LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has ordered a state psychiatric hospital to release an ailing man who in 1992 tried to shoot up a Lincoln college classroom of students.

Retired Judge Paul Merritt Jr. says 66-year-old Arthur McElroy has become too feeble to present a danger to anyone. Merritt says McElroy is to be released no sooner than June 1 from the Lincoln Regional Center.

Court records say McElroy tried to fire a military carbine into a science class of about 20 students, but the weapon jammed. A judge later ruled that McElroy was insane and not responsible for his actions.

Records say McElroy has since been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and other maladies.

McElroy is expected to go to a local nursing home.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Country act Thompson Square will be the featured band at the concert next to TD Ameritrade Park the night before the start of the College World Series.

The Road to Omaha Jam will be held in Lot B south of the ballpark beginning at 6 p.m. on June 12. The Railers will be the opening act.

The concert highlights the Opening Celebration Day that begins at 10 a.m. with team practices and autograph sessions. The CWS Fan Fest also will be held, with free baseball interactive games, prizes and other entertainment.

The day ends with Opening Ceremonies inside the stadium. There will be Olympic-style team introductions, the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team and a fireworks show.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has ordered a defunct Nebraska insurance company to pay Florida regulators at least $2.2 million, but this week’s ruling isn’t likely to settle the case that began in 1998.

The Nebraska Supreme Court has already ruled on aspects of the case four times, and it may get another chance.

The case centers on the relationship between David Fulkerson’s former company, Countrywide Insurance Agency, and an insolvent insurance company Florida regulators took control of in 1997.

Bob Craig, who represents Florida, said Wednesday he’s pleased with the ruling, but more appeals are likely given the case’s history.

Attorney William Gast, who represents the Fulkerson family and Countrywide, says he’ll appeal because a procedural issue should have killed the case several years ago and because he disagrees with the judge.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 62-year-old construction worker has been flown to a hospital after his stomach was cut with a saw.

Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner says the accident occurred about 8:15 a.m. Wednesday on the west side of Lincoln, where a bridge is being built. The man was working with a circular saw when it caught his clothing and sliced his lower abdomen.

Chief Deputy Jeff Bliemeister says the man was awake and talking with deputies before doctors took him into surgery.

The man’s name hasn’t been released. He works for United Contractors.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has denied bond for a 25-year-old Omaha man accused of killing his mother and 5-year-old half brother and leaving his infant half brother in a dumpster.

Roberto Martinez-Marinero appeared in a jailhouse courtroom Tuesday for a bond hearing and communicated through a Spanish interpreter. Authorities say he surrendered to police Thursday and said he’d killed his mother, 45-year-old Jesus Ismenia Marinero and had thrown Josue Ramirez-Marinero in the Elkhorn River. Officials say he also admitted to putting 11-month-old Angel Ramirez-Marinero, who suffered only bruises, in the dumpster.

The judge ordered Martinez-Marinero’s girlfriend, 24-year-old Gabriela Guevara, held on $1 million bail. She is charged as an accessory.

Preliminary hearings for both Martinez-Marinero and Guevara have been set for June 5.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The ongoing bird flu outbreak has spread into northeast Nebraska, and officials are planning to kill 1.7 million chickens on a farm where the disease has been confirmed.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said Tuesday that the presence of the illness on an egg farm in Dixon County is the first one in Nebraska.

But bird flu is already widespread in neighboring Iowa where more than 26 million chickens have been lost. Officials routinely destroy the entire flock when the disease is found to limit its spread.

The Agriculture Department says the bird flu doesn’t represent a significant health risk to humans, and no human infections have been found.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 30-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a fire at an Omaha apartment.

Robert Camacho III was arrested Monday night on suspicion of first-degree arson following reports of a fire an apartment attached to a neighborhood bar. He is accused of and setting the building on fire.

The Omaha Fire Department says the blaze caused about $50,000 in damage. Flames extensively damaged the entryway and kitchen of a main-level apartment and the exterior of a second-floor apartment, while smoke damaged the connected Brick Street Tavern.

Omaha Police Officer Michael Pecha says Camacho fled on foot but was quickly taken into custody.

Camacho was being held at the Douglas County Corrections Center as of Tuesday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A rural Nebraska woman who reported her gibbons were stolen is now being charged with keeping the endangered apes as pets.

Nancy Stephens, of Doniphan, was charged Monday in U.S. District Court in Omaha with violating the Endangered Species Act, which prohibits the transportation, shipment or receipt of endangered species.

Court documents allege Stephens violated the act in February 2011. She reported the theft of her primates, Caylee and Cody, in September 2013.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Florida says deputies found Stephens’ gibbons during a traffic stop. The apes were placed in a Florida sanctuary, and their whereabouts are now unknown.

A plea hearing for Stephens is scheduled for May 26 in Lincoln. She couldn’t be reached for comment on the charges Monday.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Grand Island’s Fire Station 1 and a former Nebraska National Guard armory are two of several locations under consideration for a new 911 center.

The City Council is scheduled to meet Tuesday to consider awarding a $20,500 contract to Omaha architects to study possible 911 center locations and estimated costs.

Local emergency management director Jon Roselund says the architects will try to find at least four options. Each suggested location will have two price options, one for use as an alternate 911 center and one for a full-scale facility.

Roselund said locations that are near the city’s fiber optic corridor and are already owned by the city or the county take priority.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln residents and property owners have asked the City Council for help and future protection against another backup of raw sewage into their homes.

Residents recounted on Monday how sewage spilled from toilets, shower drains and basement floor drains in homes and apartments last Thursday. Heavy rain runoff had overwhelmed the wastewater treatment plant on Theresa Street, as it had in October, forcing the release of raw sewage.

Stephanie Sullivan says sewer water in her home was knee deep last week and told the council that, “We should not have sewer coming into our homes.”

Council members acknowledged the residents’ frustration and said city staffers will look into what the city can do to help out now and to prevent future backups.