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 303
The State of Nebraska has more than 200 boards and commissions staffed by professionals and regular citizens. They deal with a broad range of subjects, from the recently-created Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementia Advisory Council and State Child Death Review Team, to more recognizable boards, such as the Board of Parole and Board of Trustees for State Colleges. The governor gets to appoint members to many of these boards and the appointments often go to supporters of the governor and people...
Holt County Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit, Aug. 22, for VRDG, LLC, to construct a commercial solar conversion system. Matt Robinette, of Bluestem Energy Solutions, represented VRDG, LLC, and explained the 325-megawatt nameplate capacity site. Three hundred Holt County acres would be used in the project, with the balance of construction set to take place in Knox County. Approximately 68 megawatts would be produced in Holt County and 257 megawatts would come from the Knox...
Nebraska isn't known as a battleground state when it comes to presidential elections. That tag usually goes to Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, along with Georgia, Nevada and Arizona. But the recent pick of Nebraska native and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as the vice presidential running mate for Kamala Harris is revving up talk that the Cornhusker State – at least Omaha's congressional district – is in play and may help decide this fall's presidential election. Walz, a 60-year-old former teache...
A court advocacy program will receive $10,000 in funding from Holt County following a vote by county supervisors during a July 31 meeting. Theresa Liewer, president of Court-Appointed Special Advocates for Children of North Central Nebraska, along with Holt County Sheriff's Office office manager Tami Malolepszy explained the program, which provides trained, court-appointed volunteers for abused and neglected youth in the foster care system in the service area. CASA volunteers serve as a voice...
Two new paraprofessionals hires were approved Monday by the Summerland Public School Board of Education during its regular meeting. Superintendent Molly Aschoff told the board that administration had posted a job notice for a special education/Title 1 para position, with a van route to the Central Learning Center in Clearwater. During that period, a late para resignation was received. Elementary principal Cathy Cooper said four or five applications were received and three individuals were...
The Legislature’s General Affairs Committee took a half step Monday toward letting the public vote on the future of online sports betting in Nebraska. But the committee’s decision to punt a companion bill means any vote will likely wait until after the November election. The amended version of Legislative Resolution 3CA stopped short of letting voters decide the issue all at once. Instead, they would be asked to give the Legislature the constitutional authority to decide the issue. The amendment from State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, a Democr...
Nebraskans are reminded to check the mail this week if they regularly vote early in Nebraska elections and filed a standing request with their county election commissioner to do so again. Election commissioners in Douglas, Lancaster and many other Nebraska counties recently mailed ballot request cards to people on their regular early voter lists. Douglas County has mailed out 160,000 cards. Lancaster County mailed out 64,000 of its blue postcards Friday. People can return the early voting...
As you may have read or heard, Governor Pillen announced his intention to call the Legislature back in special session relating to property taxes beginning July 25 until “unfinished business” is resolved. On the last day of session, the Legislature did not take a final vote on the session’s property tax package since that bill’s introducer did not believe they had the votes necessary to overcome a filibuster. Since the Legislature adjourned, senators, including myself, have spent countless hours...
“When there’s a will, there’s a way.” That was a phrase that surfaced regularly at the end of state legislative sessions. It referred to the hope that bills that appeared dead might be resurrected. Somehow, someway – like the zombie in a horror movie that would never die – some of those bills came back to life and were passed. Again, when there’s a will, there’s a way. That was the case at the end of the tumultuous 2023 session of the Nebraska Legislature, when filibusters were a daily routine...
Back in the day, a small, "trial balloon" would be sent aloft to discern wind speed and direction before a balloon carrying people was launched. Folks were rightly concerned about rising into the heavens blindly, without knowing if a catastrophic whirlwind was aloft. Right now, we're seeing plenty of trial balloons sent aloft by Gov. Jim Pillen to determine if a plan to dramatically reduce local property taxes might have a shot at success during his special session, scheduled to start July 25....
GENERAL ELECTION NOTICE & 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 2024 General Election Ballot to be held Nov. 5, 2024, in Antelope County, Nebraska, as per State Statute 32-601. Notice is also given that the filing deadline for such offices are: July 15, 2024, for incumbents and Aug. 1, 2024, for non-incumbents. An incumbent is anyone serving in an elective office, even if they are filing...
PROCEEDINGS VILLAGE OF CLEARWATER BOARD OF TRUSTEES June 10, 2024 The Board of Trustees of the Village of Clearwater met for a regular meeting Monday, June 10, at 7 p.m., in the fire hall meeting room. Meeting opened at 7 p.m. Notice of meeting was given in advance by publication in Summerland Advocate-Messenger, was posted at US Post Office in Clearwater, Clearwater Market and Cornerstone Bank-Clearwater and was given to board members prior to meeting. Public was informed of location of Open Meeting Act poster. Present: Kelly Kerkman, Marsha...
