GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The Grand Island City Council has voted unanimously to declare 116 acres at the southwest corner of U.S. Highway 281 and Husker Highway as blighted and substandard.

The Grand Island Independent (https://bit.ly/1dvNzH8 ) reports the 10-member council voted on the measure Tuesday.

Chief Industries, which purchased the land in 2011, asked for the land to be declared blighted and substandard so the property will be eligible for development assistance.

Previous owners Husker Retail Development LLC had announced plans in 2005 to develop the site into the Ponderosa Pointe lifestyle center. Chief Industries’ board chairman said significant costs involved for the roads, utilities and overall was one of the main deterrents to developing the land.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — No new cases of bird flu were found in Nebraska over the past week, but state officials say 900,000 more chickens will be slaughtered to limit the spread of the disease.

The Nebraska Agriculture Department said Tuesday the company that owns several farms where bird flu has been found agreed to kill the chickens on two other farms it owns in Dixon County as a precaution.

Including the new farms, nearly 5 million chickens are being destroyed on farms in northeast Nebraska to help control the bird flu.

Another farm in nearby Knox County with 3 million chickens remains under quarantine, but tests have not confirmed the presence of bird flu.

Nationwide, the virus has led to 47 million dead birds — mostly turkeys and egg-laying chickens.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A September sentencing hearing has been scheduled for a 41-year-old Omaha woman convicted of misdemeanor vehicular homicide.

Online court records say Lawanda Cook pleaded no contest to the charge. Her sentencing is set for Sept. 10.

Cook was charged after the Jan. 18 death of 55-year-old Joanne Smith. Police say Smith was struck by Cook’s car as Smith was unloading items from the trunk of her car. Smith’s legs were severed, and she died four days after the accident.

Police say Cook reported that she got distracted when her cellphone fell to the floor of her car.a

All Ages to compete for over $9,000.00 in prizes, cash, trophies & recording sessions at the 2015 GALAXY OF STARS® Talent Search at the Nebraska State Fair Bristol Windows Stage at Fonner Park in Grand Island. The Talent Search is open to Nebraska Residents only. A Preliminary Mail-In Video Contest and winners of the local partner talent searches will determine the qualifying contestants advancing to the Galaxy of Stars® Talent Search two day competition at the Nebraska State Fair. Semi-Finals will be held on Saturday, September 5th, 6:00 – 9:00 PM, with the exciting Finals Sunday, September 6th, 6:00 – 9:00 PM.

Video Contestants can enter in one of Three Age Divisions: Comets (12 & Under), Shooting Stars (13 to 18) and Novas (19 & Over) and compete in their age division against all individual and group talent (vocal, dance, instrumental and variety). A video can be made with a digital or video camera, Smartphone or other recording device. Submit video on a DVD or Email a video link from You Tube, Vimeo or other video platform and mail in all required forms. Talent and quality of performance is emphasized, not the highest quality of recording. Entry Forms can be downloaded at www.galaxyofstarstalentsearch.com. A minimum of 15 qualified Video contestants will advance to the State Fair competition along with the winners of the Galaxy of Stars® Partner Talent Searches from across the State of Nebraska.

The Local Partner Talent Search Program gives winners of each local partner talent search the opportunity to advance their winners to the Galaxy of Stars Semi-Finals at the Nebraska State Fair. Official Partner Talent Searches include: Clarkson Czech Festival Talent Search – June 26, Saline County Fair Talent Search -Crete-July 15, Coyote Country Music Showdown-McCook-July 22, Columbus Days Talent Search-August 15. Interested organizations may apply to the Galaxy of Stars® to become a Partner Talent Search.

The Galaxy of Stars Songwriting Contest is open to all ages. Songwriters may submit a CD or Email an MP3 of original song(s) and mail in required forms. The Songwriting Contest winners are selected from the Mail-In Songwriting Contest according to a rank of the highest scoring songs. All Mail-In Video and Songwriting Contest entries will be judged by professionals in the music industry in Nashville, Tennessee and judges comments will be mailed to each contestant. The Entry Fee is $35.00 for each video performance and original song submitted. Mail entries to: Galaxy of Stars, P.O. Box 3566, Brentwood, TN 37024-3566. All entries must be received on or before July 10, 2015. Qualifying video entries will be posted on the Galaxy of Stars® website by July 22nd and the songwriters of the top 15 songs will be posted by July 29th.

The top 3 songwriters will showcase their songs at the Galaxy of Stars® Talent Search Finals at the Nebraska State Fair. The highest scoring 15 songs will be announced at the finals and Nebraska songwriters will receive their awards during the award ceremony on September 6th.

The 2015 Nebraska State Fair opens August 28th and will run through Labor Day, September 7th. For more information on the Nebraska State Fair visit www.statefair.org.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Beatrice police say the father of a 5-year-old girl found swimming alone at Big Blue Water Park has been arrested on suspicion of child abuse.

The Beatrice Daily Sun reports (https://bit.ly/1cIpEU2 ) that Zachary Shepardson is accused of intentional child abuse for not notifying police she was missing, because failing to do so placed his child in a hazardous situation. A public phone listing for Shepardson couldn’t be found. Online court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could be contacted to comment on Shepardson’s behalf.

Police say the girl was found by a pool worker just after 11 a.m., Saturday, before the park opened. Shepardson told officers that he knew she’d been missing since around 10 a.m. but did not report it for fear he’d get in trouble.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two new species of fish are now on display at Omaha’s Zoo.

The zoo recently added 16 dwarf cuttlefish and two Atlantic goliath groupers to the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium.

The groupers are considered extremely endangered because of overfishing and their slow rate of reproduction. They can grow to be 8-feet-long and 800 pounds.

The tiny cuttlefish were bred at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. They have the ability to change color for camouflage.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The Grand Island City Council is set to vote whether to declare 116 acres at the southwest corner of U.S. Highway 281 and Husker Highway as blighted and substandard.

The Grand Island Independent (https://bit.ly/1AZzMDF ) reports the council is scheduled to vote Tuesday. Chief Industries, which purchased the land in 2011, is asking for the land to be declared blighted and substandard so the property will be eligible for development assistance.

Previous owners Husker Retail Development LLC had announced plans in 2005 to develop the site into the Ponderosa Pointe lifestyle center. Chief Industries’ board chairman said significant costs involved for the roads, utilities and overall was one of the main deterrents to developing the land.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The city of Lincoln has a new interim fire chief.

Mayor Chris Beutler said Monday that Lincoln Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Tim Linke (LIN’-kee) will begin his job as interim fire chief on Friday.

Linke is taking over the post from Fire Chief John Huff, who announced in May that he was retiring. Huff worked for the department for 40 years.

Linke has worked for the department since 1998. He was appointed battalion chief in 2012.

Beutler says there will be a national search for a new fire chief.