LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A social services director from Virginia has been chosen to serve as the next leader of Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Gov. Pete Ricketts announced Tuesday he has selected Dannette R. Smith to serve as the agency’s new chief executive officer.

Smith was selected through a national search. The governor’s office says she has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience, most recently as the director of the Virginia Beach Department of Human Services.

Ricketts says Smith is a “customer-oriented, results-driven leader” who will build on the work of her predecessor, Courtney Phillips. Phillips left the position to become executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

Smith previously held jobs in Washington state, Georgia and North Carolina. She will earn $220,000 annually in Nebraska.

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) have arrested two people and seized 50 pounds of high grade marijuana during a traffic stop on Interstate 80 near North Platte.

At approximately 1:30 p.m. Monday, a trooper observed an eastbound 2018 Chevrolet Malibu fail to signal a lane change near mile marker 181 on I-80. During the traffic stop, the trooper became suspicious of criminal activity.

A search of the vehicle revealed 50 pounds of high grade marijuana in large garbage bags in the trunk. The marijuana was contained in vacuum sealed bags.

The driver, Thanh Ho, 51, and passenger, Joe Nguyen, 56, both of Westminster, Colorado, were arrested for possession of marijuana – more than one pound, possession with intent to deliver, and no drug tax stamp. Both people were lodged in Lincoln County Jail.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Officials say an online site can provide winter travelers with information about Nebraska road conditions from the perspective of snowplow drivers.

The Nebraska Transportation Department said in a news release Tuesday that the online Plow Tracker site ‘s interactive map shows state plow trucks on highways. At the click of a mouse, site users can see what the snowplow drivers are seeing, thanks to forward-facing dashboard cameras. Plow Tracker automatically refreshes information every minute.

Department operations manager Tom Sands says the weather conditions can often be worse than they appear on the dash cameras, which show only a portion of a roadway.

You can visit the site here.

STANTON, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have suspended the water search for a man and motorcycle last seen on the ice of a lake in northeast Nebraska.

Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger said Monday that the ice on Maskenthine Lake is too thin to safely conduct a water search for 55-year-old Eddie Myrick. The Stanton resident was last seen riding on the ice Sunday afternoon.

Unger says an extensive search on the ground around the lake showed no signs of Myrick. Dive teams had been called in to help search an area of open lake water. It wasn’t clear whether the opening was a result of the motorcycle or something else breaking through the ice.

The lake sits about 2 miles (3 kilometers) north of Stanton in Stanton County.

A 42-year-old North Platte man was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly led police on multiple pursuits.

According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, on Friday, at around 11:20 p.m., The North Platte Police Department received a call that a woman was screaming for help in the area of 9th and Jeffers Streets.

A male who was believed to be involved in the incident fled the scene, but was trailed by officers.

When the driver, who was later identified as Terry Yonker, refused to stop, a pursuit ensued through the city and was discontinued when the suspect left the city limits on U.S. Highway 30.

Shortly thereafter, deputies observed the vehicle around the area of Platte Valley Road and Range Road. They attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but Yonker again refused to stop and drove on the Union Pacific Railroad right of way, reaching speeds in excess of 70 miles per hour.

Deputies say Yonker continued to drive north of Sutherland before turning east onto North River Road. The pursuit ended when Yonker crashed the vehicle and was taken into custody.

Authorities say Yonker was uninjured in the incident and was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center.

He’s been charged with flight to avoid arrest and willful reckless driving. Additional charges are likely according to the Sheriff’s office.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Organ Recovery has changed its name to Live On Nebraska.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that the organization also has a new website: LiveOnNebraska.org . The site has a spot where people can register as donors.

The name change coincides with the completion of the organization’s new headquarters in Omaha. President and CEO Kyle Herber says the new building and name change reflect the organization’s growth. The organization had 25 employees five years ago. Today it has about 65.

The new headquarters has updated operating suites where tissue recovery takes place and an organ perfusion room where organs can be kept viable for a longer time. A call center will let Live On Nebraska connect directly with donor hospitals and families, a service that was previously outsourced.

The Douglas County Coroner’s Office will move its operations to the building later this month.

CHAPPELL, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man stabbed outside a mobile home in the Nebraska Panhandle has died.

Deuel County Attorney Joel Jay told station KNEB that Robert Mick died Thursday. He’d been stabbed Jan. 13 in Chappell.

A woman accused of stabbing Mick, 49-year-old Susan Glenn, so far is charged with assault and use of a weapon. Jay says it’s not yet been determined whether any changes in the charges will be made. Her attorney didn’t immediately return a call Monday from The Associated Press.

Court records say a witness who’d been standing outside the home talking to Mick was on the phone with 911 dispatchers when Glenn came out of the residence, stabbed Mick and fled in her car.

