Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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This past week, the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee held an interim hearing to discuss the status of highways and broadband in Nebraska. The Committee first heard from Director Vicki Kramer of the Nebraska Department of Transportation who testified that the impact of inflation is presenting challenges to fulfill future highway construction and maintenance projects. Nebraska’s current highway needs for the next 20 years currently sit at $16.9 billion, but when inflation is a...
Holt County Supervisors gave the nod to VRDG, LLC, for construction of a commercial solar conversion system, following a public hearing held Monday in O'Neill. Opponents expressed concerns about setbacks, environmental issues and health concerns, while proponents touted the tax advantages, seeing the system as a way to keep the family farm viable. The 325-megawatt nameplate capacity site will cover 300 Holt County acres, with the balance of construction set to take place in Knox County. It is...
The Legislature concluded the special session that was called to relieve property taxes on Aug. 20. After a contentious start, senators agreed to compromise on legislation that will frontload the Nebraska Property Tax Incentive Act credits from LB1107 (2020) directly onto taxpayer’s property tax statements, trim and adjust the state budget by $185 million and tighten existing property tax levy caps for counties, cities and villages to the greater of inflation or 0%. Of the 81 bills and 24 r...
It has been a very busy and productive past several months at the Nebraska Public Service Commission. As spring arrives, I wanted to share another quarterly update on the work over the past three months. I am Eric Kamler and I am your commissioner for the 4th District of the Public Service Commission, which covers 31 counties of Nebraska. The Nebraska PSC is an elected five-member statewide board that oversees several industries which affect our everyday lives including broadband internet and...
This month, three career and technical education organizations at Summerland Public Schools have attended state conventions, giving students an opportunity to show knowledge gained in the classroom and compete in a variet of events. FFA The Summerland FFA Chapter attended its state convention, in Lincoln, April 3 to 5. Two students received gold medals, including Jenna Funk in cooperative speaking and Braelyn Bergman, discovery speaking. Two groups received silver awards. The Conduct of Chapter...
When Gavin Whiting was a freshman at Summerland Public Schools, he decided to attend the kickoff meeting for a new activity - FFA. "I didn't know much about it ... It sounded like fun, so I figured I'd give it a try," said Whiting, who resides on a farm southwest of Ewing. That was two years and multiple FFA experiences ago. Since then, Whiting has participated in a variety of agriculture classes at Summerland Public Schools, participated in FFA leadership and career activities and currently...
Attorney General Mike Hilgers is now fighting prison reform measures he supported not too long ago as a state senator. That's politics. In the Attorney General 's office. Imagine that! Not hard to believe if you've been paying attention. The last AG walked in lockstep with the governor as did the guy before him, and ... Let's not forget Don Stenberg, the AG who wanted to be anything else, mostly US Senator (he took a shot and failed a couple times) and finally wound up as State Treasurer before...
The Legislature adjourned shortly after Memorial Day, but my duties as your representative continue at a fast pace. In the interim between the adjournment of the previous session and the convening of the next session, senators remain hard at work serving on special and select committees, studying subjects of local importance and addressing issues brought forward by constituents. During the session, I was appointed to serve on the LR178 Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Select Committee with six of...
A funeral service for James J. (Jim) Schmidt, 78, of Kennard will be Friday, March 17, at 11:30 a.m., at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Columbus. Visitation will be Thursday, March 16, from 5 to 7p.m., with a vigil to follow at 7 p.m., at McKown Funeral Home in Columbus. James Jerome (Jim) Schmidt died Monday, March 13, in Omaha. ~~~~~ Jim was born on May 27, 1944, in Columbus, to Julius and Vera (Schefcick) Schmidt. On March 1, 1969, he married Darlene Schindler of Ewing. They just...
A decision whether non-village employees should be allowed to remove snow from village streets was tabled during the Feb. 13 Clearwater trustees’ meeting. Village vice chairman, Cody Kester, said during recent snow storms, non-village employees had removed snow from village streets. “We have a town of great volunteers. With some of that happening, we do have a little bit of destruction and we want to mitigate that as much as possible and not expose ourselves to a bunch of liability,” he said. “I...
A decision on proposed planning and zoning regulations in Holt County will wait until at least Nov. 16. That's the next time county supervisors will meet in regular session, at 9:45 a.m., at the courthouse in O'Neill. For more than two and one-half hours area residents presented testimony, covering carbon dioxide pipelines, solar farms and wind energy, during an Oct. 31 public hearing. At the conclusion, county lawmakers failed to advance a motion, by Doug Frahm, which would have accepted all...
Nebraska is a land of pioneers. Our state was settled by hardy homesteaders who ventured across windswept prairies in search of opportunity. While we often celebrate the grit and determination of these early Nebraskans, they deserve equal credit for their ingenuity. Their inventiveness helped transform the Great Plains into some of the most productive agricultural land in the world. This spirit of innovation remains a driving force behind our state's global leadership in agriculture. Nebraskans...
Nebraska is experiencing terrific growth. We’ve seen big success creating jobs, cutting taxes and attracting investment to our state. Recently, I hosted Nebraska’s Ag and Economic Development Summit in Kearney. The summit convenes key leaders from across the state to discuss how to build on our strong momentum. Over the course of the summit, we dove into the challenges and opportunities we face as a state. Some topics are familiar: developing our workforce, opening new markets for Nebraska’s exp...
