OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha Public Schools board has decided to keep its current superintendent on the job for another year while it resets a search for a permanent replacement.

The board voted 7-2 Monday to start hammering out a new contract to temporarily keep Superintendent Mark Evans, who had previously announced he would retire in June. The decision is a move several members say will keep the district on a steady path while they pause its superintendent search and focus on the district’s other myriad issues.

Keeping Evans on the job should make sure a leader is in place for the next school year, after the search for a new superintendent stalled out last month when all three final candidates withdrew from consideration.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a 17-month-old girl who was shot in the head at an apartment in northwest Omaha.

Police say a distraught man got into a private vehicle and took the bleeding toddler to a hospital around 3:40 p.m. Monday after the shooting at the Pine Tree Apartments.

On Tuesday police identified the girl as Ma’Laya Buie. Investigators haven’t released any information about how the shooting occurred.

OTOE, Neb. (AP) — No injuries or building damage has been reported from a tornado that touched down in southeast Nebraska.

The National Weather Service says it formed near Otoe and lasted about 10 minutes Saturday afternoon. Another funnel cloud was reported Saturday night six miles west of Stella in Richardson County.

The service also says hail as big as 2½ inches in diameter was reported in eastern Nebraska.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man wounded in an apartment complex parking lot has died at an Omaha hospital.

Police say officers sent to investigate reports of gunshots found 26-year-old Trent Stutheit around 8:05 p.m. Sunday. He was taken to Creighton University Medical Center. Police say he died there.

No arrests have been reported.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The City of Lincoln will begin a program to keep veterans or active duty military members facing felony criminal charges out of prison and to get them the support and services they need to stay out of trouble.

The Veterans Treatment Court will swear in three mentors Wednesday. The mentors, all veterans, will later be paired with participants.

Lincoln coordinator Tony Conell says the program will soon start screening potential candidates and go to the Veterans Court Committee to decide if they’re eligible.

Candidates must have to have served in combat, have a mental health diagnosis, be eligible for Veterans Administration benefits and not have a long criminal history prior to their service.

The program will be the second of its kind in Nebraska.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man is taking road repair into his own hands by patching hundreds of potholes near his home over the past several years.

62-year-old Steve Robinson lives on a street that, like others in the area, is not paved with concrete and makes the driving surface very rough.

Robinson estimates that by summer’s end he will have spent $10,000 on 10 tons of pothole patch.

The streets are part of an estimated 300 lane miles in Omaha that weren’t built to city code, which the city stops maintaining once those roads become too worn down.

Robinson says he would prefer that Omaha city crews at least “did minimal maintenance.”

Mayor Jean Stothert said Tuesday she plans to formalize a city ordinance to pay for at least half the cost of street pavement.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — Cargill will celebrate the $111 million expansion of its plant in Columbus this week.

Gov. Pete Ricketts and other state officials are expected to join company executives at the plant Thursday.

The project converted the plant from a ground beef operation to a cooked meat facility that makes cooked ground beef, sausage and hot dogs.

Cargill says it expects to eventually have about 460 employees at the plant to handle peak production. That’s up from 240 before the conversion.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An inaugural ceremony will take place next week for Nebraska’s newest target court: the Lancaster County Veterans Treatment Court.

The special court is just for veterans, similar to drug courts especially for non-violent, first-time offenders better served by treatment than jail.

The veterans court ceremony is set for Wednesday afternoon in Lincoln’s City-County Building.

The new court is only for veterans who’ve suffered traumatic brain injury or developed post-traumatic stress disorder as the result of serving in a combat zone.

Participants would have to plead guilty to their crimes before being allowed to enter the special court. Their charges would be dismissed if they complete requirements set by the judges.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The Grand Island City Council has hired a company to assist the city with deciding how to use land that will become available when the veterans home moves to another town.

The council unanimously voted Tuesday to approve a resolution to enter into a contract with Olsson Associates to review possible uses for the land.

Jeff Palik of Olsson says the company intends to have multiple public meetings to gather input from Grand Island residents on the land’s new purpose.

Mayor Jeremy Jensen says there are many residents who feel the land should be given back to the veterans and urges citizens to “trust that we are doing things the right way” by preserving the heritage of the Grand Island Veterans Home.