Have you been to the grocery store or courthouse lately and been approached in the parking lot by not one, but two people seeking signatures on initiative petitions concerning abortion rights? Confused? You’re not alone. For what appears to be the first time in history, Nebraskans are being asked to sign not one, not two, but three petitions seeking to determine if and when a woman can have an abortion. And, according to Secretary of State Bob Evnen, if more than one petition makes the ballot, t...
Clearwater voters will decide whether to allow keno gambling in the November general election. Clearwater Village Board of Trustees held the first reading of Ordinance 2024-2, regarding placing the question of allowing the lottery within village limits on the November 2024 ballot when it met May 13. Second reading will take place at the June 10 meeting, with the third reading to take place during the July meeting. The public will have an opportunity to ask questions or offer comments during the...
There is a lot of information floating around on social media about the integrity of elections. Since the May 14 primary election is around the corner, I wanted to share more insight into election procedures in Holt County. Holt County, like every other county in Nebraska, operates its own elections. Our duties include handling our county’s voter registration list, operating precincts on Election Day, operating and testing election equipment and completing other election-related requirements. Our office, including the permanent and temporary e...
Term limits claim 13 Nebraska state senators while two are leaving for other reasons. That'll mean 15 new faces in the nation's only one-house nonpartisan legislature come January. I've made it clear before how I feel about term limits. I don't like them. This isn't the Washington, DC, swamp. This is Nebraska, one of those mostly square states out west where it's not that hard to vote somebody out of office. It has worked for years. Then along came the two-term limit, eight years, and...
On April 18, the Legislature completed its work for this 60-day legislative session. Although the last day is typically reserved for veto overrides and closing remarks, the Legislature also took action on 15 bills remaining on Final Reading. Notably, the governor’s proposed property tax package contained in LB388 stalled when it became clear that the bill did not have the votes to break a filibuster. LB388 was then passed over on the agenda at the request of the introducing senator, meaning t...
In 2021, the last special session of the Nebraska Legislature lasted 13 days and cost the state $105,436. Do the math, that's $8,076.92 per day. Then ask yourself, is a winner-take-all election measure, which would bring Nebraska into the same fold as 48 other states, worth the money. For that matter, is a so-called solution to the state's property tax problems worth it? They're bantering the words "special session" around like it's nothing short of expected. Gov. Jim Pillen says he will call a...
It has been a very busy and productive past several months at the Nebraska Public Service Commission. As spring arrives, I wanted to share another quarterly update on the work over the past three months. I am Eric Kamler and I am your commissioner for the 4th District of the Public Service Commission, which covers 31 counties of Nebraska. The Nebraska PSC is an elected five-member statewide board that oversees several industries which affect our everyday lives including broadband internet and...
Although the Legislature was only in session for three days this week, senators were productive in moving legislation to Final Reading. This year, there was not enough time to take up every bill that was sitting on General File due to the time a bill must lay over for review by the Revisor’s Office. Much of the remaining time was spent on legislation that was on Select File or Final Reading. After the 59th day, the Legislature will be in recess for a few days to allow the governor to sign or v...
"I believe I have the votes." Those six words have become the curse of the Nebraska Legislature. The buzzkill. The harbinger of failure. Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha learned that on Day 56 of the 60-day session when her Sports and Spaces Act did little more than use up four hours of time when an attempt to end the opponent's filibuster fell two votes short. The measure fell off the agenda for good this year. Likewise, a last-ditch attempt to return Nebraska presidential elections to a...
The beginning of April brings us closer to the end of this year’s legislative session. There are many bills still left to debate and little time to consider all of the priority bills brought forward this year. The week began with the resumption of debate on the governor’s proposed property tax relief package: LB388 and LB1331. LB388 initially proposed an up-to-1% increase of the sales tax, from the current rate of 5.5% to possibly as high as 6.5%, and raising taxes and eliminating tax exe...
"If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all." – Thumper "The tongue of the wise makes knowledge attractive, but the mouth of fools blurts out foolishness." Proverbs 15:2 CSB Nebraska's unique one-house Legislature is back in the national spotlight again, for all the wrong reasons again. Last year it was a session-slowing filibuster accomplished by a couple senators who were upset with a bill restricting access to medical services for transgender youth. This year, it's a move seeki...
This week, my personal priority bill, LB1301, was put before the Unicameral for the first stage of consideration. LB1301 would modernize our state’s existing laws relating to foreign land ownership. The bill would add greater oversight and tighten restrictions on so-called restricted entities or their agents, trustees or fiduciaries, referenced in two federal lists: the persons and entities designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the six countries designated as foreign a...
One of the most iconic symbols of Nebraska and its history still dots the state's landscape, blades circling in the air, pumping clean clear water from the ground. Three Summerland students believe a windmill designed and constructed at the school will pay homage to Nebraska's roots - and be a visitor favorite - at this week's Norfolk Home and Garden Show at the Chuck M. Pohlman Agriculture Complex in Norfolk. The 12-foot windmill, designed by Summerland sophomore Caydence Schumacher, and...
