BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — Those attending the Homestead Days Celebration in Beatrice this summer can learn how farmers of old ran the farm.

The festival at the Homestead National Monument of American being held this weekend will show visitors how the farming changed during the early homesteading years, transitioning from horse power to more industrialized methods. It will include demonstrations of horse-drawn haying, steam-powered threshing and gasoline-powered binding.

Demonstrations will occur throughout the day Saturday and Sunday starting at noon.

The weekend celebration wraps up at 5 p.m. Sunday.

STANTON, Neb. (AP) — Residents in the northeastern Nebraska town of Stanton have been told to boil their tap water.

The boil order was issued Thursday after testing of the municipal water system detected the presence of coliform and E. coli.

Stanton City Superintendent Ron Klinetobe says residents in Stanton should boil their water for at least one minute before consuming, or use another water source until testing shows no more contamination.

E. coli, a bacteria found in fecal matter, can be particularly dangerous to infants, young children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A fire department in eastern Nebraska is looking to hire more women and minorities as it fills paramedic positions in coming years.

Lincoln Fire and Rescue Chief Michael Despain has been ramping up the agency’s push to diversify its mostly white, male department since he took his position a year ago.

Despain says recruiting isn’t in the budget, so he’s using funds saved from open positions to help pay for marketing campaigns and recruiting efforts.

A January report from the department shows that 91 percent of the department’s firefighter and paramedic are white. Eight percent of them are women.

National Fire Protection Association data show that women comprised only 4.6 percent of the firefighting forces in the country between 2011 and 2015.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A semitrailer fire on Interstate 80 at Lincoln has backed up westbound traffic on a busy holiday weekend.

The truck caught fire around 10 a.m. Saturday just west of Lincoln, stalling traffic for miles.

Traffic was diverted north to U.S. Highway 34 at exit 395 and south to U.S. Highway 6 at exit 397 until around noon.

The Nebraska State Patrol, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and Lincoln Fire and Rescue were called to the scene. No injuries were reported.

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — A former employee at a South Sioux City school has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for sending nude photographs to a 15-year-old student.

28-year-old Cecilia Hermosillo worked as a paraprofessional at Gateway to Learning and resigned last September. Gateway to Learning is an alternative high school in South Sioux City.

Police began investigating last year when a school resource officer reported a post on Facebook referencing nude photographs sent by a school employee to a student. Police say they were able to obtain the pictures from the 15-year-old boy.

Hermosillo turned herself in after an arrest warrant charging her with enticement by electronic communication device was filed. She pleaded no contest to attempted child abuse in April.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says an entrance screening officer violated some procedures when his gun accidentally fired inside the county courthouse.

The officer was checking the slide on the gun when it fired. The gun went off at a closed exit, and no one was hurt. The bullet pierced an X-ray machine and hit a concrete wall near the machine.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said Friday that had it not been for the concrete wall, the bullet likely would have gone through a conference room and into his office. Kleine was not in the office at the time the gun went off.

The department says an internal investigation showed some procedures were violated and that corrective action will be taken.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Eastern Nebraska health officials are warning that smoke from July Fourth fireworks could create air quality issues and trigger reactions in those sensitive to pollutants.

The Douglas County Health Department says the concern is greatest this weekend through Wednesday, the day after Independence Day.

Fireworks smoke may cause breathing to be difficult for individuals with asthma or other heart or lung diseases, the elderly, very young children, and pregnant women.

Health director Dr. Adi Pour says those people can minimize the risk by avoiding strenuous outdoor activity and limiting time spent outdoors.”

ADEL, Iowa (AP) — For the first time since the 1930s, Iowa residents can legally buy and set off fireworks this Fourth of July, thanks to a new law.

But in the state’s population center of Des Moines and elsewhere, calls for “fun, freedom and fireworks,” are running into local concerns about the danger and simple annoyance of bottle rockets, roman candles and firecrackers.

Officials in many Iowa cities have approved rules that block most fireworks sales and largely prohibit people from setting off the loud and colorful explosives.

It’s led to complaints by some sellers, court action by a fireworks wholesaler and a threat by a lawmaker to reduce local control in the next legislative session.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Thunderstorms have loosed a barrage of hail on eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, shattering windshields, damaging roofs and shredding field crops and urban gardens.

Authorities say a tornado touched down Thursday just south of Wynot in northeast Nebraska, ripping apart a shed and damaging a home. No injuries have been reported.

Hailstones as big as baseballs were reported in the Omaha metropolitan area, including neighborhoods that had been clobbered by howling winds and tornadoes on June 16.

Omaha Public Power District says power outages occurred overnight. At 5:15 a.m. Friday, the utility was reporting 170 Omaha customers without electricity.

Quarter-size hail damaged buildings and heavy rain flooded streets in Sioux City, Iowa.