SARPY FARMERS WHO VALUE CONSERVATION EASEMENT DISAPPOINTED BY RICKETTS' CRITIQUE

SARPY COUNTY- Dean and Wayne Fedde know their Sarpy County farm like it’s a family member. They know the land’s stories, the names of people who’ve laid claim to it since the mid-1800s, the animal and tree species that survive on it.

“Wayne and I grew up on this farm and the farm of our grandparents,” Dean Fedde said. “We were taught a deep respect for the land and for the nature upon it.”

The brothers purchased the farm, which borders Schramm Park just south of Gretna, from their aunt in the early ‘90s.

As development crept closer to home, they turned to a conservation easement to ensure their land retains its rural identity. Now, they’re watching with alarm and disbelief as Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts campaigns against conservation programs and tools they’ve relied on for years.

“It’s just harming a lot of potential farmers and ranchers that would do a conservation easement,” Dean Fedde said. “He’s got them all in fear of any government programs.”

Conservation easements, which have been used in Nebraska and the U.S. for decades, are voluntary agreements that keep land in private ownership while an organization, typically a nonprofit or government entity, monitors the land and can enforce the easement’s requirements.

The Feddes were offered a permanent conservation easement, which permanently limits how land can be used, by the Nebraska Land Trust in 2010, according to Dean Fedde.

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INVESTMENT IN CALIFORNIA ETHANOL MARKET AIMS TO BENEFIT NEBRASKA CORN GROWERS

NEBRASKA- Agriculture officials from Nebraska and two other states have decided to put more investment into the California ethanol-based fuel market.

The Nebraska Corn Board announced this week that it and corn checkoff organizations in Kansas and Missouri will provide California fuel retailers $1.25 million over the next year to increase availability of gasoline with an 85% ethanol blend, known commercially as E-85. The fuel will be supplied by Pearson Fuels, the largest E-85 distributor in California, which has nearly 250 retail stations located throughout the state.

It’s the second investment in E-85 in California by the Nebraska Corn Board, which earlier this year provided two grants to Pearson to pay for E-85 pumps at two gas stations in the Los Angeles area.

“These stations are moving a tremendous volume of E-85,” said John Greer, the Corn Board’s District 2 Director. “One station alone would use about 50,000 bushels of corn in the form of ethanol in just a year. The investment is already proving worthwhile for our corn growers.”

California is by far the largest E-85 market in the country, accounting for over 40 million gallons in 2020 and on track to reach 50 million gallons in 2021. Despite that, it has fewer E-85 stations than either Iowa or Minnesota, which combined have less than one-fourth the population.

“The ceiling is high for E-85,” Greer said.

He said both E-85 fueling stations and flex-fuel vehicles need to be made more widely available in California.

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UNL, UNO REPORT ENROLLMENT DECREASES; UNMC, UNK SEE INCREASES

NEBRASKA- The University of Nebraska experienced a 2% decline in overall enrollment this fall as its two largest campuses — UNL and UNO — experienced declines.

Total enrollment across all four campuses, plus the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, is 50,653 this fall, with gains coming at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the Kearney campus.

With NU managing “a COVID-19 world,” officials pointed to a 7.2% dip in international student enrollment as part of the reason for the overall enrollment decline. Speaking with The World-Herald, NU President Ted Carter pointed to a decline in the number of international visas issued and other challenges related to the virus.

“Eventually, I think we’ll be able to get that corrected,” he said.

Despite the challenges in recruiting international students, NU was still able to achieve its most diverse student body ever this fall. More than one in five students identify as minority.

Nearly half of the university system’s enrollment is at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which reported that 24,431 students are enrolled. The University of Nebraska at Omaha reported that 15,328 students are enrolled. UNL experienced a 2.7% decline from last fall, while UNO experienced a 3.5% decline.

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PROPOSED CONGRESSIONAL MAP WOULD SPLIT NEBRASKA'S BLUE DOT

LINCOLN — A Republican redistricting proposal unveiled Wednesday would cleave off northwest Douglas County from a Nebraska congressional district that has been won by presidential and congressional Democrats at various points over the past decade.

State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, the GOP chairwoman of the Legislature’s Redistricting Committee, distributed the proposed district boundaries at a morning committee meeting.

