NEBRASKA COLLECTS ALMOST $300M MORE IN TAXES THAN EXPECTED IN MAY

STATE- Nebraska government tax collections surged well above projections in May, with the state collecting $297 million more than expected, according to numbers released Tuesday. The Nebraska Department of Revenue reported net tax receipts of $720 million, which is more than 70% higher than the official forecast of $423 million.

The increase was driven by corporate income tax collections that were 375% above the certified state forecast and individual income tax collections that were 97% above the forecast. Net sales-and-use and miscellaneous tax receipts were 14.9% and 30.9% higher, respectively.

Net tax collections are also higher than expected in the current fiscal year, which ends this month. The state has collected $5.378 billion in the current fiscal year, an amount that's nearly 19% higher than the certified forecast of $4.525 billion.

For the full article click HERE

MULTIPLE SANTEE TEACHERS RESIGN BECAUSE OF COVID VACCINE REQUIRMENT

SANTEE-  Multiple teachers at Santee Community Schools have resigned because of a local mandate requiring them to get vaccinated for COVID-19 in time for the upcoming school year. The district board of education earlier this month approved nine resignations, many of which were solely because of the mandate, said Superintendent Todd Chessmore. The Santee Sioux Nation tribal council passed the guideline June 2, requiring all employees within the boundaries of the reservation to get fully vaccinated for COVID-19. The mandate officially goes into effect July 1. 

One former staff member who resigned expressed disappointment in the fact that employment contracts were signed in early spring; however, by the time school employees were given the ultimatum earlier this month, most job opportunities at other schools were filled. “It’s been a very stressful time because there were mandates in town, and no one ever suggested it would affect the school,” said the former employee, who requested to remain anonymous to protect future employment options. “Teachers had signed contracts back in March and April, and it wasn’t in the contract to have to do this.” 

Chessmore said he’s optimistic about the upcoming school year and those who are staying.

“This is a bump in the road, but it’s a bump, not a canyon,” he said. “We are going to navigate it and are optimistic about the future.”

For the full article click HERE

BITCOIN IS LEGAL TENDER IN EL SALVADOR. WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE BROADER CRYPTO MARKET? SOME BULLS THINK 'IT COULD BE HUGE'

GLOBAL- Bitcoin is now officially legal tender in El Salvador, a country in Central America with a population of 6.5 million and a gross domestic product of about $27 billion, as of 2019.It is a country about the same size as the state of New Jersey, but the move by San Salvador’s legislative body early Wednesday to make bitcoin BTCUSD legitimate is making waves in the broader crypto complex.

Bitcoin being classified as legal tender in El Salvador means that everyday Salvadorans can easily make cross border payments without having to rely on the U.S. dollar DXY , wrote Ross Middleton, chief financial officer of DeversiFi, a decentralized finance business.

Bitcoin’s legalization in the country, championed by 39-year-old President Nayib Bukele, means that it can be used to pay taxes, services at all businesses, except those unable to process such transactions. Middleton believes it could lead to crypto native companies setting up within the country now that the banking relationship will be easier. 

That said, Presearch’s Pape cautioned that legal designation of bitcoin in El Salvador could also create more turbulence within the crypto complex. “It feels like there’s a showdown brewing, and announcements like this could paint a large target on Bitcoin that could cause some short-term pain for the crypto space,” Pape wrote. He said that US regulators may feel compelled to “ensure that bitcoin isn’t used by nation-states whose interests run counter to those of the U.S.”

For the full article click HERE

WITH KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE NIXED, NEBRASKA ADVOCATES LOOK TO NEXT STEPS

NEBRASKA- TC Energy Corp., formerly TransCanada, announced Wednesday that it had terminated the pipeline project. It would have moved crude oil from Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska, before connecting with an existing pipeline system that reaches the Gulf Coast. The company announced it was canceling its project after President Joe Biden revoked a necessary permit in January. Still, environmental advocates and others say the work is far from over. Jane Kleeb, founder of leading opposition group Bold Nebraska, is calling for further action in at least three areas: the State Public Service Commission, courts and the State Legislature. 

The commission, which is made up of five elected commissioners and regulates telecommunications carriers, railroad safety, major oil pipelines and more, approved the pipeline’s route in 2017. The Nebraska Supreme Court ultimately affirmed that approval. That allowed TC Energy to exercise the power of eminent domain, and now advocates want the commission to revoke the approval. 

