NU TO CLOSE CAMPUSES TO ALL BUT CERTAIN EMPLOYEES WHO MUST BE PHYSICALLY PRESENT

LINCOLN - The University of Nebraska has closed its campuses to all employees except for those designated as having to be physically present on campus. Employees have until Friday to arrange the transition, according to a statement released Tuesday evening.The closure applies to the entire NU system and will continue at least two weeks, according to the statement.

Anyone who is expected to report to work will receive a personal letter. This could include health care workers, public safety officers and dining and housing workers.

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OLD STRATCOM HQ WILL GET A LONG-OVERDUE UPGRADE AS 55TH WING MOVES IN

OMAHA - Offutt Air Force Base’s “Island” is about to get a makeover.

The Island is what insiders call the hilltop headquarters building planned by (and until last year, named for) Gen. Curtis LeMay, who led and shaped the Air Force’s Strategic Air Command from Offutt in its early years.

Late last year the U.S. Strategic Command, SAC’s post-Cold War successor as the holder of the keys to the nuclear arsenal, decamped with its 3,300 employees down the hill to a new $1.3 billion command-and-control building.

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PROPERTY TAX BILL IN LIMBO WITH NEBRASKA SESSION ON PAUSE

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers who are seeking to lower property taxes won some extra time to make a deal with opponents last month when the coronavirus pandemic brought their session to a halt, but so far it doesn’t appear that anyone is budging.

Key lawmakers said they’re still working behind the scenes from their homes to craft a proposal with enough support to pass in the one-house Legislature. The current version faces an uphill fight because of united opposition from Nebraska’s public schools, leaving some lawmakers frustrated.

School officials said they welcome portions of the bill that would substantially boost state funding for K-12 education, but they don’t trust lawmakers to maintain that commitment in future years. They also object to the bill’s proposed restrictions on their taxing authority, arguing that it would reduce their flexibility and eventually hurt their ability to educate students.

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STATE SHUTDOWNS HAVE TAKEN AT LEAST A QUARTER OF U.S. ECONOMY OFFLINE

WASHINGTON - At least one-quarter of the U.S. economy has suddenly gone idle amid the coronavirus pandemic, an analysis conducted for The Wall Street Journal shows, an unprecedented shutdown of commerce that economists say has never occurred on such a wide scale.

The study, by the economic-analysis firm Moody’s Analytics, offers one of the most comprehensive looks yet at how much of the world’s largest economy has shut down in the past three weeks. It also analyzes counties big and small—from Manhattan to tiny Gilpin County, Colo.—to estimate how a concentration of government shutdown orders in the counties that produce a disproportionate share of the nation’s goods and services has weighed on the national picture.

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LOBBYIST'S CHALLENGE: BRING BACK THE SMALL TALK

WASHINGTON - Much of Capitol Hill has gone quiet due to the new coronavirus, but that doesn’t mean lobbyist Glenn LeMunyon is short on work. Like many in Washington, the work of those involved with the government goes on.

Mr. LeMunyon’s email inbox has exploded since he last stepped foot on the Hill March 13. Congress is currently debating an infrastructure bill that affects his clients, and he is looking for opportunities. There is, however, an important ingredient missing from the daily grind: small talk. Videoconferencing and phone calls fill up his day, but these interactions can be impersonal and don’t always offer the right setting for a conversation that builds camaraderie and trust.

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EDITORIAL; DESPERATE TIMES CALL FOR SALE OF BEER AT MEMORIAL STADIUM

LINCOLN - A mid dire forecasts of lost revenue, Bill Moos isn't opposed to turning to an unlikely savior to rescue the University of Nebraska's athletic program.Beer. More specifically, the sale of beer inside Memorial Stadium -- and the Devaney Center, Pinnacle Bank Arena and Haymarket Park.

The time has come to allow it.

And in doing so, we can end the charade. It's no secret that fans have forever been imbibing while tailgating, much of that taking place from the parking lots of what is known as a dry campus.

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RICKETTS ENCOURAGES VOTE BY MAIL, EYES GRADUAL EASING OF COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS POSSIBLY IN MAY

In a rare divergence of opinion from the views expressed by President Donald Trump, Gov. Pete Ricketts on Wednesday urged Nebraskans to take advantage of the opportunity to vote by mail in the May 12 primary election.

"It's a great way for people to be able to vote" at a time when Nebraskans confront the coronavirus pandemic threat, Ricketts said. "I'd encourage people to take advantage of that," the governor said.

With the threat of the virus likely to peak in Nebraska during the last week in April, Ricketts said, he would begin to consider reevaluating and perhaps relaxing some restrictions now in place in the state after that period, but only on a gradual basis.

"We would do it in phases (to) make sure we don't see a bounce-back by the virus," he said.

