LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped an assault on an officer charge against a man already serving prison time for two rapes and robberies in Lincoln.

Local media reports that a third-degree charge of assault on an officer was dismissed Wednesday against Armon Dixon. The decision came a month after Dixon was sentenced to 80 to 140 years for raping woman during a home invasion in 2009.

Dixon is also serving a 70- to 120-year sentence for raping a convenience store clerk in 2009 during a robbery.

Authorities say Dixon lunged for the gun of a police investigator who had been questioning him in 2009 about the rapes and robberies. Prosecutors say the assault charge was dismissed because prosecuting Dixon again wouldn’t be worth the cost.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln Public Schools has agreed to pay a former middle school student and his parents $30,000 after a classroom stunt left the student with a broken wrist.

Local media reports that the settlement comes in a lawsuit filed by a mother on behalf of her son, who was an eighth-grader at Irving Middle School in 2009 when his wrist was broken in a social studies class.

The lawsuit says the boy’s teacher was leading the class in a game in which the boy lay on the floor and two others tried to lift and heave him into the air. The exercise was an attempt to demonstrate the operation of a catapult.

A school district official says the activity is no longer performed in the class.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Fremont man has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for a wire fraud conviction that cost banks and insurance companies in Nebraska and Iowa millions of dollars.

Thomas Herink was sentenced Thursday in Omaha’s U.S. District Court. In addition to prison, Herink was given three years of supervised probation following his release and ordered to repay more than $5 million to his victims.

U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg says Herink falsified financial statements for his golf course construction company to defraud lenders and insurers.

Gilg says Herink carried out the scheme in order to participate in large construction contracts throughout the country. Prosecutors say when Herink defaulted on some of the projects, the banks and insurance companies lost more than $8 million.

HEMINGFORD, Neb. (AP) — The western Nebraska town of Hemingford has worked out an agreement with the IRS to pay off delinquent payroll withholding taxes owed by the Hemingford Community Care Center.

Local media says that an audit earlier this year found the city-owned nursing home was two years behind on its payroll taxes. Including interest and penalties, the city owed about $250,000.

But the management company that operates the nursing home for Hemingford negotiated a payment for $101,000.

Half will be paid off with a six-month, 4.75 percent interest bank loan. The remainder will be paid off by the village at a rate of $5,000 a month.

The management company blamed the delinquent taxes on problems using the IRS electronic transfer service.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln police have deployed a new crime-fighting tool that lets an officer keep four camera eyes out for criminals.

Local media reports that the cameras are mounted atop a sport utility vehicle driven by Officer Luke Bonkiewicz.

He says the Automated License Plate Recognition system can scan 2,000-3,000 license plates per shift, matching the numbers to a database containing information on stolen vehicles, missing people and vehicles linked to crimes or criminal suspects.

The system is credited with being instrumental in closing about 20 cases in the six months Bonkiewicz has been operating it for the department.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Teachers in Lincoln and Beatrice are among 97 across the nation to receive the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Joan Christen of Beatrice and David Hartman of Lincoln will attend an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., this month.

Christen has taught science for grades 9-12 at Beatrice High School for the past nine years. Hartman has taught mathematics at Lincoln Southwest High School for 10 years, since it first opened in 2002.

Winners of the honor receive a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation to be used at their discretion.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Dave Heineman has announced a new look of the Nebraska’s government website.

Available at Nebraska.gov, the new design was developed to attract users and improve the experience of visitors to the site.

The redesign features a tile layout and unique Nebraska images.

The design elements incorporated market research and beta testing to improve user experience across various platforms, such as tablets, e-readers and smartphones.

The redesigned site launched on June 5.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Democratic Party will elect new leaders and set the party’s platform at its state convention being held in Omaha this weekend.

The biennial convention starts Friday and runs through Sunday. It’s being held at the Ramada Plaza Omaha Convention Center.

On Friday, caucus groups and organizations within the party will hold meetings. The general assembly meets Saturday to vote on platform issues, new party leadership and delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., in September.

Current state party chairman Vic Covalt is stepping down after two terms, and three people have announced plans to replace him.

Also Saturday, retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson and the Democratic nominee seeking to replace him, Bob Kerrey, will address the convention.