Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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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...
BROOKE WRAGE Nebraska News Service A school safety reporting system was approved in the Nebraska Legislature on April 6, in the second round after a long debate. Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg said he introduced LB 322 to reduce violent incidents in all K-12 schools in Nebraska by having a trained crisis team on staff 24/7. The reporting line, Safe2HelpNE, would allow students, school staff, parents and community members to anonymously share information about concerning behavior by phone,...
The Appropriations Committee advanced their finalized recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2021-22 and 2022-23 biennial budget to the full Legislature. First-round debate took place this past week and all bills were advanced unanimously except LB383, dealing with capital construction. Under the $9.7 billion biennial budget proposal, the two-year average estimated revenue growth is 3.0%, whereas the two-year average growth in spending is just 1.6%. The committee was able to control the growth of spending due to a higher federal match for...
The question of whether Nebraska should legalize medical marijuana will be debated by the Legislature this year. LB 474, the Medicinal Cannabis Act, was advanced this past week from the Judiciary Committee on a 5-2-1 vote. It has been prioritized by Senator Anna Wishart, the primary sponsor of LB 474. The bill, 62 pages in length, provides the regulatory framework to establish access to cannabis for medical purposes. It limits the allowable amount of cannabis, requires a patient to have a bona...
I was eight years old when I fell in love with a movie genre, er - maybe it was a crush on Paul Newman. The cause of puppy love: the bicycle scene in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” where Paul Newman pedals across the farm yard, performing acrobatic tricks, while Kathryn Ross’s character sits in the haymow, watching his antics until he crashes a fence, lands on his backside and stares down a bull. Then, he had to pedal like heck to get out of Dodge...or Wyoming. Movies like “The Outlaw...
The Legislature gave first-round approval to a bill that attempts to make it easier for the consumer to purchase individual packages of meat directly from the producer or processor. LB 324 authorizes herd-share agreements with a producer prior to slaughter, thereby giving the consumer an ownership interest in the animal. The farmer and consumer will develop a bill of sale that decides where the animal will be processed, which cuts of meat will be available and at what price. Then the farmer...
BROOKE WRAGE, CELENA SHEPHERD and MADELEINE GRANT Nebraska News Service The first week of floor debates kicked off the second week in March. Senators debated and advanced a handful of bills in the Nebraska Legislature. A recap of the week. LB255: Provide compensation to families of deceased first responders Sen. Matt Hansen, of Lincoln, introduced LB255, which would establish the In the Line of Duty Compensation Act to provide a one-time death benefit for a family member of a first responder who dies while on the line of duty. “I believe it i...
Natalie Stanley Nebraska News Service LINCOLN-- The Judiciary Committee heard another bill regarding marijuana legislation this week with LB474, the Adopt the Medicinal Cannabis Act. So far, there are 14 bills regarding marijuana that have been proposed this year. Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln introduced LB474 to the Committee on Wednesday. Wishart has been working on marijuana legislation for the past five years. Most recently, she and Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln led an effort to gather nearly 190,000 signatures in 2020 to add medicinal...
Madeleine Grant and Brooke Wrage Nebraska News Service LINCOLN--Nebraska lawmakers continue to push for marijuana legislation this session. On Feb. 19, the Nebraska Legislature Judiciary Committee heard six bills relating to the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana. Substance possession penalties State senators are considering a bill to change the penalty for controlled substance possession. LB 287, was introduced by Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha to lessen penalties for possession of unusable amounts of controlled substances under the...
The Page Community Day Committee hosted a cookoff, Sunday. Ten competitors turned up the heat, entering soups ranging from chicken noodle to chili, zuppa toscana to chipotle sweet potato chili, cheeseburger to black bean soup. Even a pan - of the plastic variety - featured turtle soup, although most guests passed on the cuisine, preferring to watch the creatures swim in a dishpan. Organizer Joni Isom said individuals from Page, Bartlett, O'Neill and Clearwater participated in the event....
The Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board met last week and revised the current forecast upwards. The board projected an increase of $204 million for fiscal year 2020-21, $165 million for fiscal year 2021-22 and $93 million for fiscal year 2022-23, for a total increase of $462 million. The three-year average growth rate increased from 2.9% to 3.4%. Under LB 1107, the property tax relief bill passed last year, property taxpayers are eligible for a refundable income tax credit based on the...
As winter finally looks like it may be exiting, but before we usher in spring, what better way to spend a Sunday evening than at a soup cookoff. The Page community will host the cookoff, Sunday, March 7. Serving will be from 5 to 8 p.m., or until soups are gone, at the new Page fire hall. All funds will be used for putting on Page Community Day, Saturday, Aug. 28. Judges will be available to choose first, second and third places. In addition, all those attending may vote for their favorite by...
