A bill that would allow Nebraska bars and liquor stores to accept out-of-state identification cards when selling alcohol has won first-round approval in the Legislature.

Lawmakers voted 30-0 on Friday to advance the measure. The bill was introduced by Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln.

Current law allows sellers to accept a valid driver’s or operator’s license, a Nebraska state identification card, a military identification card, an alien registration card or a passport when confirming that a buyer is legally permitted to purchase alcohol. The current wording doesn’t allow for out-of-state identification cards.

The bill requires two more votes before it goes to the governor.

The Nebraska State Records Board has approved a two-year contract renewal with the manager of the state’s official website, Nebraska.gov.

Nebraska Interactive LLC manages the site and develops most online services for Nebraska state agencies. The contract keeps the state from having to invest in the needed infrastructure and personnel to provide similar services to various agencies.

The Nebraska State Records Board oversees and manages electronic access to state government information. This includes the authority to contract with a network manager for state government information and the authority to set reasonable fees for access to records.

The current contract with Nebraska Interactive LLC started in 2010 and was set to expire in January 2014.

Authorities say an 18-year-old Iowan has accidentally shot himself in a thigh.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker says the rifle discharged while the young man was cleaning it around 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The shooting occurred at a home near Old Lincoln Highway in Crescent.

The victim was flown for treatment at a hospital in Omaha, Neb. His condition was listed as serious.

Danker says “nothing appears suspicious about the shooting.”

A monthly economic index for nine Midwest and Plains states rose above a growth neutral level last month, pointing to slow growth for the region over the next three to six months.

The Mid-America Business Conditions index hit 53.2 in January, up from 49.5 in December and 48.0 in November.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he noted that the region’s manufacturing sector “moved sideways to slightly down” over January.

The survey of business leaders and supply managers uses a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth while a score below 50 suggests decline for that factor.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Add the tenacious snow-loving wolverine to the list of species imperiled by climate change.

Federal wildlife officials on Friday will propose Endangered Species Act protections for the rare animal in the lower 48 states — a step twice denied under the Bush administration.

The Associated Press obtained details of the proposal in advance of Friday’s announcement.

The wolverine joins the polar bear, three seal species and several other animals that government scientists say are threatened with extinction as warmer temperatures shrink their habitats.

There are an estimated 250 to 300 wolverines in the contiguous U.S. — in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Washington.

Officials say reintroducing the animals to Colorado could make them more resilient.

Environmentalists want to use the wolverine’s plight to leverage tighter restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions.

A northeast Nebraska man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and her new husband has pleaded not guilty.

The pleas were entered on Wednesday for 33-year-old Matthew Hinrichsen in Antelope County District Court.

Hinrichsen has been charged with arson, two weapons counts and two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 25-year old Victoria Lee and her husband, 30-year-old Alex Vargas.

Investigators found the couple’s bodies on Dec 8 in a burned-out mobile home near Ewing. Authorities say the couple were shot before the mobile home was set on fire.

A Kearney man has been arrested on several charges, accused of shaking his girlfriend’s 5-month-old daughter.

The Kearney Hub reports that 22-year-old Trey Tickle faces four felony counts of intentional child abuse and a drug possession charge.

Authorities say the infant was treated in early December for vomiting and again Jan. 4. The baby was taken to an Omaha hospital for treatment, and doctors there concluded that her injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome. The doctors also said the girl had tested for ingestion and exposure to methamphetamine.

The child’s mother, Brittney Schlund, faces two counts of felony child abuse.

Public phone listings for the two couldn’t be found. Their attorneys didn’t immediately return calls Friday from The Associated Press.