LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is using a $300,000 federal grant to strengthen campus mental health services and suicide prevention programming.

University officials say the Big Red Resilience and Well-being program will lead the effort, providing specialized training sessions this spring. The University of Nebraska Public Policy Center will develop and implement an evaluation plan for the overall initiative.

Nebraska is one of 19 schools nationwide to receive a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The grant is named in honor of Garrett Lee Smith, an Oregon student who killed himself in 2003.

Officials say suicide is the second-leading cause of death in college students nationwide.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Farmers who are tired of deer destroying their crops could get a new incentive to let hunters onto their land under a bill in the Nebraska Legislature, but some outdoors groups and state officials aren’t thrilled with the idea.

The proposal would create special permits for landowners to hunt deer up to a week before the official firearm hunting season starts, if they open at least half of their land to hunters during the regular season.

The idea arose from two related trends: a rising deer population in some areas of the state and a decline in land that’s available to hunters. Farmers who allow hunting on their property are increasingly selling exclusive access to wealthy hunters who pay thousands of dollars so they can bag a trophy buck.

“To me, it’s a win-win,” said Sen. Dan Hughes, a farmer from Venango. “It gives a little something to landowners who are suffering the damage (to their crops). And if they’ve already gotten their deer, they’ll be more willing to open the land to other hunters.”

Nebraska’s statewide deer population dwindled during a major disease outbreak in 2012, but their numbers are on the rise again. In southwest Nebraska, the disease had a much smaller impact and the local deer population has surged. Hughes said farmers in his district frequently complain to him that deer are eating and trampling on their crops.

“This bill would give the landowner a reason not to hate the deer so much,” he said. “They could take their grandson out hunting a week ahead of time.”

The bill would provide up to four free permits per landowner.

The surge in deer aggravates farmers like 70-year-old Robert Forch, who grows corn, milo and wheat in southwest Nebraska’s Hitchcock County. Forch said deer destroyed about 20 percent of the crops in one of his fields in 2017 — a $9,600 loss — and caused substantial damage in others.

They also create road hazards. On a recent drive from his farm to McCook 35 miles away, Forch said he spotted three freshly killed deer on the highway.

Forch said he complained to a state game official and was told he could buy antlerless doe hunting permits, but at that point the damage was already done.

“We’ve got a horrendous amount of damage and nobody seems to care,” Forch said. “This is our bottom line.”

Forch said he still hopes to work with Nebraska Game and Parks officials on a solution. He said he asked Hughes to introduce the bill as “a token of appreciation” for farmers whose fields provide a habitat for deer and other wildlife.

“We raise them, we house them, we feed them,” he said. “Why shouldn’t we have the privilege of hunting them a little bit early?”

Outdoor advocates say the bill would create more problems than it solves.

The bill would give an unfair advantage to farmers who get the special permit, said Scott Smathers, executive director of the Nebraska Sportsmen’s Foundation. Smathers said the sound of gunfire would likely scare deer onto neighboring properties whose owners aren’t participating in the program, forcing those neighbors to deal with an even larger population.

He said archers oppose the bill as well because it would cut into their hunting season, which typically runs from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. The regular firearm deer-hunting season begins in mid-November and usually lasts a little more than a week.

“It creates quite a quagmire in existing game law,” Smathers said.

Smathers said he understands the frustrations farmers face and hopes to work with them and Hughes to find a different solution. One idea is to create a mentoring program that would allow young hunters to gain experience during the regular season on land where deer are damaging crops.

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission officials said the bill would cost them as much as $15.6 million a year in lost revenue while requiring them to hire more employees to process paperwork and keep track of all the participating landowners. That in turn could divert money from the commission’s law enforcement efforts to prevent illegal hunting.

“We are concerned about the fiscal impact of this,” Tim McCoy, the commission’s deputy director, said in testimony to lawmakers last month.

McCoy told lawmakers that state officials usually try to work with landowners who complain about game animals destroying their property. He said he was angry the commission hadn’t done more to address the farmers’ concerns, and publicly apologized.

