LINCOLN — With nearly 40,000 votes cast in the first two rounds of this year’s “Coolest Thing Made In Nebraska” competition, the field has been whittled to the final four contenders. The Coolest Thing contest, now in its fourth year, is organized by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Nebraska Manufacturing Alliance in partnership with Pinnacle Bank. It has become an increasingly popular way to highlight the state’s manufacturing industry, in which more than 100,000 Nebraskans work, said the chamber. The contest helps launch Manufacturing Month in Nebraska, in October. Wool Yarn: E.W.