(AP) — Authorities say a 34-year-old Council Bluffs woman sought in Nebraska has been arrested after trying to write a bad check at a store.

Amy Jo Hockabout was arrested Tuesday night at a Menards store. Police say Menards security called to report that Hockabout was trying to buy $170 worth of merchandise. Council Bluffs police Sgt. David Dawson says Hockabout had 30 counterfeit checks and nine fake driver’s licenses with her.

Hockabout faces Iowa charges for forgery and falsifying public documents. Online court records don’t list the name of her attorney.

Nebraska court records say Hockabout is wanted in Omaha because she didn’t show up for sentencing in a forgery case.

(AP) — Two murals being painted on the rear outside wall of a coffeehouse in Hastings are serving as the final for a Hastings College art class.

One mural has a cornfield scene, and the other includes an urban skyline. They grace a wall of the Blue Moon Coffee Co. downtown.

The six artists are members of Steve Snell’s advanced painting class. He said Tuesday that the murals will take about a week to finish and will replace a test as the class final.

The paintings are the first college murals in downtown. Snell says he hopes there will be more from students in his future classes.

(AP) — The eastbound and westbound Interstate 80 ramps at the Waverly interchange will be temporarily closed Friday night.

The Nebraska Roads Department says the Exit 409 closures are scheduled to begin at 11 p.m. The ramps are set to be reopened at 6 a.m. Saturday.

The closures will accommodate a contractor doing asphalt work on U.S. Highway 6.

Traffic on U.S. Highway 6 will be detoured from the Waverly interchange. Westbound travelers on I-80 wishing to exit onto U.S. 6 will be detoured at the Greenwood interchange, Exit 420. Eastbound I-80 travelers wishing to access U.S. 6 will be detoured to Exit 405 in Lincoln.

(AP) — Police are looking for three men caught on surveillance video stealing marijuana plants from a Denver grow house.

The men took 25 mature plants, estimated to be worth about $13,000, during the April 23 burglary at Chronic Therapy.

They are shown taking plant after plant. Then one of them notices a surveillance camera and tries to cover it with a towel. Another suspect then smashes it with a hammer.

Tipsters can remain anonymous and are eligible to get a reward up to $2,000.

(AP) — More than a dozen people have gathered at a restaurant in eastern Nebraska to discuss their guns and their right to carry them in the open.

Among those with holstered weapons was Taylor Crawford, who had a 9 mm handgun on one hip and a 6-month-old baby on the other. The Lincoln Journal Star says her husband, Nicolas Crawford, had organized Tuesday’s event at the Round the Bend Steakhouse in Ashland.

It’s legal to openly carry a firearm in Nebraska, but state law lets local governments impose restrictions. A permit is needed to carry a concealed weapon.

Nicolas Crawford says he wants to educate the public and get people used to seeing firearms being carried openly. He says he feels “like a billboard for responsible gun owners.”

(AP) — Authorities say the death of a woman found near a fire in Omaha is being investigated as a homicide.

Omaha police say 30-year-old Amanda M. Brown was found south of downtown Omaha by firefighters Tuesday night. Fire crews were dispatched to battle a blaze near railroad tracks in a wooded, brushy area used by homeless people.

Officials say it’s unclear how Brown died. An autopsy has been ordered.

(AP) — A 82-year-woman has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in connection with a March crash that killed a bicyclist.

Ruth Jeffers pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge on Wednesday.

Authorities say Jeffers swerved across a traffic lane in March and struck 56-year-old Jim Johnston. He later died at a hospital.

Prosecutors say Jeffers swerved to avoid a stopped car in front of her.

Jeffers faces up to one year in jail or up to two years of probation when she’s sentenced in August.

(AP) — An Omaha teenager convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend has been sentenced to several decades in prison.

Douglas County District Judge Russell Bowie gave Justin Lenz on Wednesday a 60- to 80-year sentence. He pleaded guilty last August to second-degree murder in the May 2012 death of 16-year-old Melanie Koontz.

Lenz must serve 30 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

Koontz’ body was found in an Omaha creek. Investigators say she was strangled.

(AP) — Engine problems forced a San Francisco-bound United Airlines jetliner to land in Lincoln.

The Boeing 757 flight crew shut down one of its two engines before landing safely around 1:10 p.m. Tuesday. United Flight 297 was carrying 168 people from Boston.

The passengers spent much of the afternoon awaiting another plane, and they left Lincoln around 7:40 p.m.

(AP) — A 90-year-old Indiana man who hauled more than a ton of cocaine into Michigan for a Mexican drug cartel has been sentenced to three years in prison on his birthday.

Leo Sharp says he’s “really heartbroken” over his crimes. Detroit federal Judge Nancy Edmunds says age and World War II service aren’t enough to keep Sharp out of prison. She calls the case “difficult and disgusting.”

Sharp of Michigan City, Indiana, was sentenced Wednesday, seven months after pleading guilty. Prosecutors had recommended five years in prison, a substantial break from the guidelines.

Defense attorney Darryl Goldberg says Sharp has dementia and will do poorly in prison. He says prison is “not how we honor our heroes.” Sharp was awarded a Bronze Star in World War II.