Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 313
Nebraska is home to over 100,000 of our most honorable American heroes. These heroes left home and family to follow a call. They showed grit and dedication throughout taxing training. They fought hard for their homeland and made countless sacrifices. Many of them made the ultimate sacrifice - they sacrificed their own lives to protect others. These heroes are our veterans. Earlier this year, three of our own Nebraskan World War II veterans met in Omaha to remember their service so many years...
While neighboring state's officials wait to make decisions on permits for a proposed carbon-capture pipeline, Antelope County Planning and Zoning Commission members voted 6-1 to approve a conditional use permit for Summit Carbon Solutions. Bob Krutz cast the lone vote to deny the permit when the commission reconvened, Oct. 12. A public hearing for the CUP was originally held Sept. 14. During discussion after the hearing, commission members voted to continue the meeting to Oct. 5. At that...
I wonder if people who think nothing cool happens in Nebraska have paid attention to the Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska contest, sponsored by the state’s manufacturing alliance. ICYMI, here’s how it works. Manufacturers and related sectors were invited to nominate their favorite Nebraska-made product. The top 16 were placed in a bracket, with head-to-head voting taking place. What products made the top 16? Chocolate Meltaways from Bakers Candies; M Grills Big M Smokers made by Kinney Man...
The Legislature adjourned shortly after Memorial Day, but my duties as your representative continue at a fast pace. In the interim between the adjournment of the previous session and the convening of the next session, senators remain hard at work serving on special and select committees, studying subjects of local importance and addressing issues brought forward by constituents. During the session, I was appointed to serve on the LR178 Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Select Committee with six of...
It’s a case if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. “And you’ll never get it back,” Summerland Superintendent Kyle Finke said while discussing the board’s decision to raise the district’s tax asking authority by up to 7%. The agenda action item is the result of the recent enactment of LB243, known as the School District Property Tax Limitation Act. For the upcoming fiscal year, the act limits growth at 3%. The act creates a default rule which caps the magnitude of a school district’s prop...
A rural Antelope County road will stay intact following a public hearing and subsequent vote by commissioners on Aug. 1. Highway superintendent Brian McDonald said a road use study on 858 Road, between 521 and 522 Avenue was completed. "It's being actively used," McDonald said. Two individuals offered testimony in opposition of the closure. Testifying via speaker phone, Matt Klabenes, of Neligh, said, "We've got a service line down that for our stock well. It's the reason we took the trees out...
First aid kits in the Antelope County courthouse, in Neligh, will be freshly stocked each quarter, following an Aug. 1 vote by commissioners approving a new provider, Cintas, to fulfill the duties. Zee Medical formerly performed the service. County clerk Lisa Payne told commissioners, "It is nice to have someone check that. I know I can say 'I'm going to do that,' but it's usually one of the last things I do." Cintas will update any products close to or at its expiration date. To get the...
Ask 10 people who they would choose as the most loved television or movie couple and you’ll get 10 different answers. While Ross and Rachel spark excitement for “Friends” followers, the chemistry between Robert Kincaid and Francesca Johnson, in “The Bridges of Madison County,” is undeniable. Questions like this make me chuckle, especially when I receive a press release from a London-based public relations firm, letting me know that Lois and Clark top the most-loved list for a lot of Nebraskan...
NOTICE OF BOARD MEETING NOTICE OF VOTE TO INCREASE BASE GROWTH PERCENTAGE USED TO DETERMINE PROPERTY TAX REQUEST AUTHORITY The Summerland Public Schools Board of Education will meet on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, at 6:30 p.m., at Summerland Public School for a board meeting. Among other topics to be discussed, pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-3405, the board will vote on whether to increase the school district’s base growth percentage by up to seven percent (7%). A copy of the agenda, kept continuously current, is available for public inspection in...
Holt County Supervisors held a listening session, Monday afternoon, allowing members of the Holt/Boyd E-911 board to present their perceptions of operations in the dispatch center and the role of the board. In late July, supervisors Duane Neiman, Scott Keyes and Bill Tielke and Holt County Clerk Cathy Pavel met with Boyd County officials to hear public comment about day-to-day operations at the center. The meeting arose following a June 20 meeting, where fire department representatives,...
While it rained cats and dogs in Clearwater, Monday, village trustees let the cat out of the bag during their regular meeting: They are unsure of how to handle the feral cat population. And, instead of going to the dogs, village officials are hopeful a newly-established fine for unlicensed canines will urge residents to pay the $6 tag fee, due annually by May 1. Discussion about dog tags, and lack of residents who pay the yearly amount, has been on the trustees' agenda for nearly three months....
Recent tension between the Boyd-Holt E911 board members and fire departments, emergency medical services, and law enforcement from both Boyd and Holt counties came to a head, Tuesday, June 20, as representatives filled the Holt County Annex meeting room. The board has struggled to keep employees the last few years and has failed to keep some of its promises to other dispatching agencies. Troubles with employees and management have fractured the once smooth operations' center that dispatches for...
