LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Lincoln school district is working to bring back grade school counselor positions at its schools to help students with their behavior and performance.

Brenda Leggiadro, the district’s coordinator of counselors and social workers, syas that many counselor positions were eliminated in the mid-1990s due to budget cuts. By the end of last year, only five of the district’s elementary schools had full time counselors.

Leggiadro said that there was evidence before the cuts that counselors made a difference in student behavior and performance in grade school.

District officials have added about $229,000 in the budget to hire more social workers and counselors.

Leggiadro has created a system to encourage schools to bring on counselors full time by having the district and the school split the cost of a counselor for two years.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Millard Public Schools’ associate superintendent has recommended against the school board giving physical education credit for marching band students.

Associate superintendent Mark Feldhausen gave his recommendation on Monday. Feldhausen says that waiving the PE requirement for band members would open the door to students in other activities seeking the same waiver.

The idea of giving PE credit for marching band was part of a proposal to save costs for the district.

Feldhausen estimated that if 200 band students at each of the district’s three high schools got credit for three semesters of PE, then the district would save over $95,000 a year.

Millard board members did not take action on the proposal.

NELIGH, Neb. (AP) — Work is scheduled to begin this week on a power line project in northeast Nebraska.

Nebraska Public Power District officials say a 345,000-volt line will be run 39 miles from a substation southwest of Hoskins to a new substation northeast of Neligh (NEE’-lee). Also, four 115,000-volt lines will be run from the new substation to existing lines.

Project manager Jedd Fischer warns motorists that a helicopter being used to string shield wire could be distracting.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Lincoln resident punched a would-be robber in the face, apparently persuading him to run away.

The resident told police that someone knocked on his front door around 11 p.m. Sunday. The man who knocked was pointing a gun at the resident when he opened the door. Police say the resident pushed aside the gun and punched the robber, who fled.

Police Capt. Danny Reitan says investigators found a starter’s pistol at the scene. No arrest has been reported.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — The Beatrice City Council has voted to sell the city’s interest in Store Kraft, which went out of business in 2014.

On Monday the council approved a proposal to sell all of its remaining interests to Alexander Plastics Inc., a Dallas-based corporation doing business as Creations Global Retail. The city will be paid $7,500.

City Administrator Tobias Tempelmeyer says no other companies approached the city about such a purpose, and he says the city isn’t sure exactly what stake it has in the fallen company. He says Alexander Plastics was willing to take a risk to find out.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Engine trouble has forced a flight instructor to land a small plane on a frozen farm field in western Iowa.

The single-engine Cessna touched down safely around 11 a.m. Monday near Lake Manawa south of Council Bluffs.

Authorities say neither flight instructor Travis Yohn, of Blair, Nebraska, nor his student, Connor Galvin, of Omaha, Nebraska, were injured. The plane sustained no damage.

The engine problems became apparent after the plane took off from Council Bluffs Municipal Airport.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A Beatrice pharmacist who was convicted of defrauding Medicaid has been found dead in his basement.

Authorities say an acquaintance found the body of 50-year-old Tod Lundberg a little after 6 p.m. Monday. Beatrice Police Lt. Mike Oliver says a crime is not suspected in Lundberg’s death. An autopsy has been ordered.

Lundberg pleaded guilty to one fraud count on Jan. 6 and was scheduled to be sentenced March 2. A plea agreement called for him to pay restitution of nearly $38,000.

Prosecutors say Lundberg billed Nebraska Medicaid for the brand name of certain drugs and then dispensed the generic version of those drugs. Medicaid then paid Lundberg higher prices for the brand-name versions.

Prosecutors say Lundberg carried out his scheme from at least 2010 through 2013.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Electric power generation from Missouri River dams fell below average last year.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says energy production from the six dams in the Dakotas, Montana and Nebraska totaled 8.5 billion kilowatts of electricity last year, down more than 1 billion kilowatts from the year before.

Corps spokesman Mike Swenson says more water was kept in upstream reservoirs last year to balance the river system. He says Missouri River reservoirs are at ideal levels now.

The shortfall in electricity production last year meant the Western Area Power Administration spent more than $67 million buying energy from other, more expensive sources to help make up the shortfall.

That higher cost is ultimately passed to ratepayers.

BLAIR, Neb. (AP) — A judge has resentenced a man convicted of killing a 21-year-old Blair woman nearly 33 years ago.

50-year-old Dale Nollen, who began serving his life sentence at age 17, was resentenced Friday to 90 years to life.

District Judge John Samson’s sentence means Nollen will be eligible for parole at age 62. He can’t be released without parole.

The sentence was prompted by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says judges must have the ability to sentence juveniles to something other than an automatic life term.

Nollen pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Mary Jo Hovendick, who authorities say was raped, robbed, bound and trapped inside a car sent hurtling into the Missouri River by Nollen and another teen, Brian Smith.

Nollen’s attorney says prison has reformed him.