(AP) — Registered nurses can now earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing in as little as nine months.

UNMC says its revised program, which is geared toward registered nurses with an associate’s degree or diploma in nursing, better reflects the changing environment in health care.

The change is part of an initiative launched in 2010 to solve Nebraska’s nursing shortage, projected to grow to nearly 4,000 nurses by 2020. The goal is to boost enrollment and graduation rates and accelerate programs.

The new curriculum reduces the required credit hours from 24 to 20, which also decreases the cost. The college is accepting applications through April 1 for its fall semester, which begins in August.

(AP) — One person has been hospitalized after a fire that lightly damaged an apartment in north-central Omaha.

The fire was reported just before 10 p.m. Sunday.

One person was treated for burned feet and was taken to a hospital.

Battalion Chief Zach Ryan says the grease fire caused little damage to the apartment.

(AP) — A 45-year-old Colorado man has been given 60 days in Lancaster County Jail and five years of probation for being caught with 476 pounds of marijuana.

Shane Peterson, of Grand Junction, Colo., was sentenced last week. He’d pleaded no contest to possession of cocaine and guilty to possession of more than a pound of marijuana.

His attorney, Scott Helvie, says Peterson was hauling auto parts when he was pulled over in Lancaster County on Jan. 10 last year. Helvie says his client had no idea he was hauling so much marijuana and says Peterson cooperated with law enforcement after he was stopped.

(AP) — A proposal to spend $2.5 million in state money for bronze fountains at the Nebraska Capitol is now in the hands of a legislative committee.

Sen. John Nelson of Omaha argued Monday that the funding would help complete a state icon that was never finished. The fountains would sit in the each of the Capitol’s four interior courtyards, but the work was halted because of the Depression.

The project would coincide with a build-up to Nebraska’s 150th anniversary as a state. Some senators questioned whether the desire for fountains outweighed basic maintenance needs at the Capitol, including leaky office windows, peeling paint and upgrades to the ventilation system.

The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee took no immediate action on the bill.

(AP) — A former day care provider in Omaha has pleaded no contest to a charge in connection with the death of a 1-year-old boy.

Elizabeth Harding made the plea Monday in Douglas County District Court on a charge of child neglect resulting in death. It means she concedes prosecutors have enough evidence to convict her but it’s not an admission of guilt.

A judge then found the 34-year-old Harding guilty.

Investigators say Harding was watching Chase Hunter in February 2013 when she put the child to sleep in an unbuckled car seat. Investigators say the seatbelt harness fatally wrapped around his neck.

Harding was watching multiple children at the time and was unlicensed to care for them. She faces up to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced in April.

(AP) — A new study says gay and bisexual teen boys use illicit steroids at a rate almost six times higher than do straight kids.

The authors say that dramatic disparity highlights a need to reach out to this group.

Overall, 21 percent of gay or bisexual boys said they had ever used steroids. That’s versus 4 percent of straight boys. Eight percent of gay or bi teens, and less than 2 percent of straight kids, reported taking steroid pills or injections up to 40 times.

Reasons for the differences are unclear. The study authors said it’s possible gay and bi boys feel more pressure to achieve a bulked-up “ideal” male physique, or that they think muscle-building steroids will help them fend off bullies.

Their research was released Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

(AP) — The Sigma Chi fraternity is continues to rebuild at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln five years after it was suspended over hazing allegations.

The fraternity is recruiting new members to prepare for its official reinstatement on May 1.

The Sigma Chi fraternity house has undergone a $2.6 million renovation, and officials say hazing is longer tolerated. And members have been educated about alcohol.

UNL Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Juan Franco says the fraternity has worked hard to improve its image and cultivate quality leadership.

Sigma Chi’s recovery could serve as a model for another troubled UNL fraternity. Sigma Nu is facing disciplinary action after dozens of code violations were found there last month.

(AP) — The owners of a $22 million grain elevator where one silo collapsed last month hope to reopen the facility in time for this fall’s harvest in southern Nebraska.

It might take several more weeks for investigators and structural engineers to determine why a silo collapsed at the elevator near Fairmont that opened less than a year ago.

The grain elevator owned by CPI of Hastings and the Lansing Trade Group of Overland Park, Kan., has seven other silos that appear to be intact.

Bob Fifield of CPI says all the silos are being emptied as a precaution before demolition of the damaged silo. The grain is being moved to the company’s other locations.

(AP) — Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to give a speech in the Omaha area in March.

The Ralston Arena says Clinton will speak at 8 p.m. on March 20.

Arena Manager Paul Hendrickson says he wanted to book Clinton as part his plan to attract big name acts that appeal to a variety of audiences. Last week, Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly appeared at the arena.

Tickets for the Clinton speech start at $49 for standing-room only and go up to $500 for front-row tickets that offer the chance to meet the former president. The arena will be set up for 5,700 people.

Hendrickson says the event isn’t tied to any campaign, and Clinton will decide what topics to address.

The Ralston arena opened in the fall of 2012.