Summer readers at libraries across Nebraska will be entered into the NEST Read to Win $529 Drawing for a chance to win a contribution to a NEST account. Fifteen winners drawn randomly will each receive a $529 NEST college savings account. The library of each winner will receive a $250 donation. "This is a perfect partnership," State Treasurer Don Stenberg said about the event sponsored by the Treasurer's Office, NEST, First National Bank of Omaha, and the Nebraska Library Commission. More than 20,000 children and teens took part in last summer's Read to Win drawing.

Nebraska winners in the NEST "Why I Want to Go to College" writing contest for 2015 are pictured here with Treasurer Stenberg and Rachel Biar, director of college savings. The winners received NEST college savings accounts valued from $500 to $2,000. They were recognized May 10 at Werner Park in Papillion, Nebraska, during a rainstorm that delayed the start of the Omaha Storm Chasers game with the Oklahoma City Dodgers. The game was eventually postponed.

Kindergarteners from Roper Elementary School in Lincoln were among the first to hear about the 2015 NEST on the Farm Fun Photo drawing, which took place during May. A total of 125 entries were received, and the winners will be announced in August at the Nebraska State Fair. To enter, children 13 and under were to take photos or be in photos taken on a Nebraska farm or ranch. John Chapo, CEO and president of the Lincoln Children's Zoo, introduced Treasurer Stenberg at the kick off event. The drawing was sponsored by NEST and First National Bank of Omaha.

Nebraska's transparency website, StateSpending.Nebraska.gov, recevied a B+ and tied for 17th among all 50 states in the latest report card issued by the U.S. Public Research Interest Group.

The website, maintained by the Treasurer's Office, received a score of 87 out of 100, placing Nebraska on the list of "Advancing States" as far as providing a website that is comprehensive, searchable, and downloadable. Nebraska received a perfect score for contracts and expenditures.

"This is good news," said State Treasurer Don Stenberg. "We have worked hard to improve StateSpending.Nebraska.gov so the website is user-friendly, up-to-date, and as comprehensive as we can make it."

The Nebraska Child Support Payment Center was ranked third in the United States in the percent of payments received electronically in 2014, according a report by the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement.The center is a division of the State Treasurer's Office.

Treasurer Don Stenberg said this is the fourth consecutive year that Nebraska has ranked third, and efforts are underway to raise the state’s ranking even higher by continuing to encourage employers to use electronic payments and to make the process easier for individuals who make payments.

“Greater use of electronic means to pay child support results in greater efficiencies in the system, including speedier payments to custodial parents and lower processing costs for the state payment center,” Stenberg said.