LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Board of Education is expected to name a new state education commissioner this week to replace Roger Breed, who retired last summer.

The board recently announced the names of four finalists for the position. They are:

— Matthew Blomstedt, of Central City, who currently is executive director of the Nebraska

Educational Service Unit Coordinating Council;

— Virginia Moon, of Omaha, who most recently served as interim superintendent of Omaha

Public Schools;

— Norman Ridder, of Springfield, Mo., who currently is superintendent of Springfield

Public Schools.

— And Michael Sentance, of Concord, Mass., who most recently was president of

Education Reform Strategies for a UK-based international consultancy, Tribal Group, USA.

The Board of Education is expected to name the new commissioner Wednesday or Thursday.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning says he will undergo surgery on Thursday for colon cancer.

Bruning said Wednesday that he was optimistic the surgery would remove the cancer, but he won’t know for sure until further tests are conducted to see whether it has spread. He says he believes it was caught early, and he doesn’t think it will affect his re-election bid.

Bruning says doctors will remove about 8 inches of his colon and lymph nodes around the affected area.

The 44-year-old says the cancer was discovered during a colonoscopy in November. He says he expects to stay in the hospital for four to seven days.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new report says nearly 2,000 Nebraskans have signed up for a health care plan out of nearly 23,000 who applied through the new federal marketplace.

The enrollment numbers released Wednesday cover a period from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30. The figures show growth over the October enrollment, when only 338 had successfully enrolled out of nearly 10,000 who applied.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says about 16,500 Nebraskans who applied have been deemed eligible for a marketplace plan.

Nebraska is one of 36 states that relied on the federal website, after Gov. Dave Heineman rejected a state-run marketplace as too expensive and inflexible.

The numbers come in the wake of the federal government website, Healthcare.gov, which experienced a series of technical problems after its launch.

GERING, Neb. (AP) — The Gering City Council has rejected the county’s proposed contract to help fund equipment upgrades at the Scotts Bluff County Communications Center.

On Monday night the council approved having Mayor Ed Mayo sign documents to prevent the county from ending Gering’s participation in the 911 operational agreement and approved paying the county $59,000 toward the upgrades.

County Commissioners Mike Marker and Sherry Blaha attended the Gering meeting and said they were disappointed by the council’s action.

Gering council member Larry Gibbs says the city couldn’t sign what he called an “open-ended agreement that provided a blank check to the county.”

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Buffalo County has agreed to provide financial assistance to the Great Platte River Road Archway, a move that will make other funds available.

The Buffalo County Board of Supervisors voted 4-3 Tuesday to approve $75,000 a year for three years to help support the archway.

The Kearney City Council approved a similar three-year agreement in a 3-1 vote on Nov. 26. That assistance was contingent on Buffalo County providing funds. The Kearney Visitors Bureau will also provide financial support.

The archway museum opened in 2000 over Interstate 80 in south-central Nebraska. It has struggled with disappointing attendance.

The archway emerged from bankruptcy in September after it settled more than $20 million in debt with bondholders, vendors and businesses by paying $100,000.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska students have been scrambling to finish their GED testing, lest they have to start over again with new tests next year.

Vicki Bauer, of the Nebraska Department of Education, said “we’re just swamped with people trying to get their GED testing done.”

One earns a General Educational Development certificate by passing tests on reading, writing, social studies, science and math. Its high school equivalency is accepted by employers and universities.

The GED Testing Service will release a new series of tests in 2014, so test results on the current series won’t be valid.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Department of Revenue says net tax collections in November were nearly 5 percent higher than projected.

A report released Tuesday says net tax receipts for the month totaled $327 million, up from the $312 million in Nebraska’s certified forecast.

The report says net individual, corporate, sales-and-use and miscellaneous taxes all came in above projections. The net corporate tax was more than 44 percent higher than the state’s official estimates.

The comparisons were based on the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board’s April forecast. The forecast was adjusted for legislation passed in 2013 and divided into monthly estimates.