LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Winterfest events are under way at several Nebraska state parks.

Now through April, state parks are celebrating the season through more than a dozen events and seasonal offerings.

Among the activities is the Christmas Bird Count, which continues through Jan. 5 at Indian Cave State Park near Shubert in southeast Nebraska. Guests can aid scientists and conservation efforts by helping identify as bird species there.

Several parks are also planning First Day Hikes on Jan. 1.

Other Winterfest activities include ice skating, archery and more. Details on these and other holiday events are available at online at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission website, www.OutdoorNebraska.gov/Winterfest.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court will soon allow news cameras and tweeting in the state’s trial courts.

The court approved a rule change this week which will go into effect on March 1. It will allow expanded media coverage in county and district courtrooms in Nebraska, with limited exceptions such as juvenile court, grand juries and jury selection.

Expanded media coverage includes broadcasting, recording, photographing and live tweeting of judicial proceedings by the news media.

The decision replaces a 1992 rule that prohibited broadcasting, televising, recording or photographing in courtrooms unless approved.

The Nebraska Supreme Court’s courtroom in the Capitol has been one of the few in the state to allow still or video cameras. But that has been changing in some districts.

VALENTINE, Neb. (AP) — People will be able to collect firewood next month at Government Canyon on the Valentine State Fish Hatchery property.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says non-commercial firewood users who obtain permission from the commission will be allowed to cut down dead timber during January.

A free authorization form and map may be obtained by contacting the hatchery at 402-376-2244 or by visiting the hatchery office at 90164 Hatchery Road in Valentine.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Online retailer Amazon says it plans to start collecting sales taxes on purchases in Nebraska next year, a decision that could generate millions for the state.

An Amazon spokesman says the company will start collecting the taxes on Jan. 1.

State Tax Commissioner Tony Fulton says the announcement will help ensure Nebraska consumers comply with existing laws. Consumers are already legally required to report and pay the tax through their annual tax returns, but few ever do.

Fulton says Amazon’s move is a good example of “responsible corporate citizenship” and a chance to educate Nebraska residents about the law.

The announcement follows a similar announcement by Amazon in Iowa.

A North Platte woman was jailed on a felony charge after she allegedly assaulted a man with his cane and a can opener.

At around 11:34 p.m., on Thursday, officers responded to a disturbance at a residence in the 2400 block of West 9th Street.

Officers arrived on scene and met with a female, identified as 31-year-old Angela Smith, who was walking in the area.  Investigator John Deal says Smith made statements that led the officers to believe that she had assaulted a man inside the residence.

Inside the residence, officers met with a 65-year-old male and a 30-year-old male, who police described as “intoxicated and uncooperative.”  The older male had a minor cut on his forehead and an injury to his shin.

Further investigation revealed that a verbal argument had taken place between all three subjects. At one point, police say Smith grabbed the older man’s cane and began to strike him with it.  Deal says she continued to strike him until the cane broke.

Once the cane broke, Smith allegedly grabbed a manual can opener and attempted to attack the men with that.  Deal says it’s believed that Smith was trying to stab them with the sharp triangle point of the can opener.

Eventually, the men were able to disarm Smith, at which time she left the residence.

In the end, Smith was placed under arrest and transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center.

She’s been charged with felony 2nd-degree assault.

Deal sais all three subjects were intoxicated at the time of the incident.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska’s Omaha campuses are opening a new institute to turn academic ideas into businesses.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska Medical Center have created a partnership called UNeTech that is moving into a three-level, 5,000-square-foot building.

The partnership’s executive director Dr. Rod Markin says UNeTech will be a part of a way to encourage faculty and staff from the universities to turn their ideas in to marketable products and services, as well as create businesses and jobs.

UNeTech will help organize and fund startups. The program is seeking between $7 million and $10 million from individuals and outside agencies to invest in the fledgling companies.

The Nebraska Legislature allocated $1 million a year toward the facility’s operating expenses.

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.”