OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska Medical Center will again try to raise money for Parkinson’s research with a 24-hour-long ice skate-a-thon.

The event will run from noon on Jan. 23 to noon on Jan. 24. The previous skate-a-thons have raised thousands of dollars for research.

The event honors the memory of its founder, Colleen Wuebben, who died with Parkinson’s in 2013 at age 60.

Last year, four skaters managed to skate all 24 hours. One of those skaters plans to attempt to skate backward for 12 consecutive hours this year.

The event is held at UNMC’s ice skating rink near 42nd and Emile streets. The cost to participate in the event is $10.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 55-year-old Omaha woman has died in a hospital four days after her legs were severed in a traffic accident.

Omaha police Sgt. Joseph Collins says Joanne Smith died Sunday night. She’d been struck by another car on Wednesday evening while unloading items from the trunk of her car, which was parked on Northwest Radial.

Police say the driver of the other car reported that she got distracted when her cellphone fell to the floor of her car. The woman was not injured.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The annual air show at Offutt Air Force Base won’t be held this year because of planned construction.

Air show fans in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa will have to drive several hours to find one in 2015.

Maj. James Lee with the 55th Wing says the air show is being cancelled because Congress approved funding for a taxiway project at Offutt this year.

The Air Force plans to spend roughly $7 million to repave part of a taxiway that’s normally used for static displays and spectators at the air show. The Air Force Thunderbirds were expected to headline this year’s show.

Lee said he expects the air show to return in 2016.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The number of trains carrying at least 1 million gallons of crude oil across eastern Nebraska each week has more than tripled.

BNSF railroad recently provided updated figures to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.

BNSF says it is moving about a dozen oil trains through eastern Nebraska each week. That’s up from three trains a week last summer.

Federal transportation officials ordered the railroads last spring to notify states about trains carrying at least 1 million gallons of crude oil after a string of fiery derailments.

BNSF also modified its route in Nebraska to reduce the number of oil trains that pass through Lincoln.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Fleetwood Mac had to cut its Nebraska concert about an hour short Saturday night after drummer Mick Fleetwood became ill with the stomach flu.

Stevie Nicks told the crowd of roughly 14,000 at Lincoln’s Pinnacle Bank Arena that Fleetwood was throwing up backstage before the end of the 90-minute show.

A drum technician played “Go Your Own Way” for Fleetwood. Then Christine McVie played piano and sang “Songbird” with guitarist Lindsey Buckingham before the band ended the show.

In a statement online, Fleetwood Mac said Sunday it plans to perform its next scheduled show in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Tuesday.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A scaffold collapsed on top of two vehicles on a windy day in downtown Lincoln Saturday and forced the closure of a major street for several hours, but the incident only caused minor injuries.

The scaffold at the site of a future six-story student housing complex collapsed around 3 p.m. Saturday.

Battalion Chief Jeanne Pashalek says a pickup truck and silver sedan were under the scaffold when it fell. But everyone inside the vehicles escaped on their own.

A woman in the silver car was taken to the hospital for treatment of neck pain, but no other serious injuries were reported.

Pashalek says it’s fortunate the street wasn’t busier when the scaffold collapsed. Tenth Street was closed for several hours.

 

SCHUYLER, Neb. (AP) — A bakery in downtown Schuyler has been heavily damaged by fire, but firefighters were able to keep the flames from spreading.

The fire was reported around 8:45 p.m. Saturday.

Schuyler Fire Chief Brad Sock says the building that caught fire was used as a bakery and kitchen for Tienda Mexicana Chichihualco across the street.

Sock says the fire was an accident caused by cooking in the kitchen.

Firefighters from Schuyler, David City and Howells worked for roughly an hour to extinguish the fire.

The building sustained roughly $75,000 damage and nearby Homestead Bank sustained some smoke damage. But there weren’t any injuries.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say speed and alcohol were likely factors in a fatal rollover accident this weekend.

Police said 31-year-old Megan Jackson died in the early Sunday crash that also injured two others. The crash happened near 42nd and Lake streets at 4:22 a.m.

The driver of the 2004 Jeep Cherokee lost control and collided with a utility pole. Then the vehicle rolled and struck a fence. Jackson was ejected and died at the scene.

The Jeep’s 24-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, motor vehicle homicide and reckless driving.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has denied a new trial for an Omaha man convicted of killing a college student whose body has never been found.

Douglas County District Judge J. Russell Derr on Friday rejected Christopher Edwards’s plea for a new trial.

Edwards was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2006 disappearance of 19-year-old Jessica O’Grady and was sentenced to 100 years to life in prison. Edwards has maintained he’s innocent and that David Kofoed, former commander of Douglas County crime scene investigation unit, planted some of the evidence used to convict him.

In 2012, the Nebraska Supreme Court granted a new hearing for Edwards, based on the claim that he was framed.

But on Friday, the judge rejected that claim.