The number of cyclosporiasis cases in Douglas County is increasing. The Douglas County Health Department announced yesterday that the number of cases in the county has risen from 27 to 35.The source of the local parasite outbreak has not been confirmed. Symptoms of the virus include diarrhea, nausea, and fatigue.
A series of wildfires near North Platte are contained. The fires were reported yesterday near Highway 83 and West Dodge Hill Road, and evacuations were issued. The fires destroyed one outbuilding and damaged another. No injuries were reported.
Omaha Public Schools officials are presenting a plan to close a 50-million dollar budget gap resulting from a state aid miscalculation. The district said Tuesday it'll address the shortfall through a lower pay increase for staff, a property tax levy increase and a 27-million draw from its reserves. Omaha School Board President Jane Erdenberger said students will not feel the effects of the cuts. OPS also reported progress toward its goal of having all students reading at grade level by 2030, noting progress at Adams Elementary, Indian Hill and Chandler View.
A group seeking to make changes to city elections in Lincoln submitted petition signatures to the clerk's office. Good Government Lincoln turned in more than 97-hundred signatures for petition that aim to change the dates of city elections, let certain outside city limits vote in municipal elections and place term limits on Lincoln City Council members. Former state senator Tony Fulton says submitting the signatures "is a big step toward giving Lincoln voters the final say." Meanwhile, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird says the petitions are "a direct attempt to rewrite the rules of our local elections, shorten my final term in office, and weaken the voices of taxpayers."
Former University of Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne is the first living member to be nominated to the Nebraska Hall of Fame. The Nebraska Hall of Fame Commission voted unanimously yesterday to nominate Osborne to the hall. Under the previous rules, a person was required to have been dead for at least 35 years to be considered for induction.
Dozens of guns are taken off Omaha area streets. The FBI Omaha office has announced that agents seized more than 70 guns and more than 40-thousand-dollars in cash in a gun trafficking investigation. Jose Gerardo Ruiz-Alonso was arrested on gun charges, and the investigation began after a bank tipped off authorities after Ruiz-Alonzo's business showed signs of money laundering. He is also allegedly in the country illegally after overstaying a tourist visa in 2012.