There are still more than 60 cases in court, with landowners across nine counties fighting TC Energy over eminent domain, according to Brian Jorde, a lawyer representing landowners. “It’s a real problem that TransCanada owns all this land across our state and could sell it to anyone they want tomorrow,” Kleeb said. 

Sens. Adam Morfeld and Eliot Bostar, both of Lincoln, signed a letter last month in part asking the Public Service Commission to explain why it hadn’t reopened the matter to alter or rescind its approval after Biden’s action. Morfeld said Friday that he’d be supportive of legislation that makes it so a private company can’t exercise eminent domain when a pipeline route has been rejected or not approved, but he’d have to read the actual legislation to know whether he’d want to take the lead on it. “To me, that’s common sense,” Morfeld said. “Common sense protection of land rights.”

For the full article click HERE

LINCOLN WOMAN RECOGNIZES STROKE SYMPTOMS ON ZOOM

LINCOLN- Ann Tillery could see by her own image on the Zoom screen that something was wrong when the left side of her face began to droop. Her speech slurred and her left arm felt heavy. All of the signs of a stroke were there, and the technology of the video conferencing platform helped the Lincoln, Nebraska, woman realize it fast enough to get lifesaving help.

Problem was, no one else on the call realized what was happening. Tillery was alone in a conference room at the University of Nebraska Foundation. She grabbed her phone and tried to stand but fell to the floor. “I knew I had a very limited time to act if I was going to have the best chance of recovery,” Tillery said. “Luckily I did have my cellphone.” 

After several days in intensive care, Tillery spent 11 days in inpatient care working with occupational, physical and speech therapists. Her rehabilitation continues. One of her initial recovery goals was to get better soon enough to attend the annual Cattlemen’s Ball in Columbus. Last weekend, she made it to the event.

“Let’s keep an eye out for one another,” she said.

For the full article click HERE

BUILDING TRUST IS THE BEST COURSE TO RESOLVE DISPUTE OVER 30x30 PROPOSAL

LINCOLN- Placing more of the nation’s water and land in conservation can help protect the environment and address climate change. The Biden administration in part brought this problem on itself by announcing in January the 30x30 concept — putting 30% of the nation’s land and water in conservation status by 2030 — via an executive order that provided no practical guidance on how an initiative of such complexity and ambition would be implemented. The lack of information and failure to provide upfront outreach came across as arrogant and fueled cynicism and uncertainty among many farmers and ranchers. 

Protection of private property stands as one of the central tenets of the federal Constitution, and rightly so. Federal officials must build on points in the interagency report and do a far better job explaining how the government intends to use existing conservation initiatives — such as the Conservation Reserve Program long used in the Midlands — to reach the proposed goal. 

Gov. Pete Ricketts has been outspoken in opposing the 30x30 proposal. But through his rhetoric and actions at recent public events, he is at risk of coming across less as the state’s elected chief executive than as a political figure seeking to ride producers’ cynicism and anger in pursuit of political gain. It was distressing, for example, that Ricketts stooped to calling Vilsack a liar at one anti-30x30 event. 

“When the agriculture secretary says it’s not a land grab, then you know it is a land grab,” Ricketts said. 

For the full article click HERE

NEBRASKA ETHANOL PLANTS COULD SOON STORE CARBON DIOXIDE UNDERGROUND

NEBRASKA- A new industry is set to take off in Nebraska. If it works out as backers hope, it would create jobs in the state and offer financial advantages for the state’s ethanol producers. In addition, the industry could have significant implications in the effort to combat climate change. The groundwork was laid by State Sen. Mike Flood’s Legislative Bill 650, which all but one legislator voted to pass last month. Since then, multiple companies have announced plans to contract with ethanol producers in Nebraska to filter carbon dioxide and permanently store that element in the ground — either in the state or piped elsewhere.

Here’s how it essentially works: Instead of allowing carbon dioxide to emit from a producer’s stacks, those stacks would be capped and route the carbon dioxide to a series of compressors. The carbon dioxide is then converted into a transportable form such as liquid and stored well below the surface — at least 2,600 feet below. 

Additionally, energy producers that store their carbon dioxide will lower their carbon dioxide intensity score, which affects their ability to sell their ethanol. A lower score could allow a producer to sell to states such as California, which has stringent carbon dioxide regulations.

“If you’re an ethanol plant that has a very low carbon score, you’re going to be a lot more attractive to the California market and their regulators than any other seller of ethanol,” Flood said. “Reducing your carbon score means better prices and better returns for Nebraska farmers.”

