Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 75
Summer is on the way. Memorial Day is right around the corner, which means the summer travel season is coming up quickly. Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol, along with officers and deputies from dozens of agencies across Nebraska, are participating in the annual Click It or Ticket campaign. The effort began Monday, May 15, and runs through Sunday, June 4, encompassing the weeks before and after Memorial Day. “Statistics show that seatbelt use increases your chance of surviving a serious crash by 45%,” said Colonel John Bolduc at last wee...
Lauren Behnk, of Clearwater, always knew she wanted to travel and experience life outside of Nebraska, especially in a Spanish-speaking country. Several people introduced travel as a way to study on Behnk's radar. Leenda Thiele, Behnk's high school Spanish teacher, shared her journey of coming to the states from Puerta Rico. Thiele encouraged her to experience travel for a better opportunity to learn. Behnk's cousin, Valley, also traveled and spurred her interest in seeing the world. Finally,...
Many major issues were debated this past week in the Legislature, with LB 626 and LB 574 being the two most highly-contested bills considered by senators. LB 626 would adopt the Nebraska Heartbeat Act and restrict abortion to when a fetal heartbeat is first detected, thereby reducing the current 20-week abortion time window to about six weeks. This bill includes exceptions for rape, incest, sexual assault, medical emergencies (such as ectopic pregnancies and the removal of the remains of an...
This week saw the Legislature continue the discussion of the governor’s school finance and tax package. LB 243, as amended by the Revenue Committee, would make a series of changes aimed at easing the financial impact of increasing property tax valuations on Nebraska’s local property taxpayers. Among changes proposed, the measure would increase the minimum amount of relief granted under the Property Tax Credit Act to $388 million in tax year 2024 and $560 million by tax year 2029. This amo...
Guests at northeast Nebraska state park areas were treated to some improvements in 2022, with more set to be completed in 2023. The following is a roundup of those improvements and projects: Summit Lake State Recreation Area Summit Lake State Recreation Area near Tekamah saw aquatic habitat and angler access improvement projects completed to improve the fishery and guests' experience. The west and south sediment basins were excavated to restore them to their original capacity and prevent...
The schedule of morning debate on the floor and afternoon public hearings continues for a few more weeks. At times, the days seem long, but soon the Legislature will begin all-day debate before finally adjourning later this spring. Three of my bills were heard in committee last week. On Tuesday, LB 453 and LB 454 were heard before the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee. LB 453 would allow the Nebraska Department of Transportation to change how the administrative costs of the Divisio...
We are now past the one-third mark of this 90-day legislative session but still have a great deal of work to do. The various standing committees are busy holding public hearings on the 820 bills and 22 substantive resolutions that were introduced in January. We have around four more weeks of hearings yet to go. Thus far, two of my bills have been presented before committees. The week began with Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican delivering the State of the Judiciary address...
NORFOLK – One of the last bus drivers in Norfolk begins his day by taking Nancy Stehlik to work. Wrapped in a purple coat and earmuffs, Stehlik inches her walker onto the small bus’s wheelchair lift. Driver Neil Schlecht pushes a button and the lift whirs down, placing Stehlik outside of work. For the rest of the day, he takes seven people to clinics, church and the grocery store. He jokes with riders just as he’s long done as a driver for North Fork Area Transit, the bus service which, until recently, used 35 buses and vans to give as many...
This week saw the Legislature conclude the second and final week of all-day committee hearings. The schedule will return to a traditional format, where floor debate is in the mornings and committee hearings in the afternoon. The question of whether Nebraska should legalize medical marijuana will again be considered by the Legislature. Sen.Wishart introduced LB 588, the Medicinal Cannabis Act, which would provide a regulatory framework to establish access to cannabis specifically for medical...
This week saw the Legislature begin the first of two weeks of all-day committee hearings. Traditionally, senators would meet as a body in the morning and split into different committees in the afternoons. However, Speaker Arch wanted to try to front-load the session with hearings so there will be more time for debate later in the session. Therefore, senators will not have an opportunity for floor debate until the week of Feb. 13. Two of my bills are scheduled for a public hearing later this...
The Nebraska State Patrol is reminding all football fans to have a gameplan in place for safe travel on Super Bowl Sunday. Troopers across Nebraska are teaming up with law enforcement across the United States to monitor for impaired driving. The effort runs during the evening hours of Sunday, Feb. 12, in conjunction with the Super Bowl. "The Super Bowl is one of those events that draws both passionate and casual fans to events and parties across the country," said Colonel John Bolduc,...
Late last week I learned of my appointment to three special committees: justice reinvestment oversight, state-tribal relations, and statewide tourism and recreation water access and resource sustainability. I am pleased to both be the vice chair of State-Tribal Relations (Committee) and be able to provide the 40th District with continued representation on the STAR WARS Committee. As a member, I hope to bring the proposed event center and lodge at Niobrara State Park, boat launch near the...
