LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Medical marijuana advocates are urging Nebraska lawmakers to support a bill that would allow people with diseases including cancer, glaucoma and epilepsy to use the substance.

Supporters packed two rooms Wednesday for a legislative committee hearing on the measure sponsored by Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln. They say marijuana is a more effective and less addictive alternative to opioid painkillers.

Proponents include veterans who were injured in Iraq, parents of children who suffer from seizures and a retired physician with multiple sclerosis. Many say they have benefited from medical marijuana when visiting states that have legalized it.

The Nebraska State Patrol, Attorney General’s office and Nebraska Sheriffs Association oppose the measure. Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner says legalizing medical marijuana is the first step to allowing recreational marijuana.

SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) — A police department in far western Nebraska is offering — tongue in cheek — drug dealers “a FREE service to help you eliminate your drug competition!”

The Sidney Police Department posted the fake form in fun on its Facebook page Tuesday, imploring drug dealers to report their competitors’ names, addresses, phone numbers and normal business hours.

Police Chief Joe Aikens said the posting had several shares and likes, but no one had yet turned in a faked form with real information.

On a serious note, Aikens says the post has stirred conversation about community involvement in drug cases. He says the more people involved in reporting suspicious activity, the better off everybody is.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The developer of the Keystone XL pipeline has donated $20,000 to the Nebraska Republican Party through a political action committee run by one of its U.S. subsidiaries.

The Feb. 8 donation was made as TransCanada seeks approval for a route through Nebraska. It came from Columbia Pipeline Group, which was acquired by the Canadian company in July.

TransCanada filed its application with the Nebraska Public Service Commission Feb. 16. Four of the commission’s five members are Republicans.

TransCanada has spent $925,000 in lobbying in Nebraska over five years. It donated $2,500 to then-Gov. Dave Heineman in 2010, but Heineman returned the money because federal law bars contributions from foreign entities.

Nebraska GOP Executive Director Kenny Zoeller says the company donation was to sponsor a Feb. 23 recognition dinner for lawmakers.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker is calling on the Trump administration to overturn a decision that he says could lead to federal intervention in state election systems.

Sen. John Murante of Gretna said Wednesday that the federal government’s decision to label state voting systems as critical infrastructure could violate state sovereignty and increase security risks.

Murante notes that the U.S. Constitution grants states the authority to conduct elections. He says the nation’s decentralized election system is a security benefit because voting information isn’t all stored in one place.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says designating the voting systems as critical infrastructure allows states to get prioritized federal assistance to manage risks. David Hess, a senior department official, says it doesn’t involve any kind of federal intrusion or takeover.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state senator is urging lawmakers to look seriously at replacing Nebraska’s election equipment, which could cost the state between $20 million and $30 million.

Sen. John Murante of Gretna said Wednesday that the current equipment is on pace to fail, and inaction is not an option.

His comments during a legislative hearing drew support from Secretary of State John Gale, who urged lawmakers to have the state cover the cost rather than counties. Gale says many counties can’t afford the technology and would have to revert to hand-counting ballots if their equipment failed.

Senators presented bills at the hearing that would allow counties to conduct vote-by-mail elections and legalize optical scanners, among other changes. Because of a state revenue shortfall, most are unlikely to advance this year.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Gordmans has told state regulators that the department store operator plans to eliminate nearly 600 jobs in May as part of the company’s bankruptcy when it closes both its distribution centers and its headquarters.

The company said it expects to eliminate 450 jobs in Nebraska on May 12 when it closes its Omaha headquarters and distribution center. It said it plans to eliminate another 140 jobs the same day at a distribution center it will close in Clayton, Indiana, near Indianapolis.

Gordmans notified state labor regulators of the pending layoffs this week after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday.

Gordmans employed more than 5,000 people and ran over 100 stores in 22 states in the Midwest before the bankruptcy. The stores continue operating but Gordmans plans to liquidate inventory.

NEW YORK (AP) — Three women were left nearly or totally blind by a vision treatment at a stem cell clinic, in what doctors call a dramatic illustration of how risky such clinics can be.

Doctors who examined the women after the clinic visits said the treatment had been offered without being proven effective.

Many researchers are studying ways to treat disease with stem cells, including those taken from a patient’s own body. But authorities also warn about private clinics that offer unproven procedures.

The three women were treated for an eye condition at a Florida clinic in 2015, while they were in their 70s and 80s.

Their cases were described in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine.

LINCOLN, Neb. – White-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease that affects hibernating bats, has been confirmed in Nebraska.

