CHANUTE, Kan. (AP) — A small airplane that crashed in southeast Kansas on Friday was carrying five people with connections to Oral Roberts University to a Christian youth rally in Iowa.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported four of the passengers died and one was badly injured. The fatalities are identified as pilot Luke Sheets, of Ephraim, Wis., Austin Anderson, of Ringwood, Okla., Garrett Coble, of Tulsa, Okla., and Stephen Luth, of Muscatine, Iowa.

Hanna Luce, of Garden Valley, Texas, was hospitalized in critical condition. The recent graduate is the daughter of Oral Roberts trustee Ron Luce, founder of Teen Mania Ministries, which was sponsoring this weekend’s Acquire the Fire rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Oral Roberts President Mark Rutland is asking the university community to pray for Luce and remember those who were killed. He says Luth, Sheets and Anderson were recent graduates, and Coble was a former business instructor at the school.

The National Transportation Safety Board says the twin-engine Cessna 401 went down Friday afternoon west of Chanute, Kan., and caught fire.

The NTSB says the plane lost contact with air traffic control after getting permission to descend to a lower altitude.

CHADRON, Neb. (AP) — Leadership is changing hands this weekend at Chadron State College.

Local media reports Janie Park will retire Saturday as college president. On Sunday, Vice President Randy Rhine will become the interim president of the school, which has nearly 3,000 students. He’ll serve until a new president has been hired and can begin work.

Park has led the Nebraska State College System campus since August 2005. She says she and her husband intend to return to their home in Red Lodge, Mont.

PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the disappearance of a Plattsmouth woman and her 11-year-old son.

Plattsmouth police say Charlotte and Owen Schilling were last seen about 10 a.m. Thursday in the Plattsmouth area. They haven’t been heard from since.

Police say Charlotte Schilling’s vehicle was found Friday near Lake Manawa, which is just across the Nebraska border near Council Bluffs, Iowa.

MITCHELL, Neb. (AP) — A grass fire northeast of Mitchell has scorched about 3,000 acres.

Mitchell Fire Chief Jon Wurdeman told local media that about 55 people from nine fire departments worked to contain Thursday afternoon’s blaze. The fire burned 3,000 acres but was contained to one property.

Wurdeman says the official cause of the fire hasn’t yet been determined but it may have been sparked by heat from catalytic convertors on vehicles used by a fencing crew.

No injuries have been reported.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A suspect has been arrested in a series of violent robberies in Grand Island.

Police say 22-year-old Ryan Greenwood was arrested Friday morning after the most recent robbery. He was charged in Hall County Court with 10 counts that include robbery and attempted robbery.

Police say Greenwood wielded a machete when he robbed a convenience store on April 26 and tried to rob a pizza shop on May 6. He’s also accused of firing a shotgun early Friday at the front door of a bottle shop in an attempt to get inside and then threatening a motel clerk with the gun as he took money.

Greenwood is being held in the Hall County jail on $500,000 bond.

Authorities say Greenwood has no permanent address. Court records don’t list his attorney.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln business association is urging the City Council to put a proposal to extend anti-bias protections to gay and transgender people on the ballot.

The Lincoln Independent Business Association told local media it would be appropriate to allow residents to vote. The group hasn’t taken a stance on measure.

A council vote on the measure is set for Monday. If it passes, opponents have 15 days to collect 2,500 signatures to put the issue of the ballot. Groups opposing the measure say they’re considering that.

The state attorney general says cities cannot adopt such ordinances because the state’s anti-discrimination laws don’t extend to sexual orientation. However, voters can approve changes to city charters to extend protections to groups not covered by state law.

(Omaha, Neb.)- A six-month long investigation by the Nebraska State Patrol has led to the arrest of two Omaha woman on charges of Felony Theft of Lost, Mislaid Items.

Wednesday, May 9, Cassandra Wright, 28, Omaha and Chudney Knave, 29, Omaha were arrested for spending $49,000 mistakenly deposited into the account of their business “Bright Futures Learning & Care,” by the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE).

In March 2011, NDE discovered the money had been deposited into the wrong account. The funds were intended for a corporate entity with a similar name to “Bright Futures Learning & Care,” the business co-owned by Wright and Knave. NDE then began eight months of efforts to facilitate a re-payment agreement for the two women to return the funds. Neither woman responded to the efforts to rectify the error.

In November 2011, NDE requested the assistance of the Nebraska State Patrol. An investigation followed in which it was determined that after receiving the $49,000 the two women began transferring funds from their business account into their personal accounts until the entire amount was gone.

Wright and Knave were lodged in the Douglas County Corrections each on a charge of Felony Theft of Lost, Mislaid Items.

GENOA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Nebraska pilot suffered only minor injuries when his newly purchased plane ended up in trees after a botched landing.

The Columbus Telegram says (https://bit.ly/JoT1I9) the accident occurred Wednesday morning near Genoa (jeh-NOH’-uh) Municipal Airport in east-central Nebraska.

Airport authority chairman John Hall says Donald Kilday had been flying with his instructor and then tried his first solo landing.

Hall says Kilday applied too much power as he attempted to land. The plane bounced and crossed nearby Nebraska Highway 39. It ended up sitting nose down on an angle in some low trees and thick bushes.

Kilday was treated at Genoa Community Hospital for minor cuts.