“I don’t think that’s good service on my part,” he said. “We will be working to correct that.”

Hughes said he plans to meet with Nebraska Game and Parks officials and others to see if the groups can find a compromise. He said he’d rather move forward without passing a new law, but vowed to keep pushing his bill if no agreement is reached.

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission urges anglers to use caution while ice fishing across the state.

Some areas of the state have experienced above normal temperatures during the past week. Those high temperatures, combined with strong winds, opened up areas on lakes in many places. Subsequent cold temperatures capped some of these areas with ice, making for unsafe conditions with only 1-2 inches of ice. The minimum ice thickness for supporting one person is at least 4 inches of clear, solid ice.

In addition, on some waters, springs have also started opening up areas. Ice thickness reports have been very variable, with some lakes across the sandhills of Nebraska having 50-80 percent open water.

Anglers are reminded to take safety precautions. If venturing out, anglers should check ice with a spud bar or auger frequently. Anglers also should carry a pair of ice picks, a throwable flotation device and a rope, and should consider wearing a life jacket. Anglers should fish with a partner. More information about ice fishing and safety on the ice is available at OutdoorNebraska.org.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Now that states are free to collect sales taxes from out-of-state online retailers, Nebraska lawmakers are trying to decide who should pay them and what to do with any extra revenue.

Members of the Revenue Committee heard a variety of suggestions Thursday at a legislative hearing on three bills.

Some lawmakers want to use the revenue to reduce property taxes, although it’s not clear how much they’ll have at their disposal.

“We owe it to Nebraskans to utilize any new revenue judiciously, and that means directing it to property tax relief,” said Sen. Tom Briese, of Albion, a sponsor of one of the bills.

State officials predict the sales taxes will generate $30 million to $40 million a year, but Nebraska State Tax Commissioner Tony Fulton warned lawmakers that they’ve already factored that revenue into the state budget. Fulton, an appointee of Gov. Pete Ricketts, said he doesn’t expect an influx of money beyond that amount.

The Legislature’s budget-watching Fiscal Office disagrees with Fulton, predicting that online sales taxes would generate an additional $17.9 million for the state’s general fund over two years.

The bills were introduced in the wake of last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that lets states tax online sales from out-of-state businesses. Small sellers with $100,000 or less in gross sales or fewer than 200 separate transactions were exempt.

The Nebraska Department of Revenue has already ordered businesses to start collecting sales taxes on orders placed within the state, but senators haven’t passed a formal law to require it. All three Nebraska bills would include the protection for small sellers.

Each bill is similar but differs on details. One would steer any extra money into the state’s property tax credit fund, which distributes money to local governments to lower property tax bills. The other two would direct money into road repairs and the state’s general fund.

Passing a law would help protect the state from lawsuits, said Sarah Curry, a policy director for the Omaha-based Platte Institute, a tax policy think tank. Curry said 34 states have already adopted remote sales tax laws.

Business groups are pushing for a law as well to level the playing field between online sellers and brick-and-mortar stores based in Nebraska. Nebraska already requires consumers to report their total purchases from online retailers when they file their income taxes, but very few do and the state loses out on millions of dollars each year.

“Time is of the essence,” said Sen. John McCollister, of Omaha, who sponsored one of the bills. “There is some incentive to get these bills out of committee, on the floor and to the governor as soon as possible.”

Some advocates also want “marketplace facilitators,” such as Amazon, to collect and remit the revenue for sellers who use their service instead of forcing individual sellers to do it. Such a policy would streamline the process for state officials and mirror laws that are already in place in neighboring Iowa and South Dakota, said Renee Fry, executive director of the OpenSky Policy Institute, a Lincoln-based tax policy think tank.

“It’s logical and efficient to have them collect the sales tax,” she said.

A Nebraska father and daughter are facing incest charges in Hall County.

