Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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For Nebraska’s small business owners, the past two years have been anything but easy. From forced closures to supply chain disruptions, entrepreneurs are seeing a new challenge at every turn. The Nebraska Legislature will have an opportunity to provide some much needed stability with two bills scheduled to appear in front of the Appropriations Committee in February. Legislative Bill 1090, introduced by Sen. Myron Dorn, would allow lawmakers to increase funding for the Business Innovation A...
This past week, the Legislature gave first-round approval to two bills offering tax relief for Nebraskans. Further debate on the two proposals will wait until we are further along in the session and have a better idea of projected revenues and expenses. LB825 accelerates the phase-out of the taxation of social security benefits. Under the proposal, all social security benefits will no longer be subject to the income tax, beginning in 2025. LB723 guarantees a higher level of property tax relief...
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...
Summerland Public School Board of Education met in regular session, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, at the school. President Ed Nordby opened the meeting, which was advertised in the Jan. 12, 2022, newspapers, to order at 7:02 p.m. Visitors were welcomed. Nordby noted the Open Meetings Act posted in the boardroom. All board members were present: Candice Hoke, Marty Kerkman, Nordby, Nate Schwager, Steve Thiele, Jeremy Wagner. Motion by Hoke, seconded by Kerkman, to approve the agenda as presented. Voting aye: Hoke, Kerkman, Nordby, Schwager, Thiele,...
HASTINGS – With two nurses out sick in early December, charge nurse Osa Brooks found herself scrambling to care for 28 patients. With only one floor nurse available, employees from other units were called in to work the floor or give medications. “It was really scary because I had 10 patients that I was responsible for, and I had another nurse giving medications for me,” Brooks said. Brooks said the chaos scared her because of the chance that she could have missed something, causing her patie...
PRIMARY ELECTION NOTICE AND OFFICES TO BE FILLED BY ELECTION AND FILING DEADLINES I, Lisa Payne, Antelope County Clerk/Election Commissioner, hereby give notice of the offices to be filled by election that will appear on the 2022 Primary Election Ballot to be held May 10th, 2022, in Antelope County, Nebraska, as per State Statute 32-601. Notice is also given that the filing deadline for such offices are: Feb. 15, 2022, for incumbents and March 1, 2022 for non-incumbents. An incumbent is anyone serving in an elective office, even if they are...
On Thursday, Jan. 13, Governor Ricketts presented his final State of the State Address to the Nebraska Legislature. The governor emphasized his message over the past eight years has been to Grow Nebraska. He reported this has happened, despite floods, fires and a global pandemic. He touched on his priorities for this year, which include tax relief, strengthening public safety and investing in natural resources. He endorsed legislative proposals to accelerate the phaseout of taxing Social...
Nebraska State Senator Tim Gragert announced Sunday, he will not be seeking a second term in the Legislature in 2022. Gragert was elected to the Legislature in 2018. After winning the Primary Election in a crowded field of six candidates, Gragert went on to win the General Election and has represented Legislative District 40 since being sworn into office in January 2019. In announcing his intentions, Gragert said, "Serving the constituents of District 40 has been a great honor. I want to thank...
After a three-month break, the Legislature convened Wednesday, Jan. 5, to begin the 107th legislative session, second session. Senators were called into special session in September to complete the redistricting process, based on new census data. Legislative District #40 no longer contains Boyd or Rock counties. Rock and Boyd counties are now part of Legislative District #43, represented by Sen. Tom Brewer. Legislative District #40 also lost the southern portion of Dixon County, which will be...
Senator Tom Briese, of Albion, proposed constitutional amendment LR 268CA, on Thursday. The proposal would allow for the recall of state senators and governors. "We are a government of the people and our laws must reflect that. Currently, Nebraskans can recall local government officials. But currently, there is no way for voters in Nebraska to remove a state senator or governor from office if they misbehave, disregard the will of the people or promote harmful government policies. I think we...
DOUGLAS KRISTENSEN Chancellor University of Nebraska Kearney DR. JEFFREY GOLD Chancellor University of Nebraska Medical Center Our state’s rural areas have much to be proud of: low crime rate, outstanding community pride and neighbors willing to lend a hand are just a few. But it’s no secret that collectively, Nebraskans have watched our rural populations decline over the decades. With those decreases, we lose resources, services and schools, leaving communities disadvantaged in their fight for sustainability. Those of us who are also working h...
When my writing career started more than 30 years ago, I spent months establishing a freelance career. After long days of teaching and coaching, I stayed up late at night, crafting query letters and sending them via snail mail, hoping to get a bite from local publications ... or a big break with a national news outlet. It seems amazing, considering it was in the dark ages - er, I mean pre-internet times. It was hard work, but I was determined to form partnerships with trusted publications and...
