(AP)-The head of a national animal welfare group that Nebraska’s governor has criticized will return to the state later this month.

Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, plans to hold two events promoting sustainable and humane farming techniques.

Pacelle plans to speak at an open forum at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln on June 27.

Then Pacelle will tour a dairy farm near Raymond, Neb., on June 28 to see the certified organic operation.

The Humane Society has criticized certain livestock and farming techniques such as using gestation crates for hogs. And the group has worked to put animal welfare issues on the ballot in other states.

Gov. Dave Heineman has said the Humane Society represents a threat to the state’s agricultural businesses.

(AP) — An Oregon company is recalling a frozen berry mix sold to Costco and Harris Teeter stores after the product was linked to at least 34 hepatitis A illnesses in five states.

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that Townsend Farms of Fairview, Ore., is recalling its frozen Organic Antioxidant Blend, packaged under the Townsend Farms label at Costco and under the Harris Teeter brand at those stores.

The recall came three days after the FDA and the federal Centers for Disease Control first announced a suspected link between the berries and the illnesses. Illnesses were reported in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and California.

Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that can last from a few weeks to a several months.

(AP) — The $279.5 million Omaha lead contamination cleanup that began in 1999 is nearly complete, and the Environmental Protection Agency is ready to begin declaring some properties lead-free.

The EPA said Tuesday that it is proposing listing 1,154 of the 11,425 properties in Omaha’s superfund site as completely cleaned up.

EPA officials say less than 2 percent of the eastern Omaha children tested today have elevated lead levels. Before the cleanup, nearly 33 percent had elevated lead levels.

The soil in more than 10,000 Omaha yards has been replaced to clean up lean contamination that the EPA says came from a lead smelter that operated in Omaha for more than a century.

The EPA also stabilized the paint on more than 5,000 homes and set up educational programs on lead dangers.

(AP) — A 50-year-old Grand Island firefighter has resigned and will face a criminal charge of possession of child pornography.

A city press release said Mark Fhuere quit his job as a firefighter paramedic on Friday, the same day the felony charge was filed.

There was no answer Tuesday at a Grand Island phone listed for Fhuere. Online court records don’t list the name of his attorney.

(AP) — The Douglas County Board wants to buy the former Greyhound bus station in downtown Omaha.

The board voted Tuesday to move ahead with plans to buy the building, though the purchase price is subject to negotiations with Greyhound.

County Administrator Patrick Bloomingdale says the site will probably be used for parking but could have other uses, such as space for a long-term expansion of the county jail.

The property is valued at $499,000.

Greyhound stopped its service to Omaha last summer.

(AP) — A 22-year-old man has been charged with murder and other charges in the slaying of a 16-year-old Omaha girl and wounding of her cousin.

Police say Tracy Parnell already was in custody awaiting trial on charges related to an incident that occurred before the shooting on Oct. 30. Parnell is accused of shooting Eriana Carr to death and shooting Nakia Johnson 11 times. Johnson, who was 20 at the time, survived her wounds.

Police say that on Oct. 28, Parnell threatened Johnson at gunpoint because she had invited a rival gang member to the apartment she shared with Parnell’s girlfriend.

Parnell remained in custody on Tuesday. His lawyer didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

(AP) — Members of Nebraska’s new tax modernization committee have started their work to identify any weaknesses in the state’s tax structure.

The 14-member legislative committee met for the first time on Monday to discuss how they will proceed.

Sen. Galen Hadley, the committee chairman, says members will travel to five or six different communities in Nebraska to hear public input. Members are planning to look at sales, income and property taxes, and what can be done to stimulate business and population growth.

Hadley says the committee will look at what areas of the tax structure, if any, have fallen out of sync with Nebraska’s economy. The last major tax overhaul took place in the 1960s, and some lawmakers question whether it still reflects an economy that now relies more on services.

(AP) — An early morning fire has prompted the closure of a South Sioux City oat processing plant.

Firefighters responded about 3 a.m. Monday to a fire on a manufacturing line at the Viterra grain processing plant.

Tracey Shelton, a spokeswoman for plant owner Richardson International, says the plant is closed while crews assess the damage.

Shelton says none of the 10 workers at the plant when the fire broke out were injured. The plant employs 60 people.

The cause of the fire wasn’t known Monday.

The plant was built in 1989 and processes oats used in cereal and other food.