HARDY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say firefighters and farmers have saved two homes from flames in southern Nebraska’s Nuckolls County.

The blaze was ignited by a sparking power line about 4:15 p.m. Monday about two miles east and four miles north of Hardy. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph fanned the flames across fields toward the farmstead houses but didn’t damage either.

Hardy Fire Chief Mark Stenson told the Hastings Tribune (https://bit.ly/2lDYVSe ) that the fire burned around one residence and came within 100 feet of the other.

A dozen or so farmers with tractors and discs helped control the blaze, which was finally put out around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday. It blackened a path estimated at 3½ miles long and a quarter-mile wide.

No injuries have been reported.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a woman who was fatally injured in a west Omaha collision.

Police identified her as 69-year-old Linda DeBolt, who lived in Omaha.

The crash occurred around 5:15 a.m. Wednesday. Police say witnesses reported that an eastbound minivan ran a red light and collided with a southbound pickup truck. Police say DeBolt was driving the van and was pronounced dead later at a hospital.

The pickup driver wasn’t injured. He was identified as 52-year-old Thomas Falcone, of Omaha.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A developer is planning a project in north Lincoln that would combine urban housing and working farms, along with maintaining a wetland area.

The Lincoln City Council approved zoning changes this week for the planned 62.5-acre development near Salt Creek. The area is currently agricultural land with light industry nearby.

Developer Marty Fortney says about two-thirds of the development will be green space and could potentially be used for community gardens, fruit trees and large animals,

He says some housing will be laneway cottages, which are smaller houses but still bigger than tiny homes, and composting would be encouraged. A recreational vehicle park also is planned.

The zoning approval was a first step for the development. Council members praised Fortney on his creativity.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a fire that damaged a Lincoln fast-food restaurant was arson.

The fire was reported just after 7 p.m. Monday at a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. Firefighters say the blaze began in a bathroom ceiling and caused a damage estimated at $12,000.

Authorities say none of the employees or customers was injured.

No arrests have been reported.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — An April trial has been scheduled for a Grand Island woman who police say dangerously let children stand on the running boards of her sport utility vehicle while it was moving.

Police say all six children fell off when 41-year-old Stephanie Wedige stopped the SUV in November in a church parking lot. Police say two of the children were hospitalized and that the four others were not injured.

Court records show Wedige pleaded not guilty Tuesday to two felony counts of child abuse, four misdemeanor counts and one count of reckless driving. Her relationship to the six children is unclear.

SEWARD, Neb. (AP) — A Florida man has been given 90 days in jail and two years of probation for possessing 198 pounds of marijuana in Nebraska.

Jonathan Snyder, of Jacksonville, Florida, was sentenced Monday in Seward. Snyder had pleaded no contest.

Prosecutors say a Nebraska state trooper found the pot in Snyder’s truck after pulling him over in July for speeding and other traffic violations on Interstate 80 in eastern Nebraska.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A court hearing is scheduled Wednesday for a former Lincoln police officer accused of driving drunk and speeding through downtown Lincoln.

Court records say 30-year-old Brian Nicholson is charged with driving under the influence and speeding. A public phone listing for him couldn’t be found Tuesday. The court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for him.

He was stopped around 2:15 a.m. Jan. 29 by a state trooper who later said Nicholson was driving 67 mph in a 35 mph zone. A criminal complaint says Nicholson’s blood tested out more than twice the legal alcohol limit to drive. Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister says Nicholson wasn’t on duty at the time.

The chief says Nicholson quit his job Feb. 13.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha tax preparer has been imprisoned for falsifying documents for several clients.

Prosecutors say 42-year-old Lisa Holmes was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison, one year of supervised release when she leaves custody and was ordered to pay restitution of nearly $49,000. She’d pleaded guilty in December to tax fraud.

Prosecutors say Holmes inflated income figures for some business clients, which resulted in their receiving higher tax refunds than they should have.

BROWNVILLE, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators will inspect Cooper nuclear power plant next week to determine why a key heat-removal system and its backup were both offline at the same time last month.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it will conduct a special inspection at the plant owned by the Nebraska Public Power District to determine what led to the error.

Regulators say that on Feb. 5 workers discovered a problem with a system that would help remove heat from the plant during an accident. That system may have been offline for months.

During the time that system was disabled, workers did maintenance work on a back-up heat-removal system, and it was offline for about 72 hours.

Cooper sits along the Missouri River in southeast Nebraska near Brownville about 80 miles south of Omaha.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska officials have announced plans to cut 39 jobs at a Beatrice facility for people with developmental disabilities and transition residents out of a state program in Hastings.

The staff reduction announced Tuesday will affect workers at the Beatrice State Developmental Center who aren’t considered front-line staff, such as laundry and maintenance employees. Officials say the change came after a review found that some employees were performing duplicative tasks.

In an unrelated decision, state officials plan to move six residents out of homes run by the Bridges program in Hastings.

The change comes because the Bridges program violates federal rules designed to keep residents with developmental disabilities out of institution-like settings. Courtney Miller of the Department of Health and Human Services says plans will be made for each resident.