News from and about the cities and states of the Big Ten universities:

Bedbugs detected in more Nebraska university rooms

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Bedbugs have been detected in more dorm rooms at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

A website posting from Sue Gildersleeve, the university's housing director, says a bedbug-sniffing dog and its handler swept Abel Hall on Sunday. Gildersleeve says bedbugs were detected in four rooms on the ninth floor, three rooms on the eighth and one room on the seventh floor.

She says four small areas in Abel/Sandoz hall first-floor commons area also tested positive for bedbugs.

Bedbugs had already been detected in two other dorm rooms.

All of the areas were treated, and students were able to return to their rooms Sunday afternoon.

Last week, the Phi Delta Theta fraternity on campus reported experts had been called in to check a bedbug report from a member.

Explosion at UW chemistry building injures 1

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A small explosion inside a laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry building has sent one person to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

University of Wisconsin Police Department Sgt. Aaron Chapin says the explosion occurred around 9:30 a.m. Monday. He says one staff member was injured but his name was not being immediately released.

UW-Madison spokesman John Lucas says a lab experiment ignited and broke a glass container holding the chemicals. He says the person injured was cut by the glass.

Lucas says there was no fire and the building was not evacuated. Chapin says there were no street closures and the building remained opened except for the lab where the explosion occurred.

Iowa City police review board member wants to finish term

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A member of Iowa City's Police Citizens Review Board who filed a complaint against officers and was acquitted on charges after violence broke out at her daughter's birthday party says she plans to finish her term on the board.

But the Iowa City Press Citizen reports (http://icp-c.com/zdDwkf ) the city's police chief is questioning her ability to be objective.

Royceann Porter was found not guilty last year of maintaining a disorderly house. She later filed a complaint, claiming officers mistreated her, falsified statements in their reports and tried to get her fired from her job.

The board, without Porter's vote, decided the officers did nothing wrong.

Police Chief Sam Hargadine says he thinks it would be difficult for Porter to be objective given the circumstances.

Porter's term expires in September.

Ohio 2-year colleges asked for more convenience

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio's higher education chief has asked community colleges to consider making their class schedules more convenient for busy students who also work and have families.

Chancellor Jim Petro (PEE'-troh) wants the state's public, two-year schools to explore the idea of block scheduling. The Columbus Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/zUMowO ) classes would be offered back-to-back in clusters.

Petro says that would make it easier for students juggling job and home responsibilities to finish their studies and get their degrees.

Right now, only about 9 percent of Ohio community college students are able to graduate within three years.

Executive Director Ronald Abrams with the Ohio Association of Community Colleges says block scheduling is already used in nursing and some technical programs and could be expanded.

Protesters look for way to remain at Lincoln spot

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Occupy protesters want to remain at Centennial Mall in Lincoln.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports (http://bit.ly/yuq9Qy) the protesters have sent a message to the city, saying they do not intend to prevent renovation work from beginning. But, they say, their work at the mall "is not yet ready to end."

The group says it hopes to work with city officials on finding a way to stay.

The city has set a March 1 deadline for the protesters to remove their encampment so the city can use the area as a staging site for contractors working on the mall.

The Occupy movement began in New York, decrying what protesters see as corporate greed and the growing gap between rich and poor.

Geological Survey chief to visit Indiana U.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — The nation's top geologist will discuss fossil fuel resources and communities' ability to recover from earthquakes in two lectures at Indiana University.

U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt will speak Feb. 6 at the school's Bloomington campus. The lectures are free and open to the public.

The first lecture in the Geology Building will focus on how various communities have prepared for and coped with the destruction of earthquakes. She will examine how building codes and other factors affect the extent of damage.

The second lecture in the Fine Arts Auditorium will review the U.S. outlook for fossil fuel development.