WOULD A PEDESTRIAN-ONLY ZONE IN THE OLD MARKET BE A 'GHOST TOWN' OR A BOOMTOWN?

OMAHA- While the debate over whether the Old Market should have a pedestrian-only zone has ebbed and flowed over the years, two factors recently helped push it to the forefront.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some cities have prohibited through traffic on certain roads. For example, in May 2020, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan permanently limited almost 20 miles of residential streets to pedestrians, bicycles and local traffic to provide more space for people to bike and walk. Other cities expanded their pedestrian-only zones to help restaurants survive by increasing outdoor dining space.

In Omaha, local historian Bob Marks helped reignite the Old Market debate in an April 25 column published in this newspaper.

Marks proposed a pedestrian-only zone along Howard Street from 10th to 12th Streets and 11th Street from Harney to Jackson Streets. Marks’ column drew agreement from some Public Pulse writers.

But city officials and business owners say a pedestrian mall in the Old Market poses logistical obstacles, especially related to parking.

Old Market Association President Chip Allen, who is also the event coordinator for Upstream Brewery, said the proposal has generated spirited debate among Old Market merchants. But, he said, a pedestrian-only zone is “something that right now we couldn’t do.”

Marks noted that there are about 120 parking spots in the part of Old Market that he proposed closing to cars. “Who finds a place on the streets there anyway,” he wrote.

The Old Market has 650 parking meters in total, and those spots have some of the highest demand in the downtown area, said city parking and mobility manager Ken Smith.

Mayor Jean Stothert said she hasn’t heard support for the idea of a pedestrian-only zone.

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NEBRASKA'S DARK SKIES DRAW ALMOST 400 STARGAZERS TO SECLUDED SPOT IN THE SANDHILLS

MERRITT RESERVOIR — Nebraska lacks majestic mountains and scenic ocean views, but it has something few states possess — heavenly, dark night skies.

Last week, more than 380 stargazers from across the country gathered along this remote reservoir to peer into the cosmos at the 28th annual Nebraska Star Party.

It’s among half a dozen “star parties” of its size in the country, and the main attraction is the lack of light pollution in this part of Cherry County, a sparsely settled grassland area known for its treeless vistas of sandhills and widely scattered ranches. There are 50 times more cattle than people.

The party is held on moonless nights at a campground about 30 miles from the nearest town, Valentine, far from any streetlights. On cloudless nights, the Milky Way is so bright that it creates shadows on the hilltops and campground roads where clusters of people gather around telescopes.

This year’s turnout was slightly higher than in the past, possibly because the Nebraska Star Party was the first major stargazing event resumed after the pandemic canceled star parties in 2020, said John Johnson, a retired nuclear engineer from Omaha who helps run the event. The smoky haze from wildfires in the West obscured some stars near the horizons, he said, but overhead, the viewing was excellent on Wednesday night after some clouds moved out.

By 11 p.m., you could barely see your own hand in front of your face. But through the darkness, you could hear conversations as people gathered around telescopes. Dim, red lights illuminated some of the equipment. Occasionally, a laser beam shot into the sky, helping aim equipment at distant nebulae, 10 to 20 million light-years away. 

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WARREN BUFFETT'S BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY POSTS 7% GAIN IN 2Q PROFIT

NEW YORK- Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway company reported a 7% gain in profit for the second quarter as the conglomerate saw improvements in its railroad, utilities and energy companies.

Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway said Saturday that it earned $28.1 billion, or $18,488 per Class A share, during the second quarter. A year earlier, Berkshire reported a profit of $26.3 billion or $16,314 per Class A per share.

Buffett has long said Berkshire’s operating earnings offer a better view of quarterly performance because they exclude investments and derivatives, which can vary widely. By that measure, Berkshire’s operating earnings improved to $6.7 billion during the quarter from $5.5 billion in the year-ago period.

The conglomerate has seen profits at its businesses turn around as the economy continues to rebound from the pandemic. However, profits for its insurance operations declined during the second-quarter.