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NEBRASKA HITS 523 CORONAVIRUS CASES, 14 DEATHS; KEARNEY YOUTH CENTER TESTING YIELDS MORE CASES

LINCOLN- Two more deaths had been reported in Nebraska by Wednesday evening as the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, rose to 523.

Lincoln recorded its first death from the virus, a man in his 50s with underlying health issues, according to local officials. Madison County also recorded a death, a man about age 70, according to the Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department. He, too, had underlying health problems. A total of 14 people have died in the state.

Also on Wednesday, the results of testing all 282 staff and youth at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Kearney were released. According to the Nebraska Division of Public Health, one additional staff member and three youths tested positive.

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RICKETTS ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER TO GIVE COVID PATIENTS' ADDRESSES TO FIRST RESPONDERS

LINCOLN- Gov. Pete Ricketts issued an executive order Wednesday that appears to be intended to allow 911 dispatchers statewide to alert first responders whenever they’re being sent to the address of a person with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

The Nebraska State Fraternal Order of Police and the Nebraska Sheriffs Association had asked for the order. They want county and state public health officials to give 911 dispatchers a list of addresses of people with COVID-19, and for dispatchers to alert police, firefighters and paramedics when they are being sent to those addresses.

Sarpy County started doing it last week. The Douglas County Attorney’s Office had said it was not allowed under state law. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had issued guidance saying that the federal health information privacy law, HIPAA, did not prohibit sharing the information.

Ricketts’ executive order, signed Tuesday, says that Nebraska state law is more restrictive than federal law. The order temporarily suspends the applicable state statutes “which prohibit the disclosure of reports or information about cases of communicable diseases in such a way that an individual’s identity could be ascertained are temporarily suspended solely in order to permit the Department of Health and Human Services and the local public health departments to use or disclose identifiable health information when they have a good faith belief that such use or disclosure would prevent and lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public” from COVID-19.

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HOW OMAHA'S HEALTH SYSTEMS, NOT YET STRAINED, ARE CONSERVING SUPPLIES

OMAHA - The Omaha metropolitan area’s three large health systems are all taking steps to conserve supplies, including prioritizing testing to people at greatest risk, decontaminating health care workers’ N95 masks with UV light to extend their life, and partnering with local makers to obtain plastic face shields and cloth covers for medical masks.

None reported being in the kind of dire straits that have emerged in places harder hit by the virus. But staying on the hunt for supplies that are in demand high across the country is a challenge, Methodist Health System officials said. Supply managers are also spending additional time vetting various sources to make sure that the products they’re offering meet federal requirements.

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NEBRASKA MEDICINE ADDS ANOTHER SURGE TENT FOR POSSIBLE COVID-19 PATIENTS, JUST IN CASE

OMAHA - What started with one temporary surge tent outside the Nebraska Medical Center’s emergency room has mushroomed in a week’s time into a small tent city.

Nebraska Medicine’s emergency preparedness team on Tuesday finished setting up a second patient tent that can provide additional surge capacity, if needed, for patients with symptoms of COVID-19. A third structure will serve as a workspace for staff.

The two patient tents will provide additional space where health care workers can see people with respiratory symptoms consistent with the illness caused by the novel coronavirus separately from those visiting the emergency room for other reasons.

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TIGER AT NYC's BRONX ZOO TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS

NEW YORK (AP) - A tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the new coronavirus, in what is believed to be the first known infection in an animal in the U.S. or a tiger anywhere, federal officials and the zoo said Sunday.

The 4-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia — and six other tigers and lions that have also fallen ill — are believed to have been infected by a zoo employee who wasn't yet showing symptoms, the zoo said.

The first animal started showing symptoms March 27, and all are doing well and expected to recover, said the zoo, which has been closed to the public since March 16 amid the surging coronavirus outbreak in New York.

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NEBRASKA NATIONAL GUARD WILL HELP EXPAND COVID-19 TESTING IN GRAND ISLAND, WHERE CASES ARE RISING 50% A DAY

The Nebraska National Guard will be deployed to Grand Island this week to set up a temporary coronavirus testing tent.

Additional state resources are flowing to the central Nebraska area with a growing number of coronavirus cases. The state will provide more staff to track down those who came into contact with infected people, work with Grand Island employers on quarantining sick workers and communicate to the public the need to stay home and practice social distancing. 

The Grand Island medical community, Mayor Roger Steele and Central District Health Department Director Teresa Anderson have said a two-week stay-at-home order could help the area get a handle on its current outbreak.

At a press conference Monday, Anderson said Gov. Pete Ricketts doesn’t favor that approach.

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LINCOLN SEES BIGGEST SINGLE-DAY JUMP IN CORONAVIRUS CASES

LINCOLN- Lancaster County's confirmed number of COVID-19 cases jumped Monday by the most in a single day, bringing the total of lab confirmed cases in Lincoln to 31. 

