(AP) — Authorities say a 9-year-old boy was killed after he was pinned beneath farm equipment that was being used to clear brush.

The boy was standing behind the machine around 4 p.m. Saturday near Greenwood, in Cass County, when it backed over him.

Capt. Dave Lamprecht of the Cass County Sheriff’s office says authorities consider the incident an accident. Lamprecht says the boy’s family is from Ashland, and owned property with residences in Cass County. Lamprecht declined to identify the boy.

(AP) — An Omaha teenager has been arrested in connection with an armed robbery of a Lincoln convenience store.

Police say the 17-year-old and three other males entered the U-Stop store shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday and demanded money, while one of the suspects flashed a gun. The four males took beer, cigarettes and cash, and three got into a vehicle and drove away.

The fourth ran away, but was later caught with a large sum of money and a .50-caliber revolver.

The 17-year-old faces charges of armed robbery and used of a weapon to commit a felony. He was still in police custody on Sunday.

(AP) — A large brush fire in eastern Nebraska forced the evacuation of a farm and educational complex that houses dozens of animals.

Fire crews from Omaha and Bellevue spent hours on Saturday fighting the blaze, which had flames that reached 20 to 25 feet high. Crews brought the fire under control, but were still working Sunday morning to tamp down smoldering hot spots.

The fire Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue was between a Missouri River levee and nearby railroad tracks. It forced the evacuation of the Gifford Farm, an educational complex that houses dozens of animals. Bellevue firefighters were expected to meet with farm employees Sunday to determine when the workers and animals can return.

The fire’s origin has not been confirmed.

(AP) — Lincoln city officials have hired a local law firm to handle union contract negotiations for the second bargaining season in a row.

John Hewitt, an attorney with the Cline Williams law firm, will act as the city’s chief negotiator in bargaining with the five unions whose contracts end this summer.

Hewitt will also help the city develop goals and proposals, and advise on strategy and state law. The $125,000 contract with his firm also requires that he be available to talk with the council or at news conferences.

The city has paid Cline Williams $146,021 over the past two years for similar services.

Mayor Chris Beutler says the city uses a private-sector negotiator to avoid potential conflicts of interest.

(AP) — Kevin Sharp, a country music singer who recorded multiple chart-topping songs and survived a well-publicized battle with cancer, has died. He was 43.

His sister Mary Huston says Sharp died in Fair Oaks, Calif., at 10:49 p.m. Saturday of complications from past stomach surgeries and digestive issues.

Sharp gained fame with the release of “Nobody Knows,” a single on his 1996 debut album “Measure of a Man.” He released two other albums, “Love Is” in 1998 and “Make A Wish” in 2005.

Born in 1970 in Redding, Calif., Sharp was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, which he overcame after two years of chemotherapy and radiation.

Sharp became a motivational speaker, a spokesman for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and wrote “Tragedy’s Gift,” a 2004 book about fighting cancer.

(AP) — A team of University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers is examining part of a 110-year-old sod house.

The researchers are working with a 4-foot-by-8-foot section of a wall from a house built in Custer County in 1902 or 1903.

Professor Dave Wedin says the sod house section offers a rare chance to study plant and soil samples from more than 100 years ago.

Other researchers will try to learn more about the bugs and other pests that bothered pioneers.

Several students from schools in Custer County have also been able to participate in the research. Ansley Public Schools teacher Brandon Grosserode says the project taught students about the history of the area.

(AP) — A rural water district in southeast Nebraska and local firefighters are locking horns over the fire department’s use of fire hydrants connected to the rural district’s system.

Cass County Rural Water District No. 1 has sent certified letters to local fire departments — including Plattsmouth, Nehawka and Murray — saying hydrants on its system are not to be used for fighting fires. The district fears that pressure from fire trucks could break the district’s plastic water lines and contaminate drinking water.

The request has riled firefighters, who say they likely will use the hydrants in life-and-death situations. One fire official hinted at drawing law enforcement into the fray, saying that interfering with a firefighter during an emergency is a criminal offense.

(AP) — Police are investigating an explosion in a south Omaha neighborhood that blew a hole in a pickup windshield and damaged a second nearby car.

Police say no one was injured in the blast.

Police say officers in the area heard the explosion and saw a bright flash. They found pickup that appeared to have had an explosive device detonate on its windshield. Besides the hole in the windshield, the explosion also damaged the truck’s dashboard.

The department’s bomb squad was sent to the scene and is conducting an investigation. No arrests have been made.

(AP) — A Grand Island man accused of killing one of his passengers in a crash has pleaded guilty to four charges in a deal with prosecutors.

30-year-old Hermino Alamilla Jr. pleaded guilty Friday in Hall County District Court to felony motor vehicle homicide, refusal to test and obstructing a police officer. He also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault with a bodily fluid for spitting at a sheriff’s deputy.

In exchange, a charge of being a habitual criminal was dropped.

Authorities say Alamilla was driving recklessly on Aug. 19 south of Grand Island when he lost control of his car. One of Alamilla’s passengers died after being thrown from the car.

Alamilla will be sentenced June 24. He remains in jail on $100,000 bail.

(AP) — Law enforcement officials are investigating the death of a 38-year-old woman whose body was found in a Norfolk home.

Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger says Keisha Spears was found dead at about 4 a.m. Thursday after someone called 911.

Unger says the cause and manner of Spears’ death are still unknown, but that officials are hoping autopsy results will provide more clues.

Spears’ body was found in the home of Kevin Broberg.

Broberg was in Stanton County Court earlier this week, where he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of false reporting. That charge stems from a case where authorities say they found Spears with her hands and feet bound in Broberg’s house.

Unger says Broberg is cooperating with investigators.