Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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I first want to start this week’s update by expressing my gratitude to our state’s congressional delegation with regards to the recent passage of Senate Bill 1478 in Congress. This bill would designate U.S. Hwy 20 in the states of Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts as the “National Medal of Honor Highway.” While then-Governor Ricketts approved the renaming of U.S. Hwy 20 in Nebraska as the “Nebraska Medal of Honor Hi...
Everyone has a "wish list" – things they'd like to get done, things they'd like to see happen, things they wish would come true. But the Nebraska Republican Party recently put together the mother of all wish lists. In a four-page document unveiled last month, the Nebraska GOP listed more than 70 policy changes they'd like to see at the state, local and national level. The long list of wishes include returning the state to a "winner-take-all" system of awarding its electoral votes for p...
We're all glad the election is over and we're no longer subjected to wall-to-wall campaign ads on TV and radio. The faster we can get back to watching "Green Acres" reruns the better! But I can't get over how differently Nebraskans in the east, and Nebraskans in the west voted this year. We might as well be two states – "East Cornhusker" and "West Cornhusker" (and I know several people who would prefer that). Let's take the hottest race in the state, pitting incumbent U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer v...
Clearwater Sons of the American Legion invite residents to light up the town this holiday season. Commander Kelly Kerkman said voting for the contest will take place during wing nights at the American Legion, held on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. Wing night visitors will be able to vote for the residence best portraying the spirit of the season beginning Nov. 27. Winners will be announced at the New Year's Eve event. First-place prize is $200 in wing night credit. The...
County leadership will see only one change following the Nov. 5 General Election. Don Linquist Jr. will be the new District 4 supervisor in Holt County. He defeated incumbent Scott Keyes in the May primary. In the General Election, Linquist received 82.27% - or 719 - votes. Four write-in votes were recorded. In District 2, incumbent Dustin Breiner received 527 votes compared to 116 for Terri L. Krysl. One write-in vote was counted in the race. In Antelope County, Eli Jacob retained his District 2 commissioner seat, with 337 votes. Voters cast...
Village board races were decided during the Nov. 5 General Election. In unofficial results from Antelope County, Clearwater voters re-elected Cody Kester and Kelly Kerkman. Orchard voters chose Stephanie Cleveland and John Ferguson to retain their seats on the board. In Royal, Dennis L. Bridge and Duaine Brandt were the top vote-getters, with 21 each. Ewing voters selected Jeremy R. Tuttle. He was the lone candidate listed on the ballot. Kent Stallbaum received 35 write-in votes. Page voters re-elected Rachel Linquist. She received 58 votes....
Antelope County Commissioners approved hiring Brooke Kumm as the new 4H youth coordinator. Kumm will join the extension staff May 27, 2025, following graduation Commissioner Casey Dittrich asked what the starting salary is for the position. Antelope County Extension Board President Kim Young said the wage will be $20.52 per hour. The wage was built into the office's 2024 budget. Commissioner Regina Krebs asked if the salary is determined by the state. "This is a county position," Young said. You...
In 2020, as the country voted in and then sweated out a razor-thin presidential election, the voters of Clay County in rural south-central Nebraska participated in numbers never seen in this century. The number of potential voters living in the county had barely budged since 2016. And yet, during the 2020 election, some 507 more voters cast ballots than had in 2016 – a 16% spike. In total, some 84% of Clay County's 4,271 registered voters cast ballots, far higher than Nebraska's statewide t...
In the past three weeks, I outlined all six ballot initiatives and referendum measures that will be on this year’s general election ballot. This editorial is dedicated to my personal perspective on two ballot measures: Initiative Measures 434 (Protect Women and Children) and 439 (Protect Our Rights) relating to abortion. In my mind, we should strive to do the most good and preserve human life. This is why I am encouraging pro-life voters in Nebraska to consider voting for Initiative Measure 4...
Over the years, I've covered a few elections – probably more than I'd like to remember. Back in the day, we didn't get the wall-to-wall commercials slinging mud or the daily update on what the polls say. But one thing hasn't changed – elections are maybe the most observed, double checked and overseen functions of government. Vote counting machines are double- and triple-checked. Each political party employs "poll watchers" to make sure there's no hanky panky and the boards that count and rec...
On Oct. 16, United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher Ferretti and Shereece Dendy-Sanders will lead the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska, in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming Nov. 5, General Election. Ferretti and Dendy-Sanders have been appointed to serve as the District Election Officers for the District of Nebraska, and in that capacity, are responsible for overseeing the district’s handling of el...
General Election Results - Antelope County President: Harris/Walz (Democrat) Early voting 119 Precincts: 277 Trump/Pence (Pence) Early voting 562 Precincts: 2455 Oliver/ter Maat (Libertarian) Early voting 0 Precincts 11 West/Abdullah (Legal Marijuana Now) Early voting 0 Precincts 6 Stein/Kpadenou (By Petition) Early voting 2 Precincts 0 US Senator Deb Fischer (Republican) Early voting 519 Precincts 2049 Dan Osborn (By Petition) Early voting 156 Precincts 670 US Senator Pete Ricketts (Republican)...
