Wednesday News Gram

Partly cloudy, windy and warmer today with a high of 58 and west winds at 20 to 30 with gusts to near 40 mph by afternoon. Cloudy tonight with a 20 percent chance of rain and snow with a low of 35 and west winds 15 to 30 mph. Partly cloudy, breezy and cooler tomorrow with a high of 45 with northwest winds 20 to 30 with gusts to near 4 mph. Clear and colder tomorrow night with a low of 22 and northwest winds 15 to 30 mph. Clear Friday and Saturday with highs of 40-45 and lows of 25-30. Partly cloudy Sunday with a high of 45. Partly cloudy Sunday night with a 20 percent chance of snow with a low of 20. Partly cloudy Monday with a high of 30 and a low of 15. Partly cloudy Tuesday with a 20 percent chance of snow with a high of 32. Yesterday's high was 48 and the 24-hour low was 30.

Local officials say a child is in good condition at Good Samaritan Hospital after suffering injuries in a townhouse fire at 4024 Pony Express Road in Kearney. The fire broke out in a bedroom on the second floor Monday night around seven. 3-year-old Payton Houston was at home with her mother, Melissa Lawsen, and another adult when the fire started. Payton was taken to the hospital with burns. Lawsen told police the fire may have started from a candle burning in her bedroom. At the height of the fire, the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department had 46 firefighters and five trucks at the scene. KVFD had the blaze under control in about 40 minutes. The department estimates damage to the duplex at $75,000. The American Red Cross responded to the scene with assistance for the residents of the townhouse.

Authorities say an 87-year-old Grand Island man whose body was found lying in a ditch alongside a county road likely died of exposure. A news release from the Hall County Sheriff's Office says the body was found Monday afternoon. It was identified as that of Jose Felix Rodriguez. Rodriquez was reported missing on Sunday evening. The sheriff's office says he'd last been seen at his home around 10 o'clock that morning. Family members reported that Rodriquez didn't return from his daily walk and that it wasn't unusual for him to become confused. The sheriff's office says there are no signs that Rodriguez was a crime victim, but the investigation into his death is continuing.

Nebraska state troopers have seized more than 52 pounds of marijuana and arrested six people after four recent traffic stops. The Nebraska State Patrol says the stops were made along Interstate 80. Two were made Sunday and two on Monday. One man was arrested and 6.5 pounds of marijuana was seized on Monday near Grand Island. Monday's second stop occurred near the Lincoln Airport exit. The driver and a passenger were arrested and 25.7 pounds of pot was seized. Late Sunday morning, a pickup driver was arrested and 15.1 pounds of marijuana was seized in north Lincoln. On Sunday night, a driver and a passenger were arrested and 4.8 pounds of marijuana was seized near Kearney.

Members of more than 20 organizations are rallying against a bill that would require Nebraska voters to show a government-issued photo ID before casting their ballots. More than 70 people filled the rotunda at the Capitol on Tuesday in opposition to Legislative Bill 239. Lawmakers were scheduled to debate the measure Tuesday, but action was delayed until later. Several senators also plan a filibuster to kill the bill. Adam Morfeld is the executive director of Nebraskans for Civic Reform. He says requiring voter ID is unnecessary. He says it's costly to taxpayers and harms seniors and low-income citizens. Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont is the sponsor of the ID bill. He has said 46 states have reported voter fraud and Nebraska needs to improve its mechanisms to detect potential fraud.

Members of the Nebraska Legislature would be able to serve three terms rather than two, under a proposed constitutional amendment up for debate. Lawmakers on Wednesday will discuss whether to allow voters to decide in November to boost term limits from eight years to 12 years. Nebraska senators have said repeatedly this session that current term limits restrict the level of experience and knowledge in the lawmaking process. Supporters say adding an extra term would be good for the people and for the state of Nebraska. Opponents of the plan say senators are already asking for a pay raise starting next year and it would appear inappropriate to ask for more money and longer terms in the same year.

Three endangered whooping cranes have stopped at Jeffrey Island in the Platte River in central Nebraska. The Lincoln Journal Star says the cranes landed Feb. 2 in the first confirmed sighting of the birds since the seven-mile-long island was turned into a wildlife habitat more than a decade ago. Jeffrey Island is between Overton and Lexington. The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District has spent nearly $9 million to lease the 4,000 acre island to attract whooping cranes and two other endangered species. District spokesman Mike Drain says the district had to develop wildlife habitat areas as part of its federal license for Kingsley Dam at Lake McConaughy, the state's largest irrigation and hydroelectric reservoir.