The company also disclosed that it repurchased $6 billion of its stock during the second quarter, bringing the six-month total to $12.6 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. owns more than 90 companies, including the BNSF railroad and insurance, utility, furniture and jewelry businesses. The company also has major investments in Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola and Bank of America.

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NEBRASKA COULD GET $2.5 BILLION FROM BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL

NEBRASKA- The state could receive over $2.5 billion for roads, bridges, public transportation and broadband under the Senate’s infrastructure plan, according to the White House.

More state-specific data is expected soon, according to the White House, to show the potential effect of the package on “drinking water infrastructure, power infrastructure, airports, resiliency and more.” The current documents will be updated if and when the Senate passes the bill, according to the release.

A procedural vote on the bipartisan proposal is set for Saturday. It initially appeared on track for eventual final passage, though senators have struggled to agree on amendments. President Joe Biden offered words of encouragement Friday after a late night filled with various amendments and objections.

The package calls for $550 billion in new spending over five years above projected federal levels for a nearly $1 trillion expenditure, in what could be one of the more substantial investments in the nation’s roads, bridges, waterworks, broadband and the electric grid in years.

A spokesperson for Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse on Friday declined to comment on the package until the Senate has worked through more amendments, and spokespeople for Sen. Deb Fischer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to a White House “fact sheet” released Wednesday, Nebraska would be estimated to receive the following over five years under the Senate bill:

$2 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs.

$225 million for bridge replacement and repairs.

$192 million to improve public transportation options.

$30 million to expand an electric vehicle charging network.

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NEBRASKANS FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA PLANNING TWO NEW PETITIONS FOR 2022 BALLOT

NEBRASKA- Not long after the Nebraska Supreme Court barred an initiative legalizing medical marijuana from going before voters last year, backers of the measure had another petition ready to go for the 2022 election cycle.

To avoid a repeat of the court’s 5-2 decision that the initiative violated the state’s single-subject rule, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana opted to go with a broad, one-sentence addition to the state constitution.

“Persons in the State of Nebraska shall have the right to cannabis in all its forms for medical purposes,” reads the petition on file with Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen.

But in the weeks after the end of the 2021 legislative session, which saw lawmakers also narrowly defeat a measure, Legislative Bill 474, by Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln to legalize cannabis for medical use and create a regulatory framework in the state, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana has reconsidered its strategy.

With help from the Marijuana Policy Project, the ACLU of Nebraska and others, the ballot initiative committee worked to consider “every possible challenge” a petition could face before going to voters, Wishart said, as well as the best way to get language before voters next November.

To do so, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana will scrap the petition it filed after the court’s decision last year in favor of a pair of initiatives, said Wishart, who led the 2020 petition drive alongside Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln.

“Our main goal is putting in place language that we feel absolutely confident in,” Wishart said, “that we have looked at every type of potential challenge that could come and feel we have addressed it.”

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FORMER NEBRASKA GOV. KAY ORR CHASTISES UNL CHANCELLOR OVER STATEMENT OPPOSING CRT RESOLUTION

LINCOLN- Former Nebraska Gov. Kay Orr took University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Ronnie Green to task Monday over a statement opposing a resolution on critical race theory.

The statement was written by the six faculty and staff members leading the chancellor’s anti-racism initiative.

It takes issue with a resolution proposed by University of Nebraska Regent and GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Pillen that would bar “any imposition of critical race theory in curriculum” at the university.

Orr, who has endorsed Pillen, called the statement “inflammatory and beneath the dignity of your office.” She went on to say that, in the past, the office of chancellor has never been “wielded as a weapon against duly elected officials.”

“The University would do you well to remember that as a tax-supported institution, they are responsible to reflect the virtues that are embodied in the minds and hearts of Nebraska citizens,” she said.

Orr said she found one passage in the statement particularly disturbing.

The passage blamed the anti-CRT movement for emboldening “white supremacist groups like the KKK” and said that “the authors” of the CRT resolution “may have unwittingly invited those undemocratic and hateful actions into the lives of members of the UNL community, based on misinformation, distortions and fallacies.”

