Tuesday News Gram

Mostly cloudy today with a 20 percent chance of showers with a high of 62 and northwest winds 15 to 30 mph. Mostly cloudy tonight with a low of 45 and northwest winds 15 to 30 mph. Partly cloudy tomorrow and tomorrow night with a high of 68 and a low of 45 with north winds 15 to 25 mph. Partly cloudy Thursday through Monday with a chance of showers and thunderstorms each day with highs of 70-85 and lows of 55-60. Yesterday's high was 70 and the 24-hour low was 55 with .03 of an inch of rain reported at the Kearney Regional Airport.

Nebraska lawmakers have given final approval to the seven budget bills that make the state's two-year budget. Lawmakers passed the measures on Monday through their third and final vote. They now head to Gov. Dave Heineman. The package contains increases for early childhood education and a two-year tuition freeze at the University of Nebraska and the Nebraska State Colleges. It also includes $230 million in continued funding for a state property tax credit program. Senators also voted to transfer an additional $53 million into the state's cash reserve. Sen. Heath Mello, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, says the money will be available in case of an economic downturn or tax reforms that rise from a state tax-climate study.

Lawmakers have rejected an attempt to repeal a new Nebraska law that lets cities raise their local option sales tax rates, as long as they secure voter approval. The law gives cities the power to ask voters for an increase to as high as 2 percent, up from the current 1.5 percent lid imposed by the state. Lawmakers voted Monday not to reconsider a measure filed by Sen. Ernie Chambers, of Omaha. Supporters of the law argue that any increase would require majority support from local residents, and cities would have to designate a specific use for the money. Chambers has argued sales taxes disproportionately affect the poor, who pay a larger share of their income when buying goods and services.

The Nuckolls County sheriff's office says a 31-year-old woman had died in a one-vehicle crash near Superior. The Hastings Tribune reports Renae L. Wheeland, of Nelson, died in the crash Saturday along Nebraska Highway 14, about a mile north of Superior. The sheriff's office says Wheeland was northbound in a sport utility vehicle when she swerved to avoid hitting a car that apparently pulled out in front of her. She avoided the car but entered a ditch, hit an embankment and rolled several times. She was thrown from her SUV. The car had been at a stop sign before pulling onto the highway. It was occupied by two teenage girls. The sheriff's office is investigating the crash.

The Logan County sheriff's office says a 67-year-old man has died in a two-vehicle crash near Stapleton. Sheriff Jon Heflin told North Platte station KNOP-TV that Roger Beckett of Stapleton died in the Saturday evening crash. The sheriff says the accident occurred about 5 p.m. when a pickup truck crossed the center line on Highway 83 and collided with a minivan in which Beckett was a passenger. Beckett's wife, Barbara, was flown to a hospital for treatment of serious injuries. The pickup driver, 71-year-old Jesus Gonzalez Torres of North Platte, also was taken to a hospital with injuries. The sheriff's office says an investigation of the crash is continuing.

A Hastings man has been given more than five years in prison for helping to distribute methamphetamine. U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg announced Monday that Ruben Manzano has been sentenced to 70 months in prison. He will be given two years of supervised release after he completes his sentence. He also will be ordered to pay a $100 special assessment. Manzano pleaded guilty in late February to conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine between May and October 2012.

A 70-year-old registered sex offender from North Platte who pleaded no contest to a new charge of child sexual assault is going to prison. Donald Warfield was sentenced in Lincoln County District Court Monday to five years in prison. Prosecutors say a teenage girl reported that Warfield began giving her presents and touching her inappropriately when she was about 7 years old. She said the sexual assaults became worse and continued for three or four years. Warfield was convicted in 2002 of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old. Court records also show Warfield was arrested last year for failing to properly register as a sex offender. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

The Elm Creek Beacon-Observer's 21-year-old new owner has published the first edition of the weekly newspaper he bought in March. The Kearney Hub reports publisher Michael Happ put out the newspaper for the first time Thursday, then graduated days later from Creighton University with majors in political science and theology. Happ's father first told him the central Nebraska newspaper was up for sale. Happ says he'd always dreamed of owning a newspaper and quickly decided to buy it from owners Bob and Penni Jensen of Central City. Happ doesn't have much journalism experience but wrote for his local paper in junior high and worked in Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle's communication office. Once he's more familiar with the paper, he plans to establish an online presence and redesign the Beacon-Observer.