The map would divide Douglas County, all of which currently sits in the state’s 2nd Congressional District. The district became known as Nebraska’s “blue dot” following Democrat Joe Biden’s electoral victory there in the 2020 presidential election.

The committee is slated to meet again Thursday to discuss her map and an alternative proposed by the committee’s vice chairman, Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha, a Democrat.

Wayne’s map would leave Douglas County whole while putting Bellevue back into the 2nd District. The result would be similar to the district’s boundaries following the 2001 redistricting.

The Linehan map, by contrast, would split Douglas County along Interstate 680 and West Dodge Road. Everything north and west of those main thoroughfares would move into the 1st Congressional District, which is dominated by Lincoln. The district is represented by U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.

The revamped 2nd District would include the rest of Douglas County, all of Sarpy County and all of Saunders County. The district now is represented by U.S. Rep. Don Bacon.

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NEBRASKA DOCTOR CALLED 23 HOSPITALS BEFORE FINDING ICU BED FOR SERIOUSLY ILL PATIENT

LINCOLN — It was clear soon after Mark McConnaughey arrived at the Nemaha County Hospital, seriously ill from a suspected COVID-19 infection, that he needed to be transferred to a bigger hospital, one with ventilators, a trauma team and an intensive care unit.

But what happened next had never happened in the 25-year career of Dr. Michael Zaruba, who was staffing the emergency room that night.

Call after call, to hospitals from Lincoln to North Platte, from Omaha to Topeka, ended with the same response: We don’t have a bed in our ICU. As the doctor and an assistant worked to stabilize McConnaughey, they kept calling. Same response.

Zaruba said that, in all, 23 hospitals were called. All full.

Finally, at about 3 a.m. on Aug. 18 — about five hours after the 57-year-old farmer and metalworker had arrived at the Auburn hospital — he was life-flighted to Des Moines, where Mercy One Medical Center had agreed to admit him. He died there.

Zaruba said Thursday that he still struggles to talk about what happened — a problem the state moved to address earlier this week.

“I’ve practiced medicine for 25 years. I never dreamed I’d be in a situation where I couldn’t transfer a patient to a hospital that was close,” he said. “Worse, Mark was one of my very best friends.”

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PRESIDENT BIDEN APPROVES NEBRASKA DISASTER DECLARATION FOR JULY WINDSTORM

NEBRASKA- President Joe Biden on Monday approved a disaster declaration in Nebraska related to severe storms and straight-line winds in July, opening up federal aid to help the state recover.

Federal assistance is available for state, tribal, local governments and some nonprofits in 14 counties for “emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms and straight-line winds,” according to a White House press release.

The counties are: Box Butte, Cass, Clay, Douglas, Fillmore, Grant, Hall, Hamilton, Madison, Sarpy, Saunders, Sheridan, Washington and York. Funds are also available through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, according to the Governor’s Office — that money can help with public projects anywhere in Nebraska that aim to cut down on the risk for damage in natural disasters.

During a preliminary assessment, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was able to validate about $30.8 million in damage from the July 9-10 storms across the affected counties, a report from the agency shows.

Sens. Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse and Reps. Jeff Fortenberry, Don Bacon and Adrian Smith penned the letter in support of Gov. Pete Ricketts’ request for federal disaster assistance.

“We supported Governor Ricketts in his request for this aid and were glad to see the administration act quickly in response,” the state’s congressional delegation said Tuesday in a joint statement. “This disaster declaration will provide Nebraskans with the resources to rebuild and recover.”

The governor declared a disaster on July 22. That declaration allowed the state to use the Governor’s Emergency Fund to address damage from the storms, according to the Governor’s Office, and was necessary to request the federal aid.

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UTAH ATTORNEY SUES NEBRASKA STATE EPIDEMIOLOGIST IN PUBLIC-RECORDS FIGHT OVER COVID TESTING

LINCOLN- Nebraska's acting state epidemiologist is being sued by a Utah attorney after he denied her request for an unredacted validation report regarding COVID-19 tests administered by Test Nebraska.

At issue is whether the blacked-out information qualifies as trade secrets or should be released under public-records laws.

