(AP) — Officials are maintaining the tighter security at Burwell schools more than a month after a menacing letter was sent to Burwell police containing what’s been called a “hit list.”

On the list received March 6 were the names of more than a dozen Burwell administrators, teachers and students at the district’s junior-senior high school. Nebraska State Patrol Lt. Dennis Leonard said there’s no new information on the case and that investigators are awaiting laboratory results.

After the school board met on March 10, Burwell’s two schools were closed for a day before reopening with new security procedures in place. Burwell Junior-Senior High School principal Dave Owen says students have adjusted well.

Burwell is a central Nebraska community of about 1,200 residents.

A North Platte woman has been charged in connection with a theft from Menards earlier this month.

On April 2, the North Platte Police Department investigated a theft from Menards, and arrested Matthew Rauterkus.

Police say that as the investigation progressed, evidence was gathered that indicated a female had helped Rauterkus conceal the stolen merchandise.

The female was eventually identified as 28-year-old Jessica Carstensen.

A bulletin authorizing the arrest of Carstensen was issued for aiding and abetting shoplifting.

An officer had contact with Carstensen on an unrelated matter on April 11, and placed her under arrest.

Carstensen was processed and released from the Lincoln County Detention Center.

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(AP) — The attorney for a western Nebraska woman accused of embezzling thousands of dollars from state wards is seeking to question State Auditor Mike Foley and Nebraska State Court Administrator Janice Walker under oath.

Sterling Huff, attorney for Judy Widener, filed a motion to depose Foley and Walker. In response, the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office filed a motion to quash the request.

On Friday, Huff argued before a judge that he should be able to question Foley on his office’s role in the charges against Widener. He wants to question Walker about whether the Nebraska Supreme Court and the Court Administrator’s Office took part in the criminal investigation of Widener.

• Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 45. Breezy, with a northwest wind 14 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.
• Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 21. North northwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming light and variable. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph.
• Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 62. South southwest wind 8 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
• Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 38. South southwest wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
• Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 54. Breezy, with a northwest wind 11 to 16 mph increasing to 19 to 24 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph.
• Wednesday Night: A chance of rain and snow before 1am, then a chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Thursday: A slight chance of snow before 1pm, then a slight chance of rain and snow. Partly sunny, with a high near 43. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

(AP) — This year’s Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska will follow a 476-mile route across the northern part of the state.

The ride will begin on June 8 in Rushville. It will continue through June 14.

Overnight stops are planned in the towns of Cody, Springview, Atkinson, Verdigre, Laurel, Lyons and Waterloo.

The ride costs $175, but riders under the age of 25 pay only $100 and group discounts are available. The event is limited to 600 riders.

More details are available online at BRAN-inc.org.

(AP) — Nebraska is on the cusp of joining forces with Colorado, Wyoming and the Dakotas to help fight rural wildfires.

A bill sent to Gov. Dave Heineman would allow Nebraska to join the Great Plains Interstate Fire Compact, an agreement that lets member states share their firefighters and equipment in an emergency. Kansas is considering a similar proposal.

The bill was introduced two years after massive wildfires swept through central and western Nebraska. Its sponsor, Sen. Al Davis of Hyannis, says pooling the states’ resources could lead to faster response times in the most remote and hard-to-reach areas of Nebraska.

Nebraska State Forester Scott Josiah says the state still has the potential to see large wildfires in years when its grasslands and forests are dry.

(AP) — A western Nebraska woman has pleaded not guilty to charges that she helped her husband kill himself and then hid his body.

Online court records say 53-year-old Deann Kimble, of Sidney, entered the pleas earlier this week in Cheyenne County District Court. Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 18.

Deputies have said Kimble told them that she had promised 61-year-old Russell Kimble that she would not intervene when he decided it was “his time to die.”

She told investigators that Russell Kimble shot himself on March 22, believing he was gravely ill. Investigators say Deann Kimble then wrapped his body is a shower curtain and sheet and buried him in a shallow grave.

(AP) — A 15-year-old Wyoming boy charged with killing a Nebraska jail guard has pleaded guilty to the crime that originally led to his jailing.

On Friday Dylan Cardeilhac pleaded guilty to robbery in Scotts Bluff County District Court in Gering. His sentencing is scheduled for May 22. Prosecutors say Cardeilhac and a 14-year-old in December robbed a convenience store in Mitchell. The other boy has not been caught.

Cardeilhac has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in the slaying of 24-year-old Amanda Baker on Feb. 14. Authorities say he lured Baker into his jail cell and then pounced on her, strangling her from behind.

(AP) — A breast cancer charity is giving nearly $500,000 in grants to Nebraska entities that are expected to provide nearly 700 breast cancer screenings.

Susan G. Komen of Nebraska has awarded community grants totaling $486,991 to nine state organizations. Organizations receiving grants will provide breast health education, breast cancer screening and treatment services through March 2015.

Groups receiving grants ranging from $15,000 to $59,000 include the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Community Access to Coordinated Healthcare Inc., Central Nebraska Community Services, Chadron Community Hospital and Health Services, OneWorld Community Health Centers and Saint Francis Medical Center.

Legal Aid of Nebraska received $85,000, while the Visiting Nurse Association received nearly $170,000.

(AP) — Underperforming schools will soon be aided by a state intervention team, under a bill signed into law this week.

Gov. Dave Heineman signed the bill Wednesday. The new law allows the State Board of Education to designate up to three “priority schools” at a time that will receive an intervention team to help the school address issues affecting student achievement.

Speaker of the Legislature Greg Adams, who introduced the bill, says it’s not about punishing schools. He says the state can’t stand back anymore and hope schools fix their problems.

Nebraska Commissioner of Education Matthew Blomstedt says the intervention teams could help by providing special services for students.