WINNEBAGO, Neb. (AP) — An election has been scheduled to replace three Winnebago tribal council members who resigned after an investigation showed that council members had given themselves raises and bonuses.

The election is set for May 5.

Council members Travis Mallory and Morgan Earth resigned in March, and chairman John Blackhawk resigned last week, ending his 20 years as chairman of the nine-member council.

A tribal investigative committee released its report in February detailing the allegations. It said the council gave itself salary increases of 35 percent in fiscal year 2013 and that at least one council member gave loans to family members. The committee said it also found that council members received bonuses with no evidence that those bonuses were approved by the council.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Gov. Sam Brownback has signed legislation making Kansas the first state to ban a common second-trimester abortion procedure that critics describe as dismembering a fetus.

Brownback signed the measure Tuesday in a private ceremony at the governor’s residence. A photo posted by his office on Twitter shows him flanked by anti-abortion leaders and large photos of fetuses.

The new law, which takes effect July 1, bans the dilation and evacuation procedure, and redefines the method as “dismemberment abortion.”

The method is commonly used in second-trimester abortions nationwide and in about 9 percent of the abortions in Kansas. Abortion-rights supporters say the method is sometimes the safest for a woman terminating her pregnancy.

The National Right to Life Committee drafted the measure. Similar measures are being considered in other states.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A Columbus man accused of hitting his girlfriend’s 1-year-old son is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

Online court records say 24-year-old Ryan Roberts pleaded no contest and was convicted of negligent child abuse resulting in injury. Prosecutors dropped a second count in exchange for Roberts’ plea. His sentencing is set for May 15.

Roberts acknowledged that he backhanded the little boy in the mouth after the boy bit him.

The boy’s mother, 20-year-old Jodie Shelly, has pleaded not guilty to two counts felony child abuse involving her 3-year-old daughter. Shelly’s trial is scheduled to begin on June 15.

A court document says Shelly acknowledged having an anger problem and that “she grabs her daughter too firmly when she is whining or arguing with her brother.”

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are holding someone suspected of starting a fire at a hotel near the Lincoln airport.

The Lincoln Police Department says 33-year-old Joshua Berney, of Thornton, Colorado, reported the blaze from his room at the Holiday Inn Express just before 4 a.m. Monday. He was taken to a hospital to be checked for smoke inhalation and was later jailed on suspicion of committing first-degree arson.

Fire sprinklers helped contain the flames to just one hotel room on the second floor, but smoke escaped into hallways. Thirty-five hotel guests were evacuated during the fire.

Investigator Chuck Schweitzer says bedding, a pillow and some of Berney’s personal belongings were ignited.

Police Capt. Bob Farber says investigators have concluded that the fire was intentionally set. The blaze caused at least $150,000 in damage.

BRUNSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say two young boys died Sunday from injuries sustained when two vehicles collided north of Brunsville.

The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office says one vehicle was heading east and the other was traveling north when they collided at an intersection about 8 p.m. Sunday and rolled onto their roofs. Nine-year-old Adan Perez-Antonio, of Sioux City, died at the scene of the crash.

Authorities say 8-year-old Shawn Perez-Antonio was airlifted to Mercy Medical Center-Sioux City and transferred to the Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, where he was later pronounced dead.

Six others were transported to Floyd Valley Hospital in Le Mars. Their names and conditions haven’t been released.

The collision remains under investigation.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a body was found submerged in a creek behind a Lincoln university’s science research center over the weekend.

Police have identified the man as 45-year-old James C. Lawrence. Authorities say they don’t believe Lawrence had any affiliation to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Police were notified Saturday about the body by a faculty member who had been walking through the wooded and marshy area with his son. Investigators say they aren’t sure how long Lawrence was in the creek before he was found.

UNL Police Assistant Chief Charlotte Evans says autopsy results didn’t reveal any evidence of violence, but that police are waiting for toxicology results to determine how Lawrence died.

University police and the Lincoln Police Department’s crime scene unit are conducting a joint investigation.

MANLEY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a drowning that occurred in a pond on an eastern Nebraska farm was likely accidental.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Department says the body of Michael F. Sanford, of Omaha, was removed from the pond Friday, about a mile and a half west of Manley. Sanford’s family and friends called the sheriff’s office after the man didn’t return from an overnight fishing trip.

Lt. Larry Burke says Sanford appeared to have been fishing from the edge of the pond when he may have slipped and entered the water. He was believed to be alone at the time of his drowning.

Burke says the incident appears to be an accident, but that authorities are waiting on a toxicology report before drawing any conclusions.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 16-year-old boy has been arrested after he shot and wounded his younger brother with a homemade weapon.

Emergency crews arrived around 5 p.m. Friday at an Omaha home to find a projectile had struck a 13-year-old boy. He was transported to Nebraska Medicine, where he underwent surgery and is expected to remain for observation until at least Tuesday.

The older brother was taken to the Douglas County Youth Center on counts of second-degree assault and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

The boys’ mother said a makeshift bullet that discharged from a homemade musket sliced through a plastic sled the young boy was using as a shield. She says the incident was accidental.

The 16-year-old has since been released from the youth facility.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a 64-year-old man has been critically injured in a shooting in Omaha.

Arthur Henderson was listed in critical but stable condition following the shooting around 6:20 a.m. Monday.

Officers reported to Creighton University Medical Center to learn that Henderson had been taken into surgery for a life-threatening gunshot wound. Further information wasn’t immediately available.

Police say the case remains under investigation. No arrests have been made.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say five men broke into an Omaha school and robbed a teacher who was working in her classroom.

The Omaha Police Department says the men entered the Integrated Learning Center about 5:30 p.m. Sunday. The group took several items in the school before two men broke off and entered a classroom where the 65-year-old teacher was working.

The teacher tells police that one man threatened her with a hammer. Police say the pair then took her purse, cellphone, car keys and her Honda Fit.

Police say the men likely broke a window on the north side of the building to get inside. No arrests have been made. The case remains under investigation.

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