LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — City officials and developers in rural Nebraska are closely watching a measure being considered in the Legislature that would create housing grants, but they acknowledge it won’t solve the problem of a dearth of workforce housing in small towns.

Local officials say housing is a crucial concern when towns try to attract new business, and a bill sponsored by Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg would provide grants for nonprofit development corporations that build or rehabilitate homes in any county with fewer than 100,000 residents. Groups that receive the grants would have to match the funds.

The bill could pass this week.

Williams acknowledges the bill won’t solve the problem of a lack of affordable housing but says it would create opportunities for communities to encourage more residential construction.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline rose 9 cents nationally over the past two weeks, to $2.43.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that increased oil prices and the U.S. missile strike on a Syrian air base contributed to the rise.

She says that unless oil prices retreat quickly, consumers should expect gasoline prices to climb a few more cents.

The national average is up 33 cents per gallon over the price a year ago.

Gas in San Francisco was the highest in the contiguous United States at an average of $3.01 a gallon Friday. The lowest was in Jackson, Mississippi, at $2.09 per gallon.

The U.S. average diesel price is $2.58, up 1 cent from two weeks ago.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The application period will open April 17 for the 2017 bighorn sheep permit lottery.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says only Nebraska residents are eligible.

The application period ends Aug. 4 and the permit will be drawn Aug. 17. A $29 nonrefundable application fee must accompany each application.

People can apply at a Nebraska Game and Parks office or online at OutdoorNebraska.org.

The 2017 bighorn sheep season runs Nov. 28 through Dec. 22.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska Board of Regents is expected to approve a new dean for the system’s College of Law.

Executive Vice Chancellor Donde Plowman announced the appointment Tuesday of Richard Moberly as the new law college dean. Moberly has been the law college’s interim leader for more than a year.

Plowman says Moberly is an “experienced educator and recognized scholar who has forged a reputation of supporting and building excellence within the college.”

Moberly has taught at Nebraska Law since 2004. He was named associate dean in 2011 and had been the college’s interim dean since February 2016. He succeeds Susan Poser, who left the university in 2015 to become provost at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska prison officials say a staff member was assaulted and a housing unit at a Lincoln prison set ablaze — the third fire set during an inmate uprising at a Nebraska prison in the last two years.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Correctional Services says the incident happened Friday evening, when a fire was set and a male staff member attacked around 7:30 p.m. at the Diagnostic and Evaluation Center in Lincoln. Officials say the staff member was not seriously hurt, and no other staff or inmates were injured.

Officials say Nebraska State Patrol troopers and prison emergency teams were able to quash the disturbance in less than two hours.

Officials have not detailed the extent of the damage to the housing unit where the fire occurred.