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PETITION EFFORT LAUNCHED IN NEBRASKA TO RAISE MINIMUM WAGE TO $15 AN HOUR BY 2026

NEBRASKA- A petition drive was announced Monday that would let Nebraska voters decide whether the state’s minimum wage should incrementally increase from $9 to $15 an hour by 2026.

Raise the Wage Nebraska, composed of a long list of organizations and two Democrats in the Nebraska Legislature, launched the effort to get the issue on the ballot in 2022.

Gradually increasing the minimum wage in Nebraska, they argue, will help middle- and working-class people and start to close racial and gender pay gaps.

“The context in which all of that sits is an economic reality where things are getting much more expensive, and wages are staying stagnant,” said Ken Smith, Nebraska Appleseed’s economic justice director. “The cost of housing and child care and food are all going up, but people aren’t taking home any more money than they were in years past.”

The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour hasn’t increased in more than a decade. Thirty states and Washington, D.C., have minimum wages higher than that — including Nebraska.

Nebraska’s is higher because voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative in 2014. After that measure passed, the state’s minimum wage increased from $7.25 an hour to $8 an hour in 2015, then to $9 an hour in 2016, where it stands today.

“Nebraskans have previously made their voices heard on this issue and voted to increase the minimum wage when the Legislature wouldn’t,” Smith said. “And I think that’s where we find ourselves again today.”

Under the ballot language provided by Nebraska Appleseed, state law would be amended so that the minimum wage would bump up by $1.50 each year, starting in 2023.

It would rise from $9 an hour to:

$10.50 an hour on Jan. 1, 2023.

$12 an hour on Jan. 1, 2024.

$13.50 an hour on Jan. 1, 2025.

$15 an hour on Jan. 1, 2026.

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OPS BOARD VOTES TO REQUIRE MASKS INSIDE SCHOOLS

OMAHA- The Omaha Public Schools will join a growing number of Nebraska school districts requiring students to wear masks indoors when they return to classrooms next week.

The same for teachers and parents, though there will be some exceptions.

School board members voted Monday to require all people to wear masks indoors at school, effective Tuesday.

Students won’t have to wear them outdoors, so not for recess or activities like marching band. Students will be allowed to remove the masks while eating and drinking.

If teachers or staff are alone in their classrooms or offices, they will be allowed to unmask.

The resolution adopted by the board also allows people to go without a mask “when doing so creates a greater health, safety or security risk to the individual or public.”

“We have an issue in this country with a variant,” board member Tracy Casady said, “and until we can get a handle on it, I think this is the best possible solution we can do in our community to try to get our kids back in school and keep them there.”

The vote was 8-1, with Spencer Head voting no.

Head tried unsuccessfully to amend the resolution to have the mask mandate sunset Oct. 18, unless the board took action before then to extend it.

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NONPROFIT DIGS INTO DATA TO HELP NEBRASKA GET A HANDLE ON OVERCROWDED PRISONS

LINCOLN- For the next several months, stakeholders and analysts will dig into data and discuss policies aimed at criminal justice reform in Nebraska.

“We are committed to using research-based and cost-effective strategies to ensure public safety and improve the quality and functioning of Nebraska’s criminal justice system,” state leaders wrote in a letter earlier this year.

Gov. Pete Ricketts, Chief Justice Mike Heavican, Speaker of the Legislature Mike Hilgers and State Sen. Steve Lathrop signed the March letter. They were asking the U.S. Department of Justice and The Pew Charitable Trusts for technical help from a nonprofit that can analyze data and use research — and its experience in other states — to inform decisions and policy.

In April, they received a response: Nebraska was approved and will get that help from the nonprofit Crime and Justice Institute (CJI) as part of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.

In the March letter, the four officials wrote that Nebraska’s prisons are some of the most crowded in the nation. Between July 2019 and June 2020, Department of Corrections data show, the average daily population of the state’s prisons was 115% of facility operational capacity and 157% of design capacity. And, the officials wrote, the system faces aging infrastructure.

The incarceration rate here increased by 17% over the last 15 years, they wrote, while it declined in most U.S. states. The rate of people who returned to custody also increased.

The officials pledged to provide CJI with access to data, establish a task force with representatives from “across the justice system spectrum,” and use that group’s findings to prepare for legislative and administrative actions next year.

