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indianapolis-based company has issued a recall for melon products sold in 16 states after being linked to a salmonella outbreak.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday that the recall includes cut watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe produced by Caito Foods LLC. The fruit has been sold under various brands or labels at Kroger, Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Target and Whole Foods.

The affected states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Health officials advise consumers to check packaging to determine if the melon was distributed by Caito Foods, and, if so, not to eat it. They advise stores to pull the products from shelves.

Authorities say 93 people have been sickened, 23 of whom were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

Salmonella Carrau is described as rare. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A long, wet winter has created extra problems for travelers on gravel roads in Lancaster and other Nebraska counties: frost boils.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that frost boils seemingly can devour the wheels of a truck, immobilize a car or all but sink a road grader. In short, they can make a gravel road impassable.

They’re created when frost in the gravel roadway melts in spring but can’t drain away because of frozen ground below, experts said. The soggy roadbed eventually heaves, softens and fails.

The mud below the gravel and limestone on top of the road basically liquefies, like it has been whipped in a blender, said Ron Bohaty, road maintenance superintendent for county engineering.

The county has had a few frost boils in the past, Bohaty said, but this spring there have been several dozen areas with the liquefied mud. Sometimes drivers can detect frost boils because the ground goes up and down as vehicles pass over. Sort of like driving on a sponge, he said.

This year’s frost line is 36 inches (91.4 centimeters) below the surface on many county roads. The county can do little more than close affected roads until the road frost thaws and the muddy muck above it dries.

But not everyone pays attention. On warmer days some people go beyond the barricades and their vehicles just sink and high-center, Bohaty said.

A frost boil is a problem “you learn about in college engineering classes and hope never happens to you,” said the Lancaster County engineer, Pam Dingman.

HEMINGFORD, Neb. (AP) — A failure of storage tanks belonging to Farmer’s Cooperative in Hemingford spilled 210,000 gallons (794,913 liters) of liquid fertilizer in northwestern Nebraska.

The spill happened Wednesday morning. Co-op general manager Bart Moseman said Friday that it immediately notified the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and that the spill is under investigation. The agency is also assessing the impact of the spill.

Hemingford Fire Chief Shad Bryner says nine tanks failed — two of them containing roughly 40,000 gallons of water and the others holding the liquid fertilizer ammonium polyphosphate.

Bryner says officials don’t know what caused the failure. Mosesman said other cooperatives quickly jumped in to help Farmer’s contain and salvage as much spilled fertilizer as possible.

Bryner says that while the spill was large, there was no immediate hazard to people in the area.

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska state government collected more taxes than expected in March.

The state Department of Revenue reported Friday that net receipts for the month totaled $344 million, which is 3.5 percent higher than the projected amount of $332 million.

The bump came from higher-than-expected individual income taxes and net corporate income taxes. Net sales-and-use taxes and miscellaneous taxes were lower than projected.

Net tax collections for the current fiscal year are slightly above projections.

The comparisons are based on February predictions from the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board. They’re used by lawmakers to determine how much money is available in the state budget.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska Republican Party says a Jesuit college in Omaha should rescind its invitation asking former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey to speak at its commencement, citing his position on abortion.

The state party’s executive director, Ryan Hamilton, released a statement Thursday saying that Creighton University should find a different commencement speaker and “take a stand for their pro-life values.”

Hamilton says Kerrey voted against banning late-term abortions while in the Senate.

Kerrey, who also formerly served as Nebraska’s governor, says he won’t speak at the May 18 commencement ceremonies if his presence will be a distraction.

Kerrey says he supports Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. He says it doesn’t make him “pro-abortion,” but rather “pro-civil rights.”

The university declined to comment.

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) responded to dozens of weather-related incidents during the latest round of winter weather.

“We certainly hope that this is the last blast for winter,” said Colonel John Bolduc, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “But our troopers and dispatchers were ready and answered the call once again, as they’ve done many times over the last several months.”

Troopers performed 125 motorist assists during the storm, which dumped more than a foot of snow in some areas of Nebraska. NSP also responded to 21 crashes and assisted other agencies with 29 incidents. Long stretches of Interstate 80 and several other state highways were closed for about 24 hours during the worst part of the storm.

“We’d especially like to salute the team from the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT),” said Colonel Bolduc. “NDOT crews continue to exceed expectations in adverse conditions. The quick decision making to close specific roadways during dangerous weather conditions has undoubtedly prevented crashes.”

While the snow has passed, there are still some snow-covered roads in some areas of northern and western Nebraska. NSP encourages drivers in those areas to check Nebraska 511 for the latest updates on road conditions. Any driver who needs assistance on the road can call *55 from any cell phone to reach the NSP Highway Helpline.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) – People in western Nebraska might be able to see the sun after it rises Friday morning, now that a powerful snowstorm has blown through.

Thursday’s spring blizzard was the second “bomb cyclone” storm system to hit the region in a month. It left behind more than a foot of snow (30.5 centimeters) and deeper drifts in spots, thanks to winds that gusted to more than 60 mph (96.6 kph).

Region 22 Emergency Management Director Tim Newman told Scottsbluff station KNEB that he was snowed in at his Banner County home with drifts more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) high.

Travel remains problematical. The Nebraska Transportation Department reports that several highways are packed with snow and remain closed.

The area forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and temperatures approaching 40 degrees.