COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A year after strong winds uprooted a tree that crushed the Civil War memorial in the eastern Nebraska city of Columbus, restoration of the monument is complete.

A life-sized eagle statue was the last piece put into place on Friday to finish restoration of the monument in time for Memorial Day.

Workers had already installed the granite pillar on which the eagle statue sits and remounted two cannons that flank the statue in Frankfort Square

The memorial, dedicated March 15, 1900, has the names of more than 140 Civil War veterans engraved in it.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The city of Grand Island is taking steps to conduct groundwater testing near the site of the city’s former landfill.

The Grand Island City Council will consider on Tuesday night hiring an Omaha engineering firm to conduct the testing, expected to cost about $80,000.

Grand Island Public Works Director John Collins says the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality ordered the city to conduct testing on 47 acres in southern Hall County that the city leased for a landfill from July 1966 through February 1984.

The order came in October 2013, based on a 2007 complaint that DEQ has been researching. That research detected four volatile organic compounds in groundwater in the area.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha college hopes a $10 million dorm specifically for single mothers will lead to improved graduation and success rates among its students trying to juggle schoolwork with motherhood.

The College of St. Mary has offered single mothers on-campus housing since 2000, but a dedicated residence hall was built for the Mothers Living and Learning program in 2012.

The cost for the specialized dorm is the same as living in the college’s other on-campus housing, and the mothers pay the same tuition rates. But their children eat free on their meal plan, and they have a built-in support system of baby sitters and a network of college staffers who consider the moms’ success to be their jobs.

WATFORD CITY, N.D. (AP) — A National Weather Service team is heading to western North Dakota to assess the strength of a tornado that injured nine people and destroyed eight trailers at a workers’ camp in the heart of the state’s booming oil patch.

Meteorologist Todd Hamilton said two meteorologists and an emergency response specialist will on Tuesday rate the tornado that struck the previous evening just south of Watford City.

McKenzie County Emergency Manager Jerry Samuelson says a 15-year-old girl has critical injuries and is being treated at a Minot hospital. Samuelson says he does not know the nature of her injuries.

More thunderstorms are moving through the area, but Hamilton says the threat of more tornadoes on Tuesday is small.

RAYMOND, Neb. (AP) — A 21-year-old man is expected to survive after suffering serious injuries in a boating accident on Memorial Day.

Lancaster County Sheriff’s Capt. Ben Houchin said the man was one of five passengers in the boat Monday on Branched Oak Lake near Raymond. Houchin says the man was thrown into the lake after its driver made a sharp turn.

The man was then hit by the boat’s propeller, causing major injuries to his chest and an arm.

The man was taken to the dock, where off-duty nurses assisted in first aid until an emergency helicopter could take him to a Lincoln hospital.

Nebraska Game and Parks officials are investigating. No charges or citations have been issued.

Alert officers with the Omaha Police Department were able to quickly arrest a suspect in an attempted child abduction.

Omaha police responded to the report of an attempted child abduction in the area of 38th and Parker Streets, on Thursday.

While en route, Officer Jason Brandt contacted the caller, who was the father of the children.  He advised that the driver of a blue van attempted to lure his children, ages 6 and 10, into the van.

When that attempt failed, police say the driver, Sean Collins, chased the children on foot until they were able to enter their home and escape.

As officers approached, they saw the suspect van turn off its lights, and a female subject was observed running from an open door.

Authorities say Collins collided with a parked car before fleeing the area.

Believing there may be an abducted child in the vehicle, officers, with the support of OPD’s helicopter, Able-1, pursued the van.

The chase crossed over state lines and into Council Bluffs, at which time officers with the Council Bluffs Police Department joined the pursuit and unsuccessfully attempted a pit maneuver on Collins’ van.

Collins then headed back into Omaha, via Interstate 480, before crashing into two vehicles at 14th and Dodge Streets.

He then exited the van, which was stolen, and attempted to carjack one of the vehicles he had just crashed into.

Police say Collins’ attempt was ended when officers subdued him and placed him under arrest.

Collins has been charged with attempted abduction, attempted robbery, flight to avoid arrest and theft by receiving.

According to jail records, Collins also had one active felony warrant and two active misdemeanor warrants.

Authorities say Collins may be involved in other attempted child abductions.  The investigation is ongoing.

Video of chase courtesy of the Omaha Police Department