(AP) — Dennis Carlson, who heads the Nebraska Office of the Counsel for Discipline, has announced his plan to retire.

Carlson has served as counsel for discipline of the Nebraska Supreme Court since 1981. Prior to that, Carlson was a public defender in Lancaster County for seven years.

The office investigates and prosecutes attorneys who violate the rules of professional conduct as adopted by the Nebraska Supreme Court. The goal of the disciplinary system is to protect the public, the profession and justice system from unethical attorneys.

Chief Justice Michael Heavican says Carlson shaped the office into “an effective and efficient disciplinary body during the last 30 years.”

(AP) — Police are investing a fatal shooting that happened outside a northeast Omaha bar.

Shots were fired near 30th Street and Bedford Avenue around 1:45 a.m. Sunday.

When officers arrived, they found 29-year-old David Taplett with a gunshot wound outside the Stage II Lounge. Taplett died at the scene of the shooting.

Police did not immediately release other details of the shooting.

(AP) — Another Nebraska Wildland Fire Academy at Fort Robinson State Park in the Nebraska Panhandle is being held to train firefighters on how to respond to wildfires — and this year, the public is invited.

A Fire Weather Class on May 1 will be open to the public. The class will include a discussion of weather conditions that affect fire ignition, behavior and suppression.

Also, an incident management workshop and tabletop exercise on Tuesday scheduled for local emergency personnel will be open to anyone.

This year’s Nebraska Wildland Fire Academy continues through May 4.

(AP) — The Omaha Police Department and others will observe National Law Enforcement Memorial Week next month with a number of events.

The memorial week is observed May 11-17. Nebraska observances include a police vehicle display at the Omaha Storm Chasers baseball game on May 10, a vigil walk by Omaha police in downtown Omaha on May 13, and a Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony at Omaha Police Central Headquarters on May 15.

On May 12, dignitaries, Grand Island city officials, and honor guards from around the state will conduct services at the Nebraska Law Enforcement Memorial, near the entrance to Fonner Park in Grand Island.

A flag lowering ceremony will also be held on Offutt Air Force Base on May 16 to honor fallen police, military police and security officers.

(AP) — Authorities in eastern Nebraska say $23,000 has been seized following a traffic stop.

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy stopped a vehicle Thursday morning on Interstate 80 near Lincoln. The deputy was suspicious of the vehicle for allegedly driving too close to another vehicle.

Deputies found the money bundled in a suitcase in the car truck. A K-9 also found remnants of cocaine in a shaving cream container.

The driver, 28-year-old Jason Hacker, and a passenger, 33-year-old Dustin Mack, were arrested. Hack faces aiding and abetting charges and Mack faces possession of cocaine charges.

Court records do not list attorneys for the men.

(AP) — Officials plan to begin public fundraising soon for the new African Grasslands project at the zoo in Omaha.

Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium officials said in a news release Friday that the $70 million project is the largest in the zoo’s history. It will span 28 acres at the zoo, which sits on the southeast side of Omaha.

Construction on the first phase is expected to begin this summer and be completed and opened by the early summer of 2016. The second phase is expected to finished and opened within another year.

Officials say $30 million is still needed from the public, so the Raise Wild campaign will begin next month.

(AP) — A Missouri educator has been named the Grand Island campus president for Central Community College in Nebraska.

Dr. Thomas Walker Jr. will take over on July 7 for Alan Hartley, who’s been interim campus president since August. Walker also will serve as college vice president of student enrollment services.

Walker is vice president for student affairs at St. Louis Community College in Forest Park, Mo. Previous positions include dean of administrative services at Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, Mo., and dean of student services and enrollment management at Davidson County Community College in North Carolina.

Walker earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master of public administration degree and a doctoral degree in higher education administration from the University of Memphis.

(AP) — Adams County prosecutors have filed a juvenile charge of manslaughter against the 9-year-old brother of a Hastings boy who was shot to death last week.

The boy has been taken from his family’s home and placed in state care. He’s accused of firing a .22-caliber rifle bullet that struck 4-year-old Beau Pecor in the head the morning of April 18. Beau was pronounced dead later at a local hospital. Other family members were home when the shot was fired.

Authorities say the rifle is owned by the boyfriend of Beau’s mother. Neither adult has been charged.

The older brother’s name has not been released.

 

DENVER (AP) — The federal government has reluctantly agreed to let Colorado be the first state to collect taxes from the legal sale of recreational marijuana, but it has also made clear it doesn’t agree with the move and may try to stop it, if isn’t tightly controlled.

Instead of keeping a low profile with the money, however, some Colorado lawmakers are wanting to use the millions of dollars they’ve collected from pot sales to seek matching federal funds to keep kids of drugs.

The plan calls for transferring $3.5 million from the state’s marijuana cash fund to its general fund and then sending the same amount to a state department that would apply for the federal match.

Supporters say the move shouldn’t cause any concerns, it simply acknowledges and avoids potential conflict.

(AP) — A man removed from a Southwest Airlines aircraft in Omaha after he allegedly tried to open a door during the flight has pleaded not guilty to charges and will undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Thalken says a federal grand jury returned an indictment against 23-year-old Joshua Carl Suggs, of Sacramento, Calif. He will be evaluated then returned to federal court for a competency hearing.

Suggs has been charged with interfering with a flight crew in connection to the April 13 incident. The California-bound flight was diverted to Omaha after Suggs allegedly pushed his way past a flight attendant and tried to open a door. Several passengers helped restrain him.

Suggs’ attorney, James Martin Davis, requested the evaluation. He says his client needs help.