LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An ongoing partnership between fraternities, sororities, advisers and university staff has launched at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to find the path toward a national model of Greek life.

The initiative called #GreekVitality launched in April amid a wave of fraternity suspensions resulting from high-profile violations of the university student code of conduct.

Phi Kappa Theta President Benjamin Hintz says that bringing individual Greek houses together and pointing them to a shared goal will help refocus the system on its original mission.

Beta Theta Pi board member Mike Wortman says that frats need to be more deliberate in their recruiting, while upperclassmen and alumni must be aware of how they model appropriate behavior to new members.

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is accepting grant applications for parks, outdoor facilities and other projects promoting outdoor recreation.

The grants are funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program administered by the National Park Service for outdoor recreation projects.

Eligible projects include ballfields, soccer fields, swimming pools, picnicking facilities, playgrounds, pool renovations, splash pads, park acquisitions and development, and park-related support facilities.

Project sponsors must be a political subdivision, such as cities, county governments or Natural Resource Districts, and the deadline to apply is Oct. 13.

Information and application materials also are available at http://outdoornebraska.gov/lwcf/.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s victory for “Dunkirk” at the box office this weekend. Studios on Sunday say the Christopher Nolan World War II epic earned an estimated $50.5 million to top the charts, with $11.7 million of that coming from IMAX screens.

The well-reviewed Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish and Jada Pinkett Smith comedy “Girls Trip” also beat expectations, taking second place with $30.4 million. Audiences were 79 percent female and gave the film a coveted A+ CinemaScore.

Not so successful was Luc Besson’s $180 million sci-fi epic “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” which earned $17 million from North American theaters over the weekend.

Exposure was limited, however. Besson’s production company EuropaCorp says 90 percent of the budget was already covered by foreign pre-sales, equity financing and tax subsidies.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline rose about a penny nationally over the past two weeks, to $2.32.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that the slight increase comes after 11 weeks of decline.

The current price is about 10 cents above where it was a year ago.

Gas in Reno, Nevada, was the most expensive in the contiguous United States at an average of $2.99 a gallon. The cheapest was in Jackson, Mississippi, at $1.97 a gallon.

The U.S. average diesel price is $2.51, the same as it was two weeks ago.

OGALLALA, Neb. (AP) — The annual Kites and Castles event is scheduled for Saturday at Lake McConaughy (muh-KAH’-nuh-hay) State Recreation Area in western Nebraska’s Keith County.

The free event will be held in the southeast portion of Martin Bay.

Registration begins at 11 a.m. Sand castle building begins at noon and goes until 4 p.m. Winners will be announced at 5 p.m.

Go online at www.kitesandcastles.com for more information or to pre-register.

July 21, 2017

• Desmond Jamar Franklin-Robinson, 25, North Platte and Delilah Alyssa Delso, 25, North Platte

 

• Christopher Lee Knepp, 28, North Platte and Samantha Jo Tafoya, 22, North Platte

 

• Dillon John Mortensen, 26, Curtis and Beccah Jo Barnes, 25, Curtis

 

• Derrick Allen Knolles, 28, North Platte and Suzanne Joy Deardoff, 24, North Platte

 

• Chad Everett Carder, 46, North Platte and Stacy Christine Rogers, 47, North Platte

 

• Mitchell Hart Tatman, 33, Stapleton and Amber Lee Webster, 27, Stapleton

 

• Miguel Angel Sierra Riquelme, 30, North Platte and Sandra Mejia-Quezada, 28, North Platte

 

• Cory Michael Baker, 26, North Platte and Jewel Marie Kelsey, 19, North Platte

GERING, Neb. (AP) — A former baseball coach has been accused of stealing from a traveling baseball team in Scottsbluff.

Court records say 34-year-old Austin Martinez, of Scottsbluff, is charged with felony theft. Online court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for him.

A court document says he stole money from 23 Club from May 2015 to June 2017 while working as head coach and manager. Club officials have estimated that more than $5,000 was stolen.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Labor Department says the state’s preliminary unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.9 percent in June.

The department said in a report released Friday that the June rate was three-tenths of a point under the year-ago rate of 3.2 percent. The new rate also remained well below the U.S. rate of 4.5 percent in June.

The report says nonfarm employment is up more than 18,600 over the year and nearly 5,200 over the month.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — It’s unclear how soon Nebraska emergency dispatchers will be able to harness technologies that would bring the state’s 911 system into the smartphone age.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission and a public safety consulting firm called Mission Critical Partners have studied the transition to Next-Generation 911 since at least 2013. Last year lawmakers assigned the groups to create a plan for its implementation.

But a 100-page draft report that was released ahead of a Thursday hearing shows the consultants and the commission still haven’t settled on a path going forward.

The draft offers three options for the new system, ranging from a site-by-site revamp of existing 911 centers to an overhaul combining all 70 centers into six or 10 locations.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. (AP) — Hey veterans, you can soon shop tax free. Starting later this year, all honorably discharged veterans will be eligible to shop tax-free online at the Army & Air Force Exchange Service with the same discounts they enjoyed at stores on base while they were in the military.

The group that runs thousands of stores on U.S. Army and Air Force bases worldwide is about to gain 13 million potential new customers. That will give the Exchange more ammunition in its fight against Amazon and other retailers for veterans’ online shopping dollars. It’s the latest way the organization is trying to keep its customers as the armed forces shrink and airmen and soldiers buy more for delivery.

Veterans can sign up now at www.vetverify.com to be eligible.