LINCOLN- Bob Evnen, Nebraska's Secretary of State announced he will allow for the proposal for a constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana will be included on the general election ballot. He says the amendment is legally sufficient and he will not restrict it from the ballot unless ordered by the court. Opponents will be taking the issue to the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
LINCOLN- Gerry Oligmueller, veteran state budget administrator will retire in September after 44 years in state government that has included working under six governors. Oligmueller has been the state's chief budget officer since 1995.
The State Banking Director Mark Quandahl will also be stepping down from his post that he has held for over five years.
Lee Will, Deputy Budget Administrator will be taking over for Oligmueller and Kelly Lammers, Deputy Banking Director will be replacing Quandahl.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
OMAHA— Longtime state Senator Ernie Chambers, who will soon be leaving the Unicameral due to term limits, will not be appearing on the upcoming ballot for a spot on the Douglas County Board. A petition drive to get him on the ballot was turned in to the Douglas County Election Commission on Monday.
According to the Commission, Chambers needed 2,000 signatures and received 2,499 but 845 of those were rejected, which means less than 2000 signatures were validated. Signatures were rejected due to the signers not being registered in the proper board district, or not being registered to vote in Douglas County.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
LINCOLN — People with ties to payday lenders have brought three lawsuits against a ballot measure seeking to cap loan rates for the quick-cash businesses.Brian Chaney of Omaha, who has worked in the payday loan industry, filed the latest legal challenge Monday in Lancaster County District Court. His lawsuit seeks to have the measure taken off the Nov. 3 ballot.
The suit is accompanied by affidavits from 188 people who say they want to withdraw their signatures from the petition to put the measure on the ballot. They claim that petition circulators did not read them the object of the petition, as required by law, and that they do not support the object of the petition.
The 188 live in 10 smaller-population counties. If their signatures were removed, the petition no longer would meet the requirement to have signatures from 5% of registered voters in each of 38 counties. As a result, Chaney’s suit argues, the payday lending proposal does not qualify for the ballot.
Secretary of State Bob Evnen announced last month that the proposal had enough signatures to go before voters at the general election. Supporters collected well over the 85,628 valid signatures needed to qualify.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
LINCOLN- Bob Evnen, Nebraska's Secretary of State announced he will allow for the proposal for a constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana will be included on the general election ballot. He says the amendment is legally sufficient and he will not restrict it from the ballot unless ordered by the court. Opponents will be taking the issue to the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Following the Secretary's announcement, Governor Pete Ricketts doubled down on his opposition to the medical marijuana measure that is expected to be considered on the November General Election ballot.
“There is no such thing as medical marijuana,” Ricketts said during a press conference in Lincoln. “This is not something that would be prescribed by a doctor. It’s not going to be distributed through a pharmacy. These are dispensaries that would be in your communities.”
Ricketts argued that in other states where it has been legalized, people show up to work “stoned” and are at greater risk for accidents on the job. He also argued that the cognitive development of children is impacted when they have access to marijuana."This is not a benign thing. This is a dangerous thing," Ricketts said.
The comments come as the Nebraska Supreme Court is set to decide whether or not to let voters decide on medical marijuana in the state this November. Supporters of the measure called the legal challenge “a last-minute attempt to derail the precious right of the people.” They are confident the measure will survive the pending legal challenge.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
OMAHA- Craig Moody has announced his campaign for the District 3 seat on the Omaha City Council. Moody owns a small business, Verdi's Group that helps large corporations become more sustainable. His time on the OPPD Board has mostly been spent focusing on green energy initiatives. Because of his work, OPPD set a goal to be a net-zero carbon emitter by 2050. The current President, Chris Jerram will not be running for re-election.
Moody speaks about how even before the pandemic, a lot of systems and programs have not been working for the people of District 3. He wants to focus on re-crafting budgets and questioning those currently in power. He would like to see more support for boosting diversity, equality and inclusion. He was a part of the group that lobbied to the City Council in 2012 to adopt an ordinance that would protect gay and transgender employees in the workplace. The primary election is April 6th and the general is on May 11th.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
OMAHA- Bacon's first television ad for this election cycle focused only on healthcare. He put out this commercial two weeks after his opponent, Kara Eastman, released an ad about her healthcare plans. Healthcare is the top issue for many Nebraskans right now as the pandemic is still severely impacting many lives. Both ad's make very emotional appeals to viewers, both citing family member's deaths because of health issues in the commercial.
Bacon plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with the Republican-led plan to preserve private insurance. Eastman supports 'Medicare for All' that would replace all private insurance with a government-run plan. Experts say Bacon's plan to repeal the ACA will have states mostly relying on their local government rather than following federal standards.
