NEBRASKA STATE SENATOR CALLS FOR 50-STATE AUDIT OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

LINCOLN — A Nebraska lawmaker has joined colleagues from across the country in calling for a 50-state audit of the 2020 presidential election results.

State Sen. Rob Clements, a Republican from Elmwood, signed on to a letter addressed “To the American People” that seeks a forensic audit of every state election, similar to the just-completed audit in Maricopa County, Arizona.

That months-long review, conducted by allies of former President Donald Trump, concluded last month with presidential vote counts virtually identical to the county’s official tally. However, Trump backers point to other findings, which are disputed by local election officials, as justification for continued questioning of the election results.

The letter, dated Monday and signed by 92 state legislators from multiple states, pointed to the Arizona audit as a key basis for seeking a nationwide review. It calls for states to decertify their presidential electors if the audit shows an inaccurate election was held. It also calls for scrubbing the voter rolls through a canvass of voters.

“Our representative republic suffered a corrupted 2020 election,” the letter said. “This is our historic obligation to restore the election integrity of the vote as the bedrock of our constitutional republic.”

Clements said Tuesday that he doesn’t have evidence of problems or corruption with Nebraska’s election. But he said a number of constituents have raised concerns about election security and have questioned whether their votes were counted correctly.

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COLUMBUS STATE OFFICIALS MOURN DEATH OF BEHLEN MANUFACTURING CEO PHIL RAIMONDO

COLUMBUS — Employees are treated differently at Columbus-based Behlen Manufacturing.

They’re called “partners in progress” instead of workers. Years ago, the time clock was removed and employees were trusted to document their own hours.

Profit-sharing and other incentives for workers are part of the culture at Behlen, one of the world’s leading makers of steel buildings, grain storage systems and farm and ranch equipment.

As CEO of the company, Phil Raimondo embraced that culture. Last Christmas, Raimondo upped the ante, granting profit-sharing bonuses to Behlen partners that amounted to more than three weeks of paychecks.

“We’ve always said — and Phil lived it — if we make our employees better off, we will be better off. That’s our family philosophy,” said TR Raimondo, Phil’s father and chairman emeritus of Behlen.

Phil Raimondo died Sunday, shortly after being diagnosed with liver cancer. He was 59.

He is being remembered as the leader of one of Nebraska’s most prominent manufacturing firms, who was involved in local, state and national efforts to train a new generation of workers in the tech and manufacturing fields.

“He was a great community leader,” said Columbus banker Rick Chochon, a longtime friend.

On Friday and Saturday, Raimondo was still making calls on behalf of his company, to China and Brazil, his father said.

Phil Raimondo is survived by his wife of 37 years, Mary, and five children, his father, a brother, and two sisters. Funeral services are scheduled at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Isidore Catholic Church in Columbus.

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RACE IS ON TO PROVIDE HOUSING FOR AFGHANS AND OTHER REFUGEES COMING TO OMAHA

OMAHA- Refugee resettlement agencies and nonprofit groups are scrambling to secure good, affordable housing for several hundred Afghan refugees suddenly destined for Omaha, in addition to hundreds more people already expected from other nations.

A few families evacuated from Afghanistan have landed in Omaha so far. Many more Afghan evacuees are expected to begin arriving soon from camps at U.S. military bases, once their vetting and paperwork processes are complete. Meanwhile, refugees displaced from other countries around the world continue to arrive.

Nebraska resettlement agencies have committed to settling 775 Afghan evacuees in Nebraska, including more than 500 in Omaha. That number is fluid and likely to grow. It does not include so-called secondary migrants— people who are placed in other cities and then move to Omaha — or people such as Special Immigrant Visa holders whose status was already approved and can settle wherever they wish.

Before the August fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, the Omaha agencies had committed to taking in a combined 700 refugees from other nations in the coming year. It’s unknown how many will actually come, but it may be fewer than that.

“Right now, there’s been such a tremendous outpouring from the community, including the housing sector, to solve this problem,” said Matt Martin, assistant vice president of community services for Lutheran Family Services. “It’s just a matter of how do we make the economics and mechanics of it work for everybody.”

Lutheran Family Services and Refugee Empowerment Center, the two resettlement agencies in Omaha, are talking daily with rental property owners and managers with whom they’ve worked in the past. With help from other nonprofits, they’re recruiting new landlords, especially large property owners who haven’t rented much to refugees before. They’re trying to find innovative ways to offset the challenges of renting to refugees and overcome misperceptions about them.

The resettlement agencies also are raising money to pay rent for the families beyond a couple of months funded by the federal government’s standard allotment for refugees, giving the families more time to find work and become self-sufficient.

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NEBRASKA MAY HAVE REACHED PLATEAU FOR COVID CASES AND HOSPITALIZATIONS

NEBRASKA- Nebraska has reached a plateau in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, with both numbers mostly unchanged over recent weeks.

One notable change: The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week added 399 COVID-related deