LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Dave Heineman opposes the ballot measure to increase the minimum wage in Nebraska to $9 an hour by 2016.

Heineman said Monday that he would vote against the minimum wage proposal.

Heineman says he understands it’s difficult to live on a minimum wage salary, but he thinks it’s better to help workers improve their skills through training so they can get better jobs.

Currently, Nebraska’s minimum wage is the same as the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

Heineman says he thinks it’s better to keep Nebraska’s minimum wage linked to the federal standard.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A Kentucky company has won a bid to build a re-entry center in Kearney for federal prisoners.

The federal Bureau of Prisons announced Friday that Louisville, Kentucky-based Dismas Charities was awarded a $6.7 million bid. Dismas Charities operates re-entry programs. It secured a building permit in 2013 for the Kearney property.

Dismas Vice President Steven Vice says the company expects the facility to be finished in January. Vice says it will house federal prisoners who have committed nonviolent crimes that are primarily related to substance abuse. The center will offer supervision and support for inmates nearing release.

City manager Mike Morgan says the city will be in contact with Dismas soon to ask it to hold a town hall meeting and respond to residents’ concerns.

GERING, Neb. (AP) — A 33-year-old Scottsbluff man has been sent to prison for sexually assaulting a child over a five-year period.

Max Samayoa was sentenced last week in Scotts Bluff County District Court. He’d been found guilty on July 8, after a trial in Gering.

Samayoa was given 35 to 40 years on each of three counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child and one to three years for third-degree sexual assault of a child. The sentences are to be served at the same time.

Court records say Scottsbluff police were called to the home of a teenage girl and her mother in February. The girl reported that she had been sexually assaulted by Cano starting when she was 11.

8/26/14 8:20 a.m.

According to the Lexington Police Department, Martha Areli Ruiz-Palacios was located by police on Monday evening.

She was returned home to her family.

Police did not comment further on the case.

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Lexington Police are investigating a missing/runaway juvenile.

According to authorities, 17-year-old Martha Areli Ruiz-Palacios, was last seen by her parents at their home on Saturday, August 23.

Police have little information on where she may be.

If you have any information, contact the Lexington Police Department at 308-324-2317, or local law enforcement.

An increased Nebraska State Patrol presence is planned for Husker home football games during the 2014 season.

Troopers and communications specialists with the Nebraska State Patrol Headquarters Troop-Lincoln and Troop A-Omaha will be working overtime hours during the first four Husker home games (Aug. 30, Sept. 6, 20, 27), thanks in part to a $13,160 grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety (NOHS).

The Nebraska State Patrol Aviation Support Division will also be in the air assisting troopers and providing traffic reports both before and after the games.

Traffic volume tends to increase during Husker home games. Fans traveling to and from Memorial Stadium can expect congestion and possible delays and are encouraged to give themselves plenty of time to reach their destination.

Motorists are also reminded voluntary compliance with all traffic safety laws will help to keep traffic moving smoothly. Drivers are encouraged to obey the posted speed limit, never drive impaired or distracted and make sure everyone in their vehicle is buckled up.

Nebraska’s Advanced Traveler Information System, 511, can be utilized to keep up today with the latest weather and road conditions. Motorists can access the 511 Mobile Traveler Site at < https://www.ndortraveler.mobi > or < www.511.nebraska.gov > or by dialing 511 (00-906-9069) from any cellular phone when safe to do so.

Anyone who observes a reckless driver, or anyone in need of non-emergency roadside assistance should call the Nebraska State Patrol Highway Helpline when safe to do so at *55 from their cellular phone or 1-800-525-5555 from any landline. Motorists should report emergencies to 911.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Living history demonstrations by re-enactors are scheduled for Labor Day weekend at Fort Kearny State Historical Park and Indian Cave State Park.

Fort Kearny will feature a daily cannon firing at 2 p.m., as well as re-enactors in a soldiers camp, as well as demonstrations of many trades. On Monday Charlotte Endorf will portray Annie Oakley at 1:15 p.m. and following the cannon firing.

Contact the park at 308-865-5305 for more information.

Indian Cave park will have guided horseback trail rides and living history demonstrations. Movies will be screened at the outdoor amphitheater, and the Pioneer Longrifles Gun Club will hold its rendezvous all weekend. An evening fish fry will be held on Saturday, followed by fireworks.

Contact the park at 402-883-2575 for more information.

• Today: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 10am. Partly sunny, with a high near 77. Northeast wind 7 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
• Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 10pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 58. East northeast wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
• Tuesday: Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 10am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 78. East wind 8 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
• Tuesday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Cloudy, with a low around 61. East southeast wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
• Wednesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. East southeast wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
• Wednesday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — A man serving a life sentence for killing a Gothenberg police officer in 1990 hopes a Dawson County District Court Judge will adjust his sentence and offer him a way out of prison.

Eric McCain had a hearing Friday on his motion to change his sentence.

The 41-year-old McCain is appealing because of a 2012 US Supreme Court ruling that declared mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juvenile killers are unconstitutional.

The guidelines now call for a sentence of 40 years to life for juveniles.

McCain was 17 when Police Sgt. Glenn Haas was shot. McCain was convicted of first-degree murder in the case.

Nebraska lawmakers passed a law last year that ended mandatory life sentences for juveniles who commit first-degree murder.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of gasoline has dipped 4 cents per gallon in the past two weeks, and prices in California have fallen 5 cents in the same time period.

According to the Lundberg Survey released Sunday, the average nationwide price for a gallon of regular is now $3.48 — 8 cents below what it was a year ago. The average price for midgrade gasoline is $3.69, and premium is $3.84.

Of cities surveyed in the Lower 48 states, the lowest price, $3.11, was in Jackson, Mississippi. San Francisco had the highest price at $3.92.

In California, prices for a gallon of regular dropped 5 cents to $3.81.

The lowest price, $3.66, was in Bakersfield.

The average U.S. price of gasoline dropped 23 cents during the past nine weeks.

The average price for a gallon of regular in Nebraska is $3.37.

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — Charter Communications Inc. said late Saturday that the company was aware of some customers experiencing Internet outages across its service area.

Charter spokeswoman Kim Haas says the company is working to restore service and says the cause is unknown. She said the issues were “intermittent across parts of our footprint.”

Haas said she could not provide any further details.

Social media users posted complaints on the company’s Twitter and Facebook pages. The company did not immediately respond on either site.

Numerous calls to the company’s customer support number rang busy.

Stamford, Connecticut-based Charter is the fourth largest cable operator in the U.S., according to its website. It also provides phone services and serves customers in 29 states