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A foot of new snow fell in the Panhandle on Wednesday, while rivers and creeks already swollen from melted ice and snow jumped their banks across eastern Nebraska.State officials urged Nebraskans to stay put in areas where heavy snow and high winds have made travel dangerous, and asked those threatened by flooding to heed evacuation warnings and to avoid water that has spilled over roads.The weather system — which Gov. [node:read-more:link]

The rivers kept raging Sunday as more Nebraskans and Iowas fled to shelters, first responders kept working through their exhaustion, and scores of volunteers offered supplies, food, and prayers.  The head of the Nebraska State Patrol said the recovery would be a "marathon". With highways closed and farmland flooded, no one could offer a solid projection on how long it might take to put Nebraska back to where it was a month ago.The immediate concern Sunday was for those still stranded, or isolated. [node:read-more:link]

A "bomb cyclone" storm that bloated rivers as it roared through much of the Midwest combined with spring snowmelt Sunday to drive some Midwest rivers to record levels and force evacuation of hundreds of homes. At least two deaths were blamed on flooding. Two other men have been missing for days.Some areas must brace for more rain Tuesday, forecasters said. Tuesday's storm won't match last week's "bomb cyclone" that triggered heavy snow, howling winds and several tornadoes, AccuWeather Meteorologist Jim Andrews said. [node:read-more:link]

A proposal aimed at monitoring and preventing “rollbacks” of environmental protections under the Trump administration passed the Oregon House 39-20 on March 14. [node:read-more:link]

More than one month after the bill was introduced, the House Agricultural Affairs Committee on Thursday finally voted on whether to advance a bill legalizing hemp in Idaho. The committee’s recommendation? Approval.With just two of committee’s 15 members voting no, the bill now heads to the House floor for consideration. [node:read-more:link]

The Minnesota Senate has approved expanding a zero-interest disaster loan program for farmers, just in time for producers whose buildings have been damaged by heavy snow this winter.The “Save our Farms” bill, authored by state Sen. Mike Goggin, R-Red Wing, whose district includes parts of Winona County, passed the Senate unanimously Thursday. It broadens eligibility for the Disaster Loan Recovery Program run by the state’s Rural Finance Authority. The proposal was one of many that were included in a massive budget bill vetoed by Gov. [node:read-more:link]

In my years as CEO of two different power-supply electric coops, one in Kentucky and the other in Colorado, I came to deeply appreciate the hardworking coal miners whose tough jobs had always been so indispensable to power generation. I felt for those miners as the forces of regulation and economics shifted our coal-powered industry toward natural gas. Across coal country, proud and vibrant small towns suffered enormously as mines closed and good-paying jobs faded. They suffer still.The truth is that no amount of political rhetoric can alter a fundamental reality of the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

With up to two Illinois congressional seats and $1 billion or more in federal funding on the line if Illinois’ population is not correctly counted in the 2020 census, not-for-profit groups warn that changes to the census format this year could exacerbate an undercount in already hard-to-reach communities. According to the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Somewhere in the Midwest, a restaurant is frying foods with oil made from gene-edited soybeans. That's according to the company making the oil, which says it's the first commercial use of a gene-edited food in the U.S. Calyxt said it can't reveal its first customer for competitive reasons, but CEO Jim Blome said the oil is "in use and being eaten."The Minnesota-based company is hoping the announcement will encourage the food industry's interest in the oil, which it says has no trans fats and a longer shelf life than other soybean oils. [node:read-more:link]

Agritourism activities currently allowed on Oregon wineries and cideries would be extended to on-farm breweries under a bill approved unanimously by the Senate. Senate Bill 287, which would permit on-farm breweries to make beer, have tasting rooms, serve brewer’s lunches and dinners and hold special events, among other provisions, will now be considered by the House.Sen. Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay, cast the bill was a tool for bridging the urban-rural divide in Oregon. [node:read-more:link]