LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska senators have halted debate on a bill banning discrimination against gay and lesbian employees after a test vote showed wavering support.

After more than four hours of debate Thursday, bill sponsor Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln asked that the measure be put off until next year.

The bill would require 25 votes to advance. Senators voted 20-12 on the test vote. Sixteen senators were present but not voting.

Morfeld says holding the bill will give him time to gain more support.

Both Lincoln and Omaha Chambers of Commerce backed the bill. Twenty other states have similar laws.

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say fewer Americans are getting sick from a nasty germ sometimes found in undercooked hamburgers.

The government’s latest report card on food poisoning shows illnesses from a dangerous form of E. coli bacteria have fallen 20 percent in the last few years.

That E. coli strain got attention in the early 1990s when it was the culprit in a deadly outbreak linked to hamburger meat. Leafy vegetables have also been tied to illnesses. A 2006 outbreak of E. coli was traced to fresh spinach.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the report Thursday. It counts food poisoning cases in only 10 states, but the report is believed to be a good indicator of national trends.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is a step closer to becoming the last state to issue driver’s licenses for youths who were brought into the country illegally but allowed to stay under a federal program.

Lawmakers gave initial approval Thursday to a bill that would provide those children of legal driving age licenses.

Only Nebraska does not give licenses to the youths who have stayed in the country under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was approved by President Barack Obama in 2012.

Supporters of the bill say the youths contribute to Nebraska’s economy. Some conservatives tried to block the bill, saying it rewards illegal behavior.

The legislation advanced, 37-8, but two more rounds of voting are required before it goes to Gov. Pete Ricketts, who supports the current state policy.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers have given final approval to a new $8.7 billion state budget that includes an increase in state aid for property tax reductions, education and prison expenses.

Senators passed the two-year spending plan on Thursday with little debate, having reached compromises in the last several weeks.

The budget now headed to Gov. Pete Ricketts includes a total of $408 million over two years for the state’s property tax credit fund, which reduces what taxpayers owe to local counties, school districts and natural resources districts.

It also would add millions for state K-12 equalization aid and prisons, much of it for inmate medical costs.

Senators were spared from having to make major cuts after a revenue forecast in April showed that the state will likely collect more than expected.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Western Sugar Cooperative intends to expand the production capacity at plants in Nebraska and Colorado while reducing its Torrington, Wyoming, operation to sugar storage and shipping.

Co-op President and CEO Rodney Perry says in a news release that investments in new technology and proven equipment will help the co-op produce more sugar from the same amount of sugar beets, using less energy.

The co-op director of shareholder relations and governmental affairs, Kent Wimmer, said Thursday that staffs at the Fort Morgan, Colorado, and Scottsbluff, Nebraska, plants likely won’t grow. But he says the Torrington, Wyoming, plant will lose 70 positions, leaving only six, after the sugar production from beets planted this spring ends in late winter 2016.

The co-op’s 1,000 grower-owners are situated in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming.

A North Platte man is facing numerous felony charges following a Wednesday evening traffic stop.

At around 5:00 p.m., on May 13, an officer with the North Platte Police Department observed a silver Pontiac Grand Prix, near South Chestnut and East E Streets, that was not displaying a front license plate.

The officers conducted a traffic stop near East C Street and made contact with the driver, 46-year-old Phillip Tyan.

According to police, Tyan was unable to produce proof of the vehicle’s ownership and was found to have a suspended license.

Following Tyan’s arrest, officers searched the vehicle and located several Hydrocodone pills, a Class II controlled substance that Tyan did not have a prescription for.

Additionally, officers located a small amount of methamphetamine and a 5.5″ knife.

Tyan was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and charged with driving under suspension, felony possession of methamphetamine, felony possession of hydrocodone, carrying a concealed weapon, no registration and being a felon in possession of a deadly weapon.

Tyan is being held at the LCDC without bond.

Mid-Plains Community College has released the names of the students who have qualified for the President’s and Dean’s Lists for the 2015 Spring Term.

