LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A University of Nebraska-Lincoln highrise dorm that officials have wanted to close for three years will instead house students again this year.

Pound Hall will remain open this fall.

Plans were first announced in 2013 to close the dorm. In 2014, UNL reopened six floors for about 200 students, while last year, the dorm housed about 200 students on 10 of Pound’s 12 floors.

Director of University Housing Sue Gildersleeve estimated 11 of the 12 floors will be used this year. Gildersleeve estimates between 6,500 and 6,600 students will live in university housing this year.

Reopening Pound, built in 1963, comes despite several on- and off-campus student apartments opening in recent years.

JACKSON, Neb. (AP) — A 10-year-old boy is the third to die after a single-vehicle crash in Nebraska.

The Dakota County Sheriff’s Office says Jose Lara, of Council Bluffs, died from his injuries Thursday evening at a hospital.

Deputies were called Thursday morning to a crash on U.S. Highway 20 near Jackson, Nebraska. The vehicle went over an embankment and into a creek.

The driver, 45-year-old Christopher Cox, told police that he swerved to avoid hitting a deer. He has been charged with two counts of motor vehicle homicide and one count of driving without a license. Authorities say additional charges against Cox may be filed.

Court records don’t list an attorney who could comment for Cox.

Two passengers, 57-year-old Connie Fauzae and 9-year-old Esperanza Lara, were pronounced dead at the scene.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man has been sentenced to about six months in jail for a fatal December crash that killed his best friend.

A judge on Thursday handed over the 180-day jail sentence for 20-year-old DeAngelo Peak.

The crash occurred Dec. 23 in northwest Omaha when a sport utility vehicle driven by Peak ran off the road and hit a tree. Police say there were icy patches on the roadway but that the primary cause of the crash was speeding.

A passenger, 20-year-old Marcus Haney of Bennington, died at the scene. Peak was treated for a head injury and cuts at a hospital.

He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide charge.

Peak apologized to Haney’s family through tears Thursday, and they accepted the apology.

JACKSON, Neb. (AP) — Two Council Bluffs residents, including a 9-year-old girl, have died in an early-morning crash in Nebraska.

The Dakota County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called around 3:30 a.m. Thursday to a single-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 20 near Jackson, Nebraska. The vehicle went over an embankment and into a creek on the side of the highway.

The driver, 45-year-old Christopher Cox, was able to get out of the vehicle and climb to the road. Cox, who had been released from the hospital, told police that he swerved to avoid hitting a deer.

Two passengers, 57-year-old Connie Fauzae and 9-year-old Espionza Lara, were pronounced dead at the scene.

A third passenger, 10-year-old Jose Lara, was taken by helicopter to a Sioux City hospital. He is on life support.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials at Grace University in Omaha are asking alumni and students for financial support as the institution looks to restructure.

President Emeritus James Eckman said in separate letters to alumni and students that the university is asking for a “sacrificial gift” to “sustain the school during these summer months.”

Eckman said in the letter that the board is assessing the school’s entire athletic program. He said that the board believes that significant changes need to be made at the school, which will necessitate the reallocation of university funds.

The newspaper says that Grace listed two lots for sale at its Little Italy campus last month, and that data from Nebraska’s Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education shows the school had an estimated enrollment of 465 students last year.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — The Fremont school district’s Sensory Courtyard will remain open for a few hours a week over the summer, thanks to an agreement with an organization that helps people who have intellectual disabilities.

Sensory Courtyard was developed by Mary Robinson, a teacher of the blind and visually impaired. The 2,400-square-foot space at the district administration center has specialized areas designed to spark one or more of the five senses.

The district’s partnership with Mosaic in Northeast Nebraska lets the facility stay open six hours a week this summer. The arrangement helps Mosaic’s adult patients learn real-world social and work skills as they greet visitors and clean up.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An 11-year-old girl whose scalp was partially torn off when her hair got caught in the gears of a carnival ride has been released from an Omaha hospital.

Nebraska Medicine spokesman Taylor Wilson said Thursday that Elizabeth “Lulu” Gilreath left Nebraska Medical Center on Tuesday. She’d been a patient at the hospital since May 7, when she fell to the floor of a spinning ride at a Cinco de Mayo festival in Omaha. Her ponytail got caught in the ride’s moving parts.

Lulu’s mother, Virginia Cooksey, says her daughter’s had several surgeries and likely will have more. Doctors say the girl did not suffer brain trauma or fractures.

Nebraska investigators found no indication that the spinning ride was malfunctioning when the incident occurred.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A Gage County prosecutor has been named a district judge in the Nebraska’s 1st Judicial District.

The office of Gov. Peter Ricketts announced Wednesday that he’d selected Rick Schreiner to replace Judge Paul Korslund, who retired April 1. Ricketts’ office says Schreiner has been chief deputy county attorney for Gage County since 2007.

Before becoming a prosecutor, Schreiner was a police officer in Nebraska City and a sheriff’s deputy for the Otoe County Sheriff”s Office. He also practiced law in Nebraska City.

The 1st Judicial District covers southeastern Nebraska. The judgeship is based in Beatrice at the Gage County Courthouse.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A 30-year employee of the Grand Island police department has been recommended by the city’s mayor as the next chief.

Grand Island Mayor Jeremy Jensen announced Wednesday that he will recommend Police Capt. Robert Falldorf to become the city’s next chief.

The City Council will review the recommendation Tuesday. If approved, Falldorf will succeed Steve Lamken, who is retiring, on June 20.

Fifty-one-year-old Falldorf is a Grand Island native who has worked for the department since 1986. He has worked in all three of the department’s divisions — patrol, criminal investigations and administration.

It was announced that he was one of two finalists for the position on May 26. The other finalist was Jeff Wooten, a longtime Army administrator of military police.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 71-year-old Hastings man has been killed in a collision on U.S. Highway 281 in Adams County.

The crash was reported Wednesday night about four miles north of Hastings. The Nebraska State Patrol says a northbound car crossed the median and rammed into an oncoming car driven by Robert Samuelson, who was fatally injured.

The other driver was taken to a Hastings hospital. The crash is being investigated.