VALLEY – Northeast Nebraska continues to be in a Winter Storm Warning until midnight tonight.  The Norfolk area saw about one inch of snowfall overnight.   In Northeast Nebraska, the snowfall amount is expected to be in the 2-4 inch range with 1 to 4 additional inches falling Saturday.  Weather officials say travel could become difficult at times.  Heavy snow is expected and some blowing snow is possible.  The combination of snowfall and winds of up to 30 miles per hour will reduce visibilities to a half mile or less at times.

NORFOLK – Norfolk City officials are asking residents to park off the streets when possible this weekend. If off-street parking is impossible, city officials say cars are to be parked on the even side of the street. Meanwhile, Police Chief Bill Mizner is offering tips for city travelers this weekend. Mizner says drivers should slow down, keep a greater difference between cars and stay off their phones. Mizner also says drivers should keep their gas tanks full and have emergency kits on-hand.

UNDATED— A handful of snow emergencies have already been issued due to the latest winter storm.  A snow emergency is in effect now for Woodland Park, the city of Albion, the city of Madison and the City of Pierce.   All snow emergencies will remain in effect until further notice.

NORFOLK– A fire at a Norfolk home Friday evening has caused $17,000 in damages and the cause is still being investigated.   Norfolk Fire Shift commander Steve Bettendorf says crews were called to a two-story home at 307 South 10th Street around 6:41pm.  The fire was located in the northwest bedroom and was extinguished within 10 minutes.  Bettendor says the home sustained heavy fire damage to the affected room with smoke damage throughout the rest of the home, which is owned by Mike and Debra Feauto.  Damage was estimated at 10-thousand dollars to the structure and seven-thousand dollars to the contents.  The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

NORFOLK– A 25-year-old Columbus man wanted in Platte County was arrested Friday afternoon in Norfolk.  Norfolk Police Chief Bill Mizner says officers were notified by Columbus Police that Jamie Macedo was believed to be working in Norfolk.  Macedo was wanted on a felony warrant for four counts of 1st degree sexual assault of a child.   Following an investigation, officers found Macedo at a Norfolk auto dealership at 414 East Norfolk Avenue. Macedo was arrested and taken to the Norfolk City Jail before being transferred to the Platte County Jail.

TORONTO (AP) – Canada’s prime minister is flexing his nation’s energy muscles with a visit to Beijing. That’s according to Chinese analysts who call Stephen Harper’s visit to China next week an ‘open warning’ to the Obama Administration. Last month President Barack Obama rejected a measure backed by Congressional Republicans to speed up construction of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline that would pass through Nebraska.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Former Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey is heading into another week with no decision on whether he’ll seek Nebraska’s open Senate seat.  That has some wondering if he’s waiting to see if Republican Gov. Dave Heineman will join the race.  Nebraska election law requires state office holders to file for election – even if it’s for a different office – by Feb. 15 this year. Non-office holders, like Kerrey, have until March 1 to file.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska lawmakers will debate a measure requiring all school children in the state to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of the school day. Senator Tony Fulton of Lincoln says most schools make students say the pledge up until about fifth grade but older students also need to be reminded about respect for the flag.

LINCOLN – If Nebraska’s inheritance tax is repealed, Gov. Dave Heineman says he’s willing to work with counties to offset the loss of revenue.  The repeal of the so-called “death tax” is part of Gov. Heineman’s tax cut package that’s currently in the State Legislature. County officials have raised concerns that the loss of inheritance tax revenue could mean higher property taxes at the county level. But Heineman says there are ways of avoiding that. Heineman says he believes county governments can trim enough expenses to offset the revenue loss. He cited the state’s elimination of the inheritance tax in 2008 without raising taxes as an example.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Convicted killer Jon Lotter is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his appeal. Lotter is on death row in Nebraska for killing three people in 1993, including a woman who lived briefly as a man. The case inspired the 1999 movie “Boys Don’t Cry.”

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A Douglas County judge has rejected an appeal by death row inmate Carey Dean Moore.  Moore challenged the state’s intention to use lethal injections.  District Judge Thomas Otepka ruled Thursday that the process of execution is not the same as the death sentence itself, so any errors in the steps toward the execution don’t void the sentence.  Moore was convicted of killing two Omaha cab drivers in 1979.   Moore’s attorney, Jerry Soucie, questions the legality of Nebraska’s purchase of a key drug from an Indian company. Soucie says Friday no decision on Moore’s next court step will be made for several weeks.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – A 15-year-old North Platte student has been arrested, accused of branding another teenager during a welding class. The North Platte Telegraph reports the alleged assault occurred Tuesday at North Platte High School. The injured teen has been treated while the suspect is due in court on February 29th.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The unusually warm winter weather allowed the Army Corps of Engineers to clear out some additional flood-storage space in the Missouri River’s reservoirs.  The corps said Friday it has about 16.8 million acre-feet of space for floodwater in the reservoirs. That’s about 500,000
acre-feet more than normal.  Jody Farhat, who oversees the six dams along the river, says the corps was able to release more water than usual from the reservoirs in December and January because of unseasonably warm temperatures.  Officials are predicting 25.6 million acre-feet of runoff this
year. That would be slightly above normal but well below last year’s record 61.2 million acre-feet of runoff.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Anyone planning to a Super Bowl party this weekend should make sure they know how to defend against foodborne illnesses.  Experts at the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service say a few simple steps can greatly reduce the chance of illnesses.  First, anyone preparing food should be sure to wash their hands and their preparation areas before and after handling food.  Second, it’s important to keep ready-to-eat foods separate from uncooked foods, like raw meat, so there’s little chance of the fresh foods becoming contaminated with bacteria.  Third, all meat needs to be cooked to a safe internal temperature, and a meat thermometer should be used to check that.  And the USDA says any food that’s left out at room temperature for more than two hours should be discarded.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)