The 108th Legislature First Session was a hot mess. The fact that three senators could derail the work of 46 others in the nation's only one-house, allegedly nonpartisan Legislature, speaks volumes. What went wrong? Most everything that could. There were 17 new senators (two of them who served terms before being reelected in November). A new clerk of the legislature stepped up after two years as an assistant. A new governor and a new lieutenant governor who is the presiding officer of the...
The voter ID measure, a solution in search of a problem, has been thankfully watered down in legislative action that clearly indicates the wheels on the Republican juggernaut are wobbly, if not ready to come off. Turns out the chief opponent to the bill and an amendment that came from the Government Committee was Republican Sen. Julie Slama, who was the poster child for a ballot initiative that got the topic before lawmakers. The initiative was largely funded by recent-Governor Pete Ricketts'...
The 108th Legislature, First Session, has adjourned sine die. This past year, lawmakers passed some important bills and failed to agree on other critical issues. Excluding A bills, of the 820 bills and 274 resolutions introduced this year, only 33 bills and one resolution actually received a final vote. However, the bills passed included many expansive Christmas tree packages, meaning the Legislature actually passed 291 bills in total, including A bills. This figure is comparable to the last...
A legislative proposal to make various changes to Nebraska’s tax system received second-round approval this past week. LB 727 is a Revenue Committee omnibus package that contains provisions from nearly 30 bills. The bill includes several provisions that I support, including: • LB 577, which would prohibit home equity theft by requiring personal service to property owners that their taxes are delinquent, making sure they know they are at risk of losing their home or land via the purchase of a tax...
When Antelope County Commissioners convene June 6, members of the public wanting to watch proceedings will have to do so in person. After a 5-1 vote during the group’s May 9 meeting, broadcasting meetings via the Zoom platform will no longer be an option. Commissioner Regina Krebs voted against the motion. During discussion prior to the vote, chairman Charlie Henery said the group made a motion during the pandemic to use virtual conferencing. “If we don’t want to continue, we need a motio...
Ewing Village Board of Trustees approved applying for United States Department of Agriculture grant, totaling $50,000, to assist with the purchase of a payloader. The vote was taken during a 7 p.m. special meeting, Monday, at city hall. Chairman James Ramold said officials are looking at different options, with prices ranging from $101,000 to $130,000. Trustee Dustin Wright said prices vary, depending on the types and number of attachments included with the equipment purchase. "There's not a...
As the days in the George W. Norris Legislative Chamber dwindle down to a precious few, the Republican majority continues to trip over each other patting themselves on the back while the Democrats dig their trenches a little deeper and promise to give the home folks one to remember. There are still 32 Republicans in the officially nonpartisan Legislature and they are a mostly conservative lot. The Democrats are down to 16 with the recent defection of Omaha Sen. Meghan Hunt, who now identifies...
This week saw the Legislature continue to work late into the night to complete its business before adjourning in June. Although only a few bills have advanced thus far, a tremendous amount of work is going on behind the scenes by various legislative divisions such as the clerk’s office, transcribers, bill drafters, information technology, research, and committees to ensure bills are ready for the floor. With all the budget bills sitting on final reading, senators spent several days working to p...
The Legislature gave second-round approval to the budget bills this past week. This effort will allow the budget to be read on Final Reading next week, meeting the requirement to have it pass by the 80th legislative day. The budget would provide money for capital construction projects such as the Perkins County Canal Project and a new prison facility. Additional funds are appropriated to cover salary increases recently negotiated with the state employee’s union and for staff at correctional f...
As if propping up the school aid formula to historic proportions wasn't enough, the new governor appears to be getting his way in the Legislature with a package of tax changes that could cost the state more than $3 billion over the next six years. The plan would increase Nebraska's two property tax credit programs, cap school property tax growth and eliminate almost all community college property taxes. Oh, and this bill works in concert with one that would cut the state's top income tax rate...
The Appropriations Committee advanced its finalized recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 biennial budget to the full Legislature. This proposal calls for an average increase of 2.3% in spending over the next two fiscal years. The main differences between the governor's proposal and the Appropriations Committee proposal are that lawmakers included an additional $80 million to increase both (A) the reimbursement rates for providers of Medicaid services by 3% this year and...
This week saw the Legislature pass the first four bills of the year. LB 376 would create a brand registration for the state Liquor Control Commission to accurately identify and track alcoholic products imported into Nebraska. LB 296 would both (a) create a framework for pet insurance and (b) require that the reimbursement rate for any telehealth service shall, at a minimum, be the same as a comparable in-person health care service in order to ensure there is no disincentive to health care...
This month’s state board of education meeting convened on Thursday, April 13 and Friday, April 14 at the Graduate Hotel in Lincoln. Before I get into this month’s highlights, I want to challenge you with a mental math problem for elementary students from 1877. No pencil, paper or technology allowed. On a farm, there are 60 animals - horses, cows and sheep; for each horse, there are three cows and for each cow there are two sheep: how many animals of each kind? For the answer, tune in to next mon...