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SCOTT GRAY NAMED EXECUTIVE DEPUTY CHIEF OF OMAHA POLICE DEPARTMENT

OMAHA- Police Chief Todd Schmaderer has announced that Deputy Chief Scott Gray will lead the department when he is unavailable.

After interviewing several candidates, Schmaderer selected Gray to be his executive deputy chief. Gray is a 25-year veteran of the department who was promoted to deputy chief in 2017. Gray will begin his role as executive deputy chief immediately, the department said.

Gray currently oversees the Uniform Patrol Bureau, the largest division of the department with nearly 550 officers.

Lt. Neal Bonacci, a police department spokesman, said the executive deputy chief will supervise large-scale events, mentor new deputy chiefs, help out with all five bureaus in the department, review personnel matters, oversee projects that pertain to more than one bureau and approve some items that would need a chief’s approval “so decisions can be made in a more timely manner.”

“The chief of police will always carry the heavy responsibilities and spearhead the overall cultivation of direction/culture of the department,” Bonacci said in a prepared statement. “Chief Schmaderer feels a designated second in command will help him do that.”

Schmaderer has said some police departments in other cities have a designated No. 2 and others don’t.

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JIM PILLEN'S RESOLUTION OPPOSING CRITICAL RACE THEORY DIVIDES NU REGENTS

LINCOLN- Friday’s planned vote by the Nebraska Board of Regents on a resolution opposing critical race theory being taught on NU campuses continues to stir debate and has created divisions on the eight-member board.

Based on responses from regents contacted recently by The World-Herald, Regent Jim Pillen’s resolution will head into Friday’s board meeting with two votes for and two votes against. The resolution needs a simple majority, or five votes, in order to pass.

Chair Paul Kenney told The World-Herald that he will join Pillen in voting for the resolution. Regents Elizabeth O’Connor and Barbara Weitz said they will vote against it.

The other four regents declined to give their position or did not respond to questions from the newspaper. But others have been more vocal.

Gov. Pete Ricketts has been urging the board to pass Pillen’s resolution, and former Gov. Kay Orr criticized University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Ronnie Green on Monday after a group of six faculty and staff members issued a statement opposing the resolution. The group members are leaders of the chancellor’s anti-racism initiative.

On Tuesday, the Governor’s Office released a letter signed by over two dozen elected officials imploring the board to pass it. Those who signed include Ricketts, Lt. Gov. Mike Foley, Treasurer John Murante, Auditor Charlie Janssen and 22 state legislators — including Speaker Mike Hilgers of Lincoln and Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha, who’s also running for governor.

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CITY OF OMAHA EXPECTS TO APPLY FOR DISASTER AID FOLLOWING WEEKEND FLOODING

OMAHA- Omaha officials expect to apply for federal disaster aid after weekend flash flooding collapsed some sewers, sent vehicles sailing into one another and pushed water into east Omaha businesses and homes.

The city has been tracking its expenses related to the storm and working with the Douglas County Emergency Management Agency to determine whether it can apply for the funding, City Engineer Todd Pfitzer told the City Council on Tuesday.

“We do anticipate at this time we’ll meet the threshold for a federal application,” Pfitzer told the council.

Few other details about the potential disaster declaration were available Tuesday. Paul Johnson, director of the county emergency management agency, was unavailable.

The weekend storm would be the second one of the summer to prompt federal disaster dollars. In July, Omaha officials said they would pursue a federal disaster declaration after a hurricane-force windstorm downed trees and power lines across the city, knocking out power to 188,000 Omaha Public Power District customers.

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NEBRASKA SENS. FISCHER, SASSE ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF VOTE ON $1 TRILLION INFRASTRUCTURE BILL

WASHINGTON D.C.- Nebraska’s two Republican senators cast differing votes on a $1 trillion infrastructure spending plan passed by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

Sen. Deb Fischer was among the 69 senators who voted in favor of the bill, while Sen. Ben Sasse voted alongside 29 other senators — all Republicans — opposing the bill. The package includes funding for roads, broadband internet, water pipes and public works systems.

