LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers have chosen a new chairman to the committee that reviews bills related to public employee retirement benefits.

Senators on Wednesday elected state Sen. Mark Kolterman of Seward. Kolterman replaces state Sen. Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha, who led the committee until he resigned last year to take a new job in Washington.

The Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee focuses on legislation that affects the retirement benefits of state, county and school district employees and Nebraska judges.

State Sen. Al Davis of Hyannis had also sought the chairmanship.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A veteran prosecutor and Nebraska state senator want the veil of secrecy lifted from grand jury investigations into police shootings.

Sen. Ernie Chambers says he’ll work with Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine (klyne) on legislation that would open the jury hearings to the public. Chambers says he believes the grand juries merely serve as rubber-stamps for police by not holding officers accountable.

Kleine thinks the grand jury system works and that the public would appreciate it if people were allowed to view the process.

Kleine said he can’t remember a time that any grand jury proceeding needed to be conducted in secret, other than the actual jury deliberations.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — The North Platte City Council has approved a plan to eradicate pigeons and the health and sanitation problems they present.

On Tuesday, the council approved an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Health Inspection Service that includes use of a toxicant and trapping and shooting some of the birds.

Officials say the toxicant does not stay toxic after the birds die, so people or pets that come in contact with the carcasses are not in any danger.

There are an estimated 4,000 pigeons in the city. A USDA official says the city’s anti-pigeon plan can reduce that population by 90 percent.

UPDATE: 1/6/16 1:30 p.m.

According to family members, the search for Craig Baxter continues.

While there have been numerous leads, an investigator working on the case has found none to be solid or confirmed.

The family says finding Baxter’s car is key to finding his possible location.

Contact law enforcement with any information.

There will be a rosary prayer service for Baxter tonight at St. Patricks Church, 415 North Chestnut.

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Lincoln Police and family members are asking for the public’s help in locating a North Platte man who has been missing since Monday morning.

According to family members, Craig Baxter was last seen leaving the house of some relatives in Lincoln at around 7:20 a.m., on Monday.

Baxter reportedly missed several appointments and hasn’t been heard from since.

Lincoln Police say the last time they were able to track his cell phone, which has been turned off, was around 7:40 a.m, near the Nebraska Wesleyan University Campus.

Family members believe Baxter may possibly be heading to Omaha, North Platte or another part of the region.

Baxter was last seen driving a 2005 BMW X3 SUV, with license plate 15-B187.

If you have any information, contact local law enforcement immediately.

Baxter is the son of Kim and Nancy Baxter of North Platte.

A North Platte man is facing a felony drug charge after he was caught using drugs near some storage units.

At around 3:00 a.m., on January 5, an officer observed a car with out-of-state plates parked with its headlights on in between some storage units in the 3000 block of South Willow Street.

The officer approached the vehicle and observed a person, later identified as Cole Hoop, sitting in the driver’s seat.

According to Investigator John Deal, the officer asked Hoop what he was doing the he gave an answer that “didn’t make sense.”

Through his investigation, the officer learned that Hoop was on probation with a search clause.

Officers searched the vehicle and located numerous items of drug paraphernalia, including a scale, plastic straws, and numerous small ziplock baggies.

One of the baggies contained a white crystal substance which field-tested positive for methamphetamine.

As a result, Hoop was placed under arrest and jailed on a charge of felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Hoop is being held at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Five state programs will benefit from nearly $9 million received from the Nebraska Lottery this week.

The Nebraska Lottery distributed $8.9 million from Scratch and Lotto sales the week of Jan 1.

According to percentages established by Nebraska voters in 2004, the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund received 44.5 percent, the Nebraska State Fair Support and Improvement Fund received 10 percent and the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund received 1 percent.

The remaining 44.5 percent was directed toward education and split between the Education Innovation Fund and Nebraska Opportunity Grant Fund, which provides financial aid to undergraduate college students.

Nearly $582 million has been distributed in quarterly transfers since the Nebraska Lottery began operation on Sept. 11, 1993.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new report says Nebraska is overusing solitary confinement on juveniles and warns that policies on how it is enforced vary widely throughout the state.

The report released Monday by the ACLU of Nebraska says some juveniles have been placed in isolation for minor rule violations, such as talking back to staff members, having too many books or refusing to follow directions.

The group also found that the maximum lengths of time in solitary differ by facility, from a little as five days to as many as 90.

National child psychiatry groups have warned that prolonged stays in solitary confinement do more harm than good for juveniles.

The ACLU of Nebraska report was based on record requests filed with each of the state’s nine juvenile detention centers.