RAYMOND, Neb. (AP) — A motorist driving past a home near Raymond noticed a barn fire and awoke residents of an adjacent home, allowing them to flee and call fire crews.

Local media reports a motorist driving along Highway 79 early Monday spotted flames shooting up from the barn and awoke the residents.

The barn was destroyed but Raymond fire crews were able to save the house.

Raymond Fire Chief Greg Hall says crews set up between the barn and the home to ensure the fire didn’t spread. It helped that there was little wind.

Cars, a camper and other items in the barn were badly damaged or destroyed.

It’s unclear how the fire started.

Raymond is about 15 miles north of Lincoln.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 40-year-old Lincoln man has been given 10 years in federal prison for receiving and distributing child pornography.

Prosecutors say Daniel Savage was sentenced on Monday. He must serve seven years of supervised release when he leaves prison.

Prosecutors say Savage already was serving supervised release stemming from a 2004 drug conviction. He was given three years in prison for that violation, which will run after his pornography sentence.

Authorities say Savage came to their attention in June last year during a file-sharing investigation by the Lincoln Police Department. Investigators say they later found more than 42 video files and 136 image files of child pornography on Savage’s computer equipment.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A Kansas woman has been arrested after a fatal accident on Interstate 80 near Grand Island.

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office says 34-year-old Kathy Teichmeier, of Almena, Kan., was taken into custody after Monday’s accident, which occurred around 3:50 p.m.

Officials say Teichmeier was driving east when she tried to make a U-turn. The sheriff’s office says Teichmeier’s vehicle clipped the rear wheel of a motorcycle as she turned left, and another motorcycle rammed into Teichmeier’s car.

The second motorcyclist died later at a hospital. The first motorcyclist managed to avoid crashing. Their names haven’t been released.

Teichmeier and four of her passengers were taken to a hospital for treatment, then released.

Teichmeier was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide. Hall County records say Teichmeier remained in custody on Tuesday.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Some Lincoln residents are complaining about the city’s policy of rarely mowing large parts of its parks.

Local media reports that workers began mowing less in 35 parks in 2004. The move was primarily to save money but also for environmental reasons, such as reducing pesticide use and increasing stream bank stabilization.

Last year, 29 parks were added to the so-called long-grass areas. They’re mowed three times a year rather than every two weeks.

Parks and Rec Director Lynn Johnson says the money saved helps keep neighborhood pools open.

But residents such as Charli Alexander says parts of Trendwood Park, where she walks twice a day, include areas with “a lot of big, ugly obnoxious weeds.”

Some residents have begun mowing parts of nearby parks themselves.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Democrat Bob Kerrey says if he’s elected to the U.S. Senate he’ll support immigration reforms combining leading Republican and Democratic proposals.

Kerrey said Monday both parties should tone down their political rhetoric and look for ways to compromise. Otherwise, he says nothing will be accomplished.

Kerrey says he thinks Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio all have good ideas.

Kerrey says he generally supports the reform plan Romney outlined last week.

Kerrey, the former U.S. Senator, faces Republican state Sen. Deb Fischer in November’s general election.

During the primary, Fischer advocated for a tough approach. She says the country needs to secure its borders, enforce existing laws and avoid offering any rewards to illegal immigrants, such as amnesty.

MADISON, Neb. (AP) — A prosecutor has dropped the case filed against a northeast Nebraska woman accused of concealing her husband’s death.

A judge granted a motion on Monday to dismiss the charge facing Jeanne Fry, of Madison.

County Attorney Joe Smith says the 64-year-old Fry has already spent six months in jail while her case was working its way through the courts. He also says Fry had been released on bond and was doing well in a community-based mental health program in Norfolk.

Fry had pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of concealing human remains.

Fry was arrested in November after the decomposing body of her 63-year-old husband, Jack, was found under a blanket in their camper at a Madison campground.

Investigators think he had been dead for months.

WAVERLY, Neb. (AP) — A public question and answer session will be held in Waverly to offer information and take questions about a proposed dry dam along Ash Hollow Creek.

The structure, estimated to cost $2.8 million, would be designed to hold back water temporarily during heavy rains.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Waverly officials estimate the project would move more than 100 homes and 35 businesses out of the 100-year flood plain.

Waverly and the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District are considering the feasibility of a dry dam.

The project would take up about 141 acres.

The meeting will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Waverly Middle School.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have received a $50,000 grant to study the effectiveness of drones as a news-gathering tool.

The project will include live experiments and research into the legal and ethical concerns of using the unmanned vehicles in journalism. The university’s Drone Journalism Lab was created in November as part of a broader strategy to innovate the profession.

The project is headed by University of Nebraska professor Matt Waite, who works in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, and three undergraduate students.

Waite says journalism is evolving rapidly, and journalism education must evolve with it.

The grant comes from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.