For the full article click HERE

GOV. RICKETTS SAYS HE IS 'OPPOSED TO CRITICAL RACE THEORY'

LINCOLN- Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts this week said he is “opposed to critical race theory,” voicing an increasingly common opinion among Republican politicians. The governor was asked about the concept Monday on his monthly call-in radio program, during which he didn’t explicitly call for legislation related to the theory and public schools but encouraged parents to get engaged.

At the foundation of critical race theory is that race is a social construct used to oppress and exploit people of color, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Academics use the approach to look at how our understanding of race and white supremacy have impacted our past, structures — such as laws, politics, economics and society in general — and present, according to Jeannette Jones, the associate professor.

It started with a caller named James from Raymond, Nebraska, asking Ricketts where Nebraska stands as a state on the theory.

“Well, I’m opposed to critical race theory,” the governor replied. “It’s a Marxist theory ... it’s really un-American, about how it teaches us to think about ourselves as a country,” Ricketts said. 

Regarding legislation, Ricketts said no state senator has picked up the issue, but that could change next year. 

For the full article click HERE

US JOBLESS CLAIMS TICK UP TO 412,000 FROM A PANDEMIC LOW

WASHINGTON- The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time since April despite widespread evidence that the economy and the job market are rebounding steadily from the pandemic recession. The Labor Department said Thursday that jobless claims rose 37,000 from the week before. As the job market has strengthened, the number of weekly applications for unemployment aid has fallen for most of the year. The number of jobless claims generally reflects the pace of layoffs.

Though jobless claims have tumbled since the start of 2021, when they exceeded 900,000, they remain high by historical standards. Before the pandemic paralyzed the economy in March 2020, unemployment applications were running at about 220,000 a week.

In Thursday’s report, the government said a total of 3.5 million Americans were continuing to collect traditional state unemployment benefits in the week ending June 5, up by just 1,000 from the week before.

Many states, though, are set to begin dropping the supplemental federal jobless aid this month.

For the full article click HERE

LOU ANN LINEHAN, CHAIR OF NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE'S TAX COMMITTEE, SENATOR SUZANNE GEIST, BACK JIM PILLEN FOR GOVERNOR

LINCOLN- The chairwoman of the Legislature's tax-focused Revenue Committee has endorsed University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen for governor. Pillen's campaign released an online video Wednesday with State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha. In the video, Linehan says Pillen will “fight to finally find a real solution to our property tax problem in Nebraska.” 

Pillen is running in the Republican gubernatorial primary against Nebraska businessman Charles Herbster, an agribusiness executive with close ties to President Donald Trump. State Sen. Brett Lindstrom, of Omaha, is also considering a run, and former Gov. Dave Heineman has also been mentioned as a possible contender.

Pillen also gained the support of Senator Suzanne Geist earlier in the week. Jim Pillen for Governor released a video last Friday featuring Geist sharing why she supports Jim Pillen. Senator Geist said, "I am so inspired by his (Pillen) love for the state of Nebraska, as well as his vision for where he wants the state to be." Senator Geist went on to describe Pillen as the "full package." 

For the full article click HERE

STATE SEN. TOM BREWER ANNOUNCES HIS LEUKEMIA HAS RETURNED; WILL TAKE TIME OFF FOR TREATMENT

LINCOLN- State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, a decorated Army veteran who was seriously wounded in battle in Afghanistan, announced Monday that he’s in a new battle with leukemia. Brewer, 62, underwent chemotherapy in 2014 for hairy cell leukemia. He said Monday that the cancer had returned and that he was “going to take some time off and continue my plans where I left off” after additional treatment that will involve chemotherapy.

In a recent email to fellow senators, the lawmaker said he still plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro later this fall with three other state lawmakers, Anna Wishart of Lincoln, Justin Wayne of Omaha and Ben Hansen of Blair.

Brewer said he expects his events for the next month or two to be canceled or rescheduled.

A Republican and registered member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, he was elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 2016, then reelected in 2020. Brewer unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., for his seat in 2014.

For the full article click HERE

MEDICAID EXPANSION LAWSUIT PAUSED AFTER NEBRASKA OFFICIALS PROMISE TO EXPAND BENEFITS

LINCOLN- A lawsuit challenging Nebraska’s two-tier system for Medicaid expansion has been put on pause while state officials work to provide a full slate of benefits for all participants. The motion was filed jointly by Nebraska Appleseed, the Lincoln-based advocacy group that filed the case, and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the state Medicaid program. 

