Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Online learning seems new, but it’s older than you think. The field’s predecessor, distance education, can be traced back centuries. From Sir Isaac Pitman, who taught shorthand by correspondence in 1840, to lectures broadcast on the radio in the early 1920s, all the way through to the early 1990s when colleges and universities took advantage of the newly minted World Wide Web and began to offer online education programs, it has evolved alongside technological advances. In those early days of the internet, online learning was an adjustment for...
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...
While reading a weekly email from James Clear, writer of the wildly popular book “Atomic Habits,” the author posed a question that caught my attention. “What season are you in right now and what does that season require?” We walk through life and experience different phases, like the changing of seasons. Right now, we’re transitioning from summer into fall, where the days cool down, school activities heat up and there’s a constant sense of motion. I call it the season of busy. What does it req...
A few years back, a lucky tip came my way about an impending immigration raid in O'Neill. I don't recall a lot of details about what was expected to happen, but the tip was "you'd better be there tomorrow morning." As I drove up Highway 281 toward the north-central Nebraska town, I settled in behind what seemed like an endless line of SUVs with blackened windows also driving northward. It turned out they were mostly agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who were headed to...
Ironic, isn’t it, that a system that provides so many advantages for its citizens also provides the means of its own demise. Unlike nearly every other system of government that came before it, U.S. democracy offered its citizens individual freedom, respect and relative equality. Yes, it’s true that the founders left women and enslaved people out of their plans, but, thankfully, the nation has moved to implement the founders’ original principles as we have learned more about and moved to embrace what they actually mean. American democracy makes...
My Uncle Paul left this earth about 10 days ago. He was an entertaining character who loved his family and always had a knack for making people laugh. I was asked to speak at his funeral. My Aunt Deanna tells me he loved this column. He told me that, too. Uncle, this one’s about you. I read two statements this week that hit home. The first one said, “An auntie and her first-born niece will always have an unbreakable bond. I know it’s true. Ask my aunties, I’m their favorite “Hey, will you run t...
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...
Last week, I watched ESPN E60: No Place Like Nebraska. It wove several storylines into one, showing why Husker volleyball continues to be the program to emulate. The show included snippets of the program’s humble beginnings, a fair amount about the attendance record at volleyball day and a glimpse into Harper Murray’s successes on the court and downfalls outside of Devaney. It’s a lot to wrap into a 50-minute video. Maybe too much. One storyline needed more. If you’re a volleyball enthusi...
Dear editor: Nebraskans for Peace State Board supports American Democracy as stated in the US. Constitution, with its openness to human rights for all people and its checks and balances in government through the legislative, executive and judicial. We urge our fellow Nebraskans to further democracy through widening perspective by reading writers one disagrees with and try to understand their thinking. Nebraskans for Peace acknowledges the large number of newspapers in Nebraska and the existence...
Back in the day, the Omaha World-Herald provided me with a company car and the instructions: "Drive across the state and find some stories." It was obviously a more formal command than that, something like, "If you like your job, you'll write something interesting." It was an incredible adventure in various vintages of Ford Taurus'. On the road, you realize that there are fascinating stories – sometimes tragic and sad, sometimes heart-warming and uplifting – in every corner of the state. You rec...
Specialty producers have often been underserved by federal crop insurance programs. Recognizing the discrepancy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency, which administers federal crop insurance, recently announced the expansion of the Enhanced Coverage Option to better serve producers. The expansion offers farmers who provide fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other agricultural products additional coverage at a reduced cost, giving them better protection for their operations in...
I opened the wooden recipe box sitting on the kitchen counter the other day and was transported to my childhood. It’s funny how reading recipes in your mom’s and grandmothers’ handwriting makes you long for certain foods. The first recipe out of the box listed ingredients in mom’s seven-minute frosting: egg whites, sugar, water, white corn syrup, salt and vanilla. I can see her standing at the stove, laboring over a double boiler, using a hand mixer to whip the concoction until peaks formed. It was a delicious final touch on her homemad...
The Legislature concluded the special session that was called to relieve property taxes on Aug. 20. After a contentious start, senators agreed to compromise on legislation that will frontload the Nebraska Property Tax Incentive Act credits from LB1107 (2020) directly onto taxpayer’s property tax statements, trim and adjust the state budget by $185 million and tighten existing property tax levy caps for counties, cities and villages to the greater of inflation or 0%. Of the 81 bills and 24 r...
