NEBRASKA MEDICINE DOCTOR PENS COVID-19 WARNING AS CASES RISE

OMAHA- The Midwest is breaking COVID-19 records everyday, and doctors like  Dr. Daniel Johnson of Nebraska Medicine are sharing a dire warning on  social media about these trends. Johnson wrote that if the state continues to fail, more Nebraskans will die, and stated that Nebraska has had the fifth worst outbreak in the nation. Most alarming is that if these trends continue, hospitals will run out of capacity in just three quick weeks. 

“We must do everything we can to reverse these trends. If things get completely out of control, every family in Nebraska will be affected either by a death or by serious illness” wrote Johnson. “The doubling time for COVID-19 hospitalizations in Omaha is currently 21 days. We currently have 372 COVID patients in the hospital. This doubling time means that in 3 weeks there will be 744 COVID patients needing the hospital, and in six weeks, there will be 1,488 COVID-19 patients needing the hospital. For perspective, the Omaha metro currently has 268 unoccupied, staffed hospital beds. The math is extremely worrisome”

Read the full letter by Dr. Johnson, M.D. HERE

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NEBRASKA SUPREME COURT SAYS ELKHORN SCHOOLS MUST PAY DEVELOPER AT LEAST $5.3 MILLION

OMAHA- Elkhorn Public Schools used the land on 180th Street and West Maple Road for their latest high school. But, the district undervalued the land during a condemnation process when the state seized it says a ruling by the Nebraska Supreme Court.

The Court ruled last Friday to uphold the Douglas County District Court's jury decision to award the developer twice as much as the district originally planned to pay. An appraiser for the school district listed the value at only $2.6 million, which is what an Omaha developer had paid for the land four months prior. 

The high court also ordered EPS to pay legal fees of $600,000 plus another $143,000 in interest. They noted that this high-traffic area was as valuable as the Village Pointe shopping center. The caveat is that the developer, Tribedo, will have to use the money on making the remaining land marketable. 

Read the full article HERE

SLOW AT THE POLLS? UNL RESEARCHERS ARE STUDYING HOW TO SPEED THINGS UP

LINCOLN- A group of students associated with the University of Nebraska- Lincoln timed how long it took voters to vote at the polls on Election Day. The students are part of a partnership between engineers and political scientists assembled by the University of Rhode Island, Auburn University and UNL. They are studying how to make voting more efficient. The group focused on 15 polling places in Douglas and Lancaster Counties with 30 students observing the polls, all of whom were trained to collect the data needed for the study.

This research is funded by the Democracy Fund and the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project. 

The design of polling places have been criticized for years as people are left waiting in lines to vote for hours on end. This was only heightened during the election in the midst of a pandemic. In Nebraska, the largest numbers of people seemed to flock to the polls in the morning, but in Rhode Island it hit during 5 o'clock traffic. The hope is for this research to spark more conversation on the matter, and provide options for states to implement for efficient elections.

Read the full article HERE

NEBRASKA ATTORNEY GENERAL JOINS BRIEF CHALLENGING SOME PENNSYLVANIA MAIL-IN BALLOTS

LINCOLN- A case concerning a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision allowing the county of ballots that were mailed by Election Day and received within three days is one of many filed after the national election. Nebraska's Attorney General Doug Peterson filed a friend-of-the-court brief challenging some ballots. 

The Republican Party of Pennsylvania filed the original challenge and is asking the Supreme Court to hear it. Peterson joined the brief filed by Oklahoma's AG, along with other states including Indiana, Kansas, Tennessee and West Virginia. The Attorney General's Office said the state joined in brief to “to maintain the proper separation of powers within state governments.”  

Another group of 10 states filed a similar amicus brief It argues that Pennsylvania overstepped its constitutional authority in accepting late ballots, that voting by mail creates voter fraud risks and that the decision to accept ballots after Election Day exacerbated risks of absentee ballot fraud.

Read the full article HERE

NEBRASKA CASINOS WORRY SOME IN IOWA GAMBLING INDUSTRY

DES MOINES, IA- Iowa's casino officials are worried that future Nebraskan casinos will hurt Iowa's gambling revenues. The state of Iowa, and the Iowa gaming industry is worried that the new Nebraska casinos would add to  the continued strain casinos are already feeling amidst the pandemic. Nebraskans who approved the ballot initiatives legalizing gaming at horse tracks at the ballot box hope to reclaim the estimated $500 million Nebraskans spend in Iowa casinos every year. 