As I'm writing this, two weeks stand between now and Nov. 5, the general election. I don't often write about politics. A long time ago, in J school, a professor shared a belief that in community journalism, it's best to let the public make their own decisions. Present the facts. Neighbors don't need to tell neighbors how to vote, she would say. Let the big city dailies endorse a candidate. Here, in small-town America, let residents investigate and research candidates and issues and form an...
Labels in politics are a tricky thing, particularly in Nebraska. If you're a "Republican," do you align with the wing of the party that identifies with former governor and U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts? Or do you roll with the new GOP, the group that tossed out Ricketts' loyalists? (You might also be a "moderate" Republican, though they are harder to find than a 25-cent cup of coffee.) Same holds true for the Democrats. Are you a Democrat who holds more moderate views on abortion and government...
We have a choice in the November 5 election between two initiatives regarding abortion, Initiative 434 or Initiative 439. Initiative 434 would protect unborn babies from abortion in the second and third trimesters except for cases of medical emergencies, sexual assault or incest. The laws we currently have regarding parental notification for minors, informed consent before abortion and in-person requirements to receive abortion pills would remain in place. Common-sense laws like basic safety regulations for abortion facilities and requiring a...
Ewing village trustees accepted the retirement resignation of longtime village clerk, Sharon Swails, during Monday's regular meeting at city hall. The vote was unanimous, with trustees Dustin Wright, Dustin Jorgensen and Kane Frey approving the action item. Trustees James Ramold and Katie Koenig were absent from the meeting. Swails said her last day in office will be Dec. 31. The board entered executive executive session to discuss the next steps to fill the position. In other business, the...
Nebraskans will vote on six ballot issues during this fall's general election, including competing initiatives on the issue of abortion. Here's a rundown of three of those ballot issues, those concerning abortion and paid sick leave: – Initiative 434, titled the "Protect Women and Children" initiative, would, if approved, place the state's current policy on abortion, which allows the procedure only during the first 12 weeks of gestation, into the State Constitution. A "yes" vote for Initiative 4...
Here's a rundown of three of those ballot issues, a referendum to repeal a private school voucher law and the pair concerning medical marijuana: In one of the more hotly contested issues in recent years, voters will decide whether to repeal, or retain, a controversial law was passed earlier this year that allows the State Treasurer to administer a scholarship program to private and parochial K-12 schools that was funded with $10 million of state funds. Legislative Bill 1402 served to replace a l...
Hard to imagine, but in our deep-red state we now have a competitive race for the U.S. Senate. It's been a while since a Republican had to break a sweat to get re-elected to the Senate in Nebraska. Even former governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey – a widely known Democrat nationally – couldn't crack the GOP's grip on the state's two Senate seats. But here comes a regular guy and nonpartisan from Omaha, Dan Osborn. His long-shot run against two-term incumbent Sen. Deb Fischer has caught fire, ins...
All University of Nebraska athletic venues now have full approval to sell alcohol. On Oct. 4, the Nebraska Board of Regents voted 7-1 in favor of allowing beer, wine and liquor sales at all NU athletic venues, replacing a 2022 vote that allowed alcohol sales case by case. Until today, Nebraska was the sole Big Ten school that did not sell alcohol in its football stadium. "The advantage of all 17 schools in the Big Ten doing this already is there are best practices," athletic director Troy Dannen...
Nebraska doesn't get many national headlines about politics, but a recent, last-minute push by major Republicans to get the state to ditch its unique system of awarding electoral votes for president did just that. Former President Donald Trump and leading GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham were among those applying the pressure recently to return to a "winner-take-all" system. Only Nebraska and Maine don't give all of its electoral votes to the statewide winner of the popular vote for president. Instead, N...
Voter Registration Requirements The last day to register to vote in the November 5th, 2024 General Election is Friday, October 25th, 2024 at 6:00 PM in the office of the County Clerk/Election Commissioner. All persons wishing to vote must be United States citizens, a Nebraska resident and at least 18 years of age on or before the first Tuesday, after the first Monday in November of this year, that being November 5th, 2024, Eligible applicants must complete a Nebraska Voter Registration...
Hand counting of election ballots will not take place in Holt County anytime soon, despite a request from citizens made at the Sept. 16 supervisors' meeting in O'Neill. Grace Coleman of Atkinson presented petitions discouraging use of electronic tabulators and encouraging a return to hand counting of ballots at the precinct level. She said individuals from Holt, Boyd, Antelope, Cedar, Knox, Dixon and northern Pierce counties signed the petitions, which were circulated over the summer months....
Back in the day, our high school basketball team used to employ a full-court press when we'd fallen behind. It was mostly a desperation measure toward the end of a game, a frantic effort in hopes that we could suddenly trip up our opponent and turn a defeat into a victory. Well, just recently in Nebraska, we were able to see a political full-court press in action, and such all-out strategy seems to have become the norm when it comes to citizen-led ballot initiatives. Ballot initiatives allow...
PROCEEDINGS VILLAGE OF PAGE BOARD MEETING Sept. 16, 2024 The regular monthly meeting of the Village Board of Page was held Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, at the village office. Notice was published in the Summerland Advocate-Messenger on the 11th day of September, 2024, and was also posted at three public places within the Village of Page. This meeting was conducted in compliance with the Nebraska Open Meetings Act and the Open Meeting Laws are posted at the village office. Chair Linquist called the regular meeting of the board of trustees to order...
