DENVER (AP) – Health officials have issued a warning for Rocky Ford cantaloupes from Colorado amid a bacteria outbreak blamed for four deaths in the state and New Mexico. The warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came after 16 cases of a strain of Listeria were reported in five states, including 11 from Colorado, two from Texas, and one each from Indiana, Nebraska and Oklahoma. The agency said it was the first Listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupe in the United States. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration said it had not recalled the melons while it worked to locate the source. Several grocery stores in the Rocky Mountain region have voluntarily pulled Rocky Ford cantaloupes. The cantaloupes are grown about 130 mile southeast of Denver and are known for their high sugar content.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska utilities say the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed new restrictions on coal plant pollution could force millions of dollars of upgrades and higher electric rates. The rules the EPA announced in July would go into effect in Nebraska and 26 other states next year. They are designed to reduce smokestack pollution that causes smog and soot in downwind states.  Nebraska utility officials tell the Lincoln Journal Star they were surprised by how stringent the proposals were. Several of Nebraska’s bigger utilities have asked state Attorney General Jon Bruning to look into filing a lawsuit to delay the rules. Hastings Utilities manager Marvin Schultes says it’s not possible to comply with these rules by January. Omaha Public Power District spokesman Mike Jones says these rules could be very expensive.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Several top University of Nebraska administrators are receiving larger raises than usual this year through the university’s non- profit fundraising arm. Budget documents show University of Nebraska President James B. Milliken will receive a 12 percent raise. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman’s pay will increase by 9 percent. University of Nebraska Medical Center Chancellor Harold Maurer will see a 13 percent raise. The raises come are part of the privately financed “executive salary equity” approved by the university’s Board of Regents to keep its schools competitive against other universities. But it also coincides with recent tuition increases. Milliken will receive nearly $411,400 from both public and private sources. By contrast, University of Iowa President Sally Mason’s annual salary was increased this year to $483,600.