LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new report by a national group says nearly one in six Nebraska workers would see a pay increase if voters opt to raise the state’s minimum wage.

The report released Wednesday estimates that 143,000 low-paid workers in Nebraska could receive a raise. Voters will decide in November whether to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $9 an hour by 2016.

Paul Sonn of the National Employment Law Project says higher minimum wages generally create a “ripple effect” that also boosts wages for workers who make slightly more than the minimum. NELP is a New York-based advocacy group.

The study predicts that increasing the wage would generate nearly $74 million in economic activity through increased spending, and help create more than 400 jobs.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Dave Heineman says state-sponsored trade centers in China and Japan have proven their worth to Nebraska and ought to be continued to help local businesses expand into Asian markets.

Heineman said Wednesday that the centers play a long-term role in building business relationships in Asia. His remarks came after he announced that Nebraska has been chosen to host the U.S.-Japan Association’s 50th annual conference in September 2018.

Each center costs the state around $125,000 a year. Dacia Kruse, the Department of Economic Development’s acting director, says Nebraska businesses help cover some of the costs of each center.

Melissa Ross, marketing director for Oxbow Animal Health, says the Japanese center has helped her Murdock-based company bridge the cultural gap that foreign companies sometimes encounter in Asia.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A western Nebraska breeder has given 26 small dogs to a Grand Island shelter.

The Central Nebraska Humane Society director said it’s unclear why the owner donated the animals to the shelter on Sunday. Thirteen of the animals were sent to Start Over Rover in Hastings.

The dogs include Shih Tzus, schnauzers, dachshunds and Yorkshire terriers. The director says the animals are social and in relatively good health. She says most animals from large breeding operations don’t know how to play with humans or other animals.

The dogs will undergo health checks and it could be a couple of weeks before they’re ready for adoption.

ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Panhandle authorities say a 4-year-old girl has died in an ATV rollover.

Box Butte County Sheriff Tammy Mowry says Josephine Marie Magnuson was critically injured when the four-wheeler she was riding on with an 8-year-old flipped on Saturday. She says the girl’s parents were a few feet away when the accident occurred at the ranch about 33 miles west of Alliance.

The girl was taken to the Box Butte General Hospital where she later died. It’s unclear if the other child was injured.

Funeral services are scheduled for Wednesday.

Three suspects are in custody after a body was found on the north bank of the South Platte River in North Platte.

At around 11:10 p.m., on September 16, the North Platte Police Department spoke with two citizens who reported seeing a dead body.

The citizens told officers that the body was on the north bank of the South Platte River, southeast of Walmart.

The officers were led to where the body was located, and determined it was outside of the city limits.  As a result, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office was called to the scene.

Deputies arrived and located the body of a deceased male subject.

According to Chief Deputy Roland Kramer, initial observations showed that the subject appeared to have non-accidental facial injuries and was wrapped in a tarp.

Deputies conducted interviews with several witnesses, and two persons of interest.

Following an investigation, deputies arrested and charged three people: 45-year-old transient David E. Saxton II has been charged with second degree murder, 31-year-old transient Maybelle A. Collins was charged with being an accessory to a felony, and 31-year-old Randy Nevsimal has been charged with 2nd degree murder.

Authorities say the victim, a male transient, has been identified, but his name is being withheld, pending the notification of family members.

Deputies did not release any further details, and say the investigation is ongoing.

Interstate 80 will be closed during the overnight of hours of September 29 and 30, at the Gothenburg interchange.

The Nebraska Department of Roads said I-80 westbound will be closed at 11:00 p.m., September 29, into the morning hours of September 30.

Traffic will be routed off at Gothenburg, and back on using the I-80 on ramp.

I-80 eastbound will be closed between the hours of 11:00 p.m., September 30, and 6:00 a.m. on October 1.

Again, traffic will be routed off at Gothenburg, and back on using the I-80 on ramp.

Officials say the closures are for the setting of new girders on the I-80 interchange bridge at Gothenburg.

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say 12 states now have respiratory illnesses caused by an uncommon virus — enterovirus 68.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials say Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania together have 130 lab-confirmed cases. All are children.

The virus can cause mild to severe illness, with the worst cases needing life support for breathing difficulties. Kids with asthma have been especially vulnerable. No deaths have been reported.

The strain is not new but only a small number of labs can test for it. Since mid-August, there’s been an unusual spike in identified cases. The CDC has tested more than 200 specimens from more than 30 states.

Investigators say it’s not yet clear what triggered the outbreak or whether it’s worsening.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s rate of uninsured people stayed relatively flat last year while those in neighboring states and the nation declined slightly.

New U.S. census data released Tuesday show that 13 percent of Nebraskans under age 65 were uninsured last year. The rate in 2012 was 12.9 percent.

David Drozd of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Center for Public Affairs Research says Nebraska’s rate may not have changed much because the state didn’t shed as many jobs during the recession.

The uninsured rate in Iowa dipped from 9.8 percent in 2012 to 9.5 percent last year. In Kansas, the rate slipped from 14.4 percent to 14.2 percent.

Nationally, the uninsured rate dropped to 16.7 percent in 2013 from 16.9 percent the prior year.

• Today: Areas of fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Calm wind becoming east southeast 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon.
• Tonight: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 10pm and 1am, then a chance of drizzle and thunderstorms after 1am. Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. East southeast wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Thursday: A chance of drizzle before 1pm. Patchy fog before 1pm. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 83. South southeast wind 8 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. South wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Friday: Sunny, with a high near 88. South southwest wind 10 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.
• Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55.
• Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.
• Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 52.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture says below-normal temperatures, rain in the east and light snow in western portions of Nebraska slowed field work last week.

The USDA said in a report released Monday that 26 percent of Nebraska’s expected winter wheat crop had been planted, compared with the five-year average of 27 percent for the date.

Corn and soybean conditions rated 73 percent good or excellent. Pasture and range conditions rated 54 percent good or excellent.