LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Seven state recreation areas in Nebraska plan to allow fireworks for Independence Day celebrations.

The Game and Parks Commission says visitors can shoot off fireworks from 8 a.m. until midnight on July 4 only.

The fireworks will be allowed at Branched Oak State Recreation Area (SRA) near Malcolm, Fort Kearny SRA near Kearney, Memphis SRA near Memphis, Fremont SRA near Fremont, Two Rivers SRA near Venice, Pawnee SRA near Emerald and Wagon Train SRA near Hickman.

Signs will point the way to designated fireworks sites, and boundaries will be clearly marked. Using fireworks elsewhere in state areas or at other times is prohibited.

The commission urges visitors to use caution, and says only fireworks approved for sale in Nebraska can be used. Visitors are responsible for cleaning up spent fireworks.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska says nearly 90 faculty members at three of its campuses have taken a buyout offered last fall, freeing up $9.2 million to be reallocated into hiring new faculty and staff members for the 2016-17 school year.

The buyout provided a one-time payout equal to 90 percent of the base salary for tenure-track faculty 62 or older and with at least 10 years of experience at NU.

NU spokeswoman Melissa Lee says 63 of those taking the buyout were at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Twenty-two faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha accepted a buyout, while only four at the University of Nebraska at Kearney did.

The system’s medical school in Omaha did not participate.

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Crews have started work on improvements to a boat launch facility at Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area in northern Nebraska.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says visitors will find construction equipment at the Main Landing boat launch and Willow Cove Campground areas over the next few months.

A new concrete ramp, boat dock and breakwaters will be built this summer and fall as water levels recede. To prepare for that construction, the delivery of rock rip-rap has started.

The new boat ramp will be built just to the south of the existing one.

Merritt Reservoir SRA is located 26 miles southwest of Valentine in Cherry County. A park entry permit is required of each vehicle entering the park.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Gay couples in Nebraska will now have their marriages legally recognized in the state that has had one of the most restrictive same-sex union bans in the country.

With the U.S. Supreme Court declaring Friday that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the United States, couples who have long sought the right to marry in Nebraska are celebrating.

Bil Roby and Greg Tubach, of Lincoln, plan to apply for a marriage license as soon as possible. They are among seven same-sex couples who sued last year to try to force the state to recognize their marriages, challenging the constitutionality of the state’s ban, approved by 70 percent of voters in 2000. In addition to prohibiting gay marriage, it also forbid civil unions and outlawed domestic partnerships.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Thousands of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska customers soon will have the chance to see CHI Health doctors again without financial penalty after the two sides signed an agreement to work together again through June 2017.

The two parties signed an agreement on Thursday to restart their partnership beginning July 15.

CHI Health’s CEO says the new contract is fair to both sides. Blue Cross’s chief financial officer Jerry Byers says that no agreement would have been reached if CHI Health hadn’t brought its rates down.

Blue Cross removed CHI Health from its network last year after several months of saying that CHI’s prices were too high.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska emergency officials say recent severe weather has caused more than $13.5 million in damage to roads, bridges and other public infrastructure.

The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency said Friday that the damage was caused in 12 counties that were just designated as disaster areas.

Gov. Pete Ricketts was notified Thursday that President Barack Obama has approved a request for presidential disaster declaration for areas hit by severe storms, straight-line winds and flooding between May 6 and June 17. The declaration makes federal funding available to the state, local governments and certain nonprofits.

The affected counties are Cass, Dundy, Gage, Jefferson, Lancaster, Lincoln, Morrill, Nuckolls, Otoe, Saline, Saunders, and Thayer.

Bryan Tuma, assistant director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, says other counties could be added once more assessments are complete.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A falcon chick raised at the Nebraska Capitol has been named “Orozco” in honor of an Omaha police officer killed last month in the line of duty.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission announced Friday that the name was chosen from 507 contest submissions. The chick was named after Officer Kerrie Orozco, 29, who was shot and killed on May 30.

A list of finalists was selected by a committee before names were submitted to a public vote.

The chick hatched on May 10 from the nest box on the 18th floor of the Capitol, has fledged and has been exploring the area ever since.

The peregrine falcon pair which raised the chick has nested at the Capitol since 2005, and has produced 22 offspring over the last 11 years.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraskans for the Death Penalty campaign raised nearly $244,000 in its first reporting period, with most of the money coming from Gov. Pete Ricketts and his father.

Ricketts and his father, TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, each contributed $100,000 to the ballot drive that could put the death penalty question to voters. An expense report released Friday says the campaign spent more than $217,500 in the reporting period, leaving it with roughly $26,300 in cash on hand.

The campaign was launched after Nebraska lawmakers abolished the death penalty over the governor’s veto.

Nebraskans for the Death Penalty says it has paid roughly $192,000 to Lincoln Strategy Group, an Arizona-based consultant that is using paid circulators to gather signatures.

A group opposing the referendum announced a $400,000 donation last week.

A possible theft call ended with a North Platte woman going to jail after a police officer was injured.

At around 8:01 p.m., on June 25, officers with the North Platte Police Department were called to the 1400 block of East 4th Street, after receiving a report that someone was attempting to break into a storage unit.

The complainant was able to provide police with a vehicle description and license plate number.

As officers arrived, they observed a vehicle matching that description leaving the area and conducted a traffic stop.

One officer spoke with the male driver of the vehicle, as other officers attempted to identify two female passengers.

During the process, police say one of the females, later identified as Alejandra Reyna, provided a false name and ran from the vehicle.

With the help of a citizen, officers were able to apprehend Reyna, who became combative and resisted officers attempts to detain her.

Reyna was eventually apprehended and placed under arrest.

Authorities say, as a result of the struggle, one officer sustained a knee injury.

Reyna was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and charged with resisting arrest, providing false information and assault of a peace officer.

Officers also found suspected methamphetamine in Reyna’s pocket and learned that she had two active warrants.

Police say lab tests on the suspected meth are pending.

Officers did not report any charges filed against the driver of the vehicle or the other passenger.