In the lawsuit filed in Lancaster County District Court, Suzette Rasmussen's attorney, Andre Barry, said: "The public has an interest in knowing whether the COVID-19 tests provided by Nomi Health are (or were) reliable or accurate as claimed, and whether the state's contract with Nomi Health was worth the cost."

In April 2020, near the start of the pandemic, Nebraska announced a $26.9 million, no-bid contract with Nomi Health, a Utah company, to establish mobile testing centers and provide up to 540,000 tests over six months, with an option to pay more for additional testing after that.

By the time Test Nebraska stopped testing July 18, 2021, the program had cost the state about $45 million and resulted in the completion of roughly 800,000 COVID-19 tests, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

In the lawsuit filed in late June, Barry said Rasmussen started making public-records requests with HHS on April 9, 2021, and, in response, received a redacted copy of a validation report, with several lines and 14 entire pages blacked out.

When she asked for an unredacted copy, she was denied and told it contained Nomi Health's "proprietary and trade secret information."

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MEDICAL MARIJUANA GROUP PREPARES TO GATHER SIGNATURES FOR PAIR OF BALLOT INITIATIVES

LINCOLN- A group in Nebraska is preparing to gather signatures for a pair of ballot initiatives to legalize medical cannabis.

The group, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, announced on Wednesday that it recently filed drafts of its two measures. If it gathers enough signatures by a July deadline, voters will weigh in on both next November.

State Sen. Anna Wishart, one of two legislators involved in the effort, said one of the petitions will relate to protecting patients’ rights to have access to cannabis through a doctor’s recommendation. The other, she said, would set up a regulated, private industry to produce cannabis for the patients who qualify under the first initiative.

“It’s heartbreaking and senseless that politicians are standing in the way of families and patients who desperately need safe, legal access to medical cannabis,” Sen. Adam Morfeld, the other state senator involved in the effort, said in a prepared statement. “But we will not stop fighting for them. We hope that every Nebraskan will stand with us and help our campaign succeed by getting involved and supporting the effort however they can.”

The same group unsuccessfully attempted to get a medical marijuana initiative on the November 2020 ballot. Though it surpassed the required number of signatures, that initiative was disqualified by the State Supreme Court, which ruled that it contained more than one subject.

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COVID CASES IN NEBRASKA UP FOR THE 11TH WEEK, BUT NOT AS MUCH AS LAST WEEK

NEBRASKA- COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths continued to climb in Nebraska last week as the state’s summer surge pushes toward fall.

The state recorded 5,649 new cases for the week ending Thursday, up from 4,916 the previous week and 3,464 the week before that. It was the 11th straight week of rising cases in Nebraska.

Nebraska’s two-week case growth rate of 63% was down somewhat from last week’s but still ranked eighth highest in the nation.

That recent growth in cases now is translating into additional deaths. The 48 deaths recorded in the past two weeks are the most recorded in five months.

Hospitalizations, too, continue to rise. The state’s seven-day average of 337 as of Thursday was up from 309 the previous week.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts last week announced that the state is bringing back a statewide transfer center to help overstretched Nebraska hospitals find places to send patients.

The move is aimed at helping hospitals cope with a new wave of COVID patients, driven by the spread of the delta variant. The center will help relieve some of the stress on hospital staff by taking over the job of making call after call for an available bed. Hospitals now are dealing with an increase in the number of patients with ailments other than COVID-19 in addition to the influx of COVID patients.

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BIDEN TO REQUIRE COMPANIES WITH 100 OR MORE EMPLOYEES TO ENSURE WORKERS ARE VACCINATED OR TESTED WEEKLY

WASHINGTON — In his most forceful pandemic actions and words, President Joe Biden on Thursday announced sweeping new federal vaccine requirements affecting as many as 100 million Americans in an all-out effort to increase COVID-19 vaccinations and curb the surging delta variant.

Speaking at the White House, Biden sharply criticized the roughly 80 million Americans who are not yet vaccinated, despite months of availability and incentives.

"We've been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us," he said, all but biting off his words. The unvaccinated minority "can cause a lot of damage, and they are."

The expansive rules mandate that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly, affecting about 80 million Americans. And the roughly 17 million workers at health facilities that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid also will have to be fully vaccinated.

