LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The first 531 phone numbers in Nebraska’s new area code will soon be activated.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports (https://bit.ly/1JivDxZ) the small towns of Atkinson and Oakland are where the new area code will get its start.

State regulators sent the first 531 numbers to CenturyLink, and the company plans to use them in the two small towns.

The new 531 area code was overlaid on top of the 402 area, so 402 customers won’t be forced to switch phone numbers. The new area code was needed because phone companies were running out of numbers in the existing 402 area code.

All calls in the area will require the area code plus the seven-digit telephone number.

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — South Sioux City is still waiting for nearly $1.4 million in reimbursement from state and federal agencies almost four years after extensive flooding along the Missouri River.

City officials are still working to finish up the last paperwork needed to obtain reimbursement for flood-related expenses. Then an inspector from the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency will have to check out the work.

City Treasurer Nanci Walsh says she didn’t think it would take this long to secure reimbursement, but South Sioux City didn’t finish its last project until December 2013.

The city has received $3.4 million from the federal government, but nothing from Nebraska. It expects to receive $678,974 from FEMA and $676,148 from NEMA.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is looking into the recent death of a captive bald eagle at the Pioneers Park Nature Center in Lincoln.

The bird, named Hali, died Jan. 25. Nature Center coordinator Andrea Faas says the eagle suffered from twisted intestines.

The bird was about 12. Eagles can live as long as 30 years in captivity.

Hali had been on exhibit at the nature center since 2003, when she was rescued after being injured near Valley. The bird could not be returned to the wild because part of her left wing was amputated.

Bob Harms, a Fish and Wildlife biologist in Grand Island, says it is policy to look into any death of an eagle or migratory fowl.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Economists from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will discuss tax policies in Nebraska and other Plains states in an upcoming seminar.

The free lecture will kick off the Paul A. Olson Seminars in Great Plains Studies. The event is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Great Plains Art Museum in Lincoln.

Economists Eric Thompson and John Anderson will talk about tax debates in Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota and Colorado. They will focus on how the states balance popular demands for tax cuts against the need for social services.

Another seminar on March 18 will focus on drought management, food and water security. A third on April 15 is titled “The Civil War in the Great Plains.”

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — Two South Sioux City residents escaped unharmed from a fire that destroyed their mobile home.

The fire was reported around 3 p.m. Thursday.

Fire Chief Toby English says the fire started when a cleaning product was spilled on the kitchen counter next to the stove, which was turned on. Heat from the stove ignited the cleaning product.

English says the residents were able to call 911 and leave the home without injury. He says the home was a total loss.

The American Red Cross is helping the residents find other living arrangements.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A 52-year-old Grand Island man has been arrested on suspicion of a fourth-offense of drunken driving following a crash that sent a teenage girl to the hospital.

The man’s pickup rear-ended another pickup stopped at a stop sign Friday afternoon.

Police say a 12- or 13-year-old girl who was a passenger in the stopped truck was taken by ambulance to a hospital for head and foot injuries.

The man is being held in the Hall County Jail awaiting formal charge

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Anyone who is curious about drone aircraft can learn more about the flying robots at an event in Lincoln this weekend.

Experts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will talk about drones and demonstrate some of what they can do at this Sunday’s event.

The program at Morrill Hall on the UNL campus will run from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Professors Carrick Detweiler and Sebastian Elbaum will show off some of the new flying robots being developed at UNL.

The professors will also talk about how drones are being used to help collect water samples, monitor crop growth and perform other tasks.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two people from Sioux City have been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for robberies committed in Omaha, Nebraska.

Anthony Aranda was sentenced Thursday in Omaha’s federal court to 10 years and 10 months in prison. Jamie Speelman was sentenced to 12 years and three months. Both had pleaded guilty to carjacking and brandishing a firearm.

There is no parole in the federal prison system.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Nebraska said the two stole a pickup at gunpoint on Nov. 22, 2013. Later that day, they robbed the Midtown Gas and Grocery at gunpoint, taking more than $400.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 15-year-old boy accused of shooting and killing a man from his motorized scooter will be tried as an adult on a charge of second-degree murder.

Douglas County District Judge James Gleason on Friday ordered Danny Harden-Bolton to stand trial as an adult for the June 7 death of 23-year-old Brandon Wallace.

In his order, the judge said evidence showed the teen shot Wallace as retribution for reportedly “snitching on a relative of the defendant.”

Police say the teen shot Wallace the night after he had been at a sleepover with four of his friends.

Four other teens are also charged as accessories in the shooting death.