POTTER, Neb. (AP) — A school superintendent says kangaroo meat was mixed with beef in chili served to students at a junior/senior high school in the Nebraska Panhandle.

And Potter-Dix Public Schools Superintendent Mike Williams vows it won’t happen again.

Williams said in a Wednesday letter to parents that head cook Kevin Frei at the Potter school told him he’d augmented the chili’s beef on Oct. 10 with kangaroo meat because it is lean and nutritious. It’s unclear how Frei obtained the kangaroo meat.

Williams says he doesn’t think the kangaroo meat was unhealthy or dangerous, but it was “without a doubt not a normal staple of our diet.”

He apologized for any anxiety the exotic ingredient may have caused.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Three more Nebraska counties have been given state permission to hold all-mail elections next month, thanks to the success of a one-county pilot project.

Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale approved all-mail elections for Dawes, Merrick, and Morrill counties. The turnout topped 58 percent in the all-mail voting test in Garden County for the May 15 primary.

Each of the three additional counties used all-mail elections for some of their precincts and recorded higher turnout than the statewide average of 24 percent in the primary. The counties’ election officials said they expect using the mail for all voting will drive participation higher.

“We had such a poor turnout at the polls, but our all-mail precincts did great,” said Marcia Wichmann, clerk and election commissioner for Merrick County.

Merrick County has 4,744 registered voters and managed 39 percent turnout in the primary. The vote-by-mail precincts reported turnout ranging from 37.5 percent to 54.1 percent, Wichmann said, while the highest of Merrick County’s five walk-in polling places reported just 32.5 percent turnout.

State officials considered polling site accessibility, the counties’ ability to hire poll workers from different political parties, and community feedback in their decision to let three more counties conduct all-mail elections, said Wayne Bena, deputy secretary of state for elections.

Garden County has no plans to go back to its old way of doing things, deputy county clerk Mindy Santero said.

Mail-elections are more labor-intensive before Election Day, she said. Staffers must update voter addresses, cleanse voter rolls of people no longer casting ballots and find document signatures to match those returned with the mail-in ballots.

But the work pays off, Santero said. Besides gaining the higher percentage of voter participation in the primary, Garden County was able to post results and close the clerk’s office only an hour after the polls closed.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s average ACT scores have dropped below the national average.Officials say the decline was expected because 2018 is the first year all students in the graduating class took the ACT college entrance exam as juniors.

Nebraska’s 2018 composite score of 20.1 was fifth-highest among the 17 states that test all students. Nationally, 55 percent of 2018 graduates took the ACT, with an average composite score of 20.8.

Officials say 84 percent of Nebraska’s 2017 graduating class took the ACT, with an average composite score of 21.4.

The ACT tests students in reading, English, math and science. A perfect score is 36. The University of Nebraska requires a minimum score of 20 for admission.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s no longer nice in the state’s new tourism campaign.

The new sales pitch unveiled Wednesday by the Nebraska Tourism Commission at a Nebraska City conference has a self-deprecating bent: “Nebraska. It’s not for everyone.”

The slogan replaces one that debuted in 2014: “Visit Nebraska. Visit nice.”

State tourism director John Hicks says Nebraska consistently ranks lowest in states tourists are likely to visit, so the state’s new marketing campaign needed to be different.

One of the new ads that will begin running in spring opens with a boy peering through oversized glasses into the camera. The background music is quirky.

Then comes a voice: “Nebraska is kind of like that odd kid. … Slightly peculiar maybe. But when you took the time to get to know him, turned out he was pretty interesting.”

A crash in Dawson County led to the fatalities of three people and sent two additional people to the hospital.

The crash occurred at approximately 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 16 when a Chevrolet Monte Carlo collided with a Buick Enclave at the intersection of Highway 30 and Road 447, two miles east of Overton.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the Monte Carlo was traveling southbound on Road 447 when it failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection. The Enclave was traveling eastbound on Highway 30 and struck the Monte Carlo on the passenger side.