PROCEEDINGS ANTELOPE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Neligh, Nebraska Aug. 9, 2022 Vice-chairman opened meeting. Notice of meeting published as required by statute. Open meeting. Approved agenda and minutes of 08-02-2022 BOC meeting. Correspondence was reviewed. Treasurer’s fund balance report, treasurer’s miscellaneous revenue report, zoning permit report, clerk of the district court fee report and sheriff fee report for July. Approve payroll claims. Pledge collateral was reviewed. Approved vendor claims: General: A-1 FLAGS POLES & REPAIR ex 140...
Growing up on a hill overlooking North Omaha during World War II, Mary Carpenter remembers the numerous vegetable plots, called victory gardens, that dotted her Florence neighborhood. “Everybody had one,” said Carpenter, the reporter’s mother-in-law. “We grew everything - asparagus, potatoes, tomatoes, black raspberries, pears, even grapes. That’s what fed us and supplemented our food.” Over the ensuing decades, many of those gardens disappeared as grocery stores started carrying seasonal produce year round. Yet 80 years later, everything...
Since entering into force on July 1, 2020, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement has provided a powerful framework to fight for opportunity on behalf of American workers, producers and industry and has strengthened ties with our nation’s top two trade partners. Spearheaded by the Trump administration as a much-needed modernization of the North America Free Trade Agreement, USMCA won 474 “yea” votes across both chambers as it passed through Congress, the greatest level of bipartisan suppo...
While traveling the Third District in recent weeks, I have been encouraged by the expertise and creativity our communities possess and sobered by the challenges we face. We have much to be thankful for, but there is also no shortage to the adversity we must overcome. After closely monitoring the recent severe wildfires across southern Nebraska, I joined Governor Ricketts, Nebraska National Guard Adjutant General Daryl Bohac and other local officials earlier this week to survey the devastation...
Summerland FFA students competed in the state FFA convention, April 6 through 8, in Lincoln, with several students receiving recogntion. Madison Melcher and Dillon Moser earned state degree awards. Gavin Whiting participated in the ag issues academy. In leadership development events, Levi Cronk earned silver in natural resources speaking. Carlee Livingston earned bronze in creed speaking. Career development event awards are presented to the top half of individuals competing. Jacob Napier earned a red ribbon and Colton Thiele, white, in...
Merton L. "Cap" Dierks spent years serving as an advocate for agriculture and rural Nebraska issues, including education, wind energy development and the right to life. The longtime Ewing resident and former Nebraska legislator, died Friday, Oct. 22, from complications following a stroke, at Arbor Care Center, in O'Neill. Dierks was 89. His love of rural Nebraska began at birth, at his family's ranch, comprising six sections near Goose Lake, in southeastern Holt County. The ranch included a sod...
The Legislature continues to work through the stack of priority bills, sometimes working into the evening and adjourning between 8 and 10 p.m. Since my last column, we’ve debated a couple of bills related to property tax relief. The first, Senator Wayne’s LB 24, provides a sales tax exemption for municipal water bills. I had hoped that this would be packaged with my LB 2, which provides a reduction in agland valuations for school bonds approved after the effective date of the act. One would pro...
The Legislature debated several of my bills last week. On Tuesday afternoon, we debated my amendment to my LB 561, a bill to further define and implement the voter-approved initiative on casino gaming at racetracks. As 70% of the tax revenue derived from these casinos is dedicated to property tax relief, it is important to get this done right. Gambling is a divisive issue in our Legislature and the debate reflected that. After the question was divided on the issue of electronic keno, we spent a...
The work of the Legislature is now about getting bills to the floor for debate by the entire body. And that generally means a priority designation. Priority bills, one per senator, two per committee and twenty-five for the speaker, have now been designated. Senator Geist prioritized my LB 408, which provides for a 3 percent limit on annual increases in property tax askings. It may be debated on the floor of the legislature next week. Senator Slama prioritized my LB 139, which provides a measure...
It’s application time for one of the biggest youth agriculture outreach events in the state—the Nebraska Agricultural Youth Institute. This year, NAYI is celebrating 50 years of bringing together high school students to learn more about Nebraska agriculture, network with agriculture leaders and discover careers available in agriculture. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture sponsors and assists with coordinating NAYI every year. The institute will be held July 12 through 16, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s East Campus and will follow a...
Antelope County commissioners worked a little closer to resolving a plethora of road issues last week, although no decision was reached for bonding more work. The bulk of the July 7 meeting at the courthouse in Neligh was dedicated to county roads, in one form or another. After clearing the agenda of other business and more than an hour of discussion with road superintendent Aaron Boggs, an unofficial agreement was reached, giving Boggs direction to move forward with work on four heavily...
Antelope County commissioners approved an upgrade to security technology at the Antelope County Jail when they met at the courthouse in Neligh last week. After hearing some security-sensitive information during an executive session called on the advice of county attorney Joe Abler, the board heard a presentation by Rick Scheer with Control Masters, an Omaha technology company. Scheer said Control Masters is one of just a few companies in the country that provide corrections’ electronic services and he was asked to resolve some security e...
