A weekend traffic stop on Interstate 80 in Buffalo County led to the seizure of 3.5 lbs. of methamphetamine and two arrests.

Around 9:45 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28, a trooper stopped a westbound 2013 Subaru Legacy for following too close about two miles west of the Elm Creek interchange on I-80. The trooper was given consent to search the vehicle. The search led to the seizure of six packages containing 3.5 lbs. of methamphetamine.

The driver of the vehicle, Jose Ivan Preciado, 28, of Mojave, Calif., and a passenger in the vehicle Alberto Hineges Jr., 29, of Mendota, Calif., were both lodged in the Buffalo County Corrections, each on a charge of Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Deliver.

A 40-year-old man, who recently moved to North Platte from Denver, is being held on charges that he assaulted his girlfriend and held her captive for several days.

At around 4:45 a.m., on March 1, officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to the report of a woman being held against her will at a residence in the 2200 block of West 2nd Street.

The 28-year-old female alleged that her boyfriend, Louis Olona, had become angry following an argument, on February 25, and began punching and kicking her.

He then allegedly held her captive in a bedroom at the residence.

According to the victim, Olona physically and sexually assaulted her, while he was holding her against her will.

Upon arrival, police discovered that Olona was passed out inside the residence, and they were able to help the female escape through the back door.

Officers then made contact with Olona and placed him under arrest.

Following his arrest, officers learned that the female had an active protection order against Olona, issued by a Colorado court.

In the end, Olona was charged with felony 3rd degree domestic assault, felony strangulation, felony 1st degree false imprisonment and 2nd offense violation of a protection order.

According to Officer Rodney Brown, the female had injuries that corroborated her account of what happened.

Brown said other allegations made by the victim are still being investigated.

Olona was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A spokesman for Gov. Pete Ricketts’ office says the state is no longer considering the sexual orientation of a person seeking to become a foster parent.

The state health and human services department hasn’t officially changed its policy, but it hasn’t been following it either.

He says it’s hard to pinpoint when the agency changed course, except that it came before Ricketts took office in January. The disconnect between policy and procedure has prompted the governor’s office to ask department officials for a review.

The 20-year-old policy effectively prevents gay and lesbian couples from becoming foster parents by barring unmarried, unrelated adults who live together from having children placed with them. It also bars placing children with a single, gay person.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An effort to reinstate the winner-take-all system in presidential elections has cleared a first-round vote in Nebraska’s Legislature.

Lawmakers voted 31-17 on Monday to advance the bill through the first of three required votes. Supporters of the bill overcame a legislative filibuster.

Nebraska and Maine are the only states where it’s possible to split electoral votes between opposing presidential candidates, though other states have considered the practice. Two of Nebraska’s electoral votes are awarded to the statewide winner, while the remaining three are distributed by congressional district.

Nebraska split its electoral votes for the first time in 2008, when Democrat Barack Obama captured one from the 2nd congressional district in Omaha on his way to the presidency.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Emergency Agency will be changing its policy so that communities that are rebuilding after a disaster can get reimbursed faster.

The new procedure will reimburse communities after each individual project has been completed, rather than waiting until all of a community’s rebuilding projects were finished. The requirement to finish all projects placed a burden on smaller communities that had to take out loans and pay interest for projects while waiting for reimbursement.

Communities have been waiting for more than three years for repayment after floods in 2011. Until a couple of months ago, the state agency and FEMA still owed a total of $7.2 million.

FEMA pays 75 percent of project costs and the state pays 12.5 percent. Local communities must cover the rest.

The agency’s new policy will be similar to that of Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska corrections official who was criticized by lawmakers in a state prisons investigation is set to retire.

Larry Wayne, the deputy director of Nebraska’s Department of Correctional Services, will step down effective April 3. The department’s new director, Scott Frakes, announced the retirement on Monday.

Some lawmakers blamed Wayne for the state’s handling of Nikko Jenkins, an inmate who was released despite claims of mental illness and who went on to kill four people in Omaha. A state ombudsman told lawmakers that Wayne had promised to “bury” Jenkins in segregation, which Wayne denies.

Wayne has served in the role since April 2003, and his career in the department stretches back to August 1975. He served in roles including warden, administrator, investigator, unit manager, senior case manager and classification counselor.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska attorney general’s office says nearly 105,000 Nebraskans could have had their personal information exposed as part of a huge data security breach.

Attorney General Doug Peterson announced Monday that the breach of health insurer Anthem could lead to the exposure of names, addresses and Social Security numbers for 104,795 Nebraska residents. The insurer is mailing notices to those people and offering to pay for two years of credit monitoring.

Anthem doesn’t sell policies or process claims in Nebraska, but residents still could be at risk if their employer is based in one of the 14 states where the company operates.

Nebraskans also could be affected if they have coverage through a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan and received care in a state where Anthem processes health claims.

MELBETA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 72-year-old woman has been killed in a car collision with a semitrailer in the Nebraska Panhandle.

The accident occurred about 8:45 a.m. Sunday. The Nebraska State Patrol says Ladena Hill, of Melbeta, was a passenger in a car driven by 36-year-old Brandee Hill, of Gering. The patrol says Hill was driving north on a county road when she pulled onto Nebraska Highway 92 and was struck by the westbound big rig.

Brandee Hill and another passenger in the car were taken to Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff. On Monday hospital nursing supervisor Evelyn Bentley said Brandee Hill’s condition had been upgraded to serious. The hospital couldn’t provide information on the other passenger.

The patrol says the truck driver wasn’t injured.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts is denouncing a federal judge’s decision to strike down Nebraska’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

The Republican governor said Monday that the issue should be left to Nebraskans, and not an “activist judge” subverting their will.

Ricketts say he will work with Attorney General Doug Peterson, a fellow Republican, to uphold the current constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2000.

The ACLU of Nebraska hailed the decision as a victory for equal rights.

The ruling on Monday was immediately appealed to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition to prohibiting gay marriage, Nebraska also forbids civil unions and legalized domestic partnerships.

A 58-year-old North Platte man has been charged with multiple felonies after he allegedly assaulted a man on Sunday morning.

According to Officer Rodney Brown, North Platte police responded to the report of two males fighting in the 699 block of East 2nd Street, at around 4:30 a.m., on Sunday.

Upon arrival, a 34-year-old male alleged that following an argument, Dennis Bedker grabbed a small, military-style shove and struck him in the head.

Following further investigation, Bedker was placed under arrest and charged with felony 2nd degree assault and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

Bedker was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.