LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is offering a training course on beef and pork quality assurance practices.

The university’s extension office will hold the event on Dec. 2 at the Lancaster Extension Education Center in Lincoln. Participants can get trained or recertified at the event, which includes interactive training and a quiz.

Registration opens at 5:30 p.m., and the programs begin at 6:15 p.m. Each session will last about two hours.

The program costs $10 and includes the meal and additional materials. Additional fees may apply. Pre-registration is requested by Nov. 26 to ensure an accurate head count.

For more information, contact Lindsay Chichester at 402-624-8007, or Cole Meador at 402-441-7180.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Patrol has announced plans for stepped up enforcement to focus on seat belt usage over the Thanksgiving holiday.

The patrol says that as of Nov. 17, 200 people have been killed on Nebraska roads, compared with 184 by the same time in 2013. Of the 200 people killed this year, 117 were not wearing seat belts.

State Patrol Superintendent David Sankey says troopers will work overtime for the special enforcement period, which runs from Nov. 24 through Nov. 30.

The effort, funded in part through an $18,000 grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety, coincides with the national “Click It or Ticket” enforcement campaign.

An 18-year-old North Dakota man is being lodged in the Lincoln County Detention Center after he allegedly stole a vehicle in North Platte.

According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, A deputy was flagged down by a citizen at around 12:25 p.m., on November 21.

The citizen advised that his vehicle had been stolen near B and Jeffers Streets, and was last seen traveling westbound on B Street.

Another deputy spotted the vehicle traveling southbound on Buffalo Bill Avenue, and attempted to conduct a traffic stop.

Deputies say the vehicle failed to yield, and continued to Walker Road, where it headed west at speeds in excess of 100 mph.

The vehicle continued to flee, turning south on Hershey/Dickens Road, then west on Highway 23, before entering the entrance of Opplinger Farms.

The driver, later identified as Dayton Whitley, continued to drive through the feedlot, endangering employees, before crashing into steel fencing and concrete feed bunks.

Officials say Whitley appeared to be uninjured, and was taken into custody.

A subsequent search of Whitley yielded a hidden knife.

Whitley was transported to the LCDC, and jailed on charges of felony fleeing to avoid arrest, felony theft and carrying a concealed weapon.

Deputies say the car appeared to be a total loss, and the investigation is ongoing.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — University of Nebraska-Lincoln officials have passed a five-year plan that will increase room and board costs for students.

The school’s Board of Regents approved the plan Thursday that will increase room and board rates by about 3.5 percent each year for the next five years. Students returning next year won’t see a rate increase. They are paying almost $10,000 this year for room and board.

New students can expect to pay $10,310 for a room and full meal plan next year.

Officials say part of the revenue will help pay for two housing-related construction projects. Roughly 2 percent of the increase will pay for operation and maintenance costs at existing residence halls. About 1 percent each year will be used to pay off a construction bond to pay for a new dining hall.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska State Fair officials are working on a plan to book a bigger musical act for a large, outdoor concert for next year.

The State Fair Board met for a retreat last week. Executive Director Joseph McDermott says fair officials have noticed some county fairs are bringing in well-known performers that are as big or bigger than the ones at the state fair.

McDermott says fair officials are considering moving one concert to the south end of the Fonner Park track. He says the Heartland Events Center is not big enough to bring in bigger-name acts. The events center has a capacity of 5,300 people.

An engineer and production manager have examined the park and say it could fit 10,000 people.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A newly released report says Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for October dropped to 3.4 percent.

The Nebraska Labor Department said in the report released Friday that the rate was four-tenths of a point under the October 2013 rate of 3.8 percent.

The new Nebraska figure remains well below the preliminary national unemployment rate of 5.8 percent in October. The new national rate is one-tenths of a point under the September figure of 5.9 percent and 1.4 percentage points below the October 2013 rate of 7.2 percent.

CAMBRIDGE, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Patrol has identified a Colorado man who was critically injured after a train collided with his truck.

Troopers said Thursday that 37-year-old Jared Breinig of Fort Collins, Colorado, was struck by a BNSF Railway train on Wednesday near Cambridge. They say Breinig failed to yield to the train and became stuck at the unmarked rural crossing.

Breinig was flown to Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney in critical condition. He remained in critical condition on Thursday.

No other injuries were reported.

• Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 53. South southwest wind 7 to 10 mph.
• Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23. South wind around 7 mph becoming west after midnight.
• Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 61. Light and variable wind becoming south southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
• Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. South wind 5 to 14 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
• Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 48. Breezy, with a northwest wind 15 to 24 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.
• Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 24.
• Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. Breezy.
• Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 18. Blustery.

OGALLALA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska farmer who died before he could complete his final harvest has received some help from his friends.

Dick Zeller says he got a group of friends together on Wednesday to finish work left on Andy Biel’s farm. The 38-year-old from Ogallala died last month of cancer.

Zellers says the group had six combines, seven grain carts and 18 trucks to help harvest Biel’s corn. The group did the same work last year while Biel was undergoing treatments.

Biel’s wife, Twila Biel, said farming meant everything to her husband. She said her husband would be amazed by the volunteer work.

GERING, Neb. (AP) — A Wyoming teenager has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the strangling death of a Nebraska jailer.

Jurors in Scotts Bluff County District Court returned the verdict Wednesday in the trial of 16-year-old Dylan Cardeilhac. They also considered a conviction of first-degree murder or manslaughter.

Jjurors determined Cardeilhac intentionally killed 24-year-old Amanda Baker, but without premeditation or malice.

Prosecutors say Cardeilhac strangled Baker in February at the Scotts Bluff County Detention Center as part of an escape attempt. Scotts Bluff County Attorney Doug Warner said Cardeilhac told others at the detention center he was willing to kill a guard.

A defense attorney argued his client didn’t intend to kill Baker.

Cardeilhac will be sentenced on Jan. 9.