Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Renewable energy development, energy conservation and energy efficiency improvements offer an opportunity for rural communities to save money, become more energy-resilient and increase the reliability of the electric grid. While many Nebraska communities are interested in such improvements, the upfront costs associated with energy-related projects have often been initially prohibitive, until now. The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced a funding opportunity for Nebraska communities....
Nebraska residents should have easier access to public records under a bill that, in effect, overrules a recent Nebraska Supreme Court decision allowing the state to charge high amounts for retrieving public records. Gov. Jim Pillen signed Legislative Bill 43, adopting the First Freedom Act and new public record provisions, on Wednesday, March 27, after it unanimously passed in the Legislature, 39-0. The bill went into immediate effect due to an emergency clause. The emergency clause was added to an amendment inspired by Lincoln Sen. Danielle...
When we turn on a faucet, we expect the water filling the glass to be safe; however, a 2022 Gallup Poll reports that 57% of American adults worry about safe drinking water. Nebraskans are no different. According to Laura Nagengast, UNL Extension educator, 85% of Nebraskans rely on groundwater for drinking water. Since most of the state's groundwater comes from the Ogallala Aquifer, more people need to be aware of the role groundwater plays in their daily routines. Amy Latzel, environmental...
Ed. Note: Sen. Dorn’s letter to the editor is in regards to an editorial by J.L. Schmidt, statehouse correspondent for the Nebraska Press Association. A recent editorial in this publication showed no understanding of the constraints on city governments regarding rundown properties, citing LB 45. While it would be most desirable for all property owners to keep their properties in peak condition, that is not the reality; thus, communities across the state are left with buildings which continue to deteriorate. Let me start at the beginning of h...
The Upper Elkhorn Natural Resources District has updated its chemigation rules and regulations as they pertain to the Nebraska Chemigation Act. A public hearing was held Nov. 27, 2023, to review and adopt those changes. On Feb. 12, the UENRD received approval from the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy for the updated chemigation rules and regulations following a delay at the state level. The major change to the rules and regulations pertained to the fee structure, which was due, in part, to the chemigation program no longer being...
I'm sure that a year ago the Revitalize Rural Nebraska Grant Program proposed by Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams and passed by the Legislature sounded like a great deal. Administered by the Department of Environment and Energy, it's intended to provide money to help towns under 5,000 populations with the cost of clearing away rundown buildings. Some consideration is allegedly given to historic properties. But there's nothing really being done to address the root cause of the dilapidation. Dorn's heart...
ORDER RULE AMENDMENTS UPPER ELKHORN NATURAL RESOURCES DISTRICT Nov. 27, 2023 FINDINGS: 1. Nebraska Revised Statutes §46-701 et seq., provides the authority for the adoption and amendment of rules and regulations for the management of groundwater. 2. Notice of the Nov. 27, 2023, public hearing on the proposed chemigation rule and regulation amendments was published in accordance with state law in the following newspapers in general circulation in the Upper Elkhorn NRD: (a) Holt County Independent, (b) Atkinson Graphic, (c) Elgin Review, (d)...
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE UPPER ELKHORN NATURAL RESOURCES DISTRICT The Board of Directors of the Upper Elkhorn Natural Resources District (“board”) will hold a public hearing at 12:30 p.m., on Nov. 27th, 2023, at the Upper Elkhorn Natural Resources District office, 301 North Harrison Street, in O’Neill, Nebraska, 68763. This is not a question-and-answer hearing. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony relevant to the adoption of proposed amendments to the district’s chemigation rules and regulations. A summary of the proposed amendments...
The state has issued a health alert for Harmful Algal Blooms, also known as toxic blue-green algae, at Willow Creek Reservoir in Pierce County. Samples taken last week at Willow Creek Reservoir measured above the threshold of eight parts per billion of total microcystin, which is a toxin released by certain strains of blue-green algae. When a health alert is issued, signs are posted to advise the public to use caution, and designated swimming beaches are closed during the alert. Recreational boating and fishing are permitted, but the public is...
The state has issued health alerts for harmful algal blooms, also known as toxic blue-green algae, at Willow Creek Reservoir in Pierce County and Kirkman’s Cove Lake in Richardson County. Samples taken earlier this week at the lake measured above the threshold of 8 parts per billion of total microcystin, which is a toxin released by certain strains of blue-green algae. When a health alert is issued, signs are posted to advise the public to use caution, and designated swimming beaches are closed during the alert. Recreational boating and fishing...
Concerns about sewer rates and the cost of the Clearwater lagoon project were expressed during the April 10 village meeting held at the Clearwater fire hall. Trustees tabled the purchase of geographic information system equipment to use for locating water and sewer lines. According to former village trustee Jay Snider, the hand-held equipment, currently requested by village maintenance man Troy Behnke, was to have been included in grant funding the village received. “It was part of when we l...
