HOW CORONAVIRUS CREATED MAGA 2.0

WASHINGTON - With an economic crisis gripping the nation, President Donald Trump is reprising his 2016 slogan, with a twist: Make America Great Again, Again. Trump is trying to defy history by convincing Americans he can restore a coronavirus-decimated economy and become one of the only U.S. presidents to win reelection during a recession year. His argument is “I’ve already built the economy once, I can build it a second time.”

The president’s political advisers also say there’s reason to believe it’s a winning message. Recent campaign and public polling show Trump slightly outperforming likely Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on the handling of the economy even as the president finds himself on shaky ground nationally and in battleground states less than six months before the election.

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HANDFUL OF LEGISLATIVE CONTESTS ARE FLUID

LINCOLN - The Nebraska primary election turned out well for all incumbent state senators with the exception of Andrew LaGrone, who ended up trailing his opponent, Jen Day, by just 630 votes. However, given the attention he will receive prior to November, that election is labeled as a toss-up.

Carol Blood, Lynne Walz, and Dan Quick, all still potential Republican Party targets, looked strong this month. Tom Brewer and Julie Slama dominated in the first round of their races. In Lincoln, incumbent Sens. Anna Wishart, Mike Hilgers, and Suzanne Geist ran strong. Omaha voters may send another Cavanaugh, John, to Lincoln.

Primary election results pointed toward the early possibility of a net Republican gain of one seat in the nonpartisan Legislature, and perhaps two if LaGrone recovers. But all that is tenuous. 

Jacob Campbell, a Republican, ran out front in Lincoln's District 29, now represented by Sen. Kate Bolz, and former Sen. Rich Pahls, a Republican, led the pack in Omaha's District 31, now represented by Sen. Rick Kolowski.

The predominately mail-in primary yielded great turnout numbers.

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KERREY ENDORSES KATE BOLZ AS SHE TAKES ON FORTENBERRY FOR 1ST DISTRICT HOUSE SEAT

OMAHA - Former U.S. Sen. and Nebraska Gov. Bob Kerrey has endorsed a fellow Democrat, State Sen. Kate Bolz of Lincoln, in her quest to unseat eight-term U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. Kerrey stated that take on the pharmaceutical companies when she gets to Washington and will stand up for Nebraska farmers and rural communities who have been hurt by “a failed trade war.”

Congressman Fortenberry is a Republican and has represented the district since 2004. Fortenberry recently criticized Kate Bolz about comments she made about “having much to learn” from the Chinese.

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HOW THE ELECTIONS IN NEBRASKA AND WISCONSIN MANAGED AMID THE PANDEMIC

WASHINGTON – Nebraska’s primary election was a “notable success.” In Nebraska, each poll worker received a safety kit that included an N95 mask, gloves, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and a face shield. Polling places provided masks to voters who showed up without them, and poll workers were instructed to disinfect everything voters touched between every use.

There were no reports of excessive lines at polling places. In Nebraska, even big cities were able to avoid closing many polling places, although election officials in Douglas County (home to Omaha) told FiveThirtyEight some polling places, such as those located in retirement communities, were closed due to the coronavirus threat. In total, 200 of its usual 222 polling places were open.

No fewer than 493,393 of Nebraska’s 1,216,431 registered voters (41 percent) requested an absentee ballot. 34% of the population voted.

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FORMER STATE SENATOR BOB KRIST ENDORSES CONGRESSMAN DON BACON IN DISTRICT 2 RACE

OMAHA - Congressman Don Bacon (R-NE) announced that he has been endorsed by former State Senator Bob Krist in the District 2 race. Krist was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Nebraska in the 2018 election and served in the Nebraska Legislature for ten years.

Krist stated that “As a proud Democrat, I have found common ground with Don Bacon on a number of issues and I appreciate how he has worked across the aisle in a bipartisan manner to bring people together to find common-sense solutions for our community, state, and nation. I ask that my Republican, Democrat and Independent friends join me in supporting Don Bacon for his reelection to Congress.”

