OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha school district has changed student conduct code to allow cellphone use during lunch or between classes.

The Omaha World-Herald (https://bit.ly/1Ipm8tf ) reports that the school board last week approved the new guidelines for high school students. The district previously required students to keep their phones off during the school day unless it was an emergency or had received special permission.

Elementary and middle school students still have to keep their phones inside lockers or backpacks and they must be off during the school day.

The district hopes the change in rules encourages more teachers to incorporate technology such as smartphones into lesson plans.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — State auditors have identified more than $30,000 in “questionable and possibly fraudulent” payments made by the south-central Nebraska village of Riverton.

The audit says most of the money went to former village clerk Kelly Jackson and her husband, Jeremy Jackson, a former water operator. State Auditor Charlie Janssen said Monday that his office has referred the case to the Nebraska attorney general’s office.

Auditors blamed the village board for insufficient monitoring and oversight. As of Jan. 31, the village owed more than $33,000 to various creditors. Auditors say at least one resident received a discount on his utilities bill based on a verbal agreement with Kelly Jackson.

A listed phone number for the Jacksons was disconnected. Board chairman Mike Lammers declined to comment, saying the audit was “a sore subject.”

(Lincoln, Neb.)-  Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol seized nearly 24 lbs. of heroin and 131 lbs. of marijuana in two separate weekend traffic stops.

Just after 3:00 p.m. Sunday, June 7, a trooper stopped an eastbound 2009 Nissan Rouge for a traffic violation about a mile east of the Waverly exit on Interstate 80. The trooper received consent to search the vehicle. The search led to the seizure of 23.6 lbs. of heroin. The heroin contained in nine packages was located in two false compartments in the passenger portion of the vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle, Rodrigo Jordon Gastelum-Flores, 25, San Ysidro, Calif., was lodged in the Lancaster County Corrections on a charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver.

A Saturday, June 6, traffic stop on I-80 just east of Grand Island led to the seizure of 131 lbs. of marijuana. Just before 10:30 a.m., a trooper stopped an eastbound 2015 Chevy Suburban for a traffic violation.  An NSP Police Service Dog (PSD) alerted to the odor of drugs coming from the vehicle. A probable cause search led to the seizure of 131 lbs. of marijuana. The marijuana contained in five packages was located in a large bag in the cargo area of the vehicle.

The driver of the SUV, Nathan W. Morgan, 30, Pocahontas, Arkansas, was lodged in the Hall County Jail on a charge of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver.

ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) — Presentation College in South Dakota is mourning the death of a basketball player and a graduate assistant coach.

The school issued a statement saying player Cameron Isreal and assistant coach and former player Terry Strong died Friday in a vehicle crash near Valentine, Nebraska.

Cherry County Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Kreycik tells the American News that the vehicle the two were in crossed the center line on U.S. Highway 83 and collided head-on with another vehicle.

The 23-year-old Isreal was from Chandler, Arizona. The 26-year-old Strong was from the Los Angeles area.

Presentation President Margaret Huber says in a statement that the college is “devastated by their passing.”

–UPDATE–

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A former avionics technician has admitted to plotting a suicide bomb attack at a Wichita airport.

Terry L. Loewen pleaded guilty Monday to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, after striking a deal with prosecutors for a proposed 20-year sentence.

It is up to U.S. District Judge Monti Belot whether to accept the agreement. If the judge rejects it, Loewen would be allowed to withdraw it. Belot told Loewen he was “almost certain” to accept it. Sentencing is set for Aug. 31.

The 59-year-old Wichita man was arrested in 2013 after allegedly trying to bring a van filled with inert explosives onto the tarmac at what was then Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport.

Prosecutors say the plot was hatched during an undercover sting operation was aimed at inflicting “maximum carnage.”

— —

A man accused of plotting a suicide bomb attack at a Wichita airport is expected to return to court to change his plea.

Terry L. Loewen is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Monti Belot in Wichita on Monday.

Loewen was arrested in December 2013. He is accused of trying to bring a van filled with inert explosives onto the tarmac at what was then Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport.

He is charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, attempting to use an explosive device to damage property and attempting to give material support to al-Qaida.

Prosecutors say in court filings the plot hatched during an undercover sting operation was aimed at inflicting “maximum carnage” that would have killed and injured hundreds of people.

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Park Commission has received $10,000 in funding from a grant program to continue development and management planning for the Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail in northern Nebraska.

The Norfolk Daily News (https://bit.ly/1FEd0O1 ) reports the grant was received under the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s newly launched Doppelt Family Trail Development Fund. The fund supports organizations and local governments that conduct projects to build and improve trails on former rail lines. Three different projects across the country have been funded.

Public meetings will be held later this year to discuss the trail’s future and ways to increase visitation.