OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The death earlier this month of a western Nebraska man has been linked to a multi-state outbreak of listeria, state health officials announced Friday.

A statement from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said tests showed the man in his 80s had contracted a strain of listeria that has been linked to cantaloupes recalled by a Colorado farm.

Nebraska’s chief medical officer, Dr. Joann Schaefer, declined to provide further details about the man and his death to The Associated Press, citing privacy law. She noted that the illness is not contagious.

In addition to the death, Nebraska health officials have confirmed six cases of listeriosis. All of the sick Nebraska residents have been or are hospitalized.

The outbreak has been traced to cantaloupes from Jensen Farms in Holly, Colo., which has recalled the tainted produce. At least eight people have died and 55 others have been sickened in 14 states since Aug. 4, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Jensen Farms said the recalled Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupes were shipped from July 29-Sept. 10 to Illinois, Wyoming, Tennessee, Utah, Texas, Colorado, Minnesota, Kansas, New Mexico, North Carolina, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The FDA said it is possible the company distributed to other states as well.

The recalled cantaloupe may be labeled “Colorado Grown,” “Distributed by Frontera Produce,” “Jensenfarms.com” or “Sweet Rocky Fords.” Not all of the recalled cantaloupes are labeled with a sticker. The company has said it has hired an independent food safety expert to help determine the cause of the problem and how to address it.

While most healthy adults can consume listeria with no ill effects, it can kill the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. It is also dangerous to pregnant women because it easily passes through to the fetus.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Sept. 21 “News from Around the Farm World” carried an item from The Associated Press stating Indiana animal health officials had euthanized 15 beef cattle in southeastern Indiana after they tested positive for bovine tuberculosis (TB).

According to a Board of Animal Health (BOAH) spokesperson, Janelle Thompson, these cattle were the ones reported euthanized in early 2011, and are not recently-slaughtered animals. She explained last Friday that BOAH and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources recently concluded their joint investigation of the region surrounding the TB-positive herd in southeastern Indiana, and had issued a press release to that effect – which contained reference to the previously-euthanized cattle.

“We were letting everyone know we had finished the testing,” Thompson said, adding there are no new bovine TB cases detected there at this time.

LOGANSPORT, Ind. (AP) — Police have arrested a 75-year-old central Indiana man on charges he shot and killed a 76-year-old man.

Loren Hamilton Fry of rural Logansport was being held without bond in Cass County Jail Sept. 21 on a preliminary charge of murder. A jail officer said at the time she didn’t know if he had an attorney.

Authorities say Fry is charged with the shooting death of Dave Schroder, who was found dead in his vehicle Sept. 20. The Pharos-Tribune reported that Prosecutor Kevin Enyeart said police hadn’t recovered the murder weapon, but he believed it was a low-caliber gun.

Enyeart said both men were farmers.

PINCKNEYVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Authorities said a 21-year-old man was killed while trying to build a grain bin in southern Illinois’ Perry County.

Coroner Paul Searby told KFVS-TV Keven Cibrowski of Trenton died Sept. 21 when he was crushed by a piece of a tower that fell on him during the construction project near Pinckneyville.

Cibrowski graduated in 2008 from Trenton’s Wesclin High School, where he participated in soccer and track. Services were Monday at Trenton’s Moss Funeral Home, followed by burial in St. Mary’s Cemetery.