As Justin Taubenheim combined soybeans in a Buffalo County field on an October afternoon, he thought about why he does it. "I'm not farming to get rich,” he said. “I'm farming to maintain a legacy, a way of life. Faith, family and farming, in that order. The farm is kinda like the icing on the cake." Taubenheim, 31, sports fewer gray hairs than your normal Nebraska farmer. The average age of a principal Nebraska farm or ranch operator: 56.4 years old, according to census figures. The rising worry: There won’t be a next generation to carry...
With her laptop open and credit card out, Allyson Mendoza watched the clock flip from 7:59 to 8:00 a.m. “Register now” popped up on her screen. The mother of three had set timers and reminders for this moment weeks in advance of the March deadline. By 8:02 a.m., she had scored spots for her two oldest children at Hummel Day Camp, the wildly popular city-run day camp held for the last 70 summers in Omaha’s Hummel Park. She had done so with mere minutes to spare. “It’s the most stressful 10 minutes of my life, and I’m a lawyer,” Mendoza said....
As 2022 comes to an end, the Nebraska State Patrol is urging all motorists to plan ahead if New Year’s celebration involves alcohol. Troopers will be working overtime on patrol for impaired drivers as part an ongoing nationwide enforcement campaign. “Travel across our state was impacted by severe winter weather last week, but as the weather improves, it’s still important to keep safe travel as your priority behind the wheel,” said Colonel John Bolduc, superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “Our troopers and partner agencies will be w...
Nebraska looks to be in store for a major blizzard from Monday night into Thursday morning, impacting travelers in western Nebraska with potential closures anticipated throughout the state. For the first major snow event of this winter season, Nebraska Department of Transportation crews are prepared. While the forecast could fluctuate, concerns are a high potential for heavy snowfall coupled with sustained high winds, creating low visibility, especially in the panhandle. This system will work...
A 23-year-old O'Neill man was sentenced, Nov. 21, to decades in prison for causing the death of his 13-month-old son in July 2021. John T. Applegarth was sentenced by the Honorable Mark Kozisec, in the Holt County district courtroom in O'Neill, to not less than 30 years, nor more than 40 years in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. He was given credit for 463 days served in jail since his arrest and was taxed $147 costs of prosecution. Charges...
In 2024, NASA will send a small surgical robot from Nebraska to the International Space Station. The tiny, two-pound robot will be able to perform surgeries on the space station that would normally require a surgeon’s expertise and much larger equipment. The surgical robot can operate more or less on its own, performing complex procedures at the flip of a switch. The device, developed by Nebraska-based Virtual Incision, is a significant step toward making it possible for surgeons to operate r...
After a week off, the Husker football team returns to action at Memorial Stadium and Nebraska state troopers will be on patrol to keep the action off the roadways as fans travel to the game. The Nebraska State Patrol works closely with partner agencies on several aspects of gameday operations. Troopers partner with the Lincoln Police Department, Lancaster County Sheriff's Office, UNL Police Department and the Nebraska Department of Transportation to keep fans safe as they travel to and from the...
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...
Holt County Supervisors tackled several topics during a regular meeting, May 31, in the supervisors’ room at the Holt County Courthouse in O’Neill. A quick discussion was held about watering of roads. Chairman Bill Tielke mentioned that people are watering their roads with sprinklers. He instructed county clerk, Cathy Pavel, to send a notice out to inform the public that it is against the law to saturate any road: including the use of all sprinklers; it is not limited to just irrigation end gun...
The Nebraska State Patrol is joining law enforcement agencies across the country this week to raise awareness on the dangers of drunk or drug-impaired driving. The effort will include troopers working throughout the entire state. Troopers and dispatchers will be working overtime across Nebraska this week as part of the initiative. Troopers will be performing high-visibility patrols as part of the effort. The initiative will focus on priority counties identified by the Nebraska Department of Tran...
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Demolition of water storage facility Sealed bids will be received on behalf of the Village of Ewing at the engineer’s office, Miller & Associates, 1111 Central Avenue, Kearney, Nebraska on Jan. 6, 2022, until 2 p.m., local time, and then such bids shall be publicly opened and read aloud in the engineer’s conference room for furnishing all equipment, labor, materials and other such work as may be incidental to demolition of a water storage facility. The Village (owner) reserves the right to reject any or all bids; and to...
Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol will be working hard to keep Nebraska roads safe as the summer driving season comes to an end. “Schools are back in session and most summer vacations are in the rearview mirror,” said Colonel John Bolduc, superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “As the summer driving season winds down, our troopers will be working alongside local law enforcement and patrolling for impaired driving across the state.” The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign began Aug. 20 and continues through Labor Day, Sept. 6...
Avera Public Transportation contracts with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to provide rides for approved non-emergency medical appointments to those eligible for Medicaid. Drivers take patients, who live approximately 75 miles from O'Neill, to health care destinations, including appointments in Norfolk, Yankton, Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, Kearney,Sioux Falls and Sioux City, as well as others. Medicaid-eligible riders need to contact their insurance providers for more...
