BROKEN BOW, Neb. (AP) – A 35-year-old man has surrendered to authorities to face charges that he shot at an unoccupied Custer County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle last month.
Trent Esch, of Broken Bow, turned himself in at the county jail in Broken Bow on Tuesday.
Esch faces felony charges of criminal mischief and using a firearm to commit a felony. A jailer said Esch remained in custody on Thursday, pending $5 million bail. His attorney in a recent case didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press.
The sport utility vehicle was hit by several bullets when it was parked at a deputy’s Broken Bow home on March 18. The sheriff’s office says no one was injured.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – A county official says Lincoln County has fallen well below federal minimums to get disaster help in recovering from four tornadoes that struck last month.
The tornadoes that struck near North Platte on March 18 caused at least $2.1 million damage and prompted Lincoln County to declare a disaster.
But county emergency manager Dan Guenthner told the Board of Commissioners earlier this week that one of the criteria for aid is that 177-200 homes be destroyed. Two homes and some farm buildings have been listed as destroyed, and 10 more homes were damaged. At least four people were injured.
Also, the county won’t seek help from the governor’s emergency fund because no public infrastructure was destroyed.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (North Platte Post) – The Nebraska Department of Roads has announced a Highway 83 resurfacing project which will begin on Monday, April 16th.
According to Gary Thayer of the NDOR, they will repair the concrete and overlay asphalt from the South Platte River bridge to the North Platte River bridge. The road between 1st and 6th Streets are not included.
Construction will begin on April 16th and run through June 8th, taking a hiatus over the Nebraskaland Days celebration. The second phase will begin on June 25th to mill the surface of the road and lay concrete.
Much of the construction will be done during the evening and nighttime hours to avoid lengthy delays during peak driving periods.

GOTHENBURG, Neb. (North Platte Post) – Gothenburg and area residents will get a glimpse into the life of today’s American farm families with Monsanto’s America’s Farmer Mobile Experience. The Mobile Experience will make an appearance at the Gothenburg Learning Center Safety Day on April 12th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and offer an open house later from 5 to 7 p.m. Tours will also run on Friday, April 13th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The America’s Farmers Mobile Experience gives visitors the opportunity to learn more about every aspect of the farmer’s life including food production and typical challenges they face. The Mobile Experience features an interactive globe and a 180-degree theater that spotlights an American farm family.
For more information, go to www.AmericasFarmers.com. This event is sponsored by Monsanto.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A 41-year-old North Platte man has been given five years for receiving and distributing child pornography.
A news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg says Timothy Burger must serve 10 years of supervised release when he leaves prison. Burger also must register as a sex offender.
The case was investigated by the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office’s Rural Cyber Crimes Task Force and the North Platte Police Department.
Investigators say they found more than 40 pornographic videos on computers seized from Burger’s residents in November 2010.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – Cocaine and cellophane-wrapped packages of methamphetamine have been found in a locomotive at a western Nebraska rail yard.
Authorities say workers in the diesel shop at Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard in North Platte found the drugs Sunday night.
UP spokesman Mark Davis said Wednesday that he could not characterize the size of the discovery other than to say it was a large amount. The train engine was in the shop for repairs.
No arrests have been reported.

GERING, Neb. (AP) – Another 18-year-old Gering man has been sentenced for his role in the beating and robbery of a man in Scottsbluff.
Antonio Ybarra on Tuesday was sentenced to six to 10 years in prison. He’d been convicted of robbery and assault.
Prosecutors say Ybarra was one of four young men who helped beat another 18-year-old man and stole his car last October.
Raymond Furrey was placed on probation for his role. On Monday, Dimas Garza was given five to eight years in prison. Santana Garza is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has signed his signature tax cut package into law, but says the state needs to do more to lower income taxes.
The Republican governor said Tuesday he will likely re-introduce a measure next year that would eliminate a county inheritance tax.
The proposal was stripped out of the original tax bill that he introduced in January.
The new law lowers the rates of the three lowest income tax brackets in 2013. In 2014, the law expands the brackets so that more income is taxed at the lower rate.
Lawmakers approved the governor’s tax plan last week, 39-9.
Critics have said the tax package will cut into future services, with a relatively small benefit to individual taxpayers. The bill is LB 970.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says the spring turkey season for shotgun hunters opens Saturday.
That’s a week after it opened for youth shotgun hunters. The archery season for turkey hunters opened in late March.
The turkey seasons all close on May 31.
A spring turkey permit or spring youth turkey permit allows a person to hunt with archery equipment during the archery season and a shotgun during the shotgun season.
Each hunter may have up to three permits. The bag limit is one male or bearded female turkey per permit.
Permits may be bought online at OutdoorNebraska.org.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Most Nebraska farmers are still waiting to start planting as the early spring gets a touch of frost.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says in the weekly crop report on Monday that while conditions were favorable for planting last week, only a limited number of fields were planted with most farmers waiting for the crop insurance initial plant date.
Temperatures averaged 3 degrees above normal in the western half of the state, while the eastern half was up to 10 degrees warmer.
March 2012 was the warmest on record for the central U.S., which could lead to an increased risk for freeze damage – which could happen this week. A freeze warning is issued for central and eastern Nebraska into Tuesday morning. Lows could dip into the upper 20s.