NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Agriculture Department is moving one of its service centers in northeast Nebraska from Battle Creek to Norfolk.

The USDA says the move is part of an effort to consolidate its offices in Madison County.

The Battle Creek office will begin moving on Wednesday and reopen in the new location on Sept. 4.

The move affects offices for the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Rural Development.

The USDA says all those employees will be reachable at the Norfolk office number of (402) 371-5350.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a 27-year-old man who died after falling from the top of a sport utility vehicle in Lincoln.

The accident occurred around 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Police say James Rubio was a passenger in the SUV. An accident report says Rubio told the driver it would be fun to climb out of the SUV’s sunroof while the SUV was still moving. Rubio did so and then fell. Police say he died at the scene.

Blood tests were performed on the driver, 34-year-old Lindsey McCallister, and an autopsy was ordered for Rubio’s body.

DENVER (AP) — Colorado prison officials waited nearly a year and a half to report the death of a mentally ill inmate to health officials, delaying an outside review into policies and procedures that may have led to the death.

State health officials launched an investigation this summer into Christopher Lopez’s death. He suffered two seizures and died on a cell floor at San Carlos Correctional Facility on March 17, 2013.

Prison cameras captured the incident, and guards could be heard laughing and discussing their views on Wal-Mart. Lopez’s family has filed a lawsuit saying the guards ignored his needs and that Lopez had bipolar schizoaffective disorder.

Corrections Department spokeswoman Adrienne Jacobson says it wasn’t reported because Lopez didn’t die in the clinic.

Health officials say it must be reported because inmates get care in cells or the clinic.

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — New headstones mark the final Nebraska resting places of two veterans of the Civil War.

About 50 people gathered Sunday on a quiet hill at Best Cemetery west of Norfolk. They heard a musket volley following a headstone dedication ceremony.

One headstone was for John Wollert, who enlisted in the Union Army in 1864. In 1875 he and his wife filed a claim for a homestead north of Battle Creek and went on to have three children.

The other new headstone marked the grave of Marsee Besst, who enlisted with the 8th Iowa Volunteer Cavalry in 1863. Family members say the 1910 U.S. Census showed him living in Hall County. Records also show that he served as a Norfolk police officer for a time.

A traffic stop for following too close on Interstate 80 in Seward County led to the seizure of nearly 100 lbs. of marijuana and two arrests.

Around 11:00 a.m., Sunday, August 24, a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol stopped a 2005 Hyundai for Following Too Close on eastbound I-80 near the Beaver Crossing exit (mm368). The trooper was given consent to search the vehicle. The search led to the seizure of 99.6 lbs. of marijuana. The marijuana was located in a suitcase in the trunk of the vehicle.

The driver, Santiago Adame- Melchor, 26, of Aurora, Colo., and a passenger in the vehicle, Anahit Conejo-Galicoa, 26, of Aurora, Colo., were lodged in the Seward County Jail, each on a charge of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A bar and restaurant in Omaha’s Old Market district has won the first round in its bid to survive.

A Douglas County District Court judge on Friday granted an injunction that lets Maria Sangria remain open. The Omaha City Council had invoked what’s called its “good neighbor ordinance” to punish the nightspot, which nearby businesses and the police say has become a neighborhood headache.

Last Tuesday the council revoked Maria Sangria’s certificate of occupancy and voted to cancel its liquor license. The injunction lets the restaurant remain open pending further hearings and any state action on the nightspot’s liquor license.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A drowning has been reported at a private lake in rural Polk County.

Columbus Rescue was sent to Clear Lake West a little before 9:30 p.m. Saturday. The body of a male was recovered around 10 p.m.

More information about victim and what led up to his death hasn’t been released.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A member of Nebraska’s Omaha Tribe who leads traditional songs is receiving a national honor.

The National Endowment for the Arts says Rufus White has been named a 2014 National Heritage Fellow. He will be recognized at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 17.

White learned traditional songs and drumming techniques from his father and grandfather, who were both spiritual leaders.

Today, White is a resource for songs of the Omaha Tribe and he teaches about related customs and stories. He also teaches about the tribe’s cultural traditions and language.

White lives in Walthill.

 

ST. LOUIS (AP) — After weeks of community protests, the family of Michael Brown is asking for silence and peace as they lay him to rest.

The funeral Monday will be a chance for people to focus on mourning the 18-year-old who liked computer games and had been eager to start college.

Brown’s great uncle, a pastor, will deliver the eulogy. The Rev. Al Sharpton is also expected to speak. Sharpton says the day should be about Brown’s legacy and people’s memories.

Brown, who is black, was unarmed when he was shot Aug. 9 by a white officer.

Protesters have taken to the streets of Ferguson, calling for change and drawing national attention to issues surrounding race and policing.

A grand jury is considering evidence in the case. A federal investigation is also underway.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln Police are trying to determine why a 27-year-old man climbed out the sunroof of a sport-utility vehicle and died.

Police say the incident happened around 12:30 a.m. Sunday in southeast Lincoln.

Lincoln Police Capt. Michon Morrow says the man who was a passenger in the SUV climbed out of the sunroof and fell to the street.

The man died at the scene. Police did not immediately release his name Sunday.