LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Halloween and favorite fall activities are already taking place at state parks around Nebraska.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says several Halloween-themed events in October are being held at state park areas to bring families outdoors.

Besides trick-or-treating, parks also offer pumpkin carving, campsite decorating, hayrack rides, hikes, crafts, pumpkin rolls, and other activities.

Several parks — including those in Gering, Ponca, and Shubert — are starting this weekend, with candy, decorating and spooky attractions being offered Saturday.

More information on the events can be found online at www.outdoornebraska.gov/parkevents. A park entry permit is required of each vehicle entering a state park area.

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — The driver of a loaded concrete truck that last year tipped onto a car near Omaha, killing two people, has been found not guilty of two misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide counts.

Television station KETV reports that a jury found 21-year-old Austin Holloway, of Fremont, not guilty on Friday.

Holloway was on trial for the Oct. 25 deaths of Michael Dearden and Phillip Hertel, both 23, who were killed when Holloway’s truck tipped while turning at a La Vista intersection.

Prosecutors argued that Holloway was going too fast for the turn. But Holloway’s attorneys said Holloway’s employer, Consolidated Concrete, overloaded the truck, causing it to tip. They also showed the truck hadn’t been cleaned of dried concrete in months and that the company had ignored Holloway’s written complaints before the crash that the truck was unsafe.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is offering special antlerless deer hunts at Eugene T. Mahoney and Platte River state parks as well as Schramm Park State Recreation Area.

Successful applicants will get a special permit that allows them to hunt antlerless deer in designated areas of a park on certain dates, using specific equipment. Those applicants and interested alternates must attend an orientation session to receive the permit.

Applications are limited to one per person and will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Oct. 31. A drawings will be held Nov. 6 if officials receive more applications than they can accommodate.

Applications are available at www.outdoornebraska.org or by calling Mahoney at 402-944-2523, Platte River State Park at 402-234-2217, Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium at 402-332-3901, or the Lincoln district office at 402-471-5431.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln’s police chief is concerned that the Omaha Police Department is actively recruiting officers from Lincoln as part of an aggressive effort to bolster the Omaha ranks.

Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister told The Lincoln Journal Star that his officers have received emails and phone calls attempting to lure them to Omaha. Bliemeister says he’s worried his department will see an “exodus” of officers. Four Lincoln police officers joined the Omaha department last year.

Omaha police officials hope to increase the number of officers from about 820 to 900 by 2019. Lincoln has about 350 officers, Bliemeister said.

Bliemeister said Lincoln, which has seen violent crime decline by nearly a third in the past decade, may not need to pursue a similar massive hiring effort. The city could have a difficult time keeping pace with the Omaha department, he said.

“We would have to hire 185 officers today, which is impossible,” Bliemeister said.

Recruiting that many officers could cost up to $16 million annually, and there aren’t enough interested people. A decade ago, 680 people applied to the department’s recruiting class, with 30 hired as officers, Bliemeister said. Applications have dropped this year and the department doesn’t want to compromise hiring standards, he said.

Bliemeister told the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce at a recent luncheon that the community can help by encouraging talented people with an interest in service to consider becoming a police officer.

“Send them to us,” he said.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — More than 50,000 utility customers are without power after heavy, wet snow blanketed eastern Nebraska.

The Omaha Public Power District says 51,000 customers lacked power at 5 p.m. Sunday. That was down from a peak of about 56,000.

In Lincoln, about 5,000 utility customers lost power.

Between 2 and 3 inches of snow fell across most of eastern Nebraska.

It’s not clear yet how long it will take to restore power.

OPPD spokeswoman Laura King-Holman says people who lose power should try not to open their fridges and freezers, so food will last as long as possible.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a teen has died in a crash on a southwest Omaha street.

Police say the crash happened just after 6:30 a.m. on South 192nd Street when a southbound car crossed into the northbound lane, left the roadway and hit a utility pole.

Police say the driver and lone occupant of the car was 17-year-old George Gervase, of Omaha. Police say he was declared dead at the scene.

The cause of the crash in under investigation.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge will decide whether the University of Nebraska-Lincoln must turn over any records withheld from a fraternity that was suspended following accusations of hazing, alcohol abuse and inappropriate behavior.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that the university’s records director, Erin Bush, has withheld nearly 1,700 records from Phi Gamma Delta, which is suspended until 2020. Members had been accused of making vulgar comments to women during last year’s Women’s March in Lincoln.

Administrators say an investigation into the Women’s March allegations led to a discovery of broader conduct issues.

Bush says most of the records are being kept confidential because they were part of Title IX investigations.

The fraternity seeks more information on investigations into members’ alleged wrongdoing. Attorney Brian Brislen says UNL didn’t appropriately exercise its redaction capabilities.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Police say a man fatally injured in a Lincoln house explosion intentionally caused the blast of natural gas so he could kill his wife as well.

Jim and Jeanne Jasa died weeks after the April 14, 2017, explosion that destroyed their home and damaged nearly three dozen more in the neighborhood.

On Thursday Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister characterized the explosion as a murder-suicide. The State Fire Marshal’s Agency ruled out an external gas leak as the cause, and police concluded natural gas provider Black Hills Energy wasn’t responsible.

Relatives have filed claims against the city, Lancaster County and Black Hills, alleging negligence. One of their attorneys, Brian Jorde (JOR’-dee), says he and his client need to review the investigation findings with police before deciding whether to press the claim.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A local prosecutor says a 16-year-old Omaha, Nebraska, student accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend at the high school they both attend will likely be tried as an adult.

Officials tell the Omaha World-Herald that the boy was upset that the 15-year-old girl had broken off their relationship. Police say he ambushed the girl Tuesday afternoon in a Burke High School hallway when she left class to go to the bathroom. Investigators say she ran after he stabbed her once, but he chased her down and stabbed her several more times before trying to slash his own throat.

A school resource officer responded, taking the knife and administering first aid to both teens, who remain hospitalized in serious condition. Both are expected to survive.

The stabbing led to a school lockdown that lasted about two hours.

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP), with assistance from the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and the Lincoln Police Department, have apprehended five juveniles who were involved in a pursuit Wednesday afternoon, October 10.

The pursuit began at approximately 1:55 p.m. when the Lincoln Police Department informed NSP of a suspected stolen 2018 Nissan Sentra traveling eastbound on I-80. A State Trooper attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle refused to stop. A pursuit was initiated near mile marker 416. The vehicle exited I-80 at mile marker 420 and turned southbound on Highway 63 before turning westbound on Church Road toward Greenwood.

At Greenwood, the Sentra turned westbound onto Highway 6 and continued at a high rate of speed. During the pursuit, speeds reached 107 miles per hour.

Spike strips were successfully deployed by Lancaster County Sheriff’s Deputies bringing the vehicle to a stop near Waverly. All five occupants fled on foot, but were all taken into custody by multiple agencies on scene.

The driver, a 15-year-old male, was cited for felony flight to avoid arrest and willful reckless driving. He was lodged at the Youth Attention Center. The other four juveniles were released to their parents. The Lincoln Police Department is continuing an investigation into the stolen vehicle.