Bacon's ad can be viewed HERE, and Eastman's HERE
Read the full article by clicking HERE
OMAHA- Chris Janicek announced Monday his intention to stay in the U.S. Senate race despite the Nebraska Democratic Party's attempts to get him to drop out. The Democratic Party of Nebraska has been asking Janicek to step aside since June when inappropriate text messages he sent came to light.
Janicek is up against incumbent Ben Sasse in the November 3rd election. Janicek believes he is the only option Democrats have if they want to beat Senator Sasse. Democrats are now looking for a write-in option to replace Janicek, although registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by 200,000.
Nebraska Democrats originally wanted to put up Alisha Shelton as a replacement for Janicek. Shelton is a mental health practitioner and would have been Nebraska's first black nominee from a major party for Senate. However, she is unable to be a write-in option because she was already defeated by Janicek in the primary.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
LINCOLN- Governor Pete Ricketts has implemented new Directed Health Measures across Nebraska effective on September 1st at 12:00AM. These measures impact each county differently, but pull restrictions from all 'phases' of Nebraska's reopening plans. Many communities will see some restrictions on group sizes, and occupancy allowances for venues. Additionally some areas will have new guidance for teachers who come into contact with COVID-19.
Because of the wide range of restrictions implemented within these DHM's, we encourage you to review them carefully for the areas surrounding your interests. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Joe or Brennen.
The full list of DHM's, in their full text, can be found by clicking HERE
OMAHA- Omaha’s mask requirement has been extended to Oct. 20. On Tuesday the city council voted 5-2 to approve an extension of the current requirement, which was set to expire Sept. 15. The rules of the requirement, which first took effect Aug. 11, won’t functionally change. Masks are required in many public settings where 6 feet of distance cannot be maintained. It includes several other exceptions.
Mayor Jean Stothert has said she won’t veto the council’s decision to extend the requirement.
Lincoln Mayor Gaylor Baird and Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department Director Pat Lopez have said the mask mandate and current local restrictions helped contribute to three weeks where the number of new cases declined. And by continuing the restrictions, the county can avoid a dramatic spike. Wearing masks, frequent hand-washing, maintaining distance and avoiding large gatherings have continued to prove effective, the mayor said.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
GRAND ISLAND- Started Monday, Northwest Public Schools are requiring all students to wear masks without exception. The Superintendent made this decision after having to quarantine a large number of students last week. Northwest schools are currently at a Tier 2 level but if they get to Tier 4 they will have to shut down again, similar to last springs decision to send all students home. The school will provide masks to students who do not have one. Students must also wear masks on the school buses who will also have masks available.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
GRAND ISLAND- Region 3 Behavioral Health Services has been given $625,265 in grants for coronavirus and flood support. The grants came from the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency and it is intended to help communities recover from disasters.
Region 3 serves 22 counties in south-central and central Nebraska, including Hall County which is around 13% of the state's population. Nebraska Disaster Recovery for Schools also awarded Region 3 with $179,579 in grants. These grants will allow the services to continue training in youth mental health in disaster-impacted counties. The grant will help provide counseling to youth and their families especially impacted by the pandemic.
The money will also help provide support for mental health and substance abuse needs for adults who have struggled with COVID-19.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
LINCOLN- Four sororities and one fraternity have been placed into quarantine after small clusters of students tested positive for the virus. Initially, each house had only 4 or 5 cases, but that is enough to have to place the house into quarantine. UNL has reported around 200 cases so far. All houses began quarantining before the official notification from the Lincoln-Lancaster Health Department. It is unknown if additional cases have occurred.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
LINCOLN- All units at the Nebraska State Penitentiary have been placed into quarantine after 29 inmates test positive for the virus. This was discovered after all inmates were tested Friday. This will allow for the prison administrators to continue to test the population smoothly. The entire facility will be in quarantine for at least 2 weeks.
This came right as the penitentiary was going to begin in person visits again. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 64 staff members at the corrections department have tested positive.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
LINCOLN- Governor Ricketts finally made a statement about the fate of no Nebraska football this fall. The Governor believes the conference did not do a good job in announcing their decision and would like to see the Big Ten reconsider. The decision to postpone fall sports comes with many consequences, Ricketts says. In Nebraska, he believes holding games would be very manageable and had originally been working with the conference to have games.
The Governor did not appreciate that the Big Ten put out a schedule and just a week later decided to pull the season.