Biden is also signing an executive order to require vaccination for employees of the executive branch and contractors who do business with the federal government — with no option to test out. That covers several million more workers.

Biden announced the new requirements in a Thursday afternoon address from the White House as part of a new "action plan" to address the latest rise in coronavirus cases and the stagnating pace of COVID-19 shots that has raised doubts among the public over his handling of the pandemic.

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FORMER GOV. HEINEMAN OPPOSES SEN. LINEHAN'S PLAN FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS

LINCOLN — A Republican-crafted plan for revamping Nebraska’s congressional districts has come under attack from an unexpected quarter.

Former Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman tweeted his opposition Thursday to the plan offered up by State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, the Republican who chairs the Legislature’s Redistricting Committee.

He took issue with the plan because it would move Saunders County from its historic home in the 1st Congressional District and make it part of the Omaha-dominated 2nd District.

“Saunders County doesn’t belong in #NE02,” he said. “I grew up in Wahoo, and Saunders Co. residents want to stay in #NE01.”

Heineman also called for the three announced GOP gubernatorial candidates — University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen, Falls City agribusinessman Charles Herbster and Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha — to oppose the plan as well.

Linehan commented that, like a lot of Nebraskans, the former governor may not have had a chance to digest the whole plan and understand the reasons for the proposed moves.

“We have to make some changes,” she said.

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REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE STOPS ARGUING; WILL BRING BOTH PLANS TO PUBLIC HEARINGS

LINCOLN- Instead of continuing to argue about competing legislative and congressional redistricting plans, the Legislature's redistricting committee decided Thursday to take both Republican and Democratic proposals to public hearings already scheduled in three cities next week.

"That's good for everyone," Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, chairwoman of the committee, said after the committee agreed to her suggestion to proceed in that manner rather than continue to battle with one another.

"We're not going to fight over maps anymore," she said. Talking with the news media following a brief committee discussion, Linehan said she believes "this is good for everyone."

"We can have hearings on both bills," she said, "probably a Linehan bill and a Wayne bill. There will be no committee bill."

Linehan is one of five Republican members of the nonpartisan Legislature who sit on the special committee. Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha is one of four Democratic members and the committee's vice chairman.

The Linehan/Republican and Wayne/Democratic proposals differ dramatically in proposed new borders for metropolitan Omaha's 2nd Congressional District, the only competitive House district in the state, and in redistricting of legislative districts.

Hearings will be held in Grand Island on Tuesday, Lincoln on Wednesday and Omaha on Thursday.

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NO CAUSE DETERMINED IN HOG BARN FIRE AT PILLEN FAMILY FARMS, NO SIGN OF FOUL PLAY

PETERSBURG- The Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office found no sign of foul play in the barn fire that killed about 10,000 hogs at Pillen Family Farms in May.

State Fire Inspector Garrett Weidner also wrote in his report that the cause of the fire could not be determined.

The fire started at the front of the building, its south side, according to the report. That is also the side of the building where an addition was being built, but Weidner wrote that he could not pin down the exact starting point of the fire. The barn was near Albion, Nebraska.

Investigating the fire was made more difficult, he wrote, by the extensive damage and inability to inspect the interior of the collapsed barn.

The day before the fire, workers at the hog barn reported smelling smoke, according to Weidner’s report.

Marcia Medina, site leader for the farm, told Weidner that she searched for the source but was unable to find it and could not actually see any smoke or flames. Medina told Weidner that in addition to searching the rooms in the barn, she climbed into the attic to look.

The day before the fire, an area contracting company, T&J Paz Construction, had cut into the tin siding at the front of the building to attach flashing. None of the work was electrical, the contractor told Weidner.

According to the inspector’s report, Armando Rodriguez of T&J said workers didn’t smell smoke, but did hose down the area where they were cutting after Medina said she was looking for the source of smoke she had smelled. When they were done for the day, they cleaned up the worksite and left at 5 p.m., he told Weidner.

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THE LOGISTICS OF THE UPCOMING REDISTRICTING SPECIAL SESSION

LINCOLN- Speaker Mike Hilgers announced the schedule of events for the upcoming special session starting in just a few days. 

