OMAHA — Nebraska’s largest annual conference of real estate and development experts, now in its 37th year, is poised to recognize Omaha’s new $158 million public library as its pick for a project with extraordinary rippling impact.

Omaha Central Library, which saw roughly 145,000 visitors in its first two months after opening in April, is to receive the top “Summit Award” at the CRE Summit to be held Aug. 21 at CHI Health Center in downtown Omaha. 

CRETE — It was Fourth of July weekend, and the small city 30 minutes southwest of Lincoln didn’t have enough police officers to go around. 

There was one officer on duty when the call came in. When the officer arrived, an irate man, naked and armed with an ax, greeted them from his car. 

Meanwhile, routine complaints — about fireworks, noise, general holiday disruptions — continued. Frustration built as callers learned no officers were immediately available. 

DETROIT (AP) — A major new bridge linking Canada and the U.S. at Detroit opened Monday to trucks, cars and other vehicles, the climax of a yearslong project that lately had been bruised a bit by international politics.

Descendants of Gordie Howe, the hockey legend whose name is on the bridge, were among the first to cross over the Detroit River, which separates the Motor City from Windsor, Ontario. U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., rode a motorcycle, while Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer drove a Ford Mustang with the top down.