LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state senator who sought to change Nebraska’s process for drawing congressional and legislative districts says he won’t challenge Gov. Pete Ricketts’ veto of his bill.

Republican Sen. John Murante of Gretna said Tuesday he won’t try to override Ricketts because of the GOP governor’s arguments that the bill was unconstitutional.

The bill would have created a bipartisan redistricting commission to draw the state’s political boundaries. Nebraska’s current system requires a legislative committee to propose new maps once every decade, after the census. The process was criticized as overly partisan during the last redistricting in 2011.

Earlier Tuesday, the Nebraska Republican Party issued a statement supporting Ricketts’ veto.

Sen. Heath Mello, a Democratic co-sponsor, says he was disappointed by the veto but not surprised.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former spokeswoman for ex-Gov. Dave Heineman is joining the staff of a Nebraska think tank.

Jen Rae Wang will serve as a lobbyist for the Platte Institute for Economic Research. The group announced the new hire on Tuesday, touting her experience in state and federal government.

Wang served as Heineman’s communications director from 2007 to 2015. She previously served as a senior adviser to former Republican U.S. Rep. Lee Terry of Omaha. Wang has also served in a management role as the communications and public affairs director and statewide planning coordinator for a Nebraska state agency.

Platte Institute CEO Jim Vokal says Wang’s knowledge of state government, policy, the budget and legislative and business leaders will help the group promote its policies.

UPDATE (4/19/16 5:10 p.m.)

North Platte Police have released more details on the Tuesday morning armed robbery, and they’ve reported a third arrest.

According to Investigator John Deal, Collins is suspected of entering the store and pointing the gun at the clerk.  Eby is suspected of providing the handgun Collins used in the robbery, and 21-year-old Nicholas Robison is suspected of driving the vehicle that dropped Collins off before the robbery and picked him up afterward.

Investigator Deal said more details will be released tomorrow.

Check back for updates.

UPDATE (4/19/16 4:40 p.m.)

Two 21-year-old men have been arrested in connection with the armed robbery of Kwik Stop on Tuesday morning.

According to jail records, Joshua Collins has been charged with felony robbery and use of a weapon to commit a felony, and Rex Eby has been charged with being an accessory to robbery.

Police have not released any further details at this point.  We will update you as this story develops.

The North Platte Police Department in investigating an armed robbery that took place early this morning.

At around 12:18 a.m., officers responded to Kwik Stop, 101 Platte Oasis Parkway.

A clerk at the store reported that a male subject had entered the business, brandished a handgun, pointed at him, and demanded that the clerk give him the money in the cash drawer.

According to Investigator John Deal, the clerk complied and handed over the approximately $100 that was in the drawer.

The suspect then left without further incident.

The suspect was wearing a costume-type mask during the robbery, according to Deal, to disguise his identity.

Officers reviewed surveillance video and were able to identify a suspect vehicle.

Currently, officers are interviewing possible suspects and expect to have more information tomorrow.

We will provide more details as they become available.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska will steer an extra $20 million to farm and ranch landowners next year to offset their property taxes under a bill signed by Gov. Pete Ricketts.

The measure approved Tuesday is one of the governor’s top priorities, but was watered down from his original proposal to impose spending controls on local governments. On Monday, the governor signed another property tax bill that could make it easier for some local school districts to lower their levy rates.

Ricketts says the bills aren’t everything he had sought, but says compromise is part of the legislative process.

The bills were introduced by Sens. Mike Gloor of Grand Island and Kate Sullivan of Cedar Rapids, both of whom are leaving because of term limits.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts is praising the Nebraska Legislature’s decision to end a common tax levy for 11 school districts in and around Omaha.

Ricketts signed a bill Tuesday to get rid of the controversial common levy, starting in 2017, and sever the financial ties among the 11 districts, while increasing state support for them.

Ricketts says the bill allows Omaha schools to focus their resources on quality education within their districts instead of sending their property tax dollars to fund other schools.

The bill would maintain the Learning Community structure and its programs, including two elementary learning centers and several early childhood education programs. It would require the districts to work together to raise educational achievement among all metro-area students.

The bill is LB 1067.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — As states look to reduce spending on prison and deal with overcrowded conditions, many are opting out of a federal law that bans convicted drug felons from ever receiving food stamps.

Texas and Alabama lawmakers recently changed their laws to allow food stamps to former drug felons, and Georgia is moving toward a similar change.

The idea is to help ex-offenders stay out of prison, where they would run up a big bill for taxpayers.

There was majority support to make the change in Nebraska, but some lawmakers used a procedural move to block the effort. Supporters plan to try again next year.

If Georgia changes its rules, eight states will retain the lifetime ban: Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s corrections director is facing tough questions from a lawmaker who says a high-profile inmate was able to swallow an employee’s keys while under around-the-clock supervision.

Correctional services director Scott Frakes on Monday defended his staff’s actions but said workers made mistakes in their handling of Nikko Jenkins. He acknowledges no one has been fired.

Jenkins is in custody at the Nebraska State Penitentiary while awaiting sentencing for four murders in Omaha in August 2013.

Jenkins has cut his face, tongue and genitals and tried to hang himself while in prison. Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha railed against the department’s handling of Jenkins.

Frakes’ comments came during a wide-ranging legislative hearing on Nebraska’s prison system, which touched on issues such as staff turnover and the use of solitary confinement.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts has rejected an effort to overhaul Nebraska’s process for drawing legislative and congressional districts.

Ricketts vetoed a bill Monday that would create an independent redistricting commission to draw the state’s political boundaries. Ricketts says he cannot support handing the authority over to an “unconstitutional, unelected, and unaccountable” board.

Nebraska’s current system requires a legislative committee to propose new maps once every decade, after the census. The process was criticized as overly partisan during the last redistricting in 2011.

The Legislature approved the measure by Republican Sen. John Murante of Gretna and Democratic Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha last week with a 29-15 vote.

Senators could override Ricketts’ veto the final day of the session Wednesday. An override requires 30 votes.