LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is considering repealing the death penalty amid a shortage of lethal injection drugs.

A bill to repeal the death penalty won first-round approval from lawmakers Thursday.

Lawmakers advanced the bill 30-13. If that support holds, death penalty opponents would have enough votes to override Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts’ promised veto.

Two additional votes are required, and death penalty supporters are still working to block the legislation. This year, the measure has won support from a coalition of Republicans who say the death penalty costs too much and the state doesn’t even have the drugs to kill those on death row.

Nebraska last executed someone in 1997.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, has fought for four decades years to abolish capital punishment.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The economic outlook for rural areas of 10 states in the Plains and the West remained negative in April even though it improved slightly from the previous month.

Creighton University’s Rural Mainstreet index grew to 46 in April from March’s 43.6, but any score below 50 suggests a decline. The indexes range between 0 and 100.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the strong U.S. dollar continues to hurt exports of agriculture and energy products. And demand for farmland remains weak, so land prices are declining.

The farm equipment sales index sits at 15.6, up slightly from March’s 15.2, but well below the neutral level of 50.

Bankers from rural areas of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Hastings man whose body was found in a Kearney alley accidentally fell from a fire escape.

A passer-by found the body of 51-year-old Craig Demoor a little before 6 p.m. on April 7. Police said Thursday that investigators think Demoor fell from one of the escapes attached to one of the buildings that line the alley. Police say a crime isn’t suspected in Demoor’s death.

Preliminary autopsy results show that he died of blunt force trauma consistent with a fall. Toxicology reports haven’t been completed.

NEW YORK (AP) — A new government report shows smoking by teens hit a new low last year while the popularity of electronic cigarettes and water pipes boomed.

Teen use of e-cigarettes tripled in one year — to more than 13 percent. About 9 percent of high schools students said they had tried hookahs.

But smoking of traditional cigarettes plummeted to about 9 percent.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the report Thursday. It’s based on a national survey of about 22,000 students at middle schools and high schools, both public and private.

A government-funded study released in December found similar trends.

SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) — A western Nebraska police chief accused of not pursuing a case against another city employee has been charged with obstructing government operations.

The charge against Sidney Police Chief Byron “B.J.” Wilkinson Jr. was filed by Doug Warner, an assistant attorney general. He’s been named special prosecutor at the request of Cheyenne County Attorney Paul Schaub.

Sidney City Manager Gary Person says the allegation against Wilkinson stems from an allegation against city Public Works Director John Hehnke, whom Warner has charged with viewing a person in a state of undress and with disturbing the peace.

Wilkinson and Hehnke didn’t immediately return phone calls Thursday from The Associated Press. Online court records don’t list the names of attorneys who could be contacted to comment for them about the allegations.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A proposed overhaul of Nebraska’s prison sentencing and parole laws is drawing criticism from Gov. Pete Ricketts, Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, prosecutors and police.

Ricketts urged Nebraskans Thursday to contact state lawmakers and speak out against two bills that won first-round approval this week. One would allow many felons to qualify for parole sooner, while another would abolish mandatory minimum sentences for an assortment of mid-level felonies.

Attorney General Doug Peterson says the bills would apply to serious crimes, jeopardizing public safety.

Stothert says senators aren’t taking Omaha’s gang problem seriously. She says the city needs the mandatory minimum laws in its effort to crack down on gun and drug crimes.

Supporters of the bills are designed to create a strong incentive for inmates to change their behavior.

Mid-Plains Community College is accepting scholarships from farm bureaus within its 18-county service area.

In Lincoln County that includes the Kent Boyer Memorial Scholarship administered by the Mid-Nebraska Community Foundation. The Lincoln County Farm Bureau also awards two $500 scholarships to applicants based on financial need.

The Frontier County Farm Bureau gives out two $250 board scholarships. It also provides a $500 scholarship to the Frontier County youth ambassador and a $500 Virgil Nelsen Memorial Scholarship.

The Perkins County Farm Bureau provides $1,000 worth of scholarships per year. The amount of each depends on how many applicants there are. Up to three people can receive the scholarships. Recipients must be Farm Bureau members planning to pursue an ag-based career.

The Hayes County Farm Bureau offers a $200 scholarship, $100 per semester, to a graduating high school senior whose parents are members of farm bureau.

The Keith County Farm Bureau awards up to three $150 scholarships per year. They are given out at the start of the second college semester.

The Blaine County Farm Bureau provides two scholarships, worth $200 each, to high school students whose parents are members of the farm bureau. The students don’t have to pursue an ag-related field to receive the money, which is awarded at the start of the first semester of college.

The Dundy County Farm Bureau awards a $500 scholarship for students entering their first year of college. They can reapply subsequent years. The students must have parents who are members of the farm bureau.

This year, the Custer County Farm Bureau has a total of $7,200 to dole out in $300 increments. Scholarships are available to those planning to pursue an ag-related field.

Anyone who received a farm bureau scholarship and is interested in registering for classes at MPCC can do so by calling (308) 535-3710 or emailing pucketh@mpcc.edu.

Today: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 61. East wind 7 to 11 mph.
Tonight: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 47. East northeast wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Friday: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 64. East wind around 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Friday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. East wind 6 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 67. East wind 6 to 9 mph.
Saturday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 58. Breezy.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska high school students could receive a lower minimum wage than other workers next year under a bill advanced by lawmakers.

Senators gave the measure first-round approval Wednesday with a 32-11 vote. The proposal by Sen. Laura Ebke of Crete would allow for workers under 18 years old to be paid $8 per hour while still in school.

The bill was introduced after small-town grocery stores raised concerns that the voter-approved $9 wage could run them out of business when it goes into effect next year.

Opponents say the measure creates an incentive for teenagers to drop out of school to qualify for higher wages. Omaha Sen. Jeremy Nordquist called the measure an insult to Nebraskans who voted in November to raise the minimum wage.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska hospitals and ambulance services will receive a life-saving tool as part of a nearly $6 million grant.

Approximately 360 ambulance services and 80 hospitals will receive the Physio-Control LUCAS 2 chest compression system, a medical device that provides automatic chest compressions to adults in cardiac arrest. Lt. Gov. Mike Foley announced the award Wednesday at the Capitol.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Service’s emergency medical services program will help coordinate the purchase and distribution of the devices.

The three-year grant was provided by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. Foley says the grant will help patients throughout Nebraska who suffer heart attacks.