Spring 2015 Dean’s List

The following students qualified for the Dean’s List during the 2015 Spring 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 – Chelsey Shaul

Anselmo – Rebecca Rossenbach

Axtell – Gabrielle Nickel

Brady- Taylor Bourge, Zachary Mann, Valerie Most

Broadwater – Whitney Goeman

Broken Bow – Zackery Sanchez

Cambridge – Shelby Farr, Sarah Guess, Robyn Mustion, Amber Schultz

Chappell – Kody Collins

Columbus – Jade Higgins, Ethan Lesiak

Cozad – Hank Pflaster

Culbertson -Taylar Hegwood

Gothenburg – Kato Craig, Aryn Meisinger, Dalton Simants, Ashley Wilkerson

Grant – Carra Johnson, Ashley Kautz

Hastings – Keely Confer

Imperial – Berenice Marquez

Indianola – Anissa Morosic, Brooke Ruggles

Keystone – Jason Sillasen

Lincoln – Ariel Clements

Madrid – Iris Almanza

Maxwell – Stephen Barkley

McCook – Danial Best, Brooke Cappel, Amelia Cooper, Nichelle Funk, Ashton Harpham, Tara Jernigan, Katelyn Kinne, Samantha League, Collin Messersmith, James Mitnik, Halie Nosal, Jesus Samaniego, Aubrey Sydow

Nebraska City – Bladen Bales

North Platte – Walker Baird, Jordan Barta, Reanna Crane, Colton Dailey, Larissa Daugherty, Amber Fisher, Jamie Forbis, Grant Freeman, Samantha Gifford, Laura Hagert, Jake Hansel, Samuel Harper, Amanda Hastings, Kaylin Hinton, Quinn Kalani, Kimberly Kelley, Matthew Kellie, Forrest King, Danielle Kittle, Taron Lewis, Brianna Mason, Leigha McPeak, Manuel Mendoza, Samuel Miller, Samuel Montgomery, Thao Nguyen, Catherine Nicholas, Velvet Nuzum, Rayanne Paulman, Emma Petersen, Sammantha Riedel, Katherine Roessler, Melinda Schriner, Sierra Schumm, Dawn Shirley, Christopher Smith, Sabrina Stineman, Lindsey Taylor, Decubanise Winfrey, Samantha Young

Omaha – Matthew Thomas

Paxton – Patricia Perlinger

Potter – Brandon Gasseling

Sidney – Sarah Mahr

Springview – Tamara Nilson

Stratton – Jyssica Forch

Sutherland – Marsha Coleman, Matthew Martinez

Tryon – Duell Puttergill

Valentine – Katherine Nesi

Wallace – Carlos Aguilar

Wilcox – Samuel Woollen

California

Bonita – Anissa Quiroga

Temecula – Michael Knox

Colorado

Brighton – Kyle Hunter

Broomfield – Bridger Ryan

Del Norte – Adrionna Fresquez

Elizabeth – Brittney Odum

Fleming – Taylor King

Golden – Jonathan Mattison

Greeley – Shelby Clark

Johnstown – Kealiiaukai Kaai

Littleton – Jessica Jarvis, Jason Lighthall

New Castle – Neal Schultz

Hawaii

Haiku – Kaile Jacobson

Lahaina – Jazmin Chang

Iowa

Sioux City – Brittnie Lauer

Idaho

McCall – Clint Thomas

Meridian – Averi Miller

Kansas

Arkansas City – Stephanie Burnett

El Dorado – Mirjana Terzic

Saint Francis – Martin Hnizdil

Nevada

Las Vegas – Derron Davis, Barry Lasseigne, Jessica Rivera, Cole Schumacher

Ohio

Toledo – Michael Mitchell, Fadil Robinson

Grants Pass – Miranda Lauby

Wyoming

Casper – McKinley Earnest

Laramie – Sara Villalobos

Australia

Sydney, New South Wales – Makuei Puondak

Canada

Surrey, British Columbia – Cailin O’Hara

 