The legislature will convene on September 13th, at 10:00 a.m. Prior to that date, according to Chair Linehan, the Redistricting Committee will vote on a redistricting plan (for all 7 maps), and make those maps public, to provide as much notice to the public as possible regarding the proposed plan in advance of the public hearings.

The Redistricting Committee will hold hearings in each of the three congressional districts as required by rule. Those hearings will be on September 14, 15, and 16. The information is as follows and will be posted on the appropriate public pages of the Nebraska Legislature's website:

September 14 at 1:30pm

Central Community College

3134 W. Hwy 34

Room 555, Health Science Education Center

3134 W. Hwy 34

Grand Island, NE   

September 15 at 9:00am

Nebraska State Capitol Bldg.

1445 K St.

Room 1524

Lincoln, NE

September 16

Scott Conference Center

6450 Pine St.

Omaha, NE

On September 13th, the anticipated order of events will be begin special session, introduce the redistricting plan, the plan will be read, 

referred to the Referencing Committee, then allow time for the Referencing Committee to refer the plans and have the report reported to the floor.

On September 14-16, in addition to the Redistricting Committee hearings, some standing committees will conduct hearings on gubernatorial appointments (such appointments are considered "administrative" and accordingly can be completed during the special session). At this time those committees include: Education, General Affairs, Government, HHS, Natural Resources, Judiciary, Business and Labor, and Retirement. For members not serving on any of these committees, September 14-16 will be check-in days only.

Speaker Hilgers anticipates that general file debate will begin on Friday, September 17. For the time being, Friday the 17th is expected to be a full day with a 5 p.m. adjournment (or later).

Work will extend to that Saturday, September 18, with a potential 8:00 a.m. start time. Speaker Hilgers has asked that those involved with redistricting reserve late nights every day of the week, including Friday, September 24th.

FBI SAYS IT HAS TAKEN DOWN WESTERN NEBRASKA DRUG TRAFFICKING OPERATION

WESTERN NEBRASKA- A western Nebraska drug trafficking operation was dismantled by a joint law enforcement operation last week, according to the FBI.

Five federal arrest warrants and seven state warrants were executed 6 a.m. Tuesday by the Omaha division of the FBI and the CODE Task Force, which includes the Nebraska State Patrol, the North Platte Police Department, the Lexington Police Department and the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office.

The investigation and arrests targeted a western Nebraska criminal organization, Eugene Kowel, special agent in charge of the Omaha FBI field office, said Friday in a press release.

“Drug-related crimes strangle communities in rural Nebraska," he said. "The CODE task force will continue to work to stop the violence, get drugs and weapons off the streets, and seek justice for those living in the communities they serve.”

The arrest warrants were executed in North Platte, McCook, Kearney, Lincoln, and Culbertson, as well as in northwestern Kansas, according to the FBI. Two additional federal warrants and two state warrants were served on people already in state custody.

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STATE TO DISTRIBUTE PANDEMIC RELIEF PAYMENTS TO SOME LOW INCOME NEBRASKA FAMILIES

LINCOLN — Some low-income Nebraska families will get a financial boost this month, thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act.

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services officials announced Thursday that the department will issue a one-time $1,200 supplemental payment to families who get Aid to Dependent Children. The money will go out Tuesday to families who qualified for regular payments in July.

The payments are provided through a $4.4 million allotment to the state from the federal Administration of Children and Families. The money is to help families affected by the pandemic cover crisis needs such as emergency housing, utility payments, food, clothing and back-to-school expenses.

Families will not need to take any action to get the money, which will be provided through the same means as their regular ADC payments, whether that is through a ReliaCard or direct deposit. The supplemental funds will not affect the regular ADC payment.

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MARINE FROM OMAHA KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN AIRPORT BOMBING

KABUL- For Cpl. Daegan Page, the words etched in ink on his chest said it all. “Death Before Dishonor.”

Page, 23, of Omaha, gave his life this week while trying to give others a better one. The Marine was one of 13 U.S. service members killed Thursday in the Kabul airport bombing, along with at least 169 Afghans.

“Our hearts are broken,” his family said in a statement.

Daegan William-Tyeler Page’s family remembered him as a “genuinely happy guy that you could always count on.”

