LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill that would end Nebraska’s status as the only state which prohibits meatpackers from owning hogs is facing resistance in the Legislature.

Supporters said Thursday that the measure would help preserve Nebraska’s hog industry. Critics say it would give packers too much leverage over small farms by allowing them to control the entire supply chain.

Sen. Ken Schilz of Ogallala says he introduced the bill to keep Nebraska’s hog industry growing on pace with nearby states and to prevent meatpackers from leaving.

Opponents say the contracts offered by packers impose tight controls on how the hogs are raised and place many of the risks onto producers, who are often saddled with debt to build their operations.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s chief justice says the state is detaining fewer juveniles and providing more with community-based treatment services in an effort to keep them from reoffending.

Justice Michael Heavican highlighted the progress Thursday in his annual State of the Judiciary address to lawmakers. But he warned that rural areas still face a shortage of mental health and substance abuse treatment providers.

Many of the changes came through a law passed in 2013 that allows juveniles to access treatment services without becoming state wards.

Heavican says the state has seen a nearly 12 percent reduction in juveniles detained over the last six months. Out-of-home placements declined by nearly 8 percent during that same period. Heavican says the trend represents a significant step toward keeping youths near their families and support groups.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A survey shows some bankers had a dire view of the rural economy in their 10 Western and Plains states.

A report released Thursday says January’s Rural Mainstreet Index plunged to 34.8 from 41.5 in December. It’s the lowest overall index figure since August 2009. Survey officials say any score below 50 on any of the survey’s indexes suggests that factor will decline.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the monthly survey of rural bankers and says it’s the fifth straight month for a decline. He again blames lower prices for agriculture and energy commodities and downturns in manufacturing.

The farmland and ranchland price index dropped to 23.9 in January from December’s 28.8

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

BRIDGEPORT, Neb. (AP) — Two men have been fined and given probation for killing 25 antelopes in a western Nebraska field and leaving the carcasses to rot.

Twenty-four-year-old Taylor Mueller and 21-year-old Brent Hoerler pleaded guilty to several misdemeanor counts, including hunting without a permit and wanton waste. They were sentenced Wednesday in Morrill County Court to 18 months of probation and were fined $950 each.

Authorities say the antelope were illegally shot and killed in a wheat field in early November. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission officials discovered the animals while checking area residents’ reports about the killings.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska’s governing board would no longer disclose the names of four finalists when selecting a new president but would require a vetting period for its one “priority candidate” under a bill in the Legislature.

Sen. John Murante of Gretna introduced the measure Wednesday at the request of Regent Howard Hawks, who says the state’s disclosure requirements prevent good candidates from applying.

The bill would allow the disclosure of a single “priority candidate” for president or chancellor, who would then be subject to a 30-day public vetting period before the regents could take action. The candidate’s name, application materials, letters of reference and school transcripts would be made public.

Open-government advocates have argued that competing finalists should be willing to face public scrutiny.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Child advocates say Nebraska is locking up more teenagers than necessary and failing to track how often they place them in solitary confinement.

The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee heard testimony Wednesday on two measures that would reform the way the state handles juveniles in custody.

One measure by Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln would create a standard for reporting solitary confinement for juveniles. Advocates say it’s essential the state adopts consistent policies in order to limit the practice.

The second bill by Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha would allow a juvenile to be placed in a locked detention facility only as a last resort.

Neither bill drew opposition.

The following students qualified for the Dean’s List during the 2015 Fall Term at Mid-Plains Community College. To be eligible, they had to complete 12 or more applicable credit hours of college-level courses and maintain an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 – 3.89 on a 4.0 scale.

