LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Activists who want to close four Nebraska beer stores on the border of a South Dakota Indian reservation say the area doesn’t have sufficient law enforcement to respond to the frequent fights, drunken driving and other crimes in the tiny village.

Their testimony Thursday came during a hearing before state alcohol regulators who are considering whether to bar the stores from selling alcohol in Whiteclay, Nebraska, a village with nine full-time residents.

The stores sold the equivalent of 3.5 million cans of alcohol last year on the border of the alcoholism-plagued Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home of the Oglala Lakota Tribe.

Tatewin Means, the tribe’s attorney general, says the problems in Whiteclay spill over into the reservation, but the tribe’s working relationship with Nebraska law enforcement is “nonexistent.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Booming online retail sales are good news for the U.S. Postal Service, but its carriers are incurring a cost: more dog bites.

Dog attacks on postal workers rose last year to 6,755, up 206 from the previous year and the highest in three decades. The popularity of Amazon and other internet retailers is changing consumer habits, from seven-day-a-week delivery to groceries at your doorstep. The high for attacks dated back to the 1980s, before maulings by pit bulls and other potentially aggressive dogs became a public issue.

Los Angeles topped the list in 2016 with 80 attacks. It was followed by Houston with 62 and Cleveland with 60.

The Postal Service released figures Thursday as part of National Dog Bite Prevention Week, which begins Sunday.

A 34-year-old North Platte man has been charged after he allegedly borrowed a friend’s pickup but failed to return it.

On April 5, at around 4:18 p.m., Investigator John Deal says an officer responded to a residence in the 2500 block of Marko Court.

The officer met with a female who indicated that she had let Joshua Salisbury borrow her 1990 Chevrolet pickup, valued at around $1,500, to got to the Omaha area.  The woman said Salisbury was supposed to return in “a couple days.” Deal said Salisbury and the alleged victim are acquaintances.

Deal said the woman reported that Salisbury had had the pickup for approximately three weeks, and said all attempts to get him to return it had been unsuccessful.

Later in the evening, police returned to the residence after receiving a report that Salisbury was at the residence.  Deal said he told officers that he did not have the pickup and could not tell police where it was.

Following further investigation, Salisbury was placed under arrest and jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.  He’s been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and unauthorized use of a vehicle, both felonies.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against a Nebraska State Patrol commander by a former trooper who alleged the commander torpedoed his chances for advancement.

The lawsuit was filed by Todd Steckelberg, who was a trooper for more than 25 years before retiring last year.

The lawsuit alleged Col. Brad Rice created a hostile work environment and passed Steckelberg over for a job to protect the governor because he feared Steckelberg “might run his mouth.” But a federal judge said the allegations weren’t supported by facts.

The judge dismissed the lawsuit late last month. Steckelberg had sought damages for lost wages and damage to his reputation, along with punitive damages.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state commission that will decide whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline’s route through Nebraska has scheduled a five-day public hearing on the project.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission says the hearing will run Aug. 7-11 at the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln, beginning at 9 a.m. each day.

Pipeline developer TransCanada has requested the review as part of its efforts to complete the project. The $8 billion pipeline would transport oil from Alberta, Canada, across Montana and South Dakota to Nebraska, where it would connect with existing pipelines that feed Texas Gulf Coast refineries.

The project faces opposition from environmentalists as well as some landowners and Native American tribes.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An income and property tax package backed by Gov. Pete Ricketts is headed to the full Nebraska Legislature for debate.

Members of the Revenue Committee advanced the measure Wednesday with a 6-2 vote.

The proposal would reduce the state’s top individual and corporate income tax rates to 5.99 percent, expand the earned income tax credit for low-income residents and change the way agricultural land is valued for tax purposes. The bill would partially pay for the cuts by suspending two current tax credits. The individual income tax cuts would only go into effect in years when state revenue exceeds 3.5 percent.

The bill is expected to face a filibuster in the Legislature. Opponents say they’re not convinced the measure will stimulate economic growth, as supporters have promised.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has signed a law creating anti-abortion license plates.

Ricketts said Wednesday that manufacturing the “Choose Life” plates is a small step to celebrate Nebraska’s “culture of pro-life.” He says the license plates will join anti-abortion billboards along state highways in displaying Nebraska’s culture.

Opponents of the law argued the state should not put political speech on license plates, but Lt. Gov. Mike Foley says the landmark Roe v. Wade case allows states to express a preference for avoiding abortion. He and Ricketts say the Legislature will deal with other issues as they come up.

The plates will be available next January and cost $5 more than standard license plates. Revenue from them will supplement federal funding for the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts says he does not understand why a legislative committee working on the next two-year budget would cut the number of additional corrections officers he requested in half.

Ricketts said Wednesday he was “greatly disturbed” by the Appropriations Committee’s decision not to fund all 48 new officer positions. He says lawmakers have spent the past year asking him what the corrections department needs and then chose not to create the positions.

The corrections department has struggled to fill open positions and had nearly 150 officer vacancies as of March 31.

Ricketts says he plans to continue advocating for more guards. Creating 48 new positions would cost about $11 million over two years.

The request comes as Nebraska faces a projected $288 million two-year revenue shortfall.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska judges will get a 2.5 percent pay raise over a two-year period if a bill advanced by lawmakers becomes law.

Senators gave the measure first-round approval on Wednesday with a 31-0 vote, amid concerns about retaining quality jurists. Members of the Nebraska Supreme Court would see their salaries increase to roughly $176,300 a year by July 1, 2019. Their current salaries are about $171,975.

Members of the Nebraska Court of Appeals, district courts, juvenile courts, workers compensation courts and county courts will also get raises because their salaries are tied to what Nebraska Supreme Court justices make.

Supporters say judges could make far more money as private attorneys, but they want to serve the public.

Two additional votes are required before the proposal goes to Gov. Pete Ricketts.