Horse racing has also been on the decline in recent years and proponents of the gambling initiatives are hoping the new gambling laws will allow for that industry to flourish like it once did in the state. 

Michael Newlin, general manager of Horsemen’s Park in Omaha and Lincoln Race Course said he believes the new casinos will provide a boost to horse racing in the region because their profits will boost purses at races. The horse racing industry has been in decline for decades across the country.

Read the full article HERE

'OH, WHAT A GOOD IDEA': LINCOLN SENATOR CAN BE CREDITED WITH NEBRASKA'S UNIQUE ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM

LINCOLN- Former State Senator DiAnna Schimek and Senator Ernie Chambers can be credited with the state's unique electoral college system. Ernie Chambers can also be credited with blocking legislation trying to reform that system in the years following its adoption. Schimek heard of the idea of allowing electoral votes to be decided by the popular vote in the state's congressional districts at a conference in 1990. In the 1991 session, she introduced the bill. 

Following the bill‘s introduction, the state Republican Party got breath of the bill and worked hard to block the legislation through letters to senators. However, Schimek said nonpartisanship was taken more seriously back then, and the letters largely went ignored. Schimek said people understood the goal was to make sure everyone felt as though their vote actually mattered.

Following the adoption of the split electoral votes, attacks on the system have been introduced in the legislature to return to a winner-take-all state. These attacks gained momentum following the 2008 win of one electoral vote by then Senator Barack Obama.The last attempt to bring back the winner-take-all system was in 2017 and was introduced by Sen. John Murante. The Nebraskan Republican Party says the current system unfairly prioritizes a small group of voters, and a move to return to winner-take-all is once again expected following President-Elect Biden’s success in gaining the 2nd congressional district’s single electoral vote.

Read the full article HERE

MOST NEBRASKANS VOTED TO ABOLISH SLAVERY AS CRIMINAL PUNISHMENT. BUT 32% VOTED TO KEEP IT

LINCOLN- Nebraskans voted to eradicate the provision that slavery could be used as a punishment for crimes. But, an electorate the size of Lincoln, or nearly one out of three people, voted to keep it. This has left the state senator that introduced the bill, Sen. Justin Wayne, very confused. Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy counties strongly supported the amendment. Whereas smaller, rural counties in western Nebraska opposed it. Out of the 10 least populated counties, nine voted against it. 

Nebraska originally adopted the statute after the Civil War when slavery was outlawed, with the one exception being prisoners. This developed into the practice of "contract leasing" which allowed people to round up black people, who had not committed crimes, and force them into involuntary servitude. Legislators voted unanimously to put this issue on the ballot. 

Preston Love Jr., a community leader in Omaha, says he attributes some of the opposition to confusion over ballot language. He said, “I can’t imagine that many in Nebraska would actually consciously say, ‘I don’t want to remove slavery as an option.'" A website that uses academic tests to determine the difficulty of reading ballot language said the estimate education level needed to understand the amendment was at a second-year post-college graduate student. 

Read the full article HERE

KEYSTONE PIPELINE DEVELOPER PLANS TO SUE TO GET CONSTRUCTION PERMIT IN NEBRASKA COUNTY

LINCOLN — The developer of the Keystone XL pipeline is planning to go to court to obtain a construction permit from a rural Nebraska county.A company spokeswoman made the comment after the five-member Holt County Board of Adjustment voted Thursday afternoon to deny a permit to TC Energy, formerly TransCanada, until the pipeline company agreed to comply with 19 conditions.

The conditions included the establishment of an escrow account to cover any clean-up costs from possible future pipeline leaks and pay for the removal of the pipeline and reclamation of the land. The board also wanted TC Energy to bypass any fields that had underground drainage tiles and provide additional tests to detect any slow leaks from the crude oil pipeline.

The vote Thursday was the latest development in TC Energy’s attempt to comply with zoning rules in the north-central Nebraska county. 

Robynn Tysver, a spokeswoman for TC Energy, said the company planned to go to court to obtain a pipeline construction permit, “which will unfortunately cost the county significant time and resources.” “A vote in our favor would have cleared the way for our crews to improve many of the county’s roads, as well as fund a large portion of the cost to replace the Stuart-Naper Bridge,” Tysver said.

Read the full article HERE

RICKETTS LAYS OUT PLANS FOR MORE RESTRICTIONS IF COVID PATIENTS FILL 25% OF NEBRASKA HOSPITAL BEDS

LINCOLN- Governor Ricketts on Friday outlined new restrictions that may be imposed on a state-wide level if COVID-19 patients continue to climb and fill 25% or more of hospital beds. Currently there are 905 patents in Nebraska hospitals battling COVID-19, making up about 20% of all staffed beds in Nebraska. 

