KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A Ravenna teen faces charges in juvenile court after being accused of using a vehicle to push over dozens of road signs between Kearney and Ravenna — including stop, yield and curve signs.

The Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office said it received a litany of reports on July 23 and July 24 of flattened road signs.

Authorities have not reported any crashes or injuries resulting from the damaged road signs.

Following an investigation, deputies identified a suspect and contacted the teen, who has been released into the custody of his parents.

If convicted, the teen faces an array of punishment, from receiving a court-ordered curfew to placement at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center.

A Bloomfield woman is facing a motor vehicle homicide charge after a fatal accident on Interstate 80 in Keith County on Thursday night.

According to the Nebraska State Patrol, 43-year-old Angela Miller, of Ravenna, was traveling eastbound in a pickup near mile marker 148 on I-80 just after 10:00 p.m. MDT, when an SUV driven by 36-year-old Laura Foster approached Miller’s vehicle from behind at a high rate of speed.

The Patrol says Foster’s vehicle struck Miller’s vehicle in the rear, causing it to cross the median and collide with a semitrailer carrying hazardous materials, causing an explosion.

Miller was ejected from the vehicle and sustained serious injuries.

She was transported to Great Plains Health, in North Platte, where she died from her injuries.

On Friday afternoon, authorities charged Foster with motor vehicle homicide, driving under the influence of liquor, refusal to submit to a breath/chemical test and other traffic violations.

According to online records, Foster is still in custody at the Keith County Jail on $200,000 bond.

The driver of the semi, Timothy Soltis, of Kearney, was also transported to GPH.  His condition is unknown.

Foster was treated and released at GPH.

The crash closed both the eastbound and westbound lanes of I-80 until early Friday morning.

The crash remains under investigation.  Miller was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — True to his word, Gov. Pete Ricketts has again donated to a group trying to save Nebraska’s death penalty.

A monthly financial statement released Friday by Nebraskans for the Death Penalty shows Ricketts donated $100,000 in the last month. That matches his $100,000 donation last month, for a total of $200,000.

In all, the group raised nearly $400,000 in cash for July. The largest donation came from the conservative, Washington-based Judicial Crisis Network, which gave $200,000.

Nebraskans for the Death Penalty is overseeing a petition drive to put the death penalty question on the 2016 ballot. That effort began after Nebraska lawmakers abolished the death penalty last spring despite the governor’s veto. Death penalty opponents have launched their own campaign, Nebraskans for Public Safety, urging voters not to sign.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Highway Patrol troopers in states bordering western South Dakota are giving extra attention to traffic flocking to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Organizers are planning for up to a million people for the rally’s 75th anniversary next week.

In southwestern North Dakota, the patrol is dedicating up to 30 overtime hours to the cause, at a cost of about $2,000.

The Montana Highway Patrol says it’s paying “special attention” to traffic routes favored by rally-goers, but spokesman John Barnes didn’t comment on whether any overtime hours were involved.

In Nebraska, there are additional patrols on some highways but no dedicated overtime. Capt. Paul Hattan says Nebraska’s mandatory helmet law prompts many riders to bypass the state.

In Wyoming, the patrol has secured $125,000 in federal highway grant money for ramped-up enforcement.

SULPHUR SPRINGS, Texas (AP) — Authorities say a 46-year-old pilot from Nebraska has been critically burned in the crash of his small plane at an East Texas airport.

David German of Ogallala (oh-gah-LAH’-lah), Nebraska, was at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas on Friday.

Sulphur Springs police say the crash happened Thursday night at Sulphur Springs Municipal Airport, about 70 miles northeast of Dallas.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the single-engine O’Dell Aeromaster crashed and burned while taking off.

Police Chief Jay Sanders says authorities are trying to determine whether German’s plane had engine trouble.

German was alone on the aircraft.

A hospital spokeswoman said German was in critical condition Friday and provided no additional information on his injuries.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An 85-year-old man involved in a two-vehicle crash in eastern Nebraska in July has died from his injuries.

Otoe County Chief Deputy Mike Holland says John Stevenson, of Holdrege, died Monday at a Lincoln hospital.

Stevenson was driving a car on July 10 near Syracuse when his vehicle collided with another car. Authorities say Stevenson failed to yield to the other car.

Stevenson had been hospitalized since the crash. His wife, who was a passenger in the car, remains hospitalized in fair condition.

The driver of the other vehicle was also hospitalized but has since been released.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — Thanks to a $700,000 grant and an organization’s efforts, around 15,500 acres of land south of North Platte is looking greener.

Four of Nebraska’s Natural Resource Districts bought the land and formed the Nebraska Cooperative Republican Platte Enhancement Project. A group official says it’s in the process of converting it back to native prairie grass.

The group worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to develop a seed mix that would grow well on the property. The goal of the project is to help reduce the amount of water used on the land.

The acres used to be a part of Lincoln Farms, which was the largest continuous farm in the state at the time it was sold.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and Lt. Gov. Mike Foley are traveling to Japan in September for back-to-back foreign trade missions.

The governor’s office announced Thursday that Foley will lead a delegation Sept. 9-11 to promote Nebraska’s beef and pork products in the country.

Ricketts will lead a separate delegation of state business leaders to the annual Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference in Tokyo, from Sept. 12-16. Ricketts will address the conference on Sept. 14.

Ricketts says the Japan continues to be one of Nebraska’s top export customers and business investors. Brenda Hicks-Sorensen, director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, will join the governor’s trade mission to meet with companies.

The trade mission is the second of the governor’s administration. Ricketts traveled to Europe in June.

GERING, Neb. (AP) — A man who was injured at a Union Pacific facility when a chair he was sitting on broke has been awarded more than $920,000 by a jury in western Nebraska.

Dan Anderson filed the lawsuit in March 2010, alleging that the railroad failed to provide him a safe place to work. The accident occurred on Oct. 2, 2007, when Anderson was 55 and working as a control operator at Union Pacific’s South Morrill facility in Scotts Bluff County. The verdict was rendered last week after a three-day trial.

Anderson’s attorney Kyle Long says Anderson lost 61 days of work and had to undergo back surgery.

Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said Thursday that the railroad respects the jury’s decision but plans to appeal.