LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska senator wants to build up Nebraska’s riverfronts as social and economic hubs.

Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha introduced a bill Thursday that would allow Nebraska towns and cities to establish special development districts along the state’s major rivers.

Mello says many Nebraska cities were established along riverfronts, but have since grown away from the banks, leaving blight and abandoned properties behind.

The bill would establish guidelines for cities to fund, manage, promote and develop these areas, based on recommendations from a 2014 Urban Development report. The report called for strategic development to link Omaha and Council Bluffs across the Missouri River.

Mello says the bill is a pathway for Nebraska to build the Omaha-Council Bluffs riverfront into a world-class destination.

VALENTINE, Neb. (AP) — A state audit performed after the arrest of the deputy county clerk shows almost $199,000 in Cherry County funds is unaccounted for.

The county commissioners say state auditors found more than 1,000 credit card transactions totaling $83,000 that appeared to be for the personal use of Monica Bristow when she worked for the county. Auditors also found discrepancies in claim procedures, payroll issues and county expenditures.

Bristow was arrested in July. She pleaded guilty in August to felony charges of theft and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device. Court records say she’s scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 15.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts says he will ask lawmakers to pass a new infrastructure package this year to accelerate long-delayed construction work on bridges and roads.

Ricketts announced his support Thursday for a comprehensive roads bill to be introduced by Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, chairman of the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee.

The proposal would create an infrastructure bank, allowing the state to tap its cash reserve to pay for road and bridge projects faster than it currently can. Money in the reserve would gradually be replenished with state fuel tax revenue.

The infrastructure bank could be used for state highway projects, county bridge repairs and infrastructure to attract new businesses.

The legislation also would allow roads contractors to design and build projects in an effort to increase efficiency.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska senator wants to tweak a law that prohibits voters from taking selfies with their marked election ballots.

Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln introduced a bill Thursday that would allow voters to snap photos of their ballots after voting. Current law prohibits voters from showing their marked ballot to others.

Secretary of State John Gale said last year that the law also applies to photographs. Violations are a misdemeanor punishable by a $100 fine.

Morfeld says the First Amendment protects ballot selfies and that they encourage excitement about voting.

Morfeld’s bill specifies that selfies are voluntary and no one should coerce a voter to show his or her marked ballot.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A lottery official says there is no jackpot winner in the drawing for a Powerball prize worth an estimated $500 million.

Kelly Cripe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Lottery, says no one matched the numbers drawn Wednesday night. She says that means the estimated prize for Saturday’s drawing is $675 million, the largest jackpot of any lottery game in U.S. history.

Wednesday’s jackpot was ranked as the sixth-largest offered in North America and the biggest since a $564.1 million Powerball prize shared by players from North Carolina, Texas and Puerto Rico last February.

Powerball is played in 44 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The odds of winning are one in 292.2 million.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — University of Nebraska-Lincoln officials say it is establishing a facility that will focus on providing Nebraskans with detailed pictures of the state’s weather and historical climate data.

The new Nebraska State Climate Office will be under the wing of university’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The office will identify and provide the climate recording and reporting services needed most by Nebraska users, especially those engaged in agriculture.

The university said Wednesday that the office staff of climatologists and meteorologists will manage a network of 69 weather stations called the Nebraska Mesonet.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska law enforcement could pull over drivers who are not wearing their seat belts under a measure proposed in the Legislature.

Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha introduced a bill Wednesday that would change not wearing a seat belt from a secondary to a primary offense.

Current Nebraska law allows police to ticket drivers who aren’t buckled up, but only if they have first been pulled over for another infraction. The law applies to front seat drivers and young children.

Krist’s bill would expand the seat belt requirement to every occupant in the vehicle.

Former Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff sponsored a similar measure that died during debate in 2014.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state senator from rural Nebraska has proposed a ballot measure to guarantee farming and ranching rights in the state constitution.

Sen. John Kuehn of Heartwell introduced an amendment Wednesday that would prevent state officials from passing restrictions on agricultural technology and livestock production without a compelling state interest.

Missouri and North Dakota passed similar “Right to Farm” measures after rural lawmakers argued that farming needed to be protected from environmental groups and animal rights activists.

Critics in those states argued that the proposals would prevent regulators from passing rules to ensure that animals are treated humanely and the environment is protected.

The constitutional amendment would require voter approval if lawmakers pass it. Voters in 2012 adopted an amendment that guarantees the right to hunt and fish.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $500 million as more people across the country buy a chance at the biggest prize in nearly a year.

Officials with the Multi-State Lottery Association raised the jackpot estimate from $450 million due to strong sales before Wednesday night’s drawing.

The jackpot ranks as the sixth largest offered in North America and the biggest since a $564.1 million Powerball prize shared by players from North Carolina, Texas and Puerto Rico last February.

A winner of Wednesday’s jackpot could claim the pre-tax $500 million prize through an annuity over 29 years or in a single pre-tax payout of $306 million.

Powerball is played in 44 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.