(AP) — Cozad Superintendent John Grinde is retiring this summer after 41 years working in education.

Grinde says he doesn’t have big plans for retirement, but hopes to rehabilitate a 1903 Model A and reconnect with old friends.

Grinde has been superintendent of the Cozad district for 11 years. He spent his entire career with Cozad and two other districts in South Dakota.

Grinde says Cozad has been a nice community to live in. He was principal of the middle school for a decade before he became Cozad’s superintendent.

He also taught in Vermillion and Wessington Springs in South Dakota.

(AP) — Forecasters say powerful tornadoes and large hail are possible Monday in parts of northern Kansas and southern Nebraska.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., says the nation’s midsection could see thunderstorms, hail and isolated tornadoes on Monday afternoon and evening. Forecasters say “intense supercells” are likely to form, which raises the risk for tornadoes and damaging winds.

The Storm Prediction Center says a large section of the central U.S. could see severe weather Monday, including Kansas City, Mo.; Omaha, Neb; Wichita, Kan.; St Louis and Indianapolis.

Forecasters say the greatest risk for severe weather is in north central Kansas and south central Nebraska.

The Nebraska Public Power District is reminding farmers to watch out for overhead electrical lines and other hazards as they work in their fields.

The utility says farmers should make sure there is enough clearance between the top of their tractors and other equipment and electrical lines.

NPPD’s John Humphrey says farmers should know the location of all the electrical lines on their land, so they can avoid problems.

And farmers should remember that if they do disrupt power, it could affect their neighbors too.

(AP) — Americans plan to gather at cemeteries, memorials and monuments nationwide to honor fallen military service members on Memorial Day.

President Barack Obama is expected to lay a wreath Monday at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River from Washington.

Another wreath-laying ceremony is planned at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park in New York City. The park is a tribute to President Roosevelt’s famous speech supporting freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.

In one of several ceremonies honoring Americans killed in Afghanistan, the city of South Sioux City, Neb., plans to unveil a statue honoring Navy Petty Officer 1st Class John Douangdara, a dog handler for the SEALs killed in a 2011 helicopter crash.

A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time at Fort McPherson National Cemetery south of Maxwell.

Residents of central and eastern Nebraska are checking for damage after thunderstorms dropped large hail and heavy rain on parts of the state Sunday night.

The National Weather Service says a trained spotter reported a tornado in a rural area 5 miles east of Dunning in the Sandhills. And a Weather Service forecaster saw a funnel cloud north of Valley Sunday.

But neither report had been confirmed as a tornado Monday morning.

Hail as large as 3-inches in diameter was reported in Custer County.

Heavy rain fell across a large area of the state. Atkinson received 2.15 inches of rain in a one-hour period.

Several other locations also received more than 1.5 inches of rain between Sunday morning and Monday morning.

 

Nebraska Game and Parks commissioners have rejected a recommendation to create a mountain lion hunting season.

At a meeting Friday in Chadron, commissioners voted unanimously not to accept staff recommendation allowing mountain lion hunting. Commissioners directed wildlife staff to bring new recommendations to the July 26 commission meeting in Lincoln.

The Legislature approved a bill last year allowing for a mountain lion hunting season at the discretion of Game and Parks officials.

Officials say mountain lions all but vanished from Nebraska by 1890. The cats have been making a comeback in Nebraska’s northwest corner and have traveled as far east in the state as Omaha. The commission estimates the Pine Ridge area has a population of 22 animals.