COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Iowa and Nebraska transportation officials say they’re hoping to have nearly all roads and bridges damaged in the wake of massive flooding repaired by midsummer, but note that wet weather this spring could hamper that effort.

Iowa Department of Transportation Director Mark Lowe and his Nebraska counterpart, Kyle Schneweis, held a news conference Thursday in Council Bluffs to update the public on damage in their states and how long it might take repair it all. In Iowa, the damage is concentrated in the west along Interstate 29, with the heaviest damage closest to the Missouri state line.

In all, Iowa had nearly 50 miles along the I-29 corridor that are damaged, nearly half of that categorized as severe, with damage estimates between $70 million to $90 million. In Nebraska, 180 miles of roadway and 27 bridges were damaged – 12 of which are still closed. Schneweis estimates road and bridge damage at $160 million.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Nebraska man has been given three years of probation for tampering with odometers sold at his vehicle dealership in northwest Iowa.

The Sioux City Journal reports that 38-year-old Francisco Hurtado also was sentenced Wednesday to a suspended prison sentence of five years, fined $1,500 and ordered to pay more than $19,000 to seven victims. He’d pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent practice.

Authorities say Hurtado lives in South Sioux City, Nebraska, and owns Siouxland Auto Sales in Sioux City. Iowa investigators say they found odometers in high-mileage vehicles had been rolled down to increase the vehicles’ value.

Court records say Hurtado acknowledged replacing odometer clusters on some vehicles. The records say, however, that Hurtado had not followed Iowa law in resetting the replaced odometers to zero or to the original mileage, nor placing notices on the dashboards noting that the odometer clusters had been replaced.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A Democrat and a Republican are the final two candidates in the officially nonpartisan race to be Lincoln’s next mayor.

Republican Cyndi Lamm and Democrat Leirion Gaylor Bird were the two top vote-getters in Tuesday’s primary. The general election for mayor and city council is scheduled for May 7.

City elections are nonpartisan, but the political parties work to get their candidates elected to both the mayor’s office and the council.

Lamm says she’s looking forward to a spirited race. Gaylor Baird says she’s grateful for all the people who made calls, knocked on doors, made donations and helped her primary campaign.

Both women are members of the Lincoln City Council.

One of them will be replacing Chris Beutler, who has been mayor for 12 years.

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) – Many displaced residents who were renting homes in a suburban Omaha community along the Missouri River say they’re lacking answers or help from their landlord after 195 houses took on floodwaters that nearly reached their ceilings.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that several Bellevue residents forced to evacuate the Paradise Lakes rental homes have contacted Legal Aid of Nebraska about recouping unused rent or security deposits. The community’s homes were declared uninhabitable following massive flooding that swept through the Midwest last month.

Natalie Littleton says Legal Aid advised her to send Paradise Lakes a certified letter requesting her money. She says the company is demanding that she remove her possessions from the home to be eligible for refunds.

The property website says the office won’t answer questions until damages are assessed.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Police say they’ve arrested three people in the stabbing death of another man in Omaha.

Police say in a news release Wednesday that 30-year-old Ryan Jones-Kellogg, of Omaha, has been arrested in the Sunday death of 25-year-old Dylan Kenney, of Omaha. Jones-Kellogg is charged in a warrant with second-degree murder.

Earlier in the day, police say they also arrested 27-year-old Caleb Bealer and 26-year-old Denzel Gaines on suspicion of being accessories to the killing.

Officers sent early Sunday morning to check a call about a stabbing on the city’s east side found Kenney, who had several stab wounds in his chest. He died later at Nebraska Medical Center.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A bill that would let a rural Nebraska county raise its sales tax to pay off a $28.1 million legal debt is headed to a final vote in the Legislature.

Lawmakers gave it second-round approval Wednesday after defeating an amendment that would have given voters a chance to reject the increase.

The current bill allows a two-thirds majority of the Gage County Board of Supervisors to approve a half-cent sales tax increase, which could only be used to pay six people wrongfully convicted in a 1985 Beatrice murder.

The Beatrice Six spent years in prison for the death of 68-year-old Helen Wilson until DNA evidence exonerated them in 2008.

The bill is designed to help farmers who are a minority in the county but pay most of the property taxes.

Investigators have arrested an Exeter man on numerous charges following a collaborative investigation with the Nebraska Brand Committee, Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office, and the Nebraska State Patrol.

Aaron Ogren, 30, of Exeter, was arrested by Fillmore County Sheriff’s Deputies Tuesday afternoon without incident. Earlier Tuesday, an arrest warrant was issued for Ogren on the charges of one count of theft by unlawful taking, two counts of prohibited sale of livestock, and 26 counts of cruelty to animals.

Last week, investigators found more than 200 deceased cattle and one deceased horse on Ogren’s property near Exeter. Additionally, more than 200 living cattle were removed from the property after having been found in questionable to poor condition. Those cattle were transported to a nearby ranch and have since received care.

Ogren was lodged in Fillmore County Jail. He is scheduled to appear in Fillmore County Court Wednesday morning. The investigation remains ongoing.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A convenience store clerk has been given a year behind bars for selling alcohol consumed by a 17-year-old who later died when his speeding car crashed on the west end of Omaha.

Douglas County District Court records say 30-year-old Kevin Hart was sentenced Tuesday. He’d pleaded no contest to a felony charge of procuring alcohol for a minor that resulted in death.

Prosecutors say Hart sold the liquor Oct. 11 to two teenagers who later sold it to George Gervase and another teen. Prosecutors say Hart knew the two were underage.

Gervase’s wrecked car and his body were found early the next day. His blood alcohol level tested out at nearly three times the legal limit.