NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (North Platte Post)- North Platte residents no longer have to leave town for heart catheterization or specialized cardiac care. Great Plains Regional Medical Center has opened their Heart & Vascular Services Center. Cardiologists Dr.’s Ali and Arteaga along with APRN Sydney Buckland and staff can now provide a wide range of treatments including cardiac stents which previously had to be handled elsewhere. The Great Plains Heart and Vascular Center is the only interventional cardiology and vascular facility in Nebraska west of Kearney.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – A North Platte woman has been sentenced to one to three years in prison for giving her daughter a prescription drug that was passed to another teen. The North Platte Telegraph reports that 36-year-old Amie Jackson was sentenced Tuesday. Jackson made a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in August to a reduced charge of attempting to commit a class three felony. Prosecutors say Jackson gave her teen daughter the anti-anxiety medication Xanax, and her daughter gave the pills to a friend. Jackson was arrested in June. Jackson received credit for the 71 days she has already spent in jail.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – New U.S. Census estimates show Nebraska’s median household income increased more than $300 per family between 2009 and 2010, the largest proportional gain of any state. The report released Thursday shows income grew to $48,408 last year, a nearly 1 percent gain. The only larger increase was the District of Columbia. David Drozd, a researcher for the Center for Public Affairs Research, attributes Nebraska’s growth to its low unemployment and higher commodity prices that helped farmers. Rural western Nebraska saw the largest income increase, while the Omaha area saw a decline. Nebraska was one of only five states that saw median income growth. The others were South Dakota, North Dakota, West Virginia and Virginia.

OGALLALA, Neb. (AP) – A 57-year-old Ogallala man has been indicted by a federal grand jury that alleges he lied to the Social Security Administration. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Hap Staman faces two charges: fraud and making false statements to a U.S. agency. A news release from the office says that in 2007, Staman didn’t provide information that would have disqualified him from continuing to receive disability payments. It also says that in December 2010, Staman lied on a Social Security form so he could continue to receive the payments. Staman faces five years on each charge. Staman did not immediately return a call Wednesday from The Associated Press. Online court records don’t list the name of his attorney.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman says he has urged a Canadian energy company to reroute a proposed oil pipeline that would that would cross the Ogallala Aquifer. Heineman told reporters Wednesday that he has had “very candid and very direct” conversations with TransCanada executives twice in the last 10 days. He says he warned company officials about growing in-state opposition to the proposed route. Heineman has urged federal officials to reject the pipeline unless another route is chosen. Pipeline opponents have urged Heineman to call a special legislative session so lawmakers can regulate where the line runs. Heineman said lawmakers missed their chance this year and don’t have the votes. The Republican governor also took aim Wednesday at the “deafening” silence on the issue from several Democratic state lawmakers.