Fischer said in a statement released after the vote that the infrastructure plan would make “long-awaited investments to rebuild and develop our nation’s core infrastructure.”

She also pointed to the bipartisan nature of the legislation and her ability to successfully advocate for several priorities, including “increased flexibility for livestock haulers and assistance for communities in rural America to meet transportation needs.”

“Additionally, the final bill included my bipartisan amendment that would create an online mapping tool for viewing the progress of federal broadband deployment projects all in one place. This will avoid duplication, maximize federal funding dollars, and help connect as many households as possible,” she said.

In a statement, Sasse criticized claims by Democrats that the bill would pay for itself. He acknowledged the importance of infrastructure, but said the bill was just one piece of unprecedented spending in Washington, D.C. — including plans by Democrats to take up a separate $3.5 trillion package proposed by President Joe Biden.

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DRONES HELP NEBRASKA STATE PATROL SPEED UP CRASH INVESTIGATIONS

NEBRASKA- The Nebraska State Patrol is turning to drone technology to speed up investigations and clear roads more quickly following crashes.

The State Patrol has trained 19 crash investigators as certified drone pilots and has already used the technology to investigate several crash scenes, according to a news release.

Participants in the drone program recently conducted training flights and reconstruction mapping tests at the site of Husker Harvest Days near Grand Island.

“This technology brings NSP crash investigations to a new level,” program coordinator Lt. Brent Bockstadter said.

“The new drones, coupled with state-of-the-art mapping systems, allow our investigators to gather investigative images and data in less than half the time it used to take.”

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MIKE PENCE, TED CRUZ, RON DESANTIS WILL HEADLINE RICKETTS EVENT IN NEBRASKA CITY

NEBRASKA CITY- Former Vice President Mike Pence, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis form an all-star lineup of guests who will join Gov. Pete Ricketts at a Nebraska Steak Fry scheduled in Nebraska City on Sept. 12.

Ricketts hosts the event annually to celebrate Nebraska agriculture.

All Three speakers are viewed as potential 2024 Republican presidential candidates.

DeSantis has been engaged over the past week in a high-profile battle with President Joe Biden over the Democrat’s efforts to vaccinate more Americans and consider masking restrictions to help battle the surge of COVID-19 infections due to the delta variant.

The steak fry will be held at Arbor Lodge Historical Park.

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NPPD SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON DECARBONIZATION

COLUMBUS- Another of Nebraska’s major utilities is taking a look at decarbonization and will be asking its customers to weigh in.

The Nebraska Public Power District will hold five public meetings over the next two weeks on whether it should pursue decarbonization, CEO Tom Kent said Friday. The meetings are part of a larger effort to gauge customer sentiment, he said.

Decarbonization is the process by which a utility reduces its carbon footprint, in part by reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases. Often, this involves a fuels shift, away from coal, for example, toward wind or solar.

The first meeting is Wednesday in Norfolk, and the final meeting is Aug. 18 in Kearney. The utility has already taken some stakeholder input and will post a survey on its website from Wednesday until Sept. 1.

The meetings will include a detailed presentation by the Electric Power Research Group on the business risks of decarbonizing or not, Kent said.

Scientists have long known that digging up fossil fuels — coal, oil and natural gas — and releasing their carbon dioxide into the atmosphere would change the planet’s climate. One reason scientists have become more urgent in their calls for action is that the release of carbon dioxide has a decades-long delayed effect on climate.

Kent said NPPD already has lowered its emissions.

The utility’s 2020 generations emissions on a carbon intensity basis declined 39% from 2005 levels, he said.

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WESTERN NEBRASKA WILDFIRE BURNS 2,500 ACRES

HARRISBURG- State and local agencies continued to fight a wildfire Friday that had burned an estimated 2,500 acres since it began about 7 p.m. Thursday.

The fire prompted an emergency declaration from Banner County on Friday morning as well as the deployment of a Nebraska State Emergency Response Team and an Incident Management Team to support fire containment efforts.

Incident commanders requested the use of a large Colorado air tanker. Two Nebraska Army National Guard helicopters were also headed to Banner County on Friday afternoon to provide air support.