He grew up in Red Oak, Iowa, and the Omaha metro area and was a Boy Scout.

Page’s youthful passion was hockey. He played for Omaha Westside in the Omaha Hockey Club. On the pro level, he loved the Chicago Blackhawks.

His family said Page had a “tough outer shell and giant heart.” He liked to let his younger siblings climb on him, and he had a soft spot for dogs. He enjoyed hunting and outdoor activities with his father.

Condolences for Page’s family poured in from elected leaders across Nebraska.

Rep. Don Bacon, an Afghanistan War veteran, said he was “heartbroken” over the loss of the local Marine.

“No words can express the devastation, frustration, and sorrow his family is experiencing right now,” Bacon said in a statement. “Corporal Page is an American hero who gave the last full measure of devotion. He served his country honorably, and his service will never be in vain.”

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS TOLD CHILDREN AT RISK UNDER STATE CONTRACT WITH KANSAS BASED NON-PROFIT

OMAHA- A child-abuse pediatrician warned Tuesday that vulnerable children and families have been falling through the cracks ever since Nebraska contracted with a Kansas-based nonprofit to manage Omaha-area child welfare cases.

Dr. Suzanne Haney, who runs the foster care program at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, told a panel of state lawmakers that she got page after page of examples when she asked her staff for input on the care provided by that contractor, St. Francis Ministries of Salina, Kansas.

There was the kinship foster parent caring for four foster children along with her own two children and her aging parents. The family had to quarantine when the children were diagnosed with COVID and head lice. But the St. Francis case worker said he could not provide them groceries or prescriptions because he had already done his monthly visit with the family.

“I am very concerned that our current system is unworkable and is actually harming our most vulnerable children,” Haney said.

She testified at a hearing held jointly by the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee and a separate legislative committee charged with investigating the state’s contract with St. Francis.

State Sen. John Arch of La Vista said the hearing, held in Omaha, was a chance for the public to comment about the quality of care provided by the contractor.

Matt Stephens, a St. Francis vice president who attended the hearing, said he was unaware of any such threats and would look into the situation.

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NEBRASKA'S DOUG PETERSON JOINS OTHER GOP AGs IN SUIT OVER TRANSGENDER RULES

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nebraska’s Doug Peterson joined 19 other state attorneys general in suing the Biden administration over rules regarding LGBTQ people, including the participation of transgender girls in school sports and the use of bathrooms by transgender people.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery filed the lawsuit, arguing that rules recently issued by the U.S. Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission go beyond a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The Supreme Court ruled in June 2020 that civil rights law protects gay, lesbian and transgender people from discrimination in employment.

In June, the Education Department said discrimination based on a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity will be treated as a violation of Title IX, the 1972 federal law that protects against sex discrimination in education. A legal analysis by the department concluded that there is “no persuasive or well-founded basis” to treat education differently than employment. The policy carries the possibility of federal sanctions if schools and colleges fail to protect gay and transgender students.

The new action does not reinstate the Obama-era policy but instead clarifies that the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights will investigate complaints of discrimination involving gay or transgender students. If the department finds evidence of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, it will pursue a resolution to “address the specific compliance concerns or violations.”

Joining Nebraska and Tennessee in the lawsuit are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia.

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UNMC RESEARCH CONFIRMED COVID IS AIRBORNE, BUT MASKS PROVIDE PROTECTION

OMAHA- Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center were the first to report back in July 2020 that the virus that causes COVID-19 was present in small particles exhaled by infected people.

Initially, the idea that the coronavirus could spread through the air via airborne transmission wasn’t widely accepted. The World Health Organization at first concluded that the virus was spread by larger droplets such as those produced when people sneeze or cough.

That since has changed, with both the WHO and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledging that airborne transmission plays a role in the disease’s spread.

“At this point, it’s fairly well accepted that aerosols are a primary part of the transmission of COVID-19,” said Joshua Santarpia, an associate professor of pathology and microbiology at UNMC. He is one of three UNMC co-principal investigators involved in the study, with St. Patrick Reid and John Lowe.

Their findings about transmission, and those of others, have implications for the kind of steps people need to take to protect themselves from COVID-19.

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