LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska county official says he’s skeptical about a push to close four beer stores in Whiteclay, a village with a dozen residents that sells millions of cans annually next to a South Dakota Indian reservation.

Sheridan County Commissioner Jack Andersen says he’ll consider testimony at a public hearing Thursday in Rushville, but he doesn’t believe shuttering the stores will address the problems plaguing residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The three-member commission set the hearing as it decides whether to recommend renewal of the stores’ liquor licenses to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. Commissioners aren’t expected to act Thursday.

In November, the state liquor control commission ordered the Whiteclay stores to reapply for their licenses amid public pressure to reduce panhandling and public drunkenness.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska state government would see a net budget cut of $151 million over the next six months under a plan floated by Gov. Pete Ricketts.

The proposal unveiled Thursday seeks to address a revenue shortfall in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

The plan relies on a combination of spending cuts and pulling money from various government accounts. It would draw $92 million from the state’s rainy-day fund and about $22 million from more than two dozen cash funds.

Ricketts is also betting that online retailer Amazon will help the budget by generating another $11.2 million for the state. Amazon announced last month that it will start collecting sales taxes on purchases in Nebraska.

Ricketts has yet to release his full proposal for the upcoming two-year budget cycle.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a woman whose body was found in a Scottsbluff apartment was a homicide victim.

Police say the body of 48-year-old Melissa May was found Tuesday morning after officers were dispatched for a welfare check. Officers say May lived at a different apartment in the complex. It’s believed she was slain over the weekend.

Investigators say evidence inside the apartment leads them to believe May was killed by someone, but they have not publicly released the information or said how she was killed. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

No arrests have been reported.

DETROIT (AP) — Demand may be slowing, but U.S. consumers still bought a whole lot of cars and trucks in 2016.

U.S. sales of new vehicles could hit a new high in 2016. Consulting firm LMC Automotive and car-buying site Edmunds.com both predict sales will squeak past the record set last year and reach 17.5 million in 2016.

General Motors Co. said its full-year sales were down 1.3 percent to just over 3 million cars and trucks. That was partly because the company cut back on low-profit sales to rental car firms.

Other automakers report December and full-year sales later Wednesday.

LMC expects sales to be up 1.4 percent in December compared with a year ago, with total sales of just over 1.6 million vehicles. GM’s sales were up 10 percent for the month.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers have chosen Sen. Jim Scheer of Norfolk as their new speaker.

Scheer was elected by secret ballot Wednesday with a 27-22 vote on the legislative session’s first day. Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg had also sought the position.

As speaker, Scheer will control the daily agenda, work to resolve conflicts among lawmakers and serve as an ambassador for the one-house, nonpartisan Legislature. He says he will work to preserve the Legislature’s independence from the executive and judicial branches and will not be intimidated, but he also pledged to collaborate.

Scheer replaces former state Sen. Galen Hadley of Kearney, who left office because of term limits.

Williams and Scheer are both registered Republicans.

Adams and Cooley Rat Pack Jazz will take their audience on a nostalgic trip to the past with music from “The Golden Era of Song” in a matinee performance presented by the North Platte Concert Association at 2 p.m. on Jan. 8 at the Neville Center for the Performing Arts, Fifth and Bailey streets.

Sponsors of this concert are Dr. Chris and Julie Johng, and Michael and Julie Jacobson.

Johnny Adams, vocalist, and Ron Cooley, guitar, have worked together musically for many years, though they have known each other even longer, growing up in the same neighborhood in Omaha. Both are versatile musicians who are songwriters and have worked with Chip Davis and Mannheim Steam Roller for many years.

They will be joined by upright bassist Andy Hall, saxophonist Dennis Strawn and percussionist Carlos Figueroa.

The combo will play music made famous by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett and Nat King Cole.

Rat Pack Jazz is well known throughout eastern Nebraska and the Midwest. A member of the Butler County Arts Council praised Rat Pack Jazz for their talent, professionalism and rapport with the audience. Other organizations have also been very complimentary of the ensemble’s concerts.

Admission is with membership in the North Platte Concert Association. Memberships are available by contacting Pat Hoban, 1412 W. Fourth St., at 308-534-4699. The cost of season memberships is $50 for adults, $100 for families (parents or guardians with minor children) and $15 for students.

MINATARE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are trying to find the driver of a vehicle that struck and killed a woman walking on a Panhandle highway.

The woman’s body was found around 7:30 a.m. Sunday on U.S. Highway 26, about 4 miles east of Minatare. Authorities think she was walking westbound and was hit around 3 a.m. The Nebraska State Patrol has identified her as 20-year-old Angelica Olvera, who lived in Gering.

Patrol Capt. Jamey Balthazor says investigators don’t think the driver intentionally struck the woman. It’s unclear why she was walking on the highway.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A coalition of property owners and elected officials is calling on Nebraska policymakers to rely less on property taxes to finance the government.

The group Reform for Nebraska’s Future announced Tuesday that it has collected nearly 12,000 petition signatures calling on lawmakers to act in this year’s session, which begins Wednesday.

Nebraska relies on a combination of income, property and sales taxes to pay for local and state government, but the largest share comes from property taxes which finance local governments. Reform for Nebraska’s Future says the state should rebalance the revenue streams, possibly by increasing the sales tax or using revenue from internet sales to offset property taxes.

Mark Fahleson, the group’s chairman, says property taxes should take priority over other tax cuts in this year’s session.