OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — January results from a survey of supply managers in nine Midwest and Plains states suggest some improvement in the regional economy but not enough to generate optimism.

A report issued Monday says the Mid-American Business Conditions Index jumped to 48.3 in January from 39.5 in December — the first increase in six months.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says falling agriculture and energy commodity prices and global economic uncertainty continue “to restrain supply managers’ expectations of future economic conditions.”

The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests economic growth. A score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — The governor’s annual agriculture conference will focus on the future of Nebraska’s biggest industry and the opportunities and challenges it faces.

The conference will be held at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Kearney on March 2-3.

Gov. Pete Ricketts says farmers and ranchers have a chance to learn at the event and discuss the future of the agriculture industry with state leaders.

Several nationally known speakers will address biotechnology’s role in agriculture, sustainable approaches to farming and ranching and trends in what consumers are demanding.

The event costs $100. Anyone interested in agriculture can register at www.nda.Nebraska.gov.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Education Department is seeking sponsors for its Summer Food Service Program.

The program provides meals and snacks to children at schools, churches, playgrounds and parks during summer and other school breaks. It was created to ensure children in low-income areas can get meals when they don’t have access to school lunches or breakfasts.

Eligible sponsors include public or nonprofit private schools, residential camps, and local, municipal, county or state government sites. Also, private, nonprofit sponsors and sites are eligible. Program sponsors may apply for up to $15,000 a year for non-recurring expenses.

Grant application may be downloaded from the Nebraska Department of Education Nutrition Services’ web page at: http://www.education.ne.gov/ns/SFSP/news.html . To request a grant application packet or to verify eligibility, call Nutrition Services at 1-800-731-2233 or email [email protected].

CUSTER-LINCOLN-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BROKEN BOW...NORTH PLATTE
357 AM CST MON FEB 1 2016

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM
CST TUESDAY...

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM
CST TUESDAY.

* TIMING...LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW BEGINS BY EARLY THIS AFTERNOON.
  HEAVIEST SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED TONIGHT. THE SNOW SHOULD DECREASE
  IN INTENSITY TUESDAY MORNING.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...5 TO 10 INCHES. HIGHEST ACCUMULATIONS ARE
  MOST LIKELY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80 AND IN SOUTHERN CUSTER
  COUNTY.

* WIND...EAST AND NORTHEAST 10 TO 20 MPH TODAY AND TONIGHT
  BECOMING NORTH AND INCREASING TO 20 TO 30 MPH LATE TONIGHT WITH
  GUSTS TO 35 MPH IN OPEN AREAS.

* IMPACTS...HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP MONDAY NIGHT AND
  BLOWING SNOW IS EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING
  MAKING TRAVEL VERY DIFFICULT. PERIODS OF SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW
  MAY REDUCE VISIBILITY TO 1/4 MILE...ESPECIALLY IN OPEN AREAS.
  DRIFTING SNOW MAY BLOCK SOME ROADS TUESDAY MORNING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING.  SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF
SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN
AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT...
FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Farmers rumbling down the road in feed trucks are a common sight in Nebraska, but they may be breaking the law.

Farm implements fall into a legal gray area on the state’s roads, creating confusion among farmers and ranchers and forcing some to pay thousands of dollars in fines.

Nebraska lawmakers will wade into the debate during a legislative hearing Monday. Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion has introduced a bill that would exempt several types of farm equipment from the state’s weight and load restrictions.

The rules are designed to keep heavy vehicles from causing damage. But the Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation and the Nebraska Cattlemen Association say the rules haven’t kept pace with farming equipment and trucks that have grown larger and heavier.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Three Nebraska feedlot workshops next month will offer expert advice on nutrition and economics.

The workshops will be held in West Point, Lexington and Scottsbluff on Feb. 9-11, and some of the sessions will be broadcast at locations in Iowa.

Experts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Iowa State University will speak at the afternoon workshops.

There will be presentations on the latest research on animal nutrition, feedlot management techniques and the outlook for the beef industry.

Registration costs $20 if it is done beforehand or $30 at the door. More details are available online at UNL’s Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources, http://bit.ly/1UtHr1G .

GIBBON, Neb. (AP) — The Audubon Society’s Rowe Sanctuary is offering training for volunteers who want to help out during this spring’s annual crane migration.

The sanctuary will offer the three training sessions will each be offered twice in February to prepare for the migration.

Hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes feed in farm fields between Grand Island and Kearney during the day and resting in shallow waters of the Platte each spring. The cranes then continue their journeys to arctic breeding grounds from winter homes in Texas, Oklahoma or Mexico.

Thousands of people visit the area every year during the bird migration.

More information about the training sessions is available by calling the Rowe Sanctuary at 308-468-5282.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska officials say they are working to hire enough guards to staff the state’s prisons, but it remains difficult to keep workers because of strong competition for them.

Retaining guards at the prisons in Tecumseh and Lincoln continues to be a challenge.

Low staffing levels and excessive overtime were factors in last spring’s riot at the Tecumseh prison on May 10.

Dawn Renee Smith with the state Department of Correctional Services says the state’s low unemployment and strong economy makes it hard to keep workers.

Last year the turnover rate among protective services staff increased two percentage points to nearly 31 percent.

Mike Marvin with the Nebraska public employees union says he doesn’t think staffing levels are adequate at the state’s biggest prisons.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — State wildlife officials say a record number of bald eagle nests were documented in Nebraska last year.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says 118 active bald eagle nests were found in the state in 2015 — the most since the raptor was listed on federal and state endangered species lists. The 2015 number is more than twice the number of nests recorded in 2007, when just 54 were found.

In 2014, officials recorded 111 active bald eagle nests.

The commission’s nongame bird program manager, Joel Jorgensen, says based on 2015’s documentation, it’s “reasonable to conclude the number of active nests in Nebraska exceeded 125” last year.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new study says the University of Nebraska adds $3.9 billion to the state’s economy every year. That’s $10.7 million a day.

The report by Pittsburgh firm Tripp Umbach says among the 35,000 university-related jobs in the state, 16,000 are direct university jobs while 19,000 have “spun-off” to support university activities.

The report also says 1 in 36 jobs in the state is the result of NU activities and that the university system touches every industry in the state. It goes on to estimate that every dollar spent by the university system added 86 cents to the state’s economy.

The report was commissioned by the NU Board of Regents.