BLAIR, Neb. (AP) — Midland University has dropped plans to reopen the former Dana College campus in Blair.

The university announced Friday that it will focus on improvements in its Fremont campus and on finding a permanent home for MBA, other graduate and nontraditional programs in Omaha.

In June 2013 Midland announced that it was raising money to use on the Dana campus. The 126-year-old Lutheran college closed in 2010, and many of its students transferred to Midland University in Fremont, about 20 miles away.

Midland officials say the Dana campus required a significant amount of money to maintain an aging physical plant and a challenging path to acquire accreditation. The officials concluded that the costs of reopening Dana were prohibitive compared to other growth options.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha school district is considering cutting down on use of substitute teachers for high school juniors and seniors as it struggles to close a $5.4 million budget gap.

Westside High School estimates that it could save $75,000 next year if fewer substitute teachers were hired.

The plan would give teachers discretion to decide if their students need a substitute teacher of can work independently. Officials say the high school already encourages such student responsibility and time management through its schedule that’s similar to college.

Westside borrowed the idea from Minnesota high schools, but it hasn’t been tested in the metro area. Some local officials express skepticism that it’ll catch on.

A list of 30 other potential cuts could affect bus routes, summer camps and teaching staff.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A man and a child have been rescued from a slide at a closed water park in Columbus.

The child crawled under a fence Thursday at Pawnee Plunge Water Park and the man climbed over the fence in pursuit. Columbus police officer Buddy Maschmeier says the child climbed stairs of a slide but the man followed and managed to reach the child before the child could drop out the exit into an empty pool.

The man tried to get out of the slide but injured an ankle in the attempt. He climbed back up the stairs and slid down to the child to await rescue. Their names have not been released.

Police and firefighters soon arrived to help the pair reach safety.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Trials have been scheduled for a former public announcer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium.

Fifty-year-old Patrick Combs is accused of bilking hundreds of thousands of dollars from two elderly women. He’s pleaded not guilty to charges of theft, abuse of a vulnerable adult and other crimes. Authorities say Combs spent about $363,000 of the women’s money on cars, home repairs and gifts. His attorney has said police and prosecutors rushed to judgment and filed unfounded charges against Combs.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports (https://bit.ly/1Z94K3F ) that the first trial is set to begin April 4 and the second in June.