She went to the county sheriff’s office later, and the records say she acknowledged stabbing Mick.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers getting to work on a new budget won’t face as much pressure to cut as they previously thought, thanks to an influx of federal dollars, but some still worry the state’s financial challenges aren’t over.

Nebraska is on pace to get an extra $92.1 million from the Federal Medical Assistance Program over the next two fiscal years, according to documents released last week in Gov. Pete Ricketts’ proposed budget.

The federal funding boost frees up state money that would otherwise go to recipients of Medicaid and other government assistance programs.

“It’s a more significant improvement than we’ve experienced in a number of years,” said Nebraska State Budget Administrator Gerry Oligmueller.

The extra money is a good-news, bad-news situation for Nebraska.

Federal aid is distributed based on each state’s per-capita income and population, relative to other states. Nebraska’s once-booming agricultural economy helped lift the state above many of its counterparts for several years, resulting in a lower federal match rate and less money. Lawmakers made up the difference with state tax dollars.

But now that farm incomes have fallen sharply, Nebraska is faring worse than many other states and is entitled to a larger federal payout.

Agriculture is Nebraska’s largest industry, accounting for about 20 percent of its overall gross domestic product, according to the state Department of Agriculture. Because farm incomes can swing so wildly from year to year, the industry has a strong influence on Nebraska’s overall tax collections, said Tom Bergquist, director of the Legislative Fiscal Office.

“Omaha and Lincoln could be doing fine, but that big fluctuation (in farm income) changes everything,” Bergquist said. “If you have a 50 percent change in an industry that accounts for 10 percent of your total economy, that’s a 5 percent change of the total.”

Nebraska is among a handful of Midwestern states gaining federal aid. Kansas, Iowa, South Dakota and Missouri are all seeing their federal contributions increase in the coming U.S. fiscal year, according to Federal Funds Information for States, which tracks the effects of federal policy decisions on states.

Despite the boost in federal aid, the chairman of the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee said he still plans to take a cautious approach after confronting several years of revenue shortfalls.

“This is kind of a fluid situation,” said Sen. John Stinner, of Gering.

Stinner said he has told fellow lawmakers not to expect much money for new spending this year. He noted that Nebraska’s cash reserve is still well below $500 million, a threshold some senators have identified as a comfortable amount to protect the state in tight budget times.

Stinner and Speaker of the Legislature Jim Scheer have both voiced concerns about a dip in the state’s tax collections over the last few months.

The state’s financial outlook might also worsen in February, when the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board sets new revenue projections.

“There’s still a lot of work to do,” Stinner said.

Nebraska still faces a projected $95 million revenue shortfall, but Bergquist said it would have been worse with a lower contribution from the federal government. Ricketts’ proposed budget fills that gap in Nebraska’s general fund by drawing money from other state accounts, as lawmakers routinely do to balance the budget.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Drivers can now complete crash reports online in Nebraska.

The state Transportation Department says the new online form will keep drivers from having to print out and mail a form.

The online form will also allow users to upload pictures with their reports.

Previously, all crash reports drivers submitted had to be scanned and manually entered, so there was a greater chance for error.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — State education officials say a consulting firm’s work at struggling Nebraska schools shows promise, but one state senator is concerned about the firm’s hefty fee and believes the state should look for cheaper options.

The state has awarded North Carolina-based KLK Consulting more than $2.3 million in contracts to help improve dozens of Nebraska schools over the past 12 years, the Omaha World-Herald reported .

Consultants help form curriculum, work on improvement plans, and coach teachers and principals to spot effective teaching practices and address issues. The state pays consultants between $2,000 and $4,000 daily for their services.

Sen. Lou Ann Linehan said the state should consider cheaper options, such as learning from successful schools.

“I wonder why we don’t look at schools in Nebraska that are beating the odds — Lexington, York and Syracuse come to mind — and ask what they are doing? And then emulate it,” she said. “They are realizing huge growth. Why not copy success?”

Kathy Kennedy, one of the firm’s consultants said her pay isn’t unreasonable and her rate is less than what many national consultants charge. She noted that she covers her own expenses, such as transportation and lodging. She said she also doesn’t receive benefits, health insurance or retirement because she’s an independent consultant.

Test scores released last month show that scores improved at Loup County Elementary School in Taylor and Druid Hill Elementary School in Omaha, two of the schools the firm is focusing on. Schuyler Central High School in Schuyler and Santee Middle School in Niobrara are also priority schools.

Schuyler Principal Stephen Grammer said Kennedy has done some good since she started at the school this year. He said he’s spending more time in classrooms observing.

“Right now I think I’ve been in the classroom 122 times in the first two months,” he said. “That never would have happened before.”

Loup County Public Schools Superintendent Rusty Ruppert said Kennedy has helped the district standardize approaches.

“The things she’s brought to the system have been positive,” Ruppert said. “And her approach is positive.”