The disease was confirmed after several dozen dead bats were discovered during a recent survey of a mine in Cass County. The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, confirmed the disease in three bats from the mine – a little brown bat, a northern long-eared bat and a tri-colored bat.

Nebraska is the 30th state to confirm the presence of white-nose syndrome, which has killed more than 6 million bats since 2006. Additionally, the disease has been confirmed in five Canadian provinces.

“Finding bats with white-nose syndrome in Nebraska emphasizes the need to develop and implement new tools to manage the spread and reduce the severity of the impacts of this devastating disease,” said Jeremy Coleman, national white-nose syndrome coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission first began monitoring for Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome, in 2014. Pd was first detected it in the state in 2015 on bats sampled from another mine in Cass County. It was then detected in 2016 on bats sampled from a Sarpy County mine, approximately 1¼ miles from the Cass County mine. Confirmation of white-nose syndrome in Nebraska follows a pattern observed in other states in which white-nose syndrome in bats occurs two to three years following first detection of Pd. The new mine identified as positive for WNS had previously been surveyed for Pd.

“Following the finding of Pd in 2015, the confirmation of white-nose syndrome in Nebraska has been expected,” said Mike Fritz, Game and Parks’ natural heritage zoologist. “We will continue to monitor the progression of white-nose syndrome in the state and use the most practical methods available to suppress the disease.”

White-nose syndrome affects bats during hibernation, causing the animals to awaken more often and use up fat reserves they need to survive through winter. They may also emerge from hibernation too early and starve or freeze to death. Mortality rates for little brown and northern long-eared bats have exceeded 95 percent in some states.

Bats are crucial to a healthy ecosystem. They eat insects that can damage agricultural crops, saving U.S. farmers at least $3 billion annually in pest-control services. Four bat species known to use mines in Nebraska are susceptible to white-nose syndrome: little brown, big brown, tri-colored, and northern long-eared bats. Indiana and northern long-eared bats are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

White-nose syndrome is not known to pose a threat to humans, pets or livestock. It is transmitted primarily from bat to bat, but fungal spores may inadvertently be carried to caves on humans’ clothing and gear. Nebraskans can help bats by following all decontamination requirements if entering caves and continuing to avoid disturbing bats, especially during hibernation. Visit whitenosesyndrome.org/topics/decontamination.

Persons should not touch or handle bats. They should report seeing sick or dead bats to Game and Parks.

A 31-year-old North Platte man is facing felony charges following a burglary in rural Lincoln County.

On March 11, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the Nebraska State Patrol received multiple burglary reports on Eshelman Road, just north of North Platte.

Chief Deputy Roland Kramer says a victim alleged that he was missing a propane tank from his camper.  Furthermore, he told deputies he had seen a similar looking tank hooked to a camper on his neighbor’s property.

On March 14, deputies observed that tank on the neighboring property and contacted the property owner.  Kramer says the owner advised that nobody should be on the property.

Just down the road, deputies made contact with Ryan Horan who advised that he was staying in the camper.  Kramer says Horan was riding a bicycle and had a backpack.

According to Kramer, a search of the backpack revealed numerous items typically used in burglaries.

Horan was placed under arrest and charged with trespassing, possession of burglary tools and theft.

Additionally, the investigators with the North Platte Police Department believed that Horan is also connected to a burglary in the city limits.

As a result, investigators filed an additional burglary charge.

The investigation is ongoing and Kramer says additional charges may follow.

UPDATE 3-15-17  4:40 pm

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has identified the two victims killed in last night’s crash as 36-year-old Jason Bartels and 33-year-old Rebecca Bartels, both of Brady.

The woman injured and flown to a Denver hospital has been identified as 31-year-old Kara Johnson, also of Brady. Her condition is unknown at this time.

The families of the victims are in our thoughts and prayers.

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A single-vehicle accident has taken two lives and sent another person to the hospital with serious injuries.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of an injury accident near Mile Marker 203 on Highway 30, three miles east of Brady, at around 11:10 p.m. on Tuesday.

An investigation revealed that a silver 2013 Hyundai Tucson was westbound on Highway 30 when it drove off of the north edge of the road.  Investigators believe the driver overcorrected, causing the vehicle to roll multiple times.

According to Chief Deputy Roland Kramer, there were three occupants in the vehicle and all three were ejected.

A female occupant in the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene, and a male was transported to a Gothenburg hospital where he later died from his injuries.

Kramer says a third female who was in the vehicle was life-flighted to a Denver hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries.

The names of the subjects involved are being withheld pending the notification of family members.

The investigation is ongoing.