State lawmakers have long since finished their long, 17-day special session in Lincoln and headed back home. The summer session unfolded as a lot of people, including me, expected - a lot of ideas for reducing property taxes were discussed, but only a small, incremental change, one that will result in a 3% drop in property taxes for some taxpayers, was passed. As we've discussed before, reducing property taxes, while a noble and needed move, is a complicated task and requires an adept hike...
One of the most exciting things we can do for the places we love is make a planned gift. Exciting might not be the first word we associate with making a will, which is the simplest and most common way to make a charitable planned gift, but bear with me for a moment. Planning your estate offers a poignant opportunity to examine your passions and values. When we sit down to decide what causes are important enough to be included in our legacy, the stakes become a bit higher. We catalog our lives,...
One of my favorite TikTok creators eats his way through the Iowa State Fair. For the past three years, this Iowegian visits nearly every food stand on the fairgrounds, highlights a certain food or special drink, samples it while the camera runs and rates each food, giving it a specific number of corndogs on a 10-corndog scale. He’s taste-tested apple bacon waffles, dill pickle sno-cones, alligator corndogs, lamb Philly cheese steaks, pork picnic in a cup (pulled pork, baked beans, Fritos and c...
Eminent domain concerns Dear Editor: The Nebraska Constitution states there will be no eminent domain for private gain. Period. But there are plenty of interlopers who choose to ignore that. By allowing public/private partnerships we see the beginning of Fascism. You know, “for the greater good” and disregard the rights of private property.” Right now, there are four aircraft staging out of the ONeill airport flying at 300’ all day long under contract to the US Geological Administration to do a survey. They use lidar to map underground mineral...
This week, the Legislature took up the issues of property taxes and adjustments to the state budget. Much of the focus remained on the package crafted by the Revenue Committee and attached to LB34 by Senator Brewer in place of LB1 and LB9. In a long day of constant changes, LB34 was originally intended to resemble LB1 and LB9. During debate, several concerns were raised, including counties and municipalities who opposed the proposed caps, schools that were hesitant that the Legislature could...
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...
Au revoir, Paris. See you in 2028, Los Angeles. As the Olympics draw to a close, I’ve been reflecting on the competition storylines that captured my attention during the past two weeks. Who wouldn’t be inspired by Simone Biles and her redemption tour? After withdrawing from Olympic competition four years ago, due to injury, her journey to this year’s podium was inspiring. Not only is Biles one of the most-decorated Olympic gymnasts of all time, her actions on the sidelines show why she is simply the best. Her enthusiasm for her teammates shine...
As we all know, state legislators have been called back to Lincoln for a special session this summer to tackle the state's high property taxes. As has been written here before, good luck with that. It's easy to gripe about property taxes being too high; much more difficult to lower them without shifting the tax load onto someone else. But we need to talk about something that we also all gripe about – gasoline prices. I'm one of those guys who scans the countryside for the cheapest gas p...
This week, the Legislature convened for only two days, choosing to adjourn early after Sen. Linehan, chair of the Revenue Committee, requested additional time for the bill drafters to finalize amendments. The Legislature was previously scheduled to remain in session through Saturday, Aug. 10 but instead, resumed the session on Monday, Aug. 12. During this week’s session, senators and their staffs received a briefing from the Revenue Committee outlining their framework to try to deliver property tax relief. LB9, by Sen. Hughes, is the bill now i...
The Antelope County 4-H shows I viewed were a lot of fun. You could tell members invested a lot of time and energy in their projects. And, despite the heat, animals mostly cooperated. I wish I had been able to see the other shows. Instead, I was battling an infection and made multiple trips to the emergency room to receive IV fluids and antibiotics. The descent into sickness began Tuesday, once the paper was put to bed. A quick whoosh of something washed over me and, within minutes, a 103° fever...
This week, the Legislature concluded bill introduction and public hearings in this special session. Generally, in a special session, few bills are introduced and public hearings are finished in a couple of days. In this special session, a total of 81 bills and 24 constitutional amendments were introduced during three days of bill introduction, the most proposed during any special session since 1937. The large number of introduced proposals required six days of public hearings. Speaker Arch...
Summer is usually a relaxing time in Lincoln. College students have left, state lawmakers have gone home, the weather gets hot, the backyard tomatoes get ripe, and the biggest debate around town is whether this is the year the Huskers become relevant again in football. Optimism always abounds in the pre-season, before the first kickoff. But not sure the same optimism accompanies the special session Gov. Jim Pillen has convened to address the state's traditionally high property taxes. Every...
