OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Thunderstorms have lashed several parts of eastern Nebraska, leaving thousands of people without power and some stranded by street flooding and storm debris.

The National Weather Service says an off-duty weather service employee saw a rope tornado briefly touch down around 8 p.m. Tuesday, three miles south-southeast of Kennard in Washington County. No injuries have been reported.

The Omaha Public Power District reported that at 5 a.m. Wednesday, nearly 9,700 customers were without power in Douglas and several other counties.

Up to 6 inches of rain was reported near Blair, and street flooding occurred in Omaha, Fremont and other cities.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The remains of a Marine from Grand Island have been buried in a local cemetery 72 years after his death during World War II.

The remains of Marine Pvt. Dale Robert Geddes were buried in Grand Island City Cemetery on Monday.

Geddes died on Nov. 20, 1943, as Americans fought to capture the Japanese-controlled island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. About 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed, with another 2,000 wounded during the three-day battle.

Geddes was buried in what eventually became known as the “Lost Cemetery.” The U.S. government informed his family at one point that recovering his body wouldn’t be likely.

Members of his family and numerous Grand Island residents, including veterans, attended the memorial ceremony.

GRETNA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say one person has died in a crash near Gretna.

Sarpy County law enforcement officials say two vehicles were involved in the crash at 216th Street and Cornhusker Road around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday.

Officials say an SUV ran a stop sign at 216th Street and hit a pickup. Investigators say both vehicles ran off the road into an adjacent field.

The Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office says the driver of the SUV died at the scene, while the driver of the truck was not injured. Officials say the drivers were the only occupants of the vehicles.

Both drivers were men. Their names have not yet been released.

BOYS TOWN, Neb. (AP) — Three U.S. coins will be released next year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Boys Town.

The U.S. Mint unveiled the designs of the coins on Tuesday.

One will feature a portrait of Father Edward Flanagan, who founded Boys Town as an orphanage for boys in 1917. The organization has grown into a nonprofit that houses 400 troubled boys and girls on its Omaha campus.

Other coins will feature oak trees and scenes of young children seeking shelter.

A limited number of the $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins and half dollar coins are scheduled to be released next year.

Flanagan was depicted in the Academy Award-winning 1938 movie “Boys Town.”

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal appeals court says Lincoln police did not have reasonable suspicion to stop and detain a man who says he was injured in the stop.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ opinion Tuesday reverses the ruling of a federal judge, who last year dismissed Leroy Duffie’s lawsuit against the city of Lincoln and several police officers.

Police say the 2011 stop stemmed from a report hours earlier of a young man in a van similar to Duffie’s with what appeared to be a handgun.

But the appeals court says given Nebraska’s law allowing the open-carry of guns, that incident could not be construed as a crime. Therefore, the officers did not have reasonable suspicion that Duffie had or was going to commit a crime when he was stopped.

PENDER, Neb. (AP) — A divided Thurston County Board of Supervisors has decided to add the motto “In God We Trust” on a prominent place in the county courthouse.

The supervisors voted 4-2 on Monday to put the phrase in letters of a readable size in the boardroom of the courthouse.

Valentine resident Barb Otto spoke to the board Monday before they voted. Otto is traveling the state to encourage county elected officials to add the religious-motivated phrase in public buildings.

Supervisor Darren Wolfe says displaying the motto isn’t good public policy because it violates the separation of church and state.

A conservative legal defense organization called the Pacific Justice Institute is ready to defend any lawsuit that would be filed against the county taking that step.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a woman who was fatally injured when her vehicle struck the back of a dump truck near Malcolm.

The woman died Monday afternoon after her sport utility vehicle hit the truck, which had stopped on a gravel road and was waiting to turn into a construction site.

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says rescue workers tried to revive the woman and called for a medical helicopter, but she died at the scene.

The Sheriff’s Office identified her as 74-year-old Veda Beckman, who lived in rural Pleasant Dale. The truck driver was identified as 55-year-old Madonna Rairigh, of Crete, who wasn’t injured.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say four people in a pickup were treated at a hospital after the truck was struck by a school bus.

The accident occurred around 4 p.m. Monday on a county road about three miles north of Columbus. Platte County Sheriff’s Lt. Kevin Schuller says the westbound bus was full of students from Shell Creek Elementary when their driver didn’t stop in time to avoid hitting the pickup. The truck driver had stopped and was waiting to turn south.

Schuller says none of the students or their driver was injured. Four of the five people in the pickup were sent to a hospital.

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — A city council has fired a suburban Omaha city administrator who was charged with assault and other crimes after an altercation at a dentist’s office.

The Bellevue council voted unanimously Monday night to dismiss City Administrator Dan Berlowitz. He’ll receive health insurance benefits and 10 months of pay — about $120,000 — in exchange for a release of claims against the city.

He’s been on paid leave since the June 21 incident. A police report says Berlowitz poked a Bellevue dentist in the chest and then pushed the dentist in a shoulder. Berlowitz’s attorney says Berlowitz felt threatened and says Berlowitz denied assaulting the dentist.

Last month the 63-year-old Berlowitz pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor counts of assault, trespassing and disturbing the peace.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A woman was killed near Lincoln when her vehicle hit the back of a dump truck.

The woman died Monday afternoon when her sport utility vehicle collided with the truck, which had stopped on a gravel road and was waiting to turn into a construction site.

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says rescue workers tried to revive the woman and called for a medical helicopter, but she died at the scene of the crash.

The sheriff’s office hasn’t released the woman’s name.

The truck driver wasn’t injured.