Eight Husker players are suing the Big Ten for how they handled this decision and are being represented by Mike Flood, former Speaker of the Legislature and current candidate for the Legislature.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
OMAHA- 127 high school football games were played this weekend across the state. That is 96% of the normal amount of opening weekend games. However, coaches are constantly worried that they might get the call that someone on their team has the virus. This happened to eight schools in the Class A division. Teams who have yet to have an outbreak will continue play this Friday.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
OMAHA- A nationwide debate has emerged on whether it is asking too much of college students to follow basic COVID-19 rules. Many universities across the country have had to shut down due to an immense amount of students not following any CDC guidelines. People believe the small amount of students throwing and attending large social gatherings have put entire universities at risk for shutdown.
An administrator from North Carolina said that it is hard to criticize students for doing what has driven the most fond memories for alumni and secures their loyalty to the university. Many large events held by older adults have also demonstrated that even adults are sometimes incapable of following simple social distancing rules and mask mandates.
Almost every part of college requires human interaction, so to send students back to campus may have been asking too much of them. Some believe that sending students to campus shows that universities do not have their students safety as a high concern.
The University of Alabama has reported over 1,000 positive cases, whereas UNL is sitting at around 100 and Creighton closer to 50 cases. Other schools have switched to completely remote learning after just 2 weeks in-person. Colleges are having the hardest time with trying to monitor students off of campus where the rules are completely out of their hands.
The first weekend students arrived back to Lincoln, there were 23 complaints about parties that came through. The average amount of party complaints on a weekend during the school year in Lincoln is 32. Universities are aware that it is naive to expect 100% compliance, however they still hope their students are taking the pandemic seriously.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
LINCOLN- Secretary of State Bob Evnen ruled Thursday that a medical marijuana initiative should be placed on the Nov. 3 ballot, though he said he had “no doubt” that his decision will be challenged in court.
Evnen said Thursday evening that while “there are a number of problems” with the language of the proposed constitutional amendment submitted by Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, his review found that the language was “legally sufficient” to be placed before voters. “This was a close call,” said Evnen, who is an attorney.
Evnan's decision followed his review of letters submitted Wednesday by Mark Fahleson, a Lincoln attorney and former head of the Nebraska Republican Party, who challenged the ballot language on behalf of unnamed Nebraskans who oppose legalization of medical marijuana. Fahleson declined to comment following the announcement, but said that a decision on whether to challenge Evnen's decision in court would be made soon.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
OMAHA- The longtime leader of Nebraska's anti-abortion movement has died of cancer at the age of 63. Schmit-Albin committed her entire career to advancing the pro-life movement in Nebraska. Most recently, she worked to pass LB814, which puts an end to one type of second-trimester abortion. The organization she led is a very large political force in the state, with their endorsement being crucial for candidates.
Governor Pete Ricketts recognized Schmit-Albin with honorary admiralship. She also won the Catholic Conference's Gospel of Life Award in 2019. Her father served in the Legislature from 1969 to 1993, growing up around the Capitol inspired her life-long anti-abortion work.
Read the full article by clicking HERE
OMAHA- Omaha's very own Warren Buffett will be celebrating his 90th birthday this Sunday, August 30th. At his age, he is still running Berkshire Hathaway which he built into one of the world's biggest, longest running and most respected conglomerate. Within the Fortune 500, Warren Buffett is the oldest CEO.
Buffett and his family and friends added some theories as to how he has lived such a long, fulfilling life.
They say to find a job you love, surround yourself with people you enjoy, laugh a lot and face each day with a sunny outlook. Buffett says he has been able to do what he loves everyday while also having fun, which is a huge plus in life.
As the fourth richest person in the world, he still wakes up excited to go into the office everyday, including Saturday's. You would swear he is no older than 60.
He has cut back on work hours and other commitments, but is still very sharp. The same questions about retirement have been asked since he was 70 years old, and everyone around him is past the point of asking. Susie Buffett, Warren's daughter, bets her father will make it to age 100.
Buffett was born less than a year after the stock market crash that led to the Great Depression, but he says he has seen nothing like what is happening in current times due to the pandemic. Longtime friend Bill Gates says he sees the world as "endlessly fascinating". Gates and Buffett have talked for hours every week for over 20 years now.
His job requirements have greatly decreased after Greg Abel and Ajit Jain were named vice chairmen of the company. Abel mostly oversees non-insurance businesses such as BNSF Railway Co., whereas Jain oversees the insurance operations. Many believe one of these two will be named CEO eventually.
After having to cancel this year's shareholder meeting, Buffett quickly created a way to be able to interact with the shareholders through online Q&A sessions. It is his favorite time of year.
Read the full article by clicking HERE