Bacon said he was honored to have the support.

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HISTORIC NEBRASKA PRIMARY NUMBERS COULD INFLUENCE NOVEMBER ELECTION

OMAHA - Few people showed up at the polls in person last week. Nonetheless, it turned out to be a historic election. That's because most people voted by mail. 12,150 people turned in ballots at drop boxes. This means more than 120,000 voters in Douglas County voted by mail. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen said, “I’m especially proud that Nebraskans responded this way in the middle of a health pandemic.”

Eight of every 10 Nebraskans who voted did so by mail or by delivering their ballot to a dropbox. Will it be the same for the November General Election? Secretary Evnen said, “My hope is this pandemic will be tamped down by the November election. But whatever the conditions are, we’ll be able to meet them.”

The options to vote by mail or go to the polls will be available to voters come November.

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CORONAVIRUS RECESS TO END FOR NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE; SESSION TO RESUME JULY 20

LINCOLN - Speaker of the Legislature, State Sen. Jim Scheer of Norfolk, announced Monday that lawmakers will be called back to the State Capitol on July 20, though he reserved the right to change the date based on the status of the coronavirus outbreak in Nebraska.

Speaker Scheer stated, "This decision is based upon the current belief that Lincoln and Nebraska will have experienced their peak of COVID-19 cases and that there is not a resurgence mid-summer once restrictions have been loosened. Please keep in mind that I reserve the right to alter this ... should it appear best to do so."

The session is slated to end on August 13th. The Speaker also asked senators to reexamine the fiscal impact of their respective priority bills. The Speaker stated, “It will be to your benefit to look for a way to eliminate or minimize the general fund impact given the uncertainty of the economic forecast picture in mid-July.”

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THIRD STATE INMATE IN OMAHA TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS

OMAHA - A third inmate at the Community Corrections Center-Omaha has tested positive for the coronavirus. Contact tracing is being conducted to determine whether the recently positive inmate was in close contact with anyone.

Ten staff members in the department have tested positive. Some staff members have completed their quarantine and returned to work. The Omaha facility is one of two community custody centers operated by the state. The facility houses 175 inmates.

The Omaha World Herald states, “Some advocates and family members of inmates have criticized Corrections for its lack of testing of state inmates and are fearful that the coronavirus could spread within Nebraska’s crowded prisons and jails, similar to outbreaks that have occurred in other states. Earlier this month, three inmates at the Nebraska State Penitentiary became the first in the state to be tested.”

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STATES’ CONTACT TRACING TEST

WASHINGTON – Some states are facing challenges as they begin to publish contact tracing data. These challenges include low download numbers, spotty data, and privacy concerns.

Contributing to the problems is the resistance stemming from 60% of Americans who said that they couldn’t or wouldn’t use tracing apps built into Apple and Google’s technology. University of Washington Law School professor Ryan Calo conducted the study that found that there is public discomfort with contact tracing technology. Calo stated, “Either you have a system unlikely to help people navigate their world, to leave their house and feel safe, or you have privacy trade-offs.”

Some public health experts have stated that there will not be much use for the apps if there are not sufficient downloads.

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IMMUNITY PASSPORTS WON’T REOPEN AMERICA

WASHINGTON – Antibody tests and “immunity passports” were supposed to be the great hope for safely reopening the economy.The problem is many of the more than 120 tests on the market are inaccurate. And scientists don’t really yet understand how much immunity antibodies confer or how long it lasts.

But these tests — and the apps to promote them — are gaining traction among businesses and consumers eager to know who has been exposed to the virus, raising the risk that people will be relying on faulty results to promote their immunity from the coronavirus.

Many Americans are concerned with the privacy costs of “passports.” Jarrett Zigon, Director of the bioethics program at the University of Virginia, has stated that the surveillance surrounding testing will be challenging to overcome.

