OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials in Omaha and Council Bluffs, Iowa, are taking different approaches toward handling an expected infestation of an ash tree-killing insect.

Omaha plans to treat up to 5,000 of its 11,000 ash trees and to remove the rest.

In Council Bluffs, officials plant to treat most of the 1,260 ash trees on city property, then evaluate the situation in 10 years. Crews removed 30 unhealthy trees last year and treated 200 trees. Workers will treat about 1,000 trees this spring.

At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, workers will treat about 10 percent of the 368 ash trees on campus.

Officials must take action because of the emerald ash borer. Since being found in 2002 in Michigan, the insect has killed millions of trees across the country.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 51-year-old man died a week after choking on a bite of meat at a New Year’s Eve party.

Brian O’Neill died Saturday at the Nebraska Medical Center.

Family members say O’Neill will be remembered as someone who always made others feel important and made family a priority. His wife, Joan, and their twin 20-year-old sons were at the hospital when he died.

O’Neill choked on a piece of meat that became lodged in his airway on New Year’s Eve. Attempts to dislodge the meat with the Heimlich maneuver failed, and a doctor tried unsuccessfully to open O’Neill’s airway with a steak knife.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium says it has set an all-time attendance record.

Zoo officials say visitors in 2016 exceeded 2 million for the first time. The exact number was 2,046,171.

Zoo Director Dennis Pate says several activities during the year helped to attract visitors.

In March, the zoo rescued 17 elephants from Swaziland, Africa in partnership with two other zoos. Six of the elephants have made their home at Omaha.

Other popular attractions included a 28-acre African Grasslands with lions, cheetah, giraffe and kid-friendly interactive activities and an Alaskan-themed splash ground.

Pate says community support allows the zoo to continue its work in conservation and create cutting edge exhibits.

The previous high was 1.7 million visitors in 2014.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — School districts in Iowa and Nebraska are among the 88 across the country to receive federal funding to replace or modify school buses to reduce exhaust emissions.

The Environmental Protection Agency says it is providing $7.7 million to replace or retrofit 401 diesel engine buses to reduce pollutants the agency says are linked to health problems such as asthma and lung damage.

In Iowa, the Bondurant-Farrar district gets $70,000 for three buses, Lawton-Bronson district gets $80,000 for four and Sioux City schools will get $20,000 for one bus.

In Nebraska, Arlington Public Schools and Wahoo Public Schools each get $20,000 for a bus.

Applicants replacing buses with engine model years of 2006 and older will receive rebates between $15,000 and $25,000, depending on the size of the bus.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A 37-year-old Diller man has been given two years’ probation for punching a resident at the Beatrice facility for developmentally disabled people.

Court records say Shawn Ebeling also was sentenced Thursday to 180 days in jail in 30-day increments. Ebeling’s probation officer can waive the jail time if Ebeling abides by his probation terms.

Ebeling pleaded no contest to attempted abuse of a vulnerable adult. Prosecutors had lowered the charge from a felony in return for Ebeling’s plea.

Another employee of the Beatrice State Developmental Center reported that Ebeling punched a patient Aug. 24, and then manhandled the patient until the patient’s face struck the handle of a fuse box. Ebeling told investigators he got upset when the resident tried to bite him.

Ebeling no longer works at the center.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new state report says ride services haven’t hurt taxi businesses across Nebraska.

An estimated 500 people drove for either Uber or Lyft last year, with most operating in Omaha or Lincoln.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission issued the report as part of its regulation of ride-hailing and cab companies. Commission Executive Director Jeff Pursley says statewide data from cab companies shows the total number of rides given has been trending up over the past five years.

The report also notes that Lincoln has seen a decline in the number of cabs and cab drivers employed. Pursley says it’s not clear what’s causing the decline but also says the reduction in numbers occurred before the ride services began operating in Nebraska.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man was sentenced to a day in jail for poisoning four cottonwood trees on city property.

Court records say 44-year-old Donald Grenawalt was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to criminal mischief. He was credited with a day he’d already served. Grenawalt also must pay $10,000 in restitution.

Officials say they found four or five holes had been drilled into each tree trunk. Court records say Grenawalt told a city employee who knew him that he’d poisoned the trees because they were messy and he was sick of them. The documents say investigators found drills and bits at Grenawalt’s home and chemicals that could have been poured into the trees.

The dead trees were cut down Thursday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Douglas County officials are trying to resolve issues with its 911 system that give callers a rapid busy signal during a system outage.

Officials say it could take years to resolve.

In one incident, as many as 225,000 cellphone users in Douglas and Sarpy counties encountered the problem for nearly 13 hours in September 2015.

Nebraska Public Service Commission member Crystal Rhoades says it’s unacceptable the county doesn’t have a backup plan.

Mark Conrey, the county’s former 911 director, says most of the problem will be resolved with system upgrades that could be years away.

Conrey says the county’s emergency infrastructure isn’t advanced enough to reroute 911 calls. He says the county handles too many 911 calls to have them absorbed by a smaller center.

FAIRBURY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Hebron woman was killed when the van she was driving collided with a semitrailer in southeast Nebraska.

The accident occurred just before 2:50 p.m. Wednesday on U.S. Highway 136 between Gilead and Fairbury. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the eastbound van crossed into oncoming traffic and struck the westbound big rig.

The van driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The Sheriff’s Office identified her as 20-year-old Samantha Hoffman. The truck driver was identified as 61-year-old Fritz Tridle, of Ogallala, who wasn’t injured.