Spring 2015 President’s List

The following students qualified for the President’s List at Mid-Plains Community College during the 2015 Spring 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

Ayr – Kelsey Karr

Brady – Molly Hannon, Dakota Terry

Cambridge – Amber Brunow

Chappell – Gunnar Hodges

Culbertson – Tanner Bauer, Andrea Miller

Curtis – Taylor Stockman

Dannebrog – Stephanie States

Geneva – Caroline Motis

Gothenburg – Peyton Ahlenstorf, Rebecca Dishman, Eric Linnemeyer, Jessica Schaben

Hershey – Madison Seamann

Imperial – Mason Holmes

Indianola – Justine Jones

La Vista – Trey Moore

Maxwell – Alex Gurciullo

Maywood – Clay Chittick

McCook – Whitni Davis, Kassidy Gillen, Riley Gimeson, Hannah Goss, Samantha Kalinski, Vincent Lyons, Miranda Payton, Tyler Rambali, Ariel Rose, Megan Ruppert, Emilene Sides, Natalie Sis, Jamee Stewart, Christopher Swasta

Milford – Racquel Luethke

Mullen – Clara Vinton

North Platte – Chelsey Anderson, Wyatt Barrett, Autumn Bickel, Abigail Bradley, Alexander Broadfoot, Amy Callendar-Taft, Tyler Calvin, Shawna Coen, Jeffery Donnally, Elizabeth Dowling, Creighton Elliott, Jaeli Flanders, Johnna Halsted, Hannah Hays, Katie Hartmann, Donna Henne, Rachel Mullen, Michelle Olson, Cara Sanchez, Danielle Schiel, Eddie Schrack, Nicholas Skinner, Charles Sprinkle, Lauralee Vencill

Jocelyn Waker, Shelby Webster, Jordan Wordekemper, Kylie Wroot, Samantha Zirnig, Sutherland – Joslyn Burke, Kristen Nelson

Trenton – Lanessa Wickizer

Venango – Christina Farnsworth

Woodlake – Bree Hogenson

California

Huntington Beach – Matthew Babbitt

Temecula – Brandon Shea

Colorado

Colorado Springs – Lucia Archuleta, Kendra Baucom, Amber Madigan

Haxtun – Abigail Kurtzer

Holyoke – Travis Ptomey

Iliff – Samantha Morgan

Lone Tree – Shannon Lieber

Florida

Miami – Kylee Barry

Hawaii

Hawi – Dathan Lloyd

Idaho

Boise – Mackenzie Bilger

Kellogg – Dakota Rice

Kansas

Herndon – John Solko

New Hampshire

Windham – Erin Preble

Nevada

North Las Vegas – Steven Christiansen

Washington

Ford – Hunter Hedequist

Wisconsin

Milwaukee – Jazmine Herd

Wyoming

Evanston – William Smith

Australia

Deception Bay, Queensland – Luke Pittle

Canada

Richmond, British Columbia – Robin Harrison

Italy

Coseano, Udine – Marco Pascolo

Lexington Police are looking for a suspect in an armed robbery.

According to police, a search was executed on a Lexington residence on Tuesday.  Officers located several items of evidence which aided in securing an arrest warrant for 29-year-old Joseph Fleming.

The charges stem from an early morning armed robbery on Sunday.

Authorities believe Fleming fled the Lexington area in an older model blue Dodge extended cab pickup, en route to an unknown destination.

No further details about the alleged robbery were released.

Fleming is considered armed and dangerous.

If you have any information on his whereabouts, contact local law enforcement or the Lexington Police Department at (308) 324-2317.

Today: Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 79. South wind 7 to 9 mph becoming west in the afternoon.
Tonight: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. Light and variable wind becoming east southeast 6 to 11 mph in the evening.
Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. Breezy, with an east wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. South southeast wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Some storms could be strong to severe.
Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 74. South wind 9 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 68. Breezy.