STEELE CITY, Neb. (AP) — Hail the size of tennis balls shredded crops in southeast Nebraska near the Kansas State line and tornado warnings were issued for Jefferson and Gage counties but have been allowed to expire.

The National Weather Service issued warnings beginning around 3:30 p.m. when a rope tornado was sighted by a storm chaser about six miles southwest of Fairbury. The storm tracked southeastward toward Endicott and Steele City.

The weather service in Omaha noted tennis ball-sized hail caused farm field damage.

Winds gusting to 60 miles per hour and golf ball-sized hail were reported in southern Gage County.

A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for Gage, Jefferson, Johnson, Pawnee and Richardson counties in Nebraska until 9 p.m. Monday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a 40-year-old man has died at a hospital after a motorcycle crash in southwest Omaha.

The accident was reported around 11 p.m. Sunday. Police say the speeding motorcycle crashed after it went out of control while approaching the intersection of South 156th and Valley streets.

Police say the motorcyclist died shortly after arriving at Creighton University Medical Center. He was identified as Adam Walker, of Omaha.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say a man who displayed bizarre, erratic behavior before being taken into custody has died at a hospital.

Police say Patrick Ennis died Sunday afternoon. An autopsy has been scheduled.

Officers were sent to a south Omaha address Friday afternoon after witnesses reported an intoxicated man with self-inflicted injuries overturning patio furniture and possibly suffering from a medical condition. Officers say they found the 50-year-old Ennis standing over a stair railing, clenching his fists. Police say he first obeyed commands to put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed, but then he resisted, struggling with officers.

Officers say Ennis began having trouble breathing, so they removed the handcuffs and CPR was performed until paramedics arrived.

Police say an internal investigation is being conducted.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Omaha Man Bizarre Behavior

CLAY CENTER, Neb. (AP) — Some members of a Clay Center church have gathered to share memories and worship at a special service at the church’s original rural site.

Sunday’s service was one of four special services scheduled for Zion Lutheran Church. The church was organized on Nov. 11, 1890, and opened its first building in 1891 on land six miles west and two miles north of Clay Center in southern Nebraska.

The U.S. Navy took over the property for the Naval Ammunition Depot in 1942, so the church and adjacent parsonage were moved to Clay Center on Feb. 9, 1943. The church was destroyed by fire in 1951.

At Sunday’s special service, people sat in lawn chairs in the grass and fought strong winds that blew hymnal pages.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Relatives of a Nebraska National Guardsman who died during World War II have gathered to honor his service and sacrifice.

Staff Sgt. Floyd Whittaker died on July 15, 1944, during the battle for St. Lo in northern France. Sunday’s gathering at the historic Ferguson House in Lincoln was organized by Nebraska’s chapter of the Honor and Remember Society, which recognizes soldiers who died in service to their country.

Going through her brother’s past during the 30-minute ceremony was emotional for 98-year-old Mabel Stansbury, who never forgot the experience of losing him during the war. She says “it was really a blow to our family, as it was to so many others.”