Appleseed officials said they will closely monitor the department’s progress in implementing the services. “It’s crucial for the Department to meet this deadline, particularly in light of the nearly three-year delay in accurately implementing Medicaid expansion,” Appleseed tweeted. “We’ll keep fighting to ensure our clients & all Medicaid expansion enrollees can access all the services without burdens.” 

Expanded Medicaid offers coverage for working-age adults whose incomes fall below 138% of the federal poverty level — $17,774 for a single person or $36,570 for a family of four. 

For the full article click HERE

KEYSTONE PIPELINE CANCELED AFTER BIDEN HAD BLOCKED PERMIT

BILLINGS, Mont. — The sponsor of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline said Wednesday it is pulling the plug on the contentious project after Canadian officials failed to persuade President Joe Biden to reverse his cancellation of its permit on the day he took office.

During his campaign, Biden pledged to shelve the project, first proposed 12 years ago. He cited the same environmental concerns that led his former boss, then-President Barack Obama, to deny the Keystone XL a permit to cross into the U.S. in 2015.

Environmental groups were hoping Biden would fulfill his promise to dump the $8 billion project, which would have moved up to 830,000 barrels of crude daily. But the Canadian government, labor unions and oil industry groups revved up a last-ditch effort earlier this year to save the Keystone XL.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts criticized the Biden administration for depriving the state of jobs and tax revenue that the pipeline would have created. “This is yet another example of the Biden-Harris Administration putting the priorities of radical environmental activists above our national interest,” Ricketts said in a statement Wednesday. “Without Keystone XL, the United States will not only be more dependent on overseas sources of oil, but our state will not enjoy the benefit of the jobs and property tax revenue the project would have brought.”

For the full article click HERE

OMAHA CITY COUNCIL SWORN IN; STOTHERT STARTS THIRD TERM AS MAYOR

OMAHA-  The Legislative Chambers in City Hall were packed Monday as a new Omaha City Council was sworn in and Jean Stothert took the oath for her third term as mayor. Council members then selected returning incumbents for leadership positions. Pete Festersen of District 1, which includes Dundee, Benson and Florence, will serve as council president after receiving four votes. Aimee Melton, who represents northwest Omaha, received three. Vinny Palermo of District 4 in South Omaha will serve as vice president.

New council members Juanita Johnson, Danny Begley and Don Rowe took their seats in the legislative chamber alongside incumbents Festersen, Palermo, Melton and Brinker Harding.  Jean Stothert was sworn in for her third term as Omaha mayor, with Rep. Don Bacon providing his fellow Republican's introduction.

For her third term, Stothert said her priorities include improving city streets, addressing the health and economic consequences of COVID-19, and focusing on public safety. 

"(I will) continue to make Omaha a safer community and make a very good Police Department even better," she said. "Public safety is our most critical obligation, and I am confident in the progress that we will continue to make." 

For the full article click HERE

FORMER REP. BRAD ASHFORD LANDS JOB WITH UNO

OMAHA- Former U.S. Rep. and State Sen. Brad Ashford has been hired to teach students about collaboration. The University of Nebraska at Omaha announced Monday that it had engaged Ashford to lead a new undergraduate program on "collaborative leadership."

The program will employ teachers from UNO's colleges of business and public affairs. Students will be able to work on specific projects requiring government and private-sector collaboration through “hands on” internships, according to a press release. A minor in "cross-sector collaborative leadership" will be available to all UNO students. 

As a congressman, Ashford successfully developed a public-private partnership that built the Veterans Administration Ambulatory Care Center in Omaha after decades of stalled discussion. In the Legislature, Ashford was known for working out complicated compromises on criminal justice reform and financing sports arenas. 

Partial funding for the new UNO program is coming from the New York-based Volcker Alliance. The Alliance selected UNO, along with Indiana University, the University of Washington, the Andrew Young School at Georgia State University, and the City University of New York, for its "NextGen Service Partnership," which seeks to prepare students to serve their communities.

For the full article click HERE

NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE LOCAL SALES AND USE TAX RATES

LINCOLN- On Monday Tax Commissioner Tony Fulton announced that the village of Manley will start a local sales and use tax rate of 0.5%, and the city of Humphrey will increase its existing rate from 1.5% to 2% effective on July 1, 2021. For the calendar quarter starting on October 1, 2021, there are no local sales and use tax rate changes. These changes are on the Nebraska Department of Revenue’s website at revenue.nebraska.gov under the Sales and Use Tax link.

