LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska State Museum-Morrill Hall and the International Quilt Study Center and Museum are two of more than 2,000 museums across the nation that will offer free admission to military personnel and their families this summer.

The free admittance for the military will run from Memorial Day through Labor Day as part of the Blue Star Museum program. The complete list of participating museums is available at https://1.usa.gov/1gPy0eb .

Some special or limited-time museum exhibits may not be included in the program.

NEOLA, Iowa (AP) — The crash of a cattle truck a western Iowa interstate sent the driver to a hospital and several cattle onto the roadway.

The crash happened Friday afternoon when 45-year-old Trevor Lierman, of Stanton, Nebraska, overturned at he exited Interstate 80 onto I-680 near Neola.

Lierman was trapped in the cab for about 30 minutes before rescue workers freed him. He was then flown to an Omaha, Nebraska hospital, where he was treated for injuries not believed to be life-threatening.

Several cattle escaped from the overturned trailer, and area farmers and ranchers were called to the scene to help corral them. Several animals died in the crash, and seven had to be euthanized because of the injuries they suffered.

BELLE PLAINE, Iowa (AP) — Officials say no one was injured when 23 cars of a Union Pacific train traveling through the eastern Iowa town of Belle Plaine derailed.

The derailment happened around 11:20 p.m. Friday.

A Union Pacific spokesman said the cars were part of a 125-car train being pulled by three locomotives traveling from Nebraska to Illinois.

The spokesman says eight of the derailed car were loaded with soda ash, used in household cleaners, windshields and cellphones

Three cars were filled with lumber, another three contained animal feed and four contained flour, diced tomatoes, frozen fish and sodium bicarbonate. The five remaining derailed cars were empty.

Crews planned clean up and replace damaged track on Saturday. The cause of the derailment is being investigated.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Transportation has again selected American Airlines to provide 13 weekly nonstop, round-trip flights from the Central Nebraska Regional Airport in Grand Island to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

The recent decision was part of a bid to provide air service to Grand Island under the federal Essential Air Service program.

American Airlines, doing business in Grand Island as American Eagle, has been serving the Grand Island airport since 2011. The Department of Transportation’s decision extends the flight contract two years. The new contract will run from July 1 through June 30, 2017.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 53-year-old Lincoln bicyclist has died, 10 days after he was hit by a car as he tried to cross a city street.

Larry Lienemann died Thursday at a Lincoln hospital. He had been hit while riding his bike on May 11.

Police say Lienemann was riding south on the 84th Street sidewalk when he tried to cross the street at the intersection of Pinedale Avenue.

Police say a 26-year-old woman, who was driving north on 84th Street, tried to avoid hitting Lienemann, but thought she would collide with oncoming traffic. She turned back into her original lane, hitting Lienemann.

Officer Katie Flood said no citations have been issued, but the accident is still under investigation.

 

PONCA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Department of Agriculture has announced a third case of avian flu in northeast Nebraska’s Dixon County.

The department said in a news release Friday that testing by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed the presence of the highly contagious bird flu on a farm with 500,000 young hens.

The state department says the farm is less than a mile away from one where the state’s first case of bird flu was discovered and is owned by the same company.

The department says the flock will be destroyed, bringing the total number of chickens in the state lost due to the flu to 4 million.

Nationwide, the virus that has led to 40 million dead birds — mostly turkeys and egg-laying chickens.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The man accused of killing an Omaha police officer this week had been linked to two other violent crimes in recent years, but officials say they lacked evidence to prosecute him.

Marcus Wheeler was killed by police on Wednesday after police say he shot 29-year-old Officer Kerrie Orozco.

In 2012, Wheeler was accused of shooting at a car. One of the occupants, Erica Jenkins, identified Wheeler as the shooter. But charges against Wheeler were dropped after Jenkins was implicated in three 2013 murders. Prosecutors say that discredited Jenkins as a witness against Wheeler.

In 2007, Wheeler told police he had disposed of a gun in a 2007 double homicide. But because authorities couldn’t determine the shooter, prosecutors couldn’t charge Wheeler as an accessory.

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — The city of Papillion is considering annexing land to its west that would take the city’s zoning authority to Interstate 80 and increase its footprint by one-quarter.

The proposed annexation would see Papillion’s city limits grow from 4,300 acres to 5,300 acres. The area where the city has zoning control would increase from 19,800 acres to 23,500 acres.

The area includes undeveloped land, industrial areas, the Fidelity data center and a recreation area. It has no residences and does not include Werner Park, the Omaha Storm Chasers’ baseball stadium.

The annexation is estimated to have a one-time net cost of $338,000 — for equipment such as trucks, snowplows and mowers — and an annual net revenue of about $2.2 million.

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a fiery crash involving a car and cement truck has killed one and critically injured another.

Police say a speeding car lost control and slid across several lanes of traffic in southeast Omaha, colliding with the truck just before 1 a.m. Saturday. The car then caught fire. Police say a passenger in the car was killed, and the 22-year-old driver was thrown from the car. The driver was taken to an Omaha hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The passenger’s name has not yet been released.

Police say they believe speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — A Fremont man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on child pornography charges.

51-year-old Mikel Miller was named in the two-count indictment.

U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg announced Friday that Miller is accused of receiving and distributing child pornography in March and April. He also is accused of possessing child pornography.

If convicted of both counts, he faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

There is no parole in the federal prison system.