LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska prison has been placed on lockdown and inmates in a housing unit are refusing to return to their cells.

Officials say approximately 40 of unit’s 128 inmates are involved in the disturbance at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution. A prison spokeswoman says a fire is burning in a prison yard, but authorities do not see any signs of fire inside the unit.

No injuries have been reported. Department spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith says all staff members are safe. Smith says the incident is isolated to half of the housing unit and a small fenced yard, and poses no risk to the public.

The prison in southeast Nebraska was the site of a May 2015 riot that injured several staff members, caused widespread damage and left two inmates dead.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are considering a constitutional amendment requiring photo IDs to vote.

Sen. John Murante of Gretna told a legislative committee on Thursday that requiring a photo ID would help an election process he says is under threat from people casting votes illegally.

Critics say voter fraud is not a problem. Only two of the more than 860,000 Nebraska residents who voted in the 2016 general election are facing charges of voter fraud.

Opponents contend voter ID laws place undue hardships on young mobile people, elderly people with health issues who don’t drive, people with physical or mental limitations and the poor.

A constitutional amendment requires support from 30 of the 49 state senators and a majority vote of the public.

The husband of the former Sutherland Village Clerk has been accused of slashing the tires of a Board member.

According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, on February 11, Sutherland Village Board member, Ray Ravenscroft, reported that the tires on two of his vehicles were slashed with a sharp instrument.

After an investigation, which lasted several weeks, it was determined that the damage had been caused by 34-year-old Bruce Boggs.  Boggs is the husband of former Village Clerk Samantha Boggs, who resigned in December under controversial circumstances.

Recently, Boggs reported to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office where he was cited for criminal mischief for the damage to Ravenscroft’s vehicles.

GERING, Neb. (AP) — An Alliance man has been convicted of stabbing to death his brother in Scottsbluff.

The jury deliberated for less than two hours Wednesday before finding 41-year-old William Reed guilty of second-degree murder and a weapons crime. His sentencing is scheduled for April 13.

In court Wednesday Reed said he didn’t remember any details about stabbing his brother, 42-year-old Christopher Reed, on April 22 at Christopher’s home. Reed said he and his brother had been drinking.