For the full statement click HERE

U.S. RETRIEVES MILLIONS PAID TO COLONIAL PIPELINE HACKERS

WASHINGTON—U.S. law-enforcement officials said Monday they had recovered millions of dollars in digital currency paid to the hackers who hit Colonial Pipeline Co. with a ransomware attack last month, a strike that prompted the shutdown of the main conduit for gasoline and diesel fuel to the U.S. East Coast. Investigators seized nearly 64 bitcoin, valued at roughly $2.3 million, that were allegedly the proceeds from the ransom hack on Colonial Pipeline, the Justice Department said. 

Colonial Pipeline, which transports gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined products from the Gulf Coast to Linden, N.J., was shut down for six days in May as the company responded to the ransomware attack. The stoppage spurred a run on gasoline along parts of the East Coast that pushed prices to the highest levels in more than six years and left thousands of gas stations without fuel. 

Because bitcoin is volatile and has recently swung dramatically in value, the amount recovered is a little more than half the value of what was paid last month. About 75 bitcoin were paid to the hackers by Colonial shortly after the company learned it was the victim of a ransomware attack, a person familiar with the matter said. 

For the full article click HERE

FDA APPROVES FIRST NEW ALZHEIMER'S DRUG IN NEARLY TWO DECADES

The first drug promising to slow the memory-robbing march of Alzheimer’s disease was approved by U.S. health regulators, a watershed after years of research and billions of dollars in investment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it approved the drug, which has the molecular name aducanumab and will be sold as Aduhelm, based on evidence it reduces a sticky substance in the brain called amyloid that is associated with Alzheimer’s. 

“This historic moment is the culmination of more than a decade of groundbreaking research in the complex field of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Biogen Chief Executive Michel Vounatsos. “Together with the healthcare community, we are ready to bring this new medicine to patients and begin to address this growing global health crisis.”

A preliminary analysis conducted by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, a nonprofit research and advisory group, said the drug could be cost-effective at a per-patient price of $2,500 to $8,300 a year. 

For the full article click HERE

OPTIONS TRADERS BET ON RETURN OF $100 OIL

Traders have alighted on what some believe to be a one-way bet in the world’s most important commodity market: oil prices going to $100 a barrel. They have scooped up call options tied to Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude-oil prices reaching $100 by the end of next year. Oil prices haven’t topped that milestone since 2014, when a gush of U.S. crude depressed energy markets.

Owners of $100 options—now the most widely owned WTI call contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange—are making a leveraged bet that oil prices will hurtle higher after already surging more than 40% this year. The roaring rally, goosed by thawing coronavirus restrictions, has lifted WTI prices to their highest level since 2018 at almost $70 a barrel and average U.S. gasoline prices above $3 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.

Barring an influx of investors into commodity markets or a slump in the dollar, oil demand would need to rise well above pre-pandemic levels in the fourth quarter for prices to hit $100 this year, according to JPMorgan Chase analyst Natasha Kaneva. She says that is all but impossible. Other grounds for caution include an increase in Iranian crude exports in the event of a nuclear deal with the U.S. 

For the full article click HERE

COMMODITY PRICE SURGES ADD TO INFLATION FEARS

The run-up in commodity prices is casting a cloud over the global economic recovery, slamming vulnerable businesses and households and adding to fears that inflation could become more persistent. Economists are expecting consumer-price data due later this week to underscore the trend. They say China’s producer-price index, a gauge of factory-gate prices, could climb to its highest level since August 2008 on Wednesday amid rising commodity prices. The U.S. consumer-price index, released a day later, is expected to show a sharp rise in the 12 months through May, also driven by higher labor costs. 

“We are being hit from every possible angle,” said Franz Hofmeister, chief executive of Quaker Bakery Brands Inc. in Appleton, Wis. He says his costs for items including wheat, energy and new aluminum equipment have shot up at least 25% to 35% this year. 

Michael Hanson, senior global economist at JPMorgan Chase Bank, says that while higher prices for raw materials will probably result in temporary inflation pressures, it won’t make much of a dent in the U.S. economy. Much of the recent inflation uptick is due to the frenzied nature of the economy’s reopening, with firms scrambling to find workers and resolve freight bottlenecks, he said, and the economy is strong enough to weather it.

For the full article click HERE