A Nebraska air tanker and two air tankers from South Dakota were already working to fight the fire, according to a press release from the Nebraska State Emergency Response Commission.

As of Thursday night, there were 89 personnel with 18 different departments at the scene.

No injuries have been reported, and no houses are believed to be threatened by the fire, the commission said.

The Wildland Incident Response Assistance Team, a group made up of state fire marshals, has been requested to provide expert knowledge and assistance to local first responders.

Fire weather watches were in effect Friday for portions of southeast Wyoming and western Nebraska due to low humidity values and scattered thunderstorms. Fire weather watches are expected to remain elevated as dry conditions continue into the weekend.

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UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA ANOUNCES NEW COVID SAFETY PROTOCOLS

LINCOLN— The University of Nebraska announced updated coronavirus protocols on Friday in response to a rising number of cases in the state and guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The university said all vaccinated faculty, staff, students and visitors to its campuses are encouraged, but not required, to wear face masks indoors. University officials said unvaccinated people should continue to wear masks. Masks are required indoors for all people at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

University officials said they strongly recommend vaccinations for everyone affiliated with the university, but won’t require them. Faculty, staff and students won’t be required to disclose their vaccination status, but those who don’t should expect to take additional safety measures.

University officials said they’ll announce campus-specific COVID-19 protocols as they’re developed with local public health departments.

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FAST, HEAVY RAINS CAUSE STREET FLOODING, PROPERTY DAMAGE IN OMAHA

OMAHA- Flash flooding washed through basement apartments, swept up cars and heaved pavement in low-lying areas of the Omaha metro area over the weekend.

Cleanup on Sunday was tedious, muddy work, but most people were counting their blessings.

Seven people had escaped with their lives after floodwaters trapped them in two elevators in the basement of the Old Market Loft apartments, 1011 Jones St.

Tony Luu, one of those who had been trapped, said he had no idea how dangerous flash flooding could be.

“I wouldn’t have stepped in the elevator if I had known,” he said, “Now I know to use a bit more caution.”

Alex Speakar was likewise awed by the power of the water that lifted up her car and carried it down Jones Street to rest against other vehicles.

“When they say how fast (flooding) comes in, it just didn’t register,” she said. The 22-year-old had packed all her possessions in her car in front of the Old Market Lofts for her planned return to the University of Kansas on Sunday. Instead, she spent the afternoon watching her uncle, a mechanic, hook it to his truck for the trip to Lawrence, Kansas.

“It could have been worse,” Speakar said. She still had a car — she hoped— and not everything in the car got soaked.

But dozens of motorists were caught in street flooding and required rescuing. Parked vehicles that had been pushed together by rushing water remained in place Sunday morning.

No injuries or deaths from the flooding were reported.

“We’re very, very lucky,” said Becky Kern, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Valley. Flooding and heat waves are the two deadliest forms of weather, Kern said.

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BULK OF NEBRASKA'S $200 MILLION IN FEDERAL RENTAL AID HAS YET TO BE DISTRIBUTED

LINCOLN — Nebraska has distributed only a fraction of the federal pandemic assistance allocated to make evictions for unpaid rent unnecessary, but a new federal eviction moratorium may give more time for the relief to reach renters and landlords.

Through the end of July, the state as a whole had paid out just $27.3 million — or 13.6% — of the $200 million in emergency rental assistance allocated for Nebraska by Congress.

The pandemic-related program was created to help keep renters in their homes and landlords in the black. For those who qualify, the aid can make a huge difference, said Jane Gordon, program director for the Christian Outreach Program — Elkhorn, which is administering rental assistance for Douglas County outside of Omaha.

“In some cases, this radically changes somebody’s life” by lifting their debt burden and giving them up to three months of breathing room, she said.

But the success of the aid varies widely between Nebraska’s large urban areas and the rest of the state. Omaha, Douglas County and Lincoln have gotten about 50% or more of their money out the door already, according to figures provided by state and local programs.

Nebraska’s two largest cities are on track to use up the rest of their allocation before the end of the year, and both have applied for a second round of assistance money.

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