On January 29, 2019, 39-year-old Travis E. Fieldgrove and 21-year-old Samantha H. Kershner, both of St. Paul, were arrested on warrants relating to an incest case.

This case relates to the two being involved in an intimate relationship beginning in September of 2018 in Grand Island, Nebraska despite evidence that Fieldgrove is the paternal parent of Kershner.

Evidence leading up to the arrest suggests that Fieldgrove and Kershner were aware of the biological relationship before being intimate, and further indicates that they quickly married one another after being notified of the investigation.

As frigid temperatures took hold across Nebraska Wednesday, troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) spent the day assisting motorists who had become stranded.

In total, troopers performed 165 motorist assists from Wednesday morning through Thursday morning. Most of those instances occurred in northern and eastern Nebraska, where temperatures were below zero for much of the day Wednesday and overnight hours into Thursday.

“We’d like to thank these motorists for doing what we and other public safety partners advised with this cold weather. These stranded motorists stayed in their vehicles until help arrived,” said Major Brenda Konfrst – Commander of Eastern Field Services. “Leaving your vehicle in these cold temperatures can be extremely dangerous.”

Troopers responded to slide-offs, crashes, vehicle malfunctions, and helped change a few tires. Troopers also removed five drunk drivers from the road and assisted outside agencies with numerous incidents.

“Public safety is a team effort,” said Colonel John Bolduc, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “We’d like to salute our fellow first responders, road crews, and tow truck operators in Nebraska and other areas around the Midwest who are dealing with extremely cold temperatures.”

Temperatures are expected to increase over the next several days.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill that would require better tracking of cases involving missing Native American women has advanced out of a Nebraska legislative committee.

Members of the Judiciary Committee voted 7-0 Wednesday to send the measure to the full Legislature.

The bill would require the Nebraska State Patrol to collect data on missing Native American women and organize meetings with law enforcement agencies, tribes and the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs. The patrol would report all of its findings to lawmakers by June 1, 2020.

Sen. Tom Brewer, of Gordon, is the bill’s lead sponsor. Brewer says communication failures among local, state and federal agencies can lead such cases to fall through the cracks.

Recent national studies have found that a disproportionally large number of Native American women have experienced violence.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Railroads work to continue moving freight regardless of the weather, but this week’s extreme cold is slowing traffic and forcing them to use shorter trains.

BNSF spokeswoman Amy Casas says that in subzero cold, the air brakes trains use become less effective because air flow is reduced. So railroads have to reduce the length of trains.

Chicago is a key hub where all major North American freight railroads meet and hand off traffic. With the extreme cold, freight railroads divert traffic away from the area when possible, and Amtrak cancelled all of its departures from Chicago on Wednesday.

Union Pacific spokeswoman Raquel Espinoza said shipments to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa are being delayed by between 48 hours and 72 hours.

The cold also takes a toll on rail and switches. Railroads use thousands of switch heaters to help ensure that the crucial devices will work.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska state health officials say a fourth case of a rare, polio-like illness has been confirmed in the state.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release Wednesday that the case of acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, has been confirmed in a child in northeastern Nebraska. No other information about the child has been released.

The state’s first case was reported in November.

AFM can cause paralysis in the arms and legs and affects mainly children.

An increase in cases nationwide started in 2014. The department says from August 2014 through October 2018, there have been 527 confirmed cases of AFM in the U.S.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A plan by the U.S. Air Force to replace part of the nearly 80-year-old, crumbling runway at Offutt Air Force Base south of Omaha has been expanded to a complete replacement of the runway.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation, including U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, confirmed the new plan.

Offutt’s 55th Wing had planned to replace the worst of the runway at a cost of nearly $100 million. Now, Fischer says, the entire 11,700-foot airstrip will be torn up and new surface installed. Lt. Col. Vance Goodfellow, deputy commander of the 55th Mission Support Group, says the revised cost is about $130 million.

The 55th Wing’s flight operations will move to the Lincoln Airport late this year while the new runway is rebuilt. The project is expected to be completed by December 2020.