At the current rate of increase in hospitalizations, it would be only a few days before Nebraska hits the 25% mark. Typically, hospitalizations rise about two or three weeks after the number of cases grows.

Should Nebraska hit the 25% threshold noted by the governor, they can expect to see indoor gatherings limited to 10 pepole, outdoor gatherings to 25 People, closure of bars except for delivery and takeout, postpone all elective surgeries, and limit weddings and funerals to 10 person limits. 

The governor said he wants to give Nebraskans “the opportunity to change their habits before tightening up on restrictions:. 

Read the full article HERE

NEW NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE SEES NO MAJOR CHANGES IN DEMOGRAPHICS

LINCOLN- Nebraskan voters did not make any dramatic changes in the makeup of state lawmakers this election cycle. Republicans now hold a strong majority (32) over Democrats (17), although the Legislature is officially nonpartisan. 

This session the lawmakers will be tasked with redistricting the Legislature's 49 districts. The Legislature previously approved a redistricting reform bill in 2016 before it was vetoed by the governor, which would it have been passed would have allowed an independent commission to draw the legislative districts. With that bill failing to become law, members appointed to the redistricting committee will has out boundary lines before their proposal eventually is voted on by the full body.

Progress in diversity of gender and ethnicity in the body however seems to be one step forward two steps back for the legislature. The 2021 session will have one less woman legislator following last session’s historicly high number of 14. Senator-Elect Jen Day, who beat incumbent Senator Andrew La Grone of Gretna said "I've always wanted to see better representation in the Nebraska Legislature for women, something that was somewhat more proportional to the population in Nebraska." 

While the proportion of women decreased, ethnic diversity increased by adding Raymond Aguilar and Rita Sanders, both people of color. They have brought the number of nonwhite lawmakers to 12%. In 2015, that rate was at just 4%. Age wise, following the departure of Senator Ernie Chambers there are no members in their 80s, and now 17 members are under 40.Professions are very diverse, with about a dozen legislators having law degrees, 14% are farmers, many small business owners and a few bankers, retired educators and health administrators.  

Read the full article HERE

OMAHA POLICE UNTION PRESIDENT HOSPITALIZED WITH COVID-19: ‘IT FELT LIKE I GOT HIT BY A TRUCK’

OMAHA- Tony Conner, president of the Omaha Police Officers Association, is in the hospital after testing positive for COVID-19, he said Tuesday.Conner said in an interview that he is slowly recovering and expects to be released from an Omaha hospital sometime in the next four or five days. But he said he has dealt with exhaustion, difficulty breathing, a fever, headache and chills.

"It felt like I got hit by a truck," Conner, 42, said.

Conner first experienced symptoms five days after socializing at a bar.  He said he began to feel exhausted. He received a positive test result Nov. 1 and was hospitalized last Wednesday.

Read the full article HERE

COVID-19 SURVIVORS FACE INCREASED RISK OF MENTAL ILLNESS AND DEMENTIA, STUDY SUGGESTS

WASHINGTON- A new study out this week is the latest to suggest that the effects of covid-19 can extend beyond the initial acute illness. Researchers found that about one in every five people diagnosed with covid-19 went on to be diagnosed with an episode of mental illness and/or insomnia in the three months following—a rate higher than in people who became sick but were not diagnosed with covid-19 during that same time period.

The new research, published in the Lancet Psychiatry on Monday, analyzed anonymized medical records from a database of 69.8 million patients in the U.S. Of these, over 62,000 patients were diagnosed with covid-19 between January 20 and August 1, 2020, and 44,000 had no previous history of mental illness. The researchers compared the mental health outcomes of these patients to patients diagnosed with one of six other medical conditions, including influenza or other respiratory infections, a broken bone, a skin infection, and kidney stones. These other patients were used as a sort of control, since many acute health problems are known to affect a person’s mental health, at least temporarily.

All told, across nearly every marker of mental or neurological health the researchers looked at, people with confirmed covid-19 appeared to be worse off. Read the full study HERE

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LEGISLATIVE RETREAT POSTPONED DUE TO COVID EXPOSURES

LINCOLN- Senator Mike Hilgers sent his colleagues notice today that the legislative retreat for senators, as required by statute, has been postponed due to exposures in the Capitol building. Hilgers noted that his staff will need to quarantine following exposure to a positive case, which comes on the heels of the announcement that Governor Ricketts will quarantine as well as a positive case by Senator Mike Groene. 

