OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Veterans Affairs Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System is out of the nuclear business after entering the atomic age with its small-scale reactor nearly six decades ago.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission terminated the operating license for the Alan J. Blotcky Reactor Facility, effective Monday. The facility had run in the basement of Omaha’s VA Medical Center for more than 40 years.

VA researchers used the reactor primarily for neutron activation of biological samples from 1959 to 2001. The facility was also used to train operators of the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant.

Soon after 9/11, it was shut down because of security concerns. Last year, the VA spent $1.3 million to dismantle what was left of the reactor, in addition to $5.9 million spent in 2001 and 2002.

WEST POINT, Neb. (AP) — The vacant meat plant in West Point may soon be processing pet products.

United Pet Products is taking over the former Wimmer’s and Land O’Frost plant. United Pet Products will handle treats such as dog bones, jerky and chews.

More than 100 people turned out for a hiring fair Saturday morning. Around 70 workers are being sought.

United Pet co-owner Troy Becker says plant operations should begin Aug. 15.

Land O’Frost bought the Wimmer’s plant in 2012 and closed it May 1, 2015, eliminating jobs for 127 employees.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The board of an Omaha community college is expected to vote Tuesday on stripping the chairmanship from one of its members.

The U.S. Department of Education has threatened to withhold student aid and other federal funding from Metropolitan Community College if Fred Conley remains on the board because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued an order prohibiting the federal government from doing business with Conley. HUD officials have said Conley didn’t disclose a potential conflict of interest while serving on the Omaha Housing Authority board.

The college Board of Governors voted July 26 to ask Conley to leave the board, which he’s refused to do. He did say, however, that he won’t seek re-election this fall. The board has no power to remove him from the board.

LA VISTA, Neb. (AP) — Police say one person is dead and another is seriously injured after being struck by a train while walking on a trestle in Sarpy County.

La Vista police say three men were walking on a train trestle over a creek Monday night when they were hit.

One person fell off and was pronounced dead at the scene. Another was taken to a hospital by helicopter, and a third was apparently uninjured and was being interviewed by police.

The newspaper reports the train was with BNSF Railway and was headed west.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 24-year-old Iowa man has died in a north-central Omaha crash.

The crash occurred around 2:20 a.m. Sunday. Witnesses say a speeding eastbound vehicle went out of control, crossed the westbound lanes and struck a parked pickup, a fence and a utility pole. The driver was ejected through the windshield.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Police identified him as Bernard Brame, who lived in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha Public Schools is set to open its first virtual school for kindergarten through eighth-grade students this month.

The Omaha Virtual School will be open to home-schooled students, giving them a mix of face-to-face instruction and online lessons.

Students participating in the free program will be given a laptop to receive instruction at home at their own pace. They’ll also be required to report in person once a week for face-to-face activities, such as science labs or field trips.

The school board unanimously approved the program last month. The district plans to hire four teachers and a student learning advocate, similar to a school counselor.

Superintendent Mark Evans says the program will avoid the pitfalls that have challenged virtual schools in other states.

BENNINGTON, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Powerball ticket worth $1 million was sold in the eastern Nebraska community of Bennington.

The ticket matched the first five numbers in Saturday night’s Powerball drawing but missed on the Powerball number. The ticket was sold at a Cubby’s convenience store. A ticket sold in Raymond, New Hampshire, matched all the numbers to win the $487 million jackpot.

Nebraska Lottery spokesman Brian Rockey said Monday that the $1 million prize hasn’t been claimed yet. Winning Nebraska Lottery tickets expire 180 days after the drawing. Prizes of $20,000 or more must be claimed in person at Nebraska Lottery headquarters in Lincoln.

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — Norfolk authorities have arrested a 22-year-old man accused of beating a woman and threatening to harm her child.

Police say officers were dispatched to an apartment a little before 12:10 a.m. Sunday to check on a report that a man was threatening to kill a child. Officers found the man upstairs with the 18-month-old girl.

He was arrested on suspicion of assault, child abuse and other crimes. Court records don’t show that he’s been formally charged yet.

Officers say they later found a knife in a diaper box that had been near the man.

The child’s mother and several witnesses say the man had punched the woman, held a knife to the toddler’s throat and chased a would-be rescuer out of the apartment.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha Police say a 10-year-old boy was critically injured when he was struck by a car in northwest Omaha.

The accident happened near 107th and Fort streets around 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

Witnesses told police that the boy ran out into the street in front of a 1997 Honda Accord. The driver tried to swerve but still struck the boy.

Paramedics rushed the boy to a hospital in critical condition.

Police said there wasn’t a crosswalk where the incident happened.

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — Fire officials say separate fires less than a week apart at the same Bellevue apartment complex were started the same way — by carelessly discarded cigarettes.

Officials say the first fire on July 22 damaged a third-floor apartment at the Gateway Park Apartments complex. But the next fire, on Tuesday, left the building uninhabitable and dozens of people without homes.

It also sent four people, including a Bellevue firefighter, to a hospital for injuries.

The Bellevue Fire Department says that the second fire caused $1 million in damage to the building and $250,000 in damage to its contents.