LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will consider a staff recommendation to authorize one auction and one lottery permit for the 2018 bighorn sheep season when it meets Aug. 17 in North Platte.

The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. at the West Central Research and Extension Center, 402 W. State Farm Road.

Also on the agenda are staff recommendations to:

— amend fisheries aquaculture regulations regarding the application for importation of aquatic organisms and requirements related to the discovery of pathogens;

— approve an increase in the cash change fund at the Rock Creek State Fish Hatchery and to establish a cash change fund at the Valentine State Fish Hatchery;

— approve a permanent easement request from the Loup River Public Power District to bury an overhead power line on Wilkinson Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Platte County;

— approve a land trade in Sioux County with the state’s Board of Educational Lands and Funds for 15 acres adjacent to Gilbert-Baker WMA in exchange for a 27-acre tract;

— approve acquisition of 747.81 acres in Banner County adjacent to William’s Gap WMA;

— approve hunting seasons in specific state parks and state historical parks; and

— approve a resolution supporting the recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America’s Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources and the Alliance for America’s Fish and Wildlife Campaign.

The Commission also will hear public testimony regarding the Lake McConaughy/Lake Ogallala Master Plan. It will hear a staff update on the Berggren Plan for Pheasants/Open Fields and Waters Program.

In addition, staff will give presentations on the Conservation Environmental Review Tool and the Nebraska Natural Legacy Project’s Loess Canyon Biologically Unique Landscape.

A complete agenda is available at outdoornebraska.gov/commissioners/.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a passenger jet has landed safely in western Nebraska after losing power in one of its two engines on a flight to South Dakota.

Aerodynamics Inc. says Flight 217 carrying 46 passengers and three crew members set down at Western Nebraska Regional Airport in Scottsbluff around 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, 70 minutes after its Denver takeoff. The Embraer 145 aircraft was headed for Pierre and then Watertown, South Dakota.

Aerodynamics Chief Operating Officer Mickey Bowman said Thursday that all the passengers used ground transportation to continue their journeys. He says the plane remains at the Scottsbluff airport for repairs.

Aerodynamics is based in Kennesaw, Georgia. Bowman says the flight was operating under an affiliation with Great Lakes Airlines.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska residents are sharing decades-old stories about the last time a total solar eclipse was visible from the state, as another one approaches.

Dennis Riesselman was 12 and living in Butte, Nebraska, when the eclipse took place on June 30, 1954. He says his mother woke him at dawn that day and drove them to a hilltop to see the moon cover the sun.

That day, the newspaper predicted Omaha would see a “black sunrise” with 96 percent of the sun obscured. But clouds gave Omaha residents an underwhelming view.

Areas in the far north region of Nebraska, like Butte, saw the total eclipse.

Riesselman is now 75. He says he’ll head south from his Omaha home to watch the Aug. 21 eclipse.

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ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) — The executive director of the Nebraska Brand Committee is quitting for a new job in Texas.

Committee chairman John Widdowsen announced at the committee Wednesday in Alliance that Bill Bunce will be leaving at the end of August.

The Brand Committee records ranchers’ brands, inspects cattle to verify ownership and investigates missing livestock and cattle rustling.

Bunce says he’s accepted a position as vice president of the Houston-based American Brahman Breeders Association. He says the opportunity is “the best thing for my family.”

The Brand Committee hired Bunce in November after its previous executive director, Shawn Harvey, resigned in the wake of a critical state audit.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A November trial has been scheduled for a Kearney day care owner who had been caring for four children who police say were found walking unsupervised along a busy street a mile (2 kilometers) away.

Court records say 41-year-old Meredith Spencer filed written pleas of not guilty Wednesday to four counts of misdemeanor child abuse and neglect. Her trial is set to begin Nov. 6.

Prosecutors say someone called police July 13 after spotting the children: an 8-year-old, a 6-year-old and two 5-year-olds. Police say the kids were unharmed.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts is trying to lure Canadian businesses to Nebraska on his trade mission to the country.

Ricketts said Wednesday he spoke with a company the night before about expanding into this state. He says he’s also had several discussions about the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he supports.

The five-day trade mission will include meetings with government, agricultural and manufacturing officials in Toronto and Ottawa.

Ricketts has said he chose Canada for a trade mission because it’s Nebraska’s largest export market, and thus the state’s best customer. The trade delegation is comprised of state agriculture and economic development administrators, the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Corn Growers, Nebraska Cattlemen Association and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.