LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Lincoln school superintendent has changed his approach to giving students a day off because of bad weather.

Steve Joel told staffers and parents when he started his Lincoln job in 2010 that he wouldn’t call a snow day based solely on forecasts. But that’s what he did for Wednesday, because weather experts warned Tuesday of dangerously low wind chills ahead.

Joel says he’s realized that a surprising number of students walk to school. And given that more than 40 percent of them come from poor families, they may not have the right clothing to handle wind chills that can cause frostbite on uncovered skin within a few minutes.

Joel also says he thinks meteorologists and their equipment have become more accurate.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska state trooper has been injured in a collision on the southwest side of Lincoln.

Authorities say the accident occurred about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday. Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner said the trooper was headed north on U.S. Highway 77 when his cruiser struck a vehicle that was turning east off the highway onto Old Cheney Road.

Wagner says the trooper was released after treatment at a Lincoln hospital. The other driver wasn’t hurt but was cited for careless driving.

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a 42-year-old man who died after struggling with a police officer at a motel in northeast Nebraska.

On Wednesday Madison County Attorney Joe Smith identified the man as Andre Murphy Sr., whose last known address was in Seward.

Officers had been dispatched to the Super 8 Motel in Norfolk on Wednesday morning after a series of 911 calls. The unnamed officer and Murphy struggled there, and Murphy died later at a hospital.

Smith says the officer attempted to deploy a Taser at one point during the incident, but no weapons were used by Murphy. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday. The officer was treated for minor injuries.

The Nebraska State Patrol is investigating, as will a grand jury.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lancaster County district judge has sentenced a 21-year-old man back to prison after he was convicted of illegally possessing a gun.

A jury convicted Oshea Brooks in December of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. The judge sentenced him on Wednesday to 10 to 20 years in prison.

Court documents show Brooks was arrested in March after police say they saw him and another man give two .22-caliber rifles to two other men in exchange for money.

Brooks served almost two years in prison on a 2011 burglary charge. That conviction made it illegal for him to have a firearm under state law.

The judge gave Brooks credit for the 287 days he served in jail.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The lawyer for an Omaha woman has told a jury that family members who’ll be testifying against her are not to be believed.

Sean Conway said Wednesday during his opening statements in Erica Jenkins’ first murder trial that a “trio of proven liars” will be taking the stand to help convict the 24-year-old.

Jenkins is charged with murder and other crimes in the Aug. 19, 2013, slaying of Curtis Bradford. Her second murder trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 26 in slaying of Andrea Kruger on Aug. 21, 2013.

Jenkins’ brother, Nikko Jenkins, has pleaded guilty to killing Kruger, Bradford and two more men.

Serving time at the York prison for robbing the two men before their slayings, Erica Jenkins has waived her right to attend her trials.

ROCA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a driver killed when his vehicle ran off a road south of Lincoln in Lancaster County.

He was identified as 31-year-old Steven Strauss, of Garland.

His vehicle crashed about a mile and a half east of Roca, and the accident was reported around 8:40 a.m. Wednesday.

United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that on December 30th, 2104, Laron Gray was sentenced by the Honorable Chief United States District Court Judge Laurie Smith Camp to a term of 15 years and eight months’ imprisonment, which will be followed by four years of supervised release.

On June 30, 2014, Gray, who is 37 years old and from Fort Worth, Texas, pleaded guilty to distribution of 28 grams or more of cocaine base (i.e. crack cocaine) on December 12th, 2013 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that Gray would regularly arrange for large quantities of cocaine base to be delivered to people in Omaha Nebraska. On December 12th, 2013, Gray sold approximately four ounces of cocaine base to an undercover officer.

Evidence adduced at the sentencing hearing also showed that Gray’s prior criminal record included convictions in Dumas, Arkansas for violent felony offenses including aggravated assault and battery.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Greater Omaha Safe Streets Task Force.

The operating room can be a stressful setting, especially for surgical residents – surgeons in training following medical school. But an innovative training program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center using lightly embalmed cadavers helps better prepare surgeons and serves as a national model.

“The training allows residents to walk before they run because the lightly embalmed cadavers more realistically mimic an actual surgery,” said Chandra Are, M.B.B.S., surgeon and vice chairman of education in the UNMC Department of Surgery. “Lightly embalmed cadavers are as close to real life as possible and therefore are an invaluable tool for resident training.”

In traditionally embalmed cadavers preserved with formaldehyde, tissues become rigid, organs and structures are difficult to distinguish and normal bleeding that takes place in surgery is not replicated. But tissue of lightly embalmed cadavers is much more like living tissue and provides a better model for learning surgical procedures and techniques.

In the cadaver lab, residents practice as many as 25 to 50 common procedures annually, with increasing difficulty as they advance in skill.

The open surgical skills training program using lightly embalmed cadavers sets the UNMC surgical residency training program apart from programs at other universities, Dr. Are said, and helps recruit top residents to Nebraska.

He said the program also provides a very cost-effective method of teaching surgical skills and anatomy, and surgical residents consistently give the program the highest rating among their training activities.

Dr. Are has expanded the program to include first-year medical students, giving them exposure to surgery earlier in their training. He hopes to expand the program to include more opportunities for interprofessional education through participation by other disciplines, with the program serving as a basis for collaboration in training and research across departments.

He said he plans to use detailed metrics to further assess the program and continue improving it and that he hopes to find additional funding support to move the program to the next level.