UTICA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities blame speed and a slippery pavement for a collision between a pickup truck and a semitrailer that killed four people on Interstate 80 in eastern Nebraska.

The crash was reported around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday between the Waco and Utica exits, hampering westbound traffic.

Lt. Paul Vrbka with the York County Sheriff’s Department says the three males and one female killed were from Colorado. Their names aren’t being released until relatives have been notified of the deaths.

Vrbka says the eastbound pickup went out of control and crossed the median into the westbound lanes, striking the semitrailer and killing its four occupants. The big rig driver wasn’t injured.

Icy pavement played havoc with Tuesday’s morning commute in many parts of eastern Nebraska.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln police say an officer was injured during a struggle with a teenager outside a house party.

Police spokeswoman Angela Sands says officers sent to the party Saturday night found an estimated 150-200 people there. The teenager was found outside with bottles of alcohol in his pockets.

Sands says the officer tried to take the boy into custody, but he resisted, punching and elbowing the officer in the face several times.

The boy got away but was arrested later at his home. Police also cited the 17-year-old girl who was hosting the party at her home. Her parents were out of town.

BROWNVILLE, Neb. (AP) — The utility that owns Cooper Nuclear Station says the power plant adds $112 million a year to Nebraska’s economy.

The Nebraska Public Power District says that figure comes from a recent analysis done by the Nuclear Energy Institute.

Cooper employs 680 people, and 550 of those live near the power plant near Brownville, Nebraska.

Their salary and benefits are worth $76 million a year, and they help support more than 400 other jobs in the area.

Cooper generated more than 6.9 million megawatt hours of electricity last year while operating at 93 percent of its capacity.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A pay raise is among the ideas being considered to help Douglas County keep enough officers to manage the growing number of inmates in its jail.

Douglas County Jail has just over 330 correctional officers but is authorized to have more than 370.

County Corrections Director Mark Foxall told the County Board that the jail is seeing a near-record level of inmates, and many have serious mental illnesses. The jail’s average daily population was 1,245 in January. All of the jail’s housing units are being used.

“If my population trend does not reverse, I’m going to run out of room,” Foxall said.

The circumstances have led to increasing mandatory overtime and difficult working conditions for officers, making it hard to keep employees, he said. Improving economic conditions also mean there’s a smaller pool of applicants willing to do the difficult work, he said.

“We are struggling with our staffing,” Foxall said.

Some County Board members said they’d considering raising pay to improve employee retention. They could consider raising taxes to avoid larger, more expensive problems at the jail, said board member Marc Kraft.

“One or two lawsuits could cost us millions of dollars,” Kraft said.

Douglas County pays beginning correctional officers $17.35 an hour, while neighboring Pottawattamie County pays $20.94 an hour.

The county also needs to investigate why jail numbers are rising and find solutions for the rising numbers, said Board Chairman Chris Rodgers. Such solutions could include cutting down the time people spend in jail while awaiting trial and redirecting people with mental health issues to other facilities.

Two probation officers now have an office in the jail, Foxall said. It should allow for presentence investigations to be processed quickly and allow more inmates to meet with probation officers before leaving jail so they have a better understanding of their probation terms.