With an allotment of 2021 state aid, public libraries across the state are deciding how to utilize these additional funds. “State aid is allocated to accredited libraries (with one exception – dollars for data), to help them provide enhanced services to their community,” said Sam Shaw, planning and data services coordinator for the Nebraska Library Commission. “It’s tied to the accreditation process so libraries have a financial incentive to become accredited.” In 2021, of the 177 libraries that received aid, 70 saw an increase in aid. Thirty...
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 successfully concluded the special session called to enact legislation pertaining to redistricting on Thursday, Sept. 30. Based on the 2020 census data, new boundary lines were drawn for Congress, the Legislature, the Supreme Court, the Public Service Commission, the State Board of Education and the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. After a contentious start, senators agreed to compromise on redistricting maps for Congress and the Legislature. All six bills were given...
The special session of the Nebraska Legislature began Monday, Sept. 13, for the sole purpose of redistricting, along with various confirmations of gubernatorial appointments. The nine-member redistricting committee, of which I am a member, has been hard at work for several weeks prior to the session. The redistricting committee was tasked with drawing up several district maps, including, US Congress, Nebraska Legislature, State Supreme Court, Public Service Commission, University of Nebraska Boa...
Senators approved an increase in state spending on initiatives such as broadband, foster care reimbursement rates, pay for people who provide services under Medicaid and rail industrial parks during Nebraska’s 107th legislative session, which adjourned on May 27. Senators also focused on cutting taxes and designated a portion of the state’s FY 2021- 2022 $4.8 billion budget toward tax relief, according to the 2021 general fund budget summary. Sen. Dan Hughes of Venango said this session was different because there was more money to work wit...
Briese and Timothy Gragert, who represent Antelope and Holt counties, respectively, in the state legislature, joined 28 other senators, Thursday, urging the Nebraska Department of Education to reject proposed health standards. Statehouse officials urged local school boards to adopt a resolution in opposition to the proposed standards. According to the letter, “Nebraskans have spoken loud and clear - they do not want their children subjected to the health education standards proposed by the N...
I would consider the recently completed legislative session successful for Nebraska taxpayers. Among other items, we passed, and the governor signed into law, bills to provide a sales tax exemption on municipal water, tax relief for military retirement recipients, tax relief for social security recipients and income tax relief for corporate taxpayers. On the property tax front, we provided a valuation reduction for agland in the context of school bond repayment, we added additional dollars to...
JONATHAN HLADIK Policy director Center for Rural Affairs With a nearly-unanimous vote last month, the Nebraska Legislature retained and improved one of the only incentives available to businesses of five or fewer employees. After a year when many small businesses shuttered and others were forced to pause plans for future growth, the approval of Legislative Bill 366 also sends an important message to microentrepreneurs-the services they provide are a worthy and important part of our state's...
The speaker of the Legislature has announced that senators will complete their work a few days early, adjourning sine die on May 27 rather than June 10. This is partially due to the many late nights that were worked in order to complete our business and knowing we will be meeting again in a couple months. Every 10 years, the Legislature must complete the redistricting process to reflect population changes after the U.S. Census is complete. Due to the pandemic, states didn’t get the census d...
Two major pieces of legislation that would have provided property tax relief were defeated this past week. Generally, I am supportive of proposals that attempt to lower property taxes. LR 11, introduced by Bayard Senator Steve Erdman, is a constitutional amendment proposing to replace all taxation with a consumption tax on the purchase of services and new goods. Nebraska residents would no longer pay property taxes, income taxes, sales and use taxes, inheritance taxes, or estate taxes. LR 11...
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...
Governor Ricketts signed the budget bills this past week with no line-item vetoes. He praised the Legislature for passing a budget that limited spending growth and placed an emphasis on increased funding for property tax relief measures. The Legislature gave first-round approval to LB 64, which addresses the taxation of social security benefits. LB 64 was introduced by Omaha Senator Brett Lindstrom and prioritized by Seward Senator Mark Kolterman. Only 13 states tax social security benefits....
Nebraska will retain three congressional seats, based on official 2020 U.S. Census data released Monday for purposes of congressional apportionment. The state’s population grew by 7.4%, with 1,961,504 people residing in the Cornhusker State. That number is up from 1,826,341 from the 2010 census. Landing as the 37th largest state, Nebraska’s growth rate was on track with national trends. The U.S. Census Bureau announced the 2020 Census shows resident population of the United States on April 1,...
