NORDEN, Neb. (AP) — Firefighters are battling a blaze in north-central Nebraska that has burned at least 20,000 acres and damaged homes.

The fire was raging Saturday in parts of northern Brown County and southern and central Keya Paha County. Regional emergency manager Doug Fox says the fire’s leading edge was 6 to 7 miles wide as it moved through Keya Paha County.

Numerous homes and structures were damaged around the tiny community of Norden, although Fox says the exact number won’t be known until authorities survey the area.

A large air tanker from Rapid City, S.D. was dispatched to the area Saturday, as was a water-carrying helicopter from Lincoln.

No injuries were reported, but Fox says some firefighters were treated for symptoms of heat stress.

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says fly-fishing instruction will be an extra attraction at a Family Fishing Night scheduled for Omaha.

The event is set to run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday on the east side of the Benson Park pond.

The agency says members of Trout Unlimited will give fly-fishing demonstrations and instruction.

A limited number of fly rods and reels will be available for use, and there will be plenty of spin-casting rods and reels for worm-and-bobber fishing.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Dave Heineman has named Saline County in southeast Nebraska as the state’s newest “Livestock Friendly” area.

The governor’s office says the southeast Nebraska county will become the 17th statewide to receive the title. The program is coordinated by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

Counties chosen as “Livestock Friendly” are given road signs showing the program logo to display along highways, and can use the label to market themselves to the agriculture industry.

To apply for a livestock-friendly designation, a county’s board must hold a public hearing and pass a resolution. County officials must then complete an application and submit it to the state Department of Agriculture. Local producers or community groups can encourage their county board to submit a livestock-friendly county application.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld a ruling against the city of Omaha for a sledding accident that seriously injured two girls, but reduced the overall award their family will receive.

Justices ruled Friday that the city was mostly to blame for the December 2000 crash at an Omaha park.

Rachel Connelly was 5 and her sister, Chelsea, was 10 when they struck a crabapple tree planted by city workers. Chelsea suffered a punctured lung and broken rib. Rachel was paralyzed.

A Douglas County judge ordered the city to pay Rachel $1 million, and awarded her parents a combined $1.5 million. The high court ruled that the parents’ award should have been treated as one joint claim instead of two. State law sets a $1 million cap for damage claims.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — The wife of Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy  has filed for divorce after nearly 19 years of marriage.

The papers were filed Wednesday in Adams County District Court in Hastings, where Sheehy served as mayor before being selected by Gov. Dave Heineman for the state post. They won re-election in 2010.

Connie Sheehy’s filing says the “marriage of the parties is irretrievably broken.”

They were wed Sept. 2, 1983 in Lexington and have two grown children.

Last summer Sheehy announce his intention to run in the Republican gubernatorial primary in 2014 so he can replace Heineman, who has endorsed him.

A spokeswoman for Rick Sheehy didn’t immediately return messages from The Associated Press.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska inmate who was free for two days after not returning as scheduled from a day on work release has been given two to four more years in prison.

37-year-old Nick Roberts had pleaded guilty to escape. Roberts was sentenced on Thursday.

Roberts was listed as escaped from the Lincoln Community Corrections Center on Nov. 28 He was arrested two days later in Lincoln.

At the time, Roberts was about two months from becoming eligible for parole on a two- to four-year sentence for theft and drunken driving. Now he must serve that full sentence, which will end in May. Then he’ll start his sentence of two to four years for escape.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 44-year-old woman accused of duping an elderly Lincoln woman has pleaded no contest to a reduced charge.

Ana Bredemeier had been charged with two felony counts of theft and one felony account of abuse of a vulnerable adult. After making a deal with prosecutors, Bredemeier pleaded no contest on Wednesday to obstructing government operations.

The offense carries a maximum sentence of a year. Her sentencing is scheduled for July 30.

A missing persons report filed in 2008 led police to Mexico, where Bredemeier was living with the elderly woman.

Lincoln officers and an attorney appointed to represent the woman went to Mexico and brought her back in June 2008.

Bredemeier later returned to Lincoln on her own.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A youth center in Beatrice has closed less than two years after opening, lacking steady funding to sustain it.

Dorothy Zimmerman heads the 429 Factory board of directors, and she said that the center “could never get on solid ground financially.”

The youth center opened in August 2010, offering a place for youths to go after school. It had game tables, a basketball court and concessions area, among many features and activities.

Board member Christina Lyons says members were charged $25 to attend during the school year and $10 for the summer.

More than 200 students were members.

The building owner says he’ll find a new tenant.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new state report says the number of crimes reported in Nebraska grew by 2 percent in 2011.

The Nebraska Crime Commission said in a report Thursday that more than 53,000 crimes were reported statewide last year, up from about 52,000 in 2010.

Commission executive director Michael Behm says the number of violent crimes decreased by 8 percent, despite a 20 percent jump in murder and manslaughter cases. Authorities reported 65 murder and manslaughter cases in 2011, up from 54 the previous year.

The report says the number of forcible rapes reported grew from 627 to 663. Robberies and aggravated assaults both decreased.

Crime in Omaha increased 7 percent, to more than 21,000 offenses last year. Lincoln experienced a 3 percent decrease, to about 11,200 reported cases.