LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s longest-serving state senator is famous for his legislative skill, but he’s also honed a lesser-known talent for sketch art.

Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha has built a portfolio featuring everyone from Malcolm X to Gov. Pete Ricketts. Chambers insists he’s not an artist, but fellow lawmakers and legislative staff have taken notice and asked for copies of some of his work.

His collection features portraits of John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Elvis Presley. Chambers even sketches during committee hearings while listening to people testify.

The left-leaning independent is well-known in Nebraska for his efforts to abolish the death penalty, his knack for derailing legislation he opposes and the sweatshirts and jeans he wears at the Capitol while others dress in suits and ties.

MINATARE, Neb. (AP) — A 42-year-old Scottsbluff woman has died in a rollover accident near Minatare in western Nebraska.

Corina Kohut died in the Friday afternoon crash.

The Nebraska State Patrol says Kohut had been traveling northbound on a county road when she lost control of her sport utility vehicle.

The vehicle went into a ditch and rolled. Kohut, who was not wearing her seat belt, was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. She was alone in the SUV.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is again holding an essay-writing contest for seventh- and eighth-graders to encourage participation in a state-sponsored college savings plan.

The 13th “Why I Want to Go to College” contest is open to students in Nebraska and across the country.

Judges will pick three winners from each of Nebraska’s three congressional districts and three winners from out of the state. First-place winners will receive a $2,000 contribution to a Nebraska college savings plan. Second-place winners will receive a $1,000 contribution, and third-place winners will each receive a $500 contribution.

Essays are limited to 750 words and are due before March 27. The contest is organized by the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office and the Omaha Storm Chasers baseball team. More details are available on the treasurer’s website.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The U.S. appears to be locked in a tornado drought as meteorologists have recorded only about two-dozen twisters so far this year during a period when 100 or more are typical.

And there have been no reports of tornadoes so far in March — a sometimes violent period for severe weather. The last time there were no tornadoes in March was 1969.

Forecasters at NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman have issued only four tornado watches and no severe thunderstorm watches — less than 10 percent of the average 52 tornado watches issued by mid-March.

Warning coordination meteorologist Greg Carbin said there isn’t one answer to explain the sluggish start, but that a persistent weather pattern of cold, stable air prevents a tornado’s ingredients from coming together.

• Rudy Lee Perdomo, 24, Sutherland and Raeann Irene Gibson, 21, Sutherland

 

• Joshua Lee Fletcher, 20, North Platte and Tammy Louise Atencio, 29, North Platte

 

• Ben Vincent Thomas, 28, North Platte and Amber Catherine Thalken, 21, North Platte

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A monsignor from Omaha has been installed as the new Roman Catholic bishop for the Grand Island Diocese.

Bishop Joseph Hanefeldt took office on Thursday during a ceremony at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He replaces Bishop William Dendinger, who retired upon reaching his 75th birthday, as is required of all bishops. Dendinger had held the post since 2004.

The diocese covers more than 42,000 square miles in central and western Nebraska.

Hanefeldt was born in Creighton and grew up on an 800-acre farm near Center. He’d been the pastor of Omaha’s Christ the King Parish since 2012.

GERING, Neb. (AP) — A jury has convicted a 17-year-old boy of helping plot a fatal attack on a Scotts Bluff County jail guard.

The jury took about five hours on Thursday to find Guy Eagle Elk guilty of aiding and abetting assault. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on May 29.

Eagle Elk, of Lisco, was accused of showing 16-year-old Dylan Cardeilhac, of Torrington, Wyoming, how to strangle guard Amanda Baker. She was attacked on Feb. 14, 2014.

Cardeilhac has been convicted in Baker’s death and has been sentenced to 60 years to life in prison.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The effort to repeal Nebraska’s motorcycle helmet law won’t come to a vote until next week.

Lawmakers ended the ongoing debate Friday without voting on the proposal. A vote is expected Monday.

The repeal measure before lawmakers would lift Nebraska’s restriction on motorcycle helmets for riders who are at least 21 years old. Operators would still have to wear eye protection.

Motorcyclist groups have tried for more than two decades to repeal the law without success.

Sen. Dave Bloomfield of Hoskins says he introduced the measure as a matter of personal freedom. Nebraska had more than 97,000 licensed motorcycle operators last year.

Supporters of the current law say it saves lost and helps control insurance and Medicaid costs by preventing serious injuries.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 75. West southwest wind 6 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Tonight: Clear, with a low around 30. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming light and variable after midnight.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 77. East southeast wind 5 to 13 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 36. South wind 6 to 10 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. West southwest wind 6 to 11 mph becoming north northwest 12 to 17 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 68.
Monday Night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36.

URGENT – FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
413 AM CDT FRI MAR 20 2015

…RED FLAG WARNING FOR ALL OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA…

.VERY WARM TEMPERATURES RISING INTO THE 70S WILL COMBINE WITH DRY
AND BREEZY CONDITIONS TO PRODUCE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ACROSS CENTRAL INTO NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA.

SANDHILLS/VALENTINE NWR/NEBRASKA NATIONAL FOREST/
SAMUEL R MCKELVIE NATIONAL FOREST-
NIOBRARA VALLEY/FORT NIOBRARA NWR-LOUP RIVERS BASIN-
413 AM CDT FRI MAR 20 2015 /313 AM MDT FRI MAR 20 2015/

…RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM CDT /NOON MDT/ THIS
AFTERNOON TO 8 PM CDT /7 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING FOR WIND AND LOW
RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR NIOBRARA AND LOUP RIVER BASIN…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTH PLATTE HAS ISSUED A RED
FLAG WARNING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…WHICH IS IN
EFFECT FROM 1 PM CDT /NOON MDT/ THIS AFTERNOON TO 8 PM CDT /7 PM
MDT/ THIS EVENING. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* AFFECTED AREA…IN NEBRASKA…FIRE WEATHER ZONE 206
SANDHILLS/VALENTINE NWR/NEBRASKA NATIONAL FOREST/ SAMUEL R
MCKELVIE NATIONAL FOREST…FIRE WEATHER ZONE 208 NIOBRARA
VALLEY/FORT NIOBRARA NWR AND FIRE WEATHER ZONE 209 LOUP RIVERS
BASIN.

* WINDS…WEST 5 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AS LOW AS 13 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS…ANY RANGE FIRE START MAY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BURN
OUT OF CONTROL AND EXHIBIT EXTREME BURNING BEHAVIOR.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW…OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS…LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The federal trial has ended in a lawsuit challenging Nebraska’s law requiring picketers to stay at least 500 feet from funerals.

The trial ended Thursday after attorneys for Topeka-Kansas based Westboro Baptist Church and the state, Omaha Police Department and Douglas County District Attorney’s Office rested. U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp dismissed the Douglas County prosecutor’s office from the lawsuit following testimony.

The church protests at funerals throughout the country using anti-gay chants and signs because it believes God is punishing U.S. military members and others for defending a nation that tolerates homosexuality.

The church reasons that the Nebraska law is selectively enforced and is unconstitutionally infringes on its free-speech rights.

Smith Camp will decide the case sometime after both sides submit closing briefs over the next three months.