Nebraska

Ainsworth – Toby Hunt

Amherst – Sydney Taubenheim

Aurora – Taylor Stettner

Benkleman – Darlene Shafer

Brady – Taylor Bourge, Allison Hood, Valerie Most, Eric Roe

Broken Bow – Rayne Houser, Preston Sanchez, Zackery Sanchez

Cambridge – Johnathan Fegley, Sean McCoy

Columbus – Jade Higgins, Ethan Lesiak

Culbertson – Daniel Arp

Dickens – Rylie Cotton

Dunning – Joel Van Diest

Elsie – Amanda Osler

Farnam – Austin Boller

Geneva – Caroline Motis

Gothenburg – Logan Cashman

Halsey – Cord Hesseltine

Hastings – Keely Confer

Hershey – Madison Seamann

Imperial – Jacob Christensen, Jeffrey Dickey, Celeste Juarez, MaKenna Ketter

Indianola – Shelby Malleck, Trevor Van Pelt

Lexington – Austin Jacobs

McCook – Amber Carfield, Amelia Cooper, Katherine Downing, Shelby Farr, Caleb Griger, Joseph Hamrick, Molly Hardin, Tyler Hayes, Yanis Helm, Rebekah Huff, Dalton Koetter, Bailey Kool, Samantha League, Paxton McVicker, James Mitnik, Jessica Premer, Nathan Priebe, Tyler Rambali, Alicia Ricley, Baylie Simmonds, Frank Williams, Angelique Witt

North Platte – Shea Baumgartner, Tracy Blake, Carrie Boltz, Reanna Crane, Amanda Curtis, Sarah Dillenburg, Kaleen Dunbar, JoAnne Hoatson, Brooke Holley, Andrew Junker, Jennifer Keck, Matthew Kellie, Samantha Kirkpatrick, Susan Marquez, Austin Matthews, Baylee Mendenhall, Manuel Mendoza, Tori Miller, Stephen Monfee, Samuel Montgomery, Jessica Moser, Velvet Nuzum, Andrew Pavelka, Sarah Perkins, Emma Petersen, Sammantha Riedel, Katherine Roessler, Brooke Rosales, David Rowe, Christopher Smith, Justine Sowle, Rachel Stroup, Lindsay Swartz, Lauralee Vencill, Decubanise Winfrey

Ogallala – Skylar Lapp, Baylee Stewart, Anna Watts

Omaha – Mark Gilbert, Brock Howery, Nicolas Jack, Tyree Peter

Paxton – Tyler Cassell

Sidney – John Kogl

Sutherland – Nichole Brenner, Joni Cheever

Valentine – Crystal Homan, Carolyn Petersen

Wallace – Juan Gomez

Whitman – Shayna Kramer

Canada

Winnipeg -Kendall Yasui

Maple Ridge – Angelica Evans

Richmond – Robin Harrison

England

South Ockendon – Myles Laurent-Smart

Serbia

Vrbas – Jovana Jovovic

Alaska

Eagle River – Katrina Arthen

California

Moreno Valley – Shelley Heredia

Colorado

Brighton – Kyle Hunter

Burns – Jacey Schlegel

Evergreen – Maxwell Sisson

Frederick – Antonia Villani

Fruita – Makenzi DeCrow

Haxtun – Deborah Kurtzer

Iliff – Samantha Morgan

LaSalle – Samantha Gill

Strasburg – Tiffany Neumann

Florida

Miami – Kylee Barry

Hawaii

Haiku – Kaile Jacobson

Hilo – James Yamanoha

Iowa

Sioux City – Brittnie Lauer

Idaho

Meridian – Averi Miller

Kansas

Oberlin – Mika Hackney

Phillipsburg – Brittany Brooks

Saint Francis – Martin Hnizdil

Nevada

Las Vegas – Jessica Rivera

Logandale – DaniElle Russo

North Las Vegas -Lindsey Fishman

New Hampshire

Pembroke – Kafani Williams

New Mexico

Moriarty – Eileen Kugler

North Carolina

Charlotte – Leito Holloway

South Dakota

Rapid City – Amada Heidrich

Texas

Arlington – DionTae Champion, Victor Lewis

Beaumont – Djimonii Jackson

Corpus Christi – Jon-Reese Woodson

El Paso – Zulema Viescas

Wisconsin

Galesville – Timothy Wagner

Wyoming

Casper – McKinley Earnest

Laramie – Sara Villalobos

 

The following students qualified for the President’s List at Mid-Plains Community College during the 2015 Fall Term. To make the list, each student had to complete 12 or more applicable credit hours in college-level courses and maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.9 or greater on a 4.0 scale.

