OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Federal authorities say Union Pacific should pay $612,215 for retaliating against three employees who raised safety concerns, but the railroad disagrees with the finding.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Thursday it determined the Omaha-based railroad violated the rights of two conductors based in Kansas City, Mo., and an engineer based in Tucson, Ariz. Two of the employees were fired and one was suspended five days. UP will appeal because spokesman Mark Davis says OSHA ignored some facts and details of the railroad’s employment contracts. OSHA says these latest violations seem to be part of a pattern at Union Pacific because two other instances of retaliation were found in 2010 and 2011. So the railroad has been ordered to train its managers and employees on the rights of whistleblowers.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) – Fire officials say a grass fire that got out-of-control destroyed a barn and another building near  Scottsbluff.  The fire broke out Wednesday night on a farm. Firefighters from six departments were on the scene for over three hours and battled flames that were nearly 30 feet high. The fire burned about 75 acres of grass.  Assistant Scottsbluff Rural Fire Chief Paul Reisig says the renter had done some burning earlier in the day and thought the fire was out, but the embers were fanned and caught the grass on fire.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska State Fair is returning to its rural roots as organizers prepare for a second year in Grand Island. Organizers say they are placing more emphasis now on farm animals, equipment and the rural lifestyle featured in traditional Midwestern state fairs. The fair will still feature concerts and rides when the gates open Friday in Grand Island. Vendors will sell corn dogs, funnel cakes and chocolate-covered bacon. But organizers say they want to attract more farm families from rural central and western Nebraska. The fair was staged at State Fair Park in Lincoln for more than a century, but was moved last year to make way for a University of Nebraska high-tech research park at the old fairgrounds. The fair runs through Labor Day.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) – Fremont police have cited a 9-year-old boy, accusing him of breaking into a vehicle and stealing a video game. The Fremont Tribune reports that the crimes occurred Tuesday. Deputy Police Chief Jeff Elliott says the boy used a fence post to break a window on a vehicle in the parking lot at Big Red Keno. Elliott says the boy stole a video game inside the vehicle and damaged a door. The damage total was estimated at a little more than $1,000. The boy was cited for criminal mischief and theft. He was released to his parents.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) – Another cougar sighting has been reported in Kearney. According to the Kearney Hub, the Police Department says a woman reported that a cougar ran across her driveway as she was backing out of her garage in southeast Kearney on Wednesday. No confirmation has been reported.  Another cougar sighting was reported Saturday by a man who said he saw a cougar near the clubhouse at Meadowlark Golf Course. The report also hasn’t been confirmed. There have been several reports in recent weeks of cougar sightings in nearby York and Hall counties. Cougars, which also are called mountain lions or pumas, have turned up as far east in Nebraska as Omaha.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Activists from California, Texas and Nebraska have converged in Lincoln to present their case against a proposed tar sands oil pipeline.  Approximately 40 people gathered Wednesday for a discussion of the Keystone XL pipeline, which is designed to carry oil from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries. Several activists were on their way to an ongoing White House protest against the pipeline, or had just come from it after being arrested. Environmental groups have raised concerns that the pipeline could foul underground and surface water supplies, increase air pollution around refineries and harm wildlife. Pipeline supporters say it is safe and will create much-needed jobs. David Daniel, an east Texas landowner, says he was repeatedly pressured into signing a portion of his property away with legal threats.