LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — State officials say Nebraska collected less net revenue than expected in November.

The Department of Revenue reported Friday that the state last month netted $390 million, which is 2.3 percent below the certified forecast of $400 million.

The department says collections were lower for all four major tax categories: individual and corporate income, sales-and-use and miscellaneous.

Tax receipts are still above projections for the current fiscal year, which began on July 1. The state has collected $1.85 billion so far since then, nearly 2 percent above the forecast of $1.816 billion.

The tax collections help determine how much money lawmakers and the governor have at their disposal.

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) and many other agencies have responded to several bomb threats in communities around Nebraska today. No devices have been found and the threats are believed to be associated with others reported through the nation today.

The Nebraska Information Analysis Center (NIAC), led by NSP, has been in contact with the FBI as well as law enforcement agencies in numerous other states since the first reports of bomb threats in the region.

At this point, there are no reports that any explosive device has been found associated with these threats. NSP is aware of numerous threats made in Omaha, Lincoln, McCook, Peru, Fremont, Falls City, and Dewitt. None of those threats are deemed to be credible.

1. NSP and NIAC are working with federal authorities to determine the origin of the threats.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The state of Nebraska has abandoned two major computer system upgrades for different agencies after spending more than $12 million combined on them.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that officials acknowledged Wednesday that the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services had pulled the plug on a $84 million contract to create a new Medicaid eligibility and enrollment system. Medicaid Director Matthew Van Patton says the contract was suspended in September — after the state had already spent $6 million on it — because state officials and a consulting firm raised concerns about the pace of work.

No decisions on how to move forward on that project have been made.

The second project of $12 million to consolidate five personnel and budget systems at the Department of Administrative Services was dumped after running into snags. The state had also spent $6 million on that project before calling it off.

The state has opted instead to upgrade the existing system at a cost of about $900,000.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Two Nebraska lawmakers have announced plans to place a medical marijuana legalization measure on the 2020 ballot.

Sens. Anna Wishart and Adam Morfeld, both of Lincoln, announced the formation Thursday of Nebraskans for Sensible Marijuana Laws.

The campaign will seek a constitutional amendment to give Nebraskans the right to use marijuana for medical purposes. The group has received backing from the Marijuana Policy Project, a leading national group that has helped lead five successful marijuana-related ballot measures in Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada and Utah.

Wishart says the group is assembling a steering committee to represent different stakeholders in Nebraska who will help with the campaign.

Morfeld also played a major role in this year’s successful ballot campaign to expand Medicaid.

Two troopers were uninjured late Tuesday evening after the marked Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) cruiser they were driving was struck by another vehicle at an intersection in Scottsbluff.

The crash occurred at approximately 10:15 p.m. MT Tuesday, when the troopers were traveling westbound on Highway 26, proceeding through a flashing yellow traffic light. At that moment, a 2003 Dodge Stratus was traveling southbound on 5th Avenue, ran the flashing red traffic light, and struck the passenger side of the patrol unit.

Both troopers were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash and suffered no significant injuries. The three occupants of the Stratus also suffered no significant injuries. Both vehicles were totaled.

NSP asked the Scottsbluff Police Department to investigate the crash. Scottsbluff Police issued a citation for violation of a traffic signal to the driver of the Stratus.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — President Donald Trump has appointed Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts to serve on an advisory committee for trade policy and negotiations.

Ricketts announced the appointment Tuesday night and praised the president for pushing for “better trade deals for working Americans and our family farmers and ranchers.”

Ricketts, a fellow Republican, has focused heavily on international trade during his time in office and led numerous trade missions to Europe, Asia, Canada and Mexico. He has avoided criticizing Trump’s approach to trade even as the president imposed steep U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum exports, and praised the president for his newly signed deal with Canada and Mexico.

A recent Nebraska Farm Bureau report said trade conflicts have cost Nebraska farmers up to $1 billion in farm income this year.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are criticizing state corrections officials for not immediately releasing a less-than-flattering report about the causes of a deadly prison riot in May 2015.

Members of a joint legislative committee voiced frustration Tuesday that corrections officials didn’t disclose the report until last month, during a civil trial related to the riot.

The 11-page report by outside consultants contradicts prison officials’ claims that the riot happened spontaneously. The report argues the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution was primed for a riot because of understaffing, stricter rules and a coordinated push by prison gangs. Two inmates were murdered during the riot.

Corrections Director Scott Frakes told lawmakers in a letter that the report wasn’t disclosed because it contained sensitive security inmates. Several lawmakers questioned that claim.

The report cost the state $20,000.

CRAWFORD, Neb. – Christmas is just around the corner, but it was Father’s Day that brought a southeast Nebraska man and his son to northwest Nebraska this month for an experience of a lifetime.

As a Father’s Day gift, Greg Hunter of Johnson has entered Nebraska’s bighorn sheep permit lottery each of the past four years for his father, Dave Hunter of Auburn. It proved a good investment as the elder Hunter’s name was the one drawn in the lottery this year.

The gift seemed especially sweet to Dave after he harvested a trophy ram at Fort Robinson State Park on Monday, Dec. 10, with Greg by his side.

Commission wildlife staff joined the Hunters as they set out hiking the Pine Ridge terrain of Fort Robinson just after sunrise Monday in search of a ram. The hunt ended successfully at mid-afternoon Monday when Dave Hunter pulled the trigger on his .270 caliber rifle to harvest a full-curl ram. It was a 360-yard shot over a steep ravine that drains into Spring Creek in the secluded northern part of the park.

Todd Nordeen, the big game manager who leads the sheep-hunting program for the Commission, said it was one of the tougher bighorn sheep hunts he has assisted, even though the weather was nice. With the terrain slick from melting snow over frozen soil, the trek up and down the slopes proved a challenge.

Because Nebraska’s bighorn sheep are monitored as part of conservation efforts, largely funded by proceeds from the hunting program, Commission staff members are familiar with many of the sheep. Nordeen said he had recited a little prayer the previous night that this ram would emerge during the hunt. He said the ram was not only an impressive animal, but was 8½ years old and reaching the end of its life.

The Hunters said they have been excited for the hunt since the drawing and that the experience even exceeded their expectations. They are looking forward to the meat the animal will provide, and encourage other Nebraskans to enter future permit drawings to help conserve the species and perhaps even win.

Hunter held one of just two permits awarded this year – the other permit was awarded by auction. Lottery permit winners in Nebraska are assisted by Commission staff and treated to meals and lodging at Fort Robinson State Park.

This was the 25th bighorn sheep harvested in Nebraska since the Commission’s hunting program began in 1998. It’s an opportunity made possible because of reintroduction efforts for the species that began in the 1980s.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A man convicted in Omaha of embezzling government funds has been ordered to make restitution to two federal agencies.

Federal prosecutors say 62-year-old Michael Basile was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Omaha to five years of probation and 150 hours of community service. He also was told to pay the Department of Veterans Affairs more than $62,000 and the Railroad Retirement Board more than $108,000.

The prosecutors say Basile did contract work from June 2014 through September 2017 and had his payments made to a family member in order to conceal the income from the VA and the retirement board. He was receiving disability payments from both agencies at the time and was required to report any income.