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HAIR SALONS, BARBER SHOPS REOPENING IN SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA

BEATRICE – Under certain restrictions because of coronavirus, hairstylists and barber shops are allowed to operate again within the Public Health Solutions district of southeast Nebraska. Co-Owner of the Hair Studio in west Beatrice, Joan Bruhn has been preparing for the reopening and adjusting procedures that will be used above and beyond the normal sanitation practices used before the pandemic hit.

Bruhn stated that “We'll be putting in some long hours and days off, trying to get everybody caught up. Everybody's ecstatic to get their hair done. We will sanitize between each client; each client gets a new cape, and everything has to be sanitized and cleaned.”

There's a limit on the number of guests, and persons are asked to come to their hair appointment, alone. Customers will wait outside in their vehicle until each is welcomed in.

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LANCASTER COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT: SEVERAL FACTORS AFFECT THE TRAJECTORY OF COVID-19 TEST RESULTS

LINCOLN – In Lancaster county, the percent of positive cases dropped to 6.6% on Saturday, down from 14.4%. Pat Lopez, interim director of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department stated that “Part of that drop can be attributed to 608 lab results from Test Nebraska with a low positivity rate.” The prior week, Bryan Health’s mobile unit was collecting samples from Crete, an area hit hard by the coronavirus. This may have contributed to higher positivity rates. Additionally, due to a backlog of tests, positive percentage rates may be affected.

Officials maintain that contact tracing is the best to see if the number of positive cases is dropping. On Sunday, 128 new cases were reported in the state, bringing the total to 10,348. The positive-test rate statewide has also seen a dip, from about 20% the previous week to 10% last week.

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MADISON COUNTY RECEIVES FEDERAL FUNDS

NORFOLK - Madison County has been awarded nearly $30,000 in federal funds made available through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program. Madison County has been chosen to receive $12,100 under Phase 37 and $17,251 under the CARES Act to supplement emergency food and shelter programs in the county.

How the funds will be awarded will be determined by a local board. Public or private voluntary agencies interested in applying for Emergency Food and Shelter Program funds must contact Krista Heineman at 402-385-6300, ext 276, for an application. The deadline for applications to be received is no later than 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 28. 

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‘IT WAS LIKE TRIAL BY FIRE’: OMAHA-AREA EMT’S RETURN FROM NEW YORK, SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES

OMAHA – Bellevue resident Lucas Nielson served as an EMT in New York for 21 days. Nielsen was one of 60 EMTs deployed to the city by Midwest Medical Transport, a company subcontracted with American Medical Response to assist with disasters like the coronavirus.

Omaha Station Manager Angela Kirchner stated that “Walking into the ERs, it was almost like entering a third-world country hospital setting with how many people were there. It was wall to wall with people waiting, coughing. You had to maneuver between all the patients in order to find the patient you were looking for.”

Kirchner has said that no one that was deployed to New York has tested positive as of now.

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COVID-19 HAS MADE LIFE DIFFICULT FOR FUNERAL HOMES, GRIEVING FAMILIES

GRAND ISLAND – In a normal month, All Faiths Funeral Home handles about 15 to 20 deaths. In April, All Faiths Funeral Homes handled 42, with 24 deaths being related to COVID-19. Not only did COVID-19 increase the number of deaths for funeral homes, but COVID-19 also changed how funeral homes were conducting their funerals. Large gatherings were either foregone or postponed.

Derek Apfel of Apfel Funeral Home stated that the virus has “not allowed people to have their normal time to have friends involved with their grieving.” Many people can’t get together. Apfel went on to say it’s never a good time to have a loved one die, “but now is just a really, really bad time, because we don’t get that closure that we need to have.” Many families are restricting the funeral to only immediate family and simply live-streaming the service. On the other hand, many are opting for a later date.

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FIVE MORE STAFFERS AT ELKHORN NURSING HOME TEST POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS

OMAHA - Executive Director of the Life Care Center of Elkhorn Michelle Yosick stated that two residents have been hospitalized with COVID-19 and five more staff members have tested positive. In total, 51 residents have tested positive and 25 have tested negative. Seven residents have been hospitalized.

