LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is looking for ways to stop rural population losses through a proposed institute that would focus on improving Nebraska’s small towns. University officials hope to launch the Rural Futures Institute in September, drawing from $1.5 million a year in existing funding. Ronnie Green, the vice chancellor of the university’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, says the issue is important for Nebraska but has implications beyond the state. The university committed $1.5 million a year in 2002 to an initiative that was used to pay for rural revitalization efforts. Green says that money would go to the Rural Futures Institute, and officials would seek additional funding.