LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill allowing petition circulators to be paid by the signature rather than an hourly wage has received first-round approval in the Nebraska Legislature.

Senators voted 38-0 Wednesday on a measure by Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte that would lift a 2008 ban placed on signature-based compensation.

An initiative or referendum petition allows registered voters to place an amendment on the ballot. The bill’s supporters say the ban limits citizens’ access to ballot petitions because most grassroots organizations do not have enough resources to support hourly wages.

Lawmakers have to vote in favor of the bill twice more before it advances to Gov. Pete Ricketts.

SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) — The governor has filled an empty seat on the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Gov. Pete Ricketts selected John Rundel, from Trenton.

The appointment will let the commission vote Tuesday on an application for a fracking wastewater injection well in Sioux County.

Rundel is a petroleum geologist with 36 years of experience in the oil and gas business. The appointment will expire on Sept. 28, 2015.

Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 61. South wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. East southeast wind 3 to 7 mph.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. Light north northwest wind becoming north 6 to 11 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. West northwest wind 5 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 71. West southwest wind 6 to 13 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 33.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 72.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 35.

LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. has revealed a $47 million expansion of its existing beef processing plant in central Nebraska.

Officials with the Tyson Foods, Inc. subsidy announced the plan Tuesday, which will involve construction of an additional warehouse at the company’s Lexington location. Officials say the development isn’t expected to add new jobs at the plant.

Construction is slated to begin this spring, with completion in mid-2016.

Steve Stouffer, president of Tyson Fresh Meats, says the project is meant to improve the capacity of the plant’s boxed beef storage and distribution systems. He says the expansion is crucial for continued operational success.

Tyson Fresh Meats is the beef and pork unit of Tyson Foods Inc., employing nearly 9,000 people at its four Nebraska facilities.

NEW YORK (AP) — Kraft Foods is recalling 242,000 cases of original flavor Kraft Macaroni & Cheese because some of the boxes contain small pieces of metal.

The boxes have “best when used by” dates ranging from Sept. 18, 2015 through Oct. 11, 2015 and are marked with the code “C2.” They were sold throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico, and in some countries in the Caribbean and South America.

The recall covers 7.25 ounce boxes that were sold individually and in packs of three, four and five.

Kraft Foods Group Inc. says it is aware of eight incidents of consumers finding metal in the boxes, but hasn’t been informed of any injuries. It says consumers shouldn’t eat the macaroni and should return it to the store where it was purchased for a full refund.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Trial has begun in a lawsuit challenging a Nebraska law that limits picketing at funerals.

The case stems from a 2009 lawsuit filed by members of Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church that challenged Nebraska’s funeral picketing law. The original 2006 law required protesters to stand 300 feet away from a funeral service, but it has since been amended to keep protesters at least 500 feet away.

The church protests at funerals around the country contending that U.S. soldiers and others are being struck down by God for defending a nation that tolerates homosexuality.

On Tuesday, a member of the church testified that Westboro members are often kept much further away from Nebraska funerals than the law’s 500 feet, while counter protesters are allowed as close to funerals as they want.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators have ordered Union Pacific to pay $350,000 to a long-time employee who was disciplined after reporting an injury, but the railroad plans to appeal.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday this is the third time since 2011 that Union Pacific had violated federal rules by disciplining workers who reported injuries and sought treatment.

OSHA says a locomotive engineer based in North Platte, Neb., who was hurt in a December 2013 collision, was disciplined afterward. The worker had never been disciplined before in 35 years of working for the railroad.

Union Pacific spokesman Aaron Hunt says the railroad strongly disagrees with regulators’ findings and will appeal.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Faith leaders are calling on Nebraska lawmakers to pass a new version of a Medicaid expansion bill that is slated for debate this year.

Church pastors circulated a letter Tuesday signed by more than 175 faith leaders in support of the Medicaid Redesign Act.

Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln has said the new “redesign” bill would extend coverage to tens of thousands of low-income Nebraskans, while helping the state uncover more efficient ways to provide coverage. It also would direct the state to apply for a federal waiver so officials would have more flexibility to design a plan.

Lawmakers who oppose Medicaid expansion have defeated two measures in as many years. More than one-third of the Legislature is new this year because of term limits.