Hilgers noted that he will release plans as they are developed with rescheduling the event, but no details are available the time of the release of this newsletter. 

Senators had planned to gather for the yearly at Dismal River Golf Course outside Mullen this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Some members had already stated they would not be attending due to current COVID-19 conditions throughout Nebraska. 

EXPERTS SAY NO NEED TO CANCEL THANKSGIVING, BUT PLAY IT SAFE.

ATLANTA- On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its holiday guidance, noting the virus crisis is worsening and that small household gatherings are “an important contributor." The CDC said older adults and others at heightened risk of severe illness should avoid gathering with people outside their households.

A safe Thanksgiving during a pandemic is possible, but health experts know their advice is as tough to swallow as dry turkey: Stay home. Don’t travel. If you must gather, do it outdoors.

Canada, which celebrated Thanksgiving on October 12th traced clusters of cases to family gatherings over the holiday. 

Read the full article HERE

PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN ANNOUNCES 13 MEMBER VIRUS TASK FORCE AS CASES SOAR

WILMINGTON, DE- President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Monday made an urgent plea for Americans to wear masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus, declaring that “a mask is not a political statement” as he vowed to make defeating the pandemic his number one priority when he takes office in January.

In his effort to do this, Biden announced a 13-member task force which will be co-chaired by three members: Dr. Vivek Murthy, a surgeon enteral under President Obama; David Kessler, former commissioner of the FDA under Presidents H.W. Bush and Clinton; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a professor of public health and Yale University. 

Other members will include: Dr. Zeke Emanuel, the chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania and the brother of Rahm Emanuel, an Obama administration adviser; Dr. Luciana Borio, a vice president at In-Q-Tel; Dr. Atul Gawande, a professor of surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Dr. Celine Gounder, a clinical assistant professor at the N.Y.U. Grossman School of Medicine; Dr. Julie Morita, the executive vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Dr. Michael Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota; Loyce Pace, the executive director and president of Global Health Council; and Dr. Robert Rodriguez and Dr. Eric Goosby, both professors at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine.

Read the full article HERE

GOVERNOR’S SPOKESPERSON ACCUSES NEBRASKA DOCTORS OF ‘TARGETING’ HIS BOSS OVER COVID-19 PLEA

LINCOLN- Following several doctors of Nebraska Medicine and UNMC tweeting to Governor Pete Ricketts, the governor‘s spokesperson lashed out saying his boss was being ‘targeted’, and posted the doctors political leanings as the reason for it. 

The doctors tweets featured a clear message: “The time to act is now”, and pointed to hospitals being overwhelmed and in need of help. The governor's spokesperson, Taylor Gage, saw the tweets and then called out three doctors, writing: "Many of the folks leading the social media campaign targeting Governor Ricketts also seem to share similar political views."Gage attached screenshots of the doctors’ timelines, which include celebratory tweets about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

The doctors replied and said: “This is not about the Governor. It’s about the virus.“It's been frustrating for many of us, in the medical and public health profession, that the pandemic has become political. And clearly it should not be,” Dr. James Lawler of UNMC said. “What we’re seeing is that the numbers double every couple weeks. And it's also clear that if we don't act immediately, we are going to see our hospitals completely overwhelmed.” 

Read the full article HERE

LANCASTER COUNTY AMENDS MANDATE TO REQUIRE MASKS IN ALL INDOOR PLACES EXCEPT HOMES

LINCOLN- Masks are now being mandated in all indoor places as the COVID-19 risk dial is now notched to the 'severe' category, according to the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department. Two consecutive weeks of record cases in the county triggered this decision. Being in the red signal will not warrant a citywide shutdown, the mandate is simply in place to slow transmission. 

Pat Lopez, the Health Director, says churches should go virtual, employers should continue with teleworking and everyone should avoid large public or family gatherings. The county saw 90 new cases on Friday, but there were no new deaths. It was also a local record for hospitalizations with 118 people total in the city's hospital systems, with nine people being on ventilators. 

Contact tracers are finding that spread among small groups from different households with prolonged contact and no masks are becoming a huge issue in the state. Co-workers who are distanced but are not wearing masks are also spreading the virus. Chancellor Ronnie Green of UNL says the university's daily numbers have remained relatively stable over the past month. He continued on to say that virtual learning and work opportunities need to remain an option. Lincoln churches have also started to notify members that because of current state of cases, and many will return to virtual services. 