The extreme cold spell that Nebraska and other states experienced during the middle of February increased energy needs across the region, resulting in unprecedented short-term rolling blackouts. Public power districts were directed by the Southwest Power Pool to shed electricity usage immediately in order to prevent longer, more widespread power outages. The urgency of the situation, in which power demand exceeded generated power and minimum reserves were exhausted, prevented advance notice to...
On Feb. 26, the Revenue Committee voted to advance LB 408, as amended by AM 371, on a 7-1 vote. The amended version of the bill would limit the annual increase in property tax askings to no more than 3%, with some exceptions. The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Tom Briese of Albion, commented on its advancement. “Property tax relief requires a multi-pronged approach. One approach must be to place reasonable restrictions on property taxes. And that’s what this bill does.” Briese continued, “This...
The Legislature passed the one-third mark this week in the 90-day legislative session. The Appropriations Committee also presented its preliminary recommendations for the biennial budget. This provides a starting point for discussion of the various budget actions suggested so far. After the Appropriations Committee finishes its committee work, it will develop formal recommendations to be presented to the Legislature by mid to late March, at which time floor debate will take place. Although we...
A motion to remove a mask mandate for Summerland students in preschool through third grade failed during Monday's board of education meeting. The vote ended in a 3-3 tie. A handful of parents and patrons addressed the policy during public participation, and again, when the board addressed the agenda item. District patron, Seth Anson, of Ewing, said currently, masks are only a recommendation from the local health department. "It should be the parents choice to take the masks off our kids," he...
In early December, the former chair of the executive board, along with chairs of standing committees, sent an email to senators suggesting they limit the number of bills introduced. This would assist with safety measures being developed for senators and the public, in preparation for the legislative session during a pandemic. However, 684 bills were still introduced during 10 days of bill introduction. Although this number was less than the 739 bills in 2019, it was more than the 667 bills...
Holt County supervisors selected who will fill leadership positions during the board's Jan. 7 meeting. Bill Tielke was re-elected to serve as chairman and Doug Frahm will oversee the board of equalization. Per board policy, when a chairman is absent, the other chairman will preside. Four individuals were reappointed to positions they currently hold, including Gary Connot, road superintendent; Mike Durre, planning and zoning administrator; Deb Hilker, emergency manager and Ken Stenka, veterans...
Governor Pete Ricketts delivered his State of the State address to the Legislature this past week. He highlighted 2021-23 state budget recommendations for senators. This will be his last biennial budget proposal, as his eight years in office will be completed at the end of next year. Ricketts recounted the devastating flood in 2019 and coronavirus pandemic that followed in 2020. He commended Nebraskans for responding in the Nebraska Way - by working together to overcome challenges. The...
The Electoral College confirmed Joe Biden as the next president of the United States, Monday, as presidential electors cast 306 votes for the Democrat. President Donald Trump earned 232 votes. Nebraska electors cast four votes for the current president. The fifth elector vote, cast by Precious McKesson, of Omaha, went to Biden. It is only the second time a Nebraska electoral college vote was cast for a Democrat. Following the vote, McKesson said, "On Nov. 3, that one vote changed the direction...
An ice cream machine purchased for inmates at the Antelope County Law Enforcement Center has left one county commissioner feeling a little frosty. The board of commissioners approved a resolution regarding the commissary fee schedule for the county jail during their meeting Tuesday, Dec. 8, in Neligh, but the vote was not unanimous. The commissary fee schedule was on the meeting agenda due to the results of the county's annual audit report that were released last month by the Nebraska Auditor...
The Antelope County results are in for the 2020 general election. County clerk and election commissioner Lisa Payne noted 3,615 voters out of the 4,570 registered in the county cast ballots before and on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The people who turned out for the election voted for candidates who were running for positions at the local, county, regional, state and federal levels. "We counted 1,340 early voters, leaving 2,275 voting in person on Election Day," Payne said. "I did not hear of any problems...
The voters of Holt County have spoken by casting ballots in the 2020 general election. Important local races, combined with a battle for the White House, brought 78.6% of the county's registered voters to select their choices for leadership positions. County clerk and election commissioner, Cathy Pavel, said of the county's 7,144 registered voters, 5,615 voted. "Early voters totaled 2,163 and 3,462 individuals voted at the polls. Very busy all day with voting," Pavel said. Vote counts for local...
After listening to public input on potential administrative staffing and engaging in an executive session which lasted approximately two hours, Summerland Board of Education President Ed Nordby announced discussion and any impending vote on the matter would be tabled. The decision came toward the end of Monday's monthly board meeting, held in Ewing. Approximately 50 district patrons waited to hear the decision. In a phone interview, Tuesday, Martin said he had spoken with all three principals ab...
Holt and Antelope county residents who want to request ballots in person to vote early, must do so by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at either county clerk’s office in O’Neill or Neligh, respectively. All ballots for early voting must be returned to the county clerk’s office by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, either in person, by mail or in the courthouse’s dropbox. The polls will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day across both counties, including at the following sites: -Brunswick Precinct: Brunswick Community Room. -Clearwater Precinct: America...
