The top 10 Nebraska stories of 2012, as voted upon by Associated Press newspaper and broadcast members:

1. DROUGHT: Farmers, ranchers and residents of some cities struggled through the worst drought in decades, renewing concerns over water usage.

2. WILDFIRES: Firefighters throughout Nebraska stayed busy all summer battling wildfires driven by drought conditions and high winds.

3. U.S. SENATE: State Sen. Deb Fischer handily defeats former Nebraska Sen. and Gov. Bob Kerrey in their race to replace Ben Nelson in the U.S. Senate.

4. PIPELINE: Officials unveiled a new, preferred route for the Nebraska portion of the Keystone XL pipeline. The new pathway was designed to avoid the Sandhills region.

5. OSBORNE RETIRES: Tom Osborne announces he will retire Jan. 1 after five years on the job as Nebraska’s athletic director. He’ll become athletic director emeritus and stay involved in department operations through July 30.

6. U.S. SENATE-PRIMARY: State Sen. Deb Fischer, of Valentine, defeats two better-known, better-financed rivals to win GOP Senate nomination for U.S. Senate.

7. U.S. SENATE-KERREY: Ex-Sen. Bob Kerrey announces he will seek Democratic nomination for a Nebraska U.S. Senate seat, three weeks after saying he wouldn’t run.

8. DRUGSTORE STANDOFF: Andres Gonzalez took a pharmacist hostage during a botched drug robbery in downtown Alliance. The 27-year-old wounded three officers and the pharmacist during the daylong standoff that ended with his death. During the standoff, he admits to killing two people.

9. PRENATAL CARE: Lawmakers overrode Gov. Dave Heineman’s veto of a bill that restores prenatal care coverage to the children of illegal immigrants and other low-income women.

10. PINK SLIME: News erupted in March over so-called “pink slime” made by Beef Products Inc. in South Sioux City and other plants. BPI sued ABC News in September for defamation over its coverage of a meat product called lean, finely textured beef that critics dub “pink slime.”