And with the increase in cases, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department are now recommending cloth face masks be worn when people are out in public, including grocery store and pharmacy visits, and anywhere they will encounter other people. Gaylor Baird also emphasized that masks are one supplemental tool in the fight, and physical distancing and hand-washing are more important than ever. 

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department reported 13 new cases Monday, with the patients ranging in age from 29-71.

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NEBRASKA, IOWA AMONG FEW STATES WITHOUT STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds stopped short of issuing a stay-at-home order in her news conference Monday morning.

Iowa and Nebraska remain two of the few states that have not issued one. The list of Midwest states with such an order includes neighboring Kansas, Minnesota and Missouri. Yet, a key difference those states have that Nebraska and Iowa do not: specific instructions that narrow down who is an essential worker that can leave to go to their job and who should stay home.

On Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease doctor, said that, despite no stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders in both Iowa or Nebraska, the two states are on the same page with him.

"I had good conversations with (Gov. Ricketts) and (Gov. Reynolds) and it's interesting that functionally, even though they have not given a strict stay-at-home, what they are doing is really functionally equivalent to that," Fauci said

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IN CORONAVIRUS STORM, ADI POUR KEEPS CALM AND FOLLOWS HER COMPASS

OMAHA - Adi Pour was not exactly a household name before the coronavirus pandemic, but she has been a well-known and respected leader in Nebraska public health circles for decades.

Now, by virtue of a job that gives her sweeping powers in an epidemic, she has been thrust into the spotlight, closing Douglas County bars for St. Patrick’s Day, ending restaurant dining and telling police that, yes, they can break up crowds of more than 10 and issue citations. While most people are complying, the spotlight has brought criticism: that Pour’s orders do too much or that they do too little. It has also brought unhinged wrath. Last week, a former TV meteorologist was charged with emailing multiple profane death threats to her.

Through the storm, Pour has calmly focused on what she calls her compass: guarding the health of the community, her community for almost 50 years

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GRAND ISLAND DOCTORS ASK RICKETTS FOR STRICTER MEASURES TO CONTAIN CORONAVIRUS SPREAD THERE

GRAND ISLAND - Doctors in Grand Island, alarmed over the growing cluster of coronavirus cases there, are asking Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts to implement even stricter measures to force more people to stay home and slow the spread of the virus in their community.

Forty-five doctors from the Grand Island area signed a letter asking for more help from state officials and warning that the number of cases in the community could be much higher than what has been reported because of a lack of testing. The letter was written by Dr. Libby Crockett, an OB-GYN at the Grand Island Clinic, and Dr. Rebecca Steinke, a family physician at Family Practice of Grand Island and the medical director of the Central District Health Department, which covers Hall, Merrick and Hamilton Counties.

Taylor Gage, a spokesman for Ricketts, said the Governor’s Office has been in contact with Grand Island’s mayor, the public health department there, the hospitals and officials at the JBS USA beef plant, where 10 workers tested positive for the coronavirus.

“We are reaching out to the doctors to set up a meeting with them,” he said.

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GOV. RICKETTS COMMENTS ON KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION ANNOUNCEMENT

LINCOLN – Today, Governor Pete Ricketts issued a statement following news that TC Energy is moving forward with construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

“The long-awaited start of construction on the Keystone XL pipeline is tremendous news for Nebraskans,” said Gov. Ricketts.  “The project will upgrade our energy infrastructure, increase our nation’s energy independence, and bring great-paying jobs to our state.  Additionally, several Nebraska counties will benefit from a surge in property tax revenues from the pipeline project.”

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RICKETTS TAKES ACTION TO PREPARE FOR GATHERING CORONAVIRUS STORM

LINCOLN - Gov. Pete Ricketts said Tuesday he is taking action now to "surge up" the state's capacity to combat an increasing attack by the coronavirus that's expected to peak in Nebraska in mid-to-late April.

Ricketts issued an executive order that will allow critical access hospitals in rural areas to have more than 25 beds, temporarily waived some workforce training requirements at long-term care facilities, accelerated the state's quest for more surgical masks and prepared for the gathering storm.

That also means more testing, the governor said, along with increasing health care capacity, equipment and staffing while providing more flexibility.

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UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA TO PROVIDE MORE THAN 2,000 BEDS FOR COVID-19 PATIENTS

LINCOLN, Neb. - Governor Pete Ricketts, along with other state officials gave information during the daily COVID-19 update. On Thursday, Nebraska entered into an agreement with the University of Nebraska System to provide quarantine housing. This allows the State to use beds at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

The agreement will create bed space for three purposes: Quarantining individuals who need monitoring; People in isolation while waiting for testing results; Discharging patients who are convalescing

This contract will provide about 2,100 bed with food and janitorial services. The State and the federal government will cover the cost of these beds.The governor said the State is still working on staffing of the dorms and there's no timetable as to when the facilities will be used.

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