Samantha Young has been named “Business Student of the Month” for December at North Platte Community College.

The daughter of Jim and Patty Young, Samantha is a North Platte resident who graduated from Maxwell High School in 2008. She is currently studying business administration, marketing and entrepreneurship at Mid-Plains Community College. Her plans are to graduate in December of 2015.

“I selected MPCC because it is local, and the class selection and class size were best for what I needed,” said Samantha. “Everyone at MPCC is amazing. All of my instructors have really pushed me to excel in my classes and helped me incorporate what I have learned into my existing business. They all understand my crazy life and how busy it can get.”

When she’s not in class, Samantha is either working as a personal banker at NebraskaLand National Bank or managing The Turquoise Junkie boutique she owns.

“When I decided to go back to school, it was mainly for personal gain,” said Samantha. “However, I have really enjoyed the marketing classes. My main goal is to build my store’s image, so that I can focus on being a business owner full time.”

Samantha’s interests outside of work and school include: racing cars, crafting, “junking,” traveling, volunteering, hunting, fishing, shopping and sports.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators have ordered Union Pacific Railroad Co. to reinstate a worker who was fired for reporting a workplace injury.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Friday that the railroad violated federal law when it dismissed the apprentice machinist in North Platte in September 2009.

A three-judge panel also ordered the railroad to pay back wages with interest, as well as compensatory and punitive damages totaling $175,000.

OSHA originally issued its findings in April 2011. Union Pacific requested a hearing before an administrative law judge, who upheld the decision. Union Pacific then appealed to an administrative review board.

• TodaySunny, with a high near 55. West wind 6 to 9 mph.
• TonightMostly clear, with a low around 17. North northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
• TuesdayMostly sunny, with a high near 49. Light east southeast wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
• Tuesday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 24. South wind 3 to 7 mph.
• WednesdayMostly sunny, with a high near 53. Calm wind becoming south southwest 5 to 7 mph in the morning.
• Wednesday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 23.
• ThursdaySunny, with a high near 56.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — A national survey reveals the average price of regular gasoline has plunged another 12 cents a gallon over the past two weeks, to $2.72.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that the decline continues a nationwide trend.

Lundberg says lower crude oil prices are continuing to drive prices down, along with an abundant oil supply and the rising value of the U.S. dollar.

The highest-priced gas in the Lower 48 states was found in San Francisco at $3.04 a gallon. The lowest was in Albuquerque at $2.38 a gallon.

California’s lowest average was in Sacramento, $2.80 a gallon.

The average price for midgrade gas in the U.S. is $2.96. For premium it’s $3.12.

In Nebraska, the average price for a gallon of regular is $2.71.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Twenty students from across Nebraska have been honored by Secretary of State John Gale — and will get $50 gift cards — for their work during this year’s primary and general elections.

Each student will receive a $50 gift card by the Nebraska Bankers Association, which along with the Secretary of State’s office, sponsors the Youth Election Service program.

Gale says the purpose of the program is to “spark an interest in the election process among young people.”

Teens age 14 to 18 are required to work at least four hours during each election in order to qualify for the drawing in which names are selected for the 20 gift cards.

Officials say 168 students from 25 counties took part in this year’s program.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Different cattle industry groups may not agree on what needs to change in the current beef checkoff program, but they appear united in opposing an expansion of the program.

Rancher Dave Wright, who leads the Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska, tells the Lincoln Journal Star (https://bit.ly/1BqKjGv) no industry groups are supporting the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposal to expand the program.

Currently, a checkoff fee of $1 per head is charged when cattle are sold to provide money to promote the industry and increase beef demand.

The USDA is collecting comments on a proposal to double the fee through Wednesday.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — As they prepare for a debate on taxes, Nebraska lawmakers are trying to find new ways to reduce what property-owners pay without robbing local school districts of revenue.

Property taxes will again surface as an issue in the legislative session that begins next month with 18 new senators and Gov.-elect Pete Ricketts.

During a hearing Tuesday at the Capitol, the Revenue Committee will look at how other states have lowered property taxes.

Sen. Galen Hadley of Kearney, the committee chairman, says lawmakers want to hear different options, but each one has trade-offs.

The discussion could include reducing the taxable value of farm- and ranchland, putting caps on property taxes, or taxing land by the profit it generates rather than its market value.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor is warning that climate change will have drastic long-term impacts on agriculture throughout the state.

Don Wilhite outlined the consequences for an audience at a Nebraska Farmers Union convention.

Wilhite says climate models predict that the unusually hot and dry summer of 2012 will become the average conditions for Nebraska by the last quarter of this century.

Wilhite notes that in the summer of 2012, McCook had 37 days with high temperatures of more than 100 degrees. The long-term average for the season is around 11 days. He says groundwater levels in some areas of Nebraska dropped 5 to 12 feet.

Wilhite is the lead author of “Understanding and Assessing Climate Change: Implications for Nebraska.”

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska State Fair officials are reviewing the successes of this year’s fair and looking for ways to improve it in 2015.

The State Fair Board convened on Friday to discuss a new website and additions planned for the Raising Nebraska exhibit.

Board member Kathleen Lodl says more than 4,000 people used the interactive combine within the Raising Nebraska exhibit. More than 15,000 engaged with a dining table feature, and more than 50,000 worked with the interactive map.

The State Fair’s website will also get a makeover ahead of next year’s fair. The board approved a $20,000 request to build a new website.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has reversed a lower court’s issuance of a domestic abuse protection order for a 16-year-old girl against her father, saying his vulgar, obscenity-laced texts did not constitute abuse.

The decision came in the case of man listed in the opinion as “William N.” Court records indicate that the girl’s mother sought a domestic abuse protection order for her daughter earlier this year after the father sent the girl texts calling the girl, her boyfriend and her mother vulgar names.

A Valley County judge issued the protection order, and William N. appealed.

On Friday, the state’s high court said that since he had not threatened to harm the teen, the lower court was wrong to issue a domestic abuse protection order.