OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An effort to build cable barriers on Iowa’s highways has helped reduce the number of cross-median fatal crashes.

After 21 people died as a result of cross-median collisions in 2010, state officials installed 177 miles of cable median barriers. Since then, Iowa has seen fewer cross-median fatalities, dropping from nine in 2011 to six in 2014.

Chris Poole of the Iowa Department of Transportation says the state averaged 16 cross-median fatalities each year before the cable barriers were installed.

Nebraska doesn’t have plans to follow Iowa’s lead, but experts say the effort also could work for Nebraska.

Jim Knott of the Nebraska Department of Roads says the state has wider medians that help prevent such crashes.

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — A Madison man has died after his car rolled over in a single-vehicle accident south of Norfolk.

22-year-old Derek Pfeifer died Saturday night. According to the Nebraska State Patrol, Pfeifer’s car left the road when he missed a curve.

Police say the vehicle struck an embankment and rolled multiple times, and Pfeifer was ejected from the car. Authorities say he was not wearing a seat belt.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Two men have been struck by blow darts in separate Lincoln attacks.

The first attack occurred around 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Lincoln Police Capt. Mayde McGuire says a motorcyclist was struck in the chest by a 5-inch-long blow dart. The man told officers that three males in a gold car were responsible.

The second attack occurred around 3:45 p.m. Saturday, when a blow dart struck the back of one of a pedestrian’s arms. He also told officers that his attackers were in a gold car.

Both men refused medical treatment.

No arrests have been reported in either attack.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The mother of a 5-year-old girl who drowned at a Grand Island water park has filed a claim for more than $1 million against the city.

The claim by Dumale Bariyiga, of Lincoln, says lifeguards on duty July 18 at Island Oasis Water Park were negligent.

Under Nebraska law, people who want to sue a municipality first must file a claim and wait at least six months before filing a lawsuit.

Hall County Attorney Jack Zitterkopf has said Nubari Koffree’s drowning was an accident. Last week city officials said city personnel followed proper procedures that day.

Nubari was with her mother at the water park and was found in the wave pool area.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Temporary lane closures are scheduled this week for Interstate 80 in and east of Lincoln.

The Nebraska Roads Department says the closures will begin Monday and will occur at milepost 405 westbound and milepost 409 eastbound. There also will be a westbound closure at milepost 422 east of Lincoln.

The interstate will be reduced to one lane at these locations. The closures are scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. and end by 6 o’clock the following morning throughout the scheduled week of work.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a man who says he was wrongly fired from the job he had held nearly 35 years after the company refused to accommodate disabilities he had suffered on the job.

The high court says a Lancaster County District judge made errors in the trial of Lenard Arens’ lawsuit against concrete construction company NEBCO of Lincoln. That includes barring testimony from a vocational rehabilitation counselor who could establish that NEBCO knew of and had previously accommodated Arens for his mental impairments after a work-related head injury in 1996.

The case stems from Arens’ 2010 firing after his boss said he was reckless, irresponsible and failed to report to employer-mandated counseling. Arens argued the complaints were pretext to discriminate against him.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Archdiocese of Omaha schools has seen an increase in student enrollment for the first time in 17 years.

This year, total enrollment in the 70-school system grew by 366 students, accounting for about a 2 percent increase. There currently are 19,277 students in kindergarten to 12th grade who are enrolled in the school system, compared to 18,911 students last year.

School system officials haven’t identified the exact reasons for the growth. But Superintendent Patrick Slattery says marketing and transfer grant initiatives have helped in recent years.

Saints Peter and Paul School saw the archdiocese’s largest gain, adding 52 students to the roster this year. The school also experienced a 13 percent increase in Latino students.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Seventeen people from Omaha have applied to fill the Douglas County judgeship left vacant by the retirement this summer of Judge Joseph Caniglia.

Those applying include William Acosta-Trejo, Greg Ariza, Elizabeth Beninato, Steven Chase, Jonathon Crosby, Patrick Dunn, Stephanie Hansen, and Charles Jan Headley. Also applying are Jessica Kerkhofs, Lisa Line, Michael Nelson, Mark Raffety, John Rogers, Stephanie Shearer, Desirae Solomon, Malachy Sullivan, and Steven Twohig.

The Judicial Nominating Commission will hold a public hearing at the Hall of Justice in Omaha on Oct. 6, when it will review all the applicants.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say aggressive panhandlers have been a growing problem in Omaha, and officials are now seeking a city ordinance to address the matter.

A current city ordinance says anyone who wants to solicit money, other than a religious organization or a charity, must obtain written permission from the police chief.

Now, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer has asked the City Council to consider an ordinance that would prohibit specific actions by people asking for money. Those prohibited actions would include soliciting money near an ATM, repeating requests for money, asking for money from someone who’s stopped in traffic and touching someone while panhandling.

A public hearing is scheduled for later this month.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Within weeks of an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel granting a new trial in the lawsuit of six people wrongly accused of a 1985 Beatrice rape and murder, the court has agreed to reconsider.

On Thursday, the 8th Circuit granted a motion by Gage County and various county law enforcement officials to rehear the appeal. The appeals court vacated the three-judge panel’s August opinion granting the new trial.

The wrongly convicted individuals — known as the Beatrice Six — served a combined 77 years in prison before DNA testing cleared them in 2008.

They have argued that investigators recklessly strove to close the case, rather than seek justice. The six have also argued Gage County failed to properly train investigators.