Three passengers of the Monte Carlo were killed in the crash. Donald Anderson, 20, of Overton, Karli Michael, 27 of Pontiac, Illinois, and Ziera Nickerson, 18, of Kearney were all pronounced deceased on the scene. The driver of the Monte Carlo, Angelique Kampmann, 20 of Elm Creek, and another passenger, Ashley Kemp, 18, of Kearney, were transported to Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.

The driver of the Enclave, Kasey Rayburn, 37, of Elm Creek, was examined by emergency medical personnel on the scene and was not transported to a hospital.

Based on preliminary investigation, alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the crash. A seatbelt was in use in the Enclave. Seatbelts were only in use in the front seat of the Monte Carlo. The investigation is ongoing.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska collected far more tax revenue than expected last month and is running ahead of projections so far in the fiscal year that began July 1.

The Department of Revenue reported Monday that the state netted $510 million in September, nearly 10 percent more than the certified forecast of $464 million.

Net tax receipts are also 5.5 percent higher than expected for the current fiscal year. The state received $1.212 billion so far, compared to $1.149 billion in the certified forecast.

The Department of Revenue Report says net individual and corporate income tax receipts were higher than expected in September, as was net sales-and-use and miscellaneous taxes.

Lawmakers and Gov. Pete Ricketts cut the state budget earlier this year because of a downturn in revenue collections.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says pronghorn hunters must follow the proper check-in process during the firearm season.

Hunters killing pronghorns during the firearm season, Saturday through Oct. 28, regardless of weapon choice, are required to chonline.t one of the commission’s big game check stations.

Nebraska hunters report their kills by phone and internet during periods outside of the firearm season.

Information about proper check-in processes can be found on each permit. A map of check stations is available online.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The union that represents Nebraska State Patrol troopers is endorsing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bob Krist, four years after the group backed incumbent Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts.

The State Troopers Association of Nebraska made the announcement Thursday at the Capitol.

The union has clashed with Ricketts following scandals in the patrol, including allegations that senior leaders improperly handled internal investigations. Several rank-and-file employees faced disciplinary action in what union leaders describe as an attempt to divert blame.

The union also opposed a Ricketts-backed bill that would have weakened its bargaining power, a change the governor said was necessary to make the agency more accountable.

Association President Brian Petersen says Krist will provide “accountable and responsible” leadership.

Ricketts campaign spokesman Matthew Trail says public safety remains a top priority for the governor.

MORRILL, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific plans to close its locomotive repair shop in the Nebraska Panhandle’s Scotts Bluff County.

Company representatives say the shop just southeast of Morrill will close by the end of January. They say the decision was based on business needs.

The company is working with unions on what the closing will mean for workers. The facility has a staff of 68.

The representatives say most of the work done in Morrill will be moved to facilities in North Platte and to North Little Rock, Arkansas.

UPDATE: October 15, 2018 News Conference with North Platte Police:

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UPDATE:
Investigators from the North Platte Police Department, with assistance from the Grand Island Police Department arrested 16 year old Jesus Martinez and 16 year old Brayden Turner for the homicide of Ethan Pohlmeier today (10-12-18) in Grand Island, NE. Any requests for further information in regards to this case will be addressed on Monday, October 15th at a press conference to be scheduled for that morning.

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A 22-year-old man has died after being shot multiple times at a North Platte park.

On September 14, at around 9:15 p.m., North Platte Police responded to Great Plains Health where a patient was receiving treatment for multiple gunshot wounds.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the victim and a friend met up with two other individuals at Centennial Park.

Police say the suspects were driving a green older model vehicle and, shortly after meeting the victim and his friend, a disturbance erupted.

The victim, identified as 22-year-old Ethan Pohlmeier was shot multiple times and died at the hospital after being transported by his friend.

Investigators say the suspects left the area northbound on Union Avenue. They are asking anyone with home surveillance cameras to allow them to review video footage they may have captured.-

If anyone has any information, contact the North Platte Police Department at  308-535-6789 or give your tip anonymously through Crimestoppers 1-800-933-TIPS.