MCCOOK, Neb. (AP) — Authorities report that two inmates are missing from the Work Ethic Camp in McCook.

A Nebraska Correctional Services Department news release says the two were missing when a head count was conducted at 10:50 p.m. Wednesday. Security video shows the two walking away from the camp around 5:30 p.m.

The two were identified as 20-year-old Andrew Russell, who’d been convicted of two drug offenses in Dawes County, and 35-year-old Charles Canaday, who was convicted of crimes in four counties.

The department describes the camp as a minimum-security facility for inmates evaluated as being able to work in the community with intermittent supervision.

TAYLOR, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say firefighters from several departments have been battling grass and brush fires in central Nebraska.

Winds gusting to nearly 50 mph Wednesday drove the flames in several spots.

Region 26 Emergency Management in Taylor says a Loup County fire started from in a burned tree pile that rekindled in the wind about six miles northeast of Taylor. Flames blackened an estimated 3.5 square miles.

Winds pushed a fire in southern Valley County into northern Sherman County near the Sherman Reservoir, forcing some evacuations. Firefighters from at least 13 departments were sent to help, and an aircraft was used to drop water and foam.

No injuries have been reported.

The profile of this year’s NEBRASKAland DAYS US Cellular Summer Jam Concert Series featuring CMA Male Vocalist of the Year Chris Stapleton and Grammy Award Winner Alan Jackson has piqued the interest of ticket buyers. All kinds of ticket buyers.

Among them, third-party ticket vendors who have already bought seats and have them on the resale market for up to triple the face value of the ticket.

“We see this when we have high profile shows coming to town,” says Executive Director David Fudge. “These buyers grab inventory through our website and hit the resale market with them. And the unfortunate part is many people won’t know the difference and will pay much more than they should when we still have face value tickets left.”

Resellers not only will mark tickets up dramatically, but in some cases fabricate tickets altogether.

“We had an instance a couple of years ago where we had tickets show up at our gate that were clearly not ours. They used an old logo, a fabricated barcode, and a radio station logo from Colorado. The people who presented them paid three times what we were charging, but had nothing that would get them in the show,” says Fudge.

The only way consumers can ensure they are getting authentic tickets is to buy them directly from NEBRASKAland DAYS.

“We don’t use any third party vendors. We have tickets for both nights in all categories at this point. There is no need to risk purchasing tickets from anywhere but our website or our office,” says Fudge.

While tickets are available, sales have been brisk through the early part of the sales cycle. “We’re seeing early sales that rival the 2015 cycle when Florida-Georgia Line was in town,” says Fudge. “Based on the way this has gone to this point, I suspect we’ll have fairly large crowds both nights in 2017.”

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The state inspector general for child welfare is investigating child sexual abuse and exploitation of children in state-licensed facilities.

Julie Rogers announced Wednesday that her investigation will show whether the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services is taking adequate precautions to prevent and respond to children in the state’s care being abused.

Rogers’ office has received 36 reports since July 2013 of state wards, youth placed in state-licensed facilities and youths adopted from the child welfare system subjected to sexual abuse or exploitation.

Rogers says she intends to identify areas for improvement and make recommendations on how the state can better protect children. Her recommendations will be made public in September.