The Legislature is now halfway through the current Legislative session. Public hearings were held this past week on two bills that I introduced in the Appropriations Committee. As amended, LB 766 would appropriate $1.625 million annually in American Rescue Plan Act dollars, over the next two fiscal years, to the Department of Environment and Energy as a follow-up to the reverse osmosis grant program created by the Legislature with last year's LB 1014. Under LB 766, NDEE would award a grant to an...
This week saw the Legislature resume floor debate and consider several gubernatorial appointments and reappointments. The following people were confirmed this week: Jim Macy as director of the department of environment and energy, John Bolduc as the superintendent of the state patrol, John Hilgert as director of the department of veterans affairs, Jason Jackson as director of the department of administrative services and Sherry Vinton as director of the department of agriculture. Additionally, I...
Pretend for a moment that Nebraska somehow halted all use of nitrogen fertilizer – not a single speck more on our lawns, golf courses and corn fields. What would happen? Nothing fast. That's because, experts say, generations of corn growing, feedlot runoff and oft-unwitting nitrogen overuse has left a legacy of nitrate, creeping slowly downward toward our water supply. "It's there, it's moving towards the groundwater, and there's not a thing we can do about it," said Don Batie, a farmer near L...
The farmer was growing impatient. He and dozens of other central Nebraska farmers had gathered for mandatory training in Columbus a few weeks before last Christmas. In response to high nitrate levels, the Lower Loup Natural Resources District had designated a "Phase 3 area." That led to new requirements – like this training to help farmers manage their nitrogen fertilizer use. The farmer didn't like this. He told NRD leaders he had been drinking water containing nitrate at 40 parts per m...
Nick Herringer claps along with a metronome. He draws lines on a big screen, repeating patterns drawn by the computer. He identifies icons of cars when they flash before his eyes. This is the 22-year-old's speech and cognitive therapy, which he has been doing at least twice a week. Every week. For three years. Nick's thick brown hair hides a massive, ear-to-ear scar from his four brain surgeries for glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer he has battled since he was a teenager. His mom, Tammy Herringer, drives Nick to therapy and back. She...
The Legislature passed nearly 100 bills during the first three days of this past week. We will now recess for several days, thereby giving the Legislature the opportunity to override any potential governor veto prior to adjourning sine die. Governor Ricketts has five days (not counting Sunday) to either sign or veto the bills. He also has the option to let the legislation become law without his signature. Bills passed include all five bills that I introduced this year, in addition to one...
Just more than 600 bills and constitutional amendments were introduced during the 10-day bill introductory period for this legislative session. Currently, various committees are in the process of holding public hearings on every bill introduced. Senators gave second-round approval to LR14 this past week. This resolution would serve as Nebraska’s application for a convention of the states, authorized under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, to limit the power of the federal government, impose f...
Cleanup activities on two former leaking undeground-storage sites in Clearwater may begin once permits are approved by the State of Nebraska. Mike Reif, representing Terracon, a consulting firm working with the Nebraska Department of Energy and Environment petroleum remediation program, presented plans for the excavation to Clearwater Village Board members, Oct. 11. Board members approved the proposal to agree to cleanup, pending permits and access agreements. Reif said it's possible some...
An air quality advisory is in effect today, according to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy. Wildfires in the Northwestern United States and Canada may affect air quality in the Cornhusker State. Nebraska DEE staff monitor smoke levels and wind directions to assess when impacts to Nebraska's air quality may occur. According to NDEE, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups and intermittent unhealthy advisories may be in effect. As of 11 a.m., Monday, Oct. 11, Antelope County is...
The Bazile Groundwater Management Area is inviting people to stay inside where it’s warm during an upcoming winter series of one-hour webinars. The three-part series will take place virtually via Zoom at noon on the following Fridays – Feb. 19, Feb. 26 and March 5 – and feature three different speakers. Updates on the BGMA’s University of Nebraska-Lincoln demonstration sites and presentations on soil management strategies and groundwater research taking place within the management area will be...
The Bazile Groundwater Management Area has launched a new website for the new year. The BGMA's new online presence debuted in early January at bgma.nebraska.gov in a move to separate itself from the Lewis & Clark Natural Resources District's website. "We decided to get a new website so we would have our own stand-alone website," said Jeremy Milander, the management area's Nebraska Extension cropping systems educator. "We felt that this would avoid some confusion as our old site was a tab on the...
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...
A Holt County supervisor recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference. Bill Tielke, chairman of the county supervisor board, was notified in January that he had been appointed to the association's Environment, Energy and Land Use Policy Steering Committee. The committee is responsible for matters pertaining to air, water, energy and land use – including such things as water resources/management; stormwater; pesticides; a...
Governor Pete Ricketts announced he is requesting $58.6 million of emergency funding from the Nebraska Legislature to support the state’s efforts to combat coronavirus 2019 disease. Dr. Gary Anthone, the state’s chief medical officer, joined the governor for Friday’s press conference. He overviewed the state’s procedures to test patients for COVID-19 and trace contacts of anyone testing positive for the disease. He also talked about how the state and the medical community are expanding capacity to perform tests. Ricketts was also joined...