Gaylor Baird said, "As the community prepares to observe Veterans Day, Lincoln residents should look to the sacrifices made during World War II for perspective on the restrictions and guidance now aimed at keeping an invisible virus at bay."

Read the full article HERE

SCHOOLS MADE IT THROUGH A QUARTER, BUT CAN THEY STAY OPEN AS MORE TEACHERS GET SICK?

OMAHA- Keeping schools open through the surge of cases the state is experiencing is presenting more and more challenges for school districts around Nebraska. Officials are pleading with parents to avoid holding events for students where the possibility of transmission is high. 

Matt Blomstedt, the Commissioner of Education warned people to practice the same protocols outside of school that they do in school. He spoke about how hard schools have worked to get schools to the point they are at now and he does not want that to be ruined because of things that happen in homes. 

Papillion La Vista Community Schools says they are short-staffed because of teachers and other school personnel needing to quarantine or are not able to come to the school while waiting for test results. The worry is that classrooms or buildings will need to close, but it is unlikely that any school would go back to full remote learning. 

Schools were already experiencing staffing shortages, especially with substitute teachers, but that has only worsened within the previous months. Millard Public Schools was reporting 124 active cases and 707 people were quarantining. Jim Sutfin, Superintendent of MPS says it would be great to have mandatory testing for staff, but the tests are extremely expensive and the district does not have the money to do so.

Read the full article HERE

'I FINALLY GOT MY WISH', STATE SENATOR CONTRACTS COVID-19

LINCOLN- Sen. Mike Groene made waves on Monday when he publically disclosed his positive COVID-19 diagnosis in an email to his fellow senators. The waves however came not from the diagnosis, but instead of his remarks and actions following it. 

In the email he wrote, "As you know, I finally got my wish and cont(r)acted the COVID-19 virus, as I suspected it would happen." He previously mentioned he wanted to 'get it over with' so the country could move closer to herd immunity. Once the U.S. hits 200 million infected or immunized citizens, the chain of infection will be broken. There are currently just over 10 million cases nationally. 

Sen. Groene refuses to wear a mask and was not when he believes he contracted the virus. He was recently chairing a hearing of the Education Committee, and attended a joint hearing of the Revenue and Appropriations Committees where it was noted by fellow senators including Adam Morfeld of Lincoln that Groene was clearly coughing while sitting with his fellow members, and refusing to wear a mask. Morfeld stated in a tweet that “this kind of selfish and dangerous nonsense is inexcusable” 

Groene stated his symptoms were similar to a minor flu, and did little but allow him catch up on sleep. He stated in his message to senators that the time allowed him to become invigorated for the upcoming session and he plans to donate his plasma for interferon plasma therapy.

Read the full article HERE

PFIZER'S EARLY DATA SHOWS VACCINE IS MORE THAN 90% EFFECTIVE

NEW YORK- An early analysis of the coronavirus vaccine trial suggested that Pfizer and their partner, BioNTech's, vaccine is highly effective. The details of the vaccine are sparse and the clinical trial was done by an outside panel of experts. Only few vaccines have ever had a 90% rate of effectiveness and puts it on par with the vaccines for childhood diseases such as measles. 

Pfizer said there have been no serious safety concerns. Later this month, the company plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration for immediate authorization. The vaccine in its current form is two doses, and Pfizer said that 15 to 20 million doses are expected to be manufactured by the end of this year. 

“This was a devastating situation, a pandemic, and we have embarked on a path and a goal that nobody ever has achieved — to come up with a vaccine within a year," said Dr. Kathrin Jansen, VP and Head of Vaccine Research at Pfizer. 

Pfizer has secured $1.95 billion to deliver 100 million doses through Operation Warp Speed and will be given to Americans free of charge. The company is the only one of the front runners that did not take any money from the federal government for research and development. Dr. Jansen says they are only a part of Operation Warp Speed as a supplier. The company also highlighted that the vaccine announcement had nothing to do with the culmination of the election. 

The efficacy rate could go down as the trial goes on. It is also important to note that the news was broken in a news release, not a peer-reviewed medical journal. Scientists have cautioned against the first vaccine as long-term safety and efficacy data has yet to be possible. However, Pfizer is still the first company to announce results like this. Four out of eleven vaccines that are in late stage trials come from the U.S., with Moderna's vaccine being very similar to Pfizer's. 

The vaccine is made with mRNA, which means the vaccines will need to be kept at ultra cold temperatures. This will present the next set of challenges for the world once the vaccines are ready to be injected in the general public. 

Read the full article HERE