The residents that have tested positive are receiving specialized care.

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LETHAL INJECTION RECORDS MUST BE DISCLOSED, NEBRASKA SUPREME COURT RULES

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Friday that state officials must release documents revealing where Nebraska obtained the lethal injection drugs used to execute Carey Dean Moore in 2018.

The ruling marked a victory for the Omaha World-Herald, the Lincoln Journal Star and the ACLU of Nebraska, which had sued the state Department of Correctional Services for denying their separate public records requests. The state argued that the records should be confidential because they could lead to the identification of members of the execution team. Those identities are protected in state law.

But the high court rejected the state's arguments, saying that they "contradict the text of Nebraska’s public records statutes and are adverse to this court’s public records precedent." It ordered the department to redact confidential portions of the documents, such as the names of execution team members, and release the rest. 

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APRIL GROSS GENERAL FUND RECEIPTS 41% LOWER THAN FORECASTED

LINCOLN - Tax Commissioner Tony Fulton on Friday released an updated report on the general fund receipts collected by the state for the general fund. Gross receipts were down 41% from the original forecast of $795 million (to $469 million). Tax refunds were down by 21.4%, to $124 million from the $158 million. Net receipts also fell nearly 46%.  Most of this is due to the movement of the mandatory filing date for Nebraska state income tax returns from April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020.  Importantly, this movement has placed the income tax receipts into Nebraska's next fiscal year of FY2020-21.   

Though April numbers had greatly fallen, over all net general fund receipts for FY19-20 were 0.1% above the certified forecast, $4 billion up from $3.997 billion.

A full listing these figures, and more detailed information, can be found on the department's press release by clicking HERE.  We can expect more commentary on this issue later today and over the weekend from both the Governor's Office and Appropriations Committee Chairman John Stinner of Gering.

COURT FREEZES NEW PIPELINE PERMITTING

WASHINGTON – A federal district court judge in Montana has decided to stand by his April ruling that shut down the use of an Army Corps of Engineers general permit for pipeline projects. This decision could delay dozens of projects across the country. Chief Judge Brian Morris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana tailored the scope of his ruling further “to bar the Army Corps of Engineers from using its streamlined Clean Water Act permit for the construction of new oil and gas pipelines, but allowed its use for other construction projects, as well as routine maintenance of existing projects.”

In a case that relates specifically to the Keystone XL pipeline, Morris ruled that the Corp’s nationwide permit was invalid due to the fact that the Corps did not consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service to see if it would endanger animals and plants protected by the Endangered Species Act. Morris has rejected the arguments of the Trump administration in their attempts to revive the permits.

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BACK IN SESSION, STATE LEGISLATURES CHALLENGE GOVERNORS' AUTHORITY

ATLANTA — State lawmakers in Mississippi voted overwhelmingly last week to strip away the governor’s authority to spend more than $1.2 billion in federal funds. In Wisconsin, lawyers for the Legislature’s Republican leaders argued before the State Supreme Court their case for reining in the governor’s executive “safer-at-home” order.

As Lousiana legislators find themselves separated by masks and plexiglass barriers Blake Miguez, the leader of the Republican caucus in the State House of Representatives stated “I don’t want to have to override our governor, but the Legislature has become very frustrated. They’re hearing screams louder than ever from back home that we need to reopen the economy.”  

Until recently, intergovernmental friction over individual state responses to the virus and plans for restarting state economies has been dominated by skirmishes between executives, with tension between mayors and governors, and governors and the president. Yet as more state legislatures reconvene, and as states take tentative steps toward some semblance of normalcy, lawmakers have increasingly asserted themselves, demanding to define a clearer role for the legislative branch and challenging governors who have become the face of their state’s response.

Lawmakers have emerged from isolation in recent weeks, mostly with the goal of curtailing executive orders imposed by governors and picking up the pace of reopening.

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