Nebraska

Arapahoe – Kyla Monie

Arnold – Hannah Magill

Axtell – Gabrielle Nickel

Brady – Josie Palmer, Lyndsey Spurgin, Austin Widick

Broken Bow – Jordan White

Cambridge – Lauren Sprinkle

Cozad – Tysen Werner

Culbertson – Taylar Hegwood

Curtis – Grayce Jorgensen

Danbury – Whitney Witt

Edison – Kaylea Watson

Ellsworth – Mickenzie Brennan

Gothenburg – Ashley Wilkerson

Hayes Center – Joseph Anderjaska, Alex Lawson

Imperial – Berenice Marquez

Indianola – Brooke Ruggles

Keystone – Sandra O’Hayre, Jason Sillasen

McCook – Kylie Allen, Samuel Backer, Nichelle Funk, Hannah Goss, Ashton Harpham, Sarah Jones, Samantha Kalinski, Emily Karr, Anna Kennedy, Katelyn Kinne, Dane Larington, Allison Priddy, Emilene Sides, Jamee Stewart, Kathryn Weiser, Hayley Werkmeister, Jessica Wilcox, Johsette Witt

Milford – Racquel Luethke

Mullen – Jessica Lovitt

North Platte – Holly Berkey, Danial Best, Callie Davidson, Jaeli Flanders, Karli Flanders, Micaelia Hernandez, Anthony Hill, Alexandria Hoatson, Ryan Hubbard, Garett Janulewicz, Jacob Johanson, Brian Kennedy, John Kenny, Charles Kirk, Taylor Kramer, Dru Linderman, Summer Malsbury, Meghan Manary, Charles Martin, Brianna Mason, Loretta Meesenburg, John Owen, Roger Robinson, Danielle Schiel, Benjamin Sinclair, Katie Slattery, Teresa Smith, Lindsey Taylor, Kandace Ward, Hope Wilke, Dan Wright, Albert Zoucha, Anthony Zoucha

Ogallala – Amber Law

Papillion – Garrett Heinert

Paxton – Brooke Beckius

Sargent – Rowdy Moon

Sidney – Sarah Mahr

Silver Creek – Trey Engel

Stapleton – Ashley Starr

Stratton – Rebecca Lorens

Sutherland – Timothy Cheever

Woodlake – Bree Hogenson

Arizona

Tucson – Darla Chessmore

Colorado

Colorado Springs – Lucia Archuleta, Kendra Baucom, Brittany Schiltz

Englewood – Lauren Pritchard

Fleming – Megan Chintala, Elayna Muller

Holyoke – MegAnn Hadeen

Snyder – Shelby Wolever

Florida

Lake Worth – Mike Amius

Idaho

Boise – Mackenzie Bilger

Kansas

Bird City – Nikki Riddle

Oberlin – Daisy Rhein

Minnesota

Warroad – Donald Dunn

Nevada

Las Vegas – Cole Schumacher

North Carolina

Charlotte – Timothy Greene

Oregon

Hermiston – Gaige Phillips, Trevor Phillips

Wisconsin

Milwaukee – Jazmine Herd

Australia

Liverpool – Mirjana Terzic

Serbia

Pančevo – Sofija Pejcic

Spain

Madrid – David Ramon Prados

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Kearney man has announced his candidacy for the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

Timothy Higgins said Wednesday that he will seek the District 6 seat held by Kent Schroeder, who is not running for re-election. Marsha Fangmeyer of Gibbon has also filed for the seat.

Higgins serves as president of the Greater Nebraska Schools Association and sits on the executive committee of the Nebraska Association of School Boards.

Higgins is a managing partner at Runza restaurants. He lives in Kearney with his wife, Sue, and has three children.

The district is comprised of 21 counties in east-central Nebraska, stretching from the Kansas to the South Dakota borders. Higgins is a registered Republican in the officially non-partisan race.