LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The amount of taxes Nebraskans pay on every gallon of fuel they buy will increase only slightly in January.
The state Revenue Department says the tax will increase to 26.4 cents in January from the current 26.3 cents.
The fuel tax generates money to fund highway projects and maintenance. Each cent of motor fuels tax generates about $12 million in revenue annually for the state.
The new rate will be in effect from January 1 to June 30. It will be adjusted in July, if necessary.
In the previous fiscal year, the state fuels tax raised more than $306 million for projects.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s new education commissioner says he will push for a larger state role in helping schools adapt to new technology.
Matthew Blomstedt, of Central City, says students now entering kindergarten have never lived in a world without iPads, and Nebraska’s 249 school districts will need to reflect their experiences.
Blomstedt says he also wants to build a state data system that’s easier for school districts to use, so they can track student progress. He says schools now are overwhelmed with student performance data, and the information they receive is difficult to apply in the classroom.
Blomstedt was chosen unanimously this month by the State Board of Education. He replaces former commissioner Roger Breed, who retired earlier this year.
HARRISON, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says a mountain lion has been unintentionally killed in a trap in northwestern Nebraska.
The mountain lion was a young female weighing about 85 pounds that appeared to have been in good health before it was killed in the Sioux County trap intended for bobcats and other fur-bearing animals.
The animal was discovered in the trap on Friday.
The agency says the trapper called Game and Parks immediately upon discovering the mountain lion in a cable restraint trap, as required by state regulation.
KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A trucker has died after being run over by his own rig on the side of a road west of Kearney.
The accident happened Thursday evening.
Officials say the man pulled his semitrailer off U.S. Highway 30 west of Kearney onto the side of an intersecting road. The Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office believes the man got out of the rig and was trying to work on it when it rolled backward over him.
He was taken to Kearney’s Good Samaritan Hospital, where he died.
Maddy was wearing this black Carhart jacket when she disappeared.
Maddy posted on her Facebook page that she would never take these bracelets off.
Where is Madison “Maddy” Pacheco?
This is a question Maddy’s family would love to have an answer to before Christmas.
It’s been 15 days since Maddy disappeared, and there are no new clues to where she might be.
Maddy was last seen on December 7, 2013 near 177th and West Center in Omaha, wearing sweatpants, a blue North Platte Bulldog hoodie with “Pacheco” on the back and a black Carhart jacket.
On the day of December 7th, Maddy went with a friend to work at around 6:30 p.m., and said her mom was going to pick her up. After that, she simply disappeared.
Omaha Police have said very little about the case, saying only that they are treating Maddy as a runaway.
Maddy’s mother, Kim Streit, has reported that Maddy received some harassing phone calls prior to her disappearance, to the point she had to change her number, which leads her to believe Maddy may not have run away.
Then, on December 8th, Maddy contacted a friend from a blocked number and said she was going to Iowa. However, Maddy is not known to have any connections in Iowa and her family feels this may be a tactic to steer them away.
Since then, no one has heard from her.
Maddy is 5’8”, weighs 180 pounds, and has brown eyes and brown hair. She is known to always wear her favorite bracelets on her wrist and likes to wear her hair in a messy bun.
She has family in North Platte and Sutherland and may also be in Lincoln or Omaha.
If you have any information, contact local law enforcement, the Omaha Police Department or Maddy’s mother at (402) 403-2362. You can also reach the family through their Facebook page, facebook.com/whereismaddy.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Many Nebraskans will indulge in holiday treats this season, and a health specialist says moderation is the key to staying healthy.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln extension educator Kayla Colgrove recommends filling plates half-full of fruits and vegetables at holiday meals, and then taking smaller portions of unhealthier foods. Colgrove says even eating healthy foods can lead to weight gain if too much is eaten.
Colgrove also urges caution at buffet-style dinners, which tend to encourage overeating.
Colgrove says recipes can also be modified to make meals healthier. One suggestion is to replace regular sour cream or cream cheese with low-fat options.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is accepting donations of new and used hunting clothing and gear to be used in the mentored youth hunting program.
Each year, hundreds of youth take part in the mentored hunts across Nebraska. But many of them don’t have access to the appropriate clothing and gear.
The commission is seeking camouflage and blaze-orange hunting gear to be loaned out to those participants. Accepted donations include, but are not limited to, insulated bibs, parkas/insulated coats, hooded sweatshirts, insulated boots, shooting sticks, game calls, gloves, facemasks and new wool socks.
The commission cannot accept tree stands, safety harnesses, firearms or ammunition.
Donations may be dropped off Monday through Friday during business hours through Jan. 10 at Game and Parks offices in Kearney, Lincoln and North Platte.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Educators from Bellevue and Kearney were among 102 teachers given a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
The White House made the announcement Friday, giving the award to teachers from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Department of Defense Education Activity.
The recipients will be invited to Washington next year to receive their awards.
In Nebraska, the winners were Alysia Augustus, a Bellevue math teacher, and Kimberly Humphrey, a science teacher in Kearney.
Winners of the award receive $10,000 from the National Science Foundation.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new report says Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in November, down slightly from 3.9 percent in October.
The state Department of Labor released November employment data on Friday.
The rate was well below the national unemployment rate of 7 percent in November. The national rate marked a five-year low.
In Omaha, the preliminary unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent from 3.8 percent in October, while the rate a year ago was 3.9 percent. Lincoln’s November rate was 2.9 percent, a drop from October’s 3.1 percent and slightly below the 3 percent November rate a year ago.
The unemployment rates for Lincoln and Omaha are not seasonally adjusted, so they cannot be directly compared to the state unemployment rate.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The amount of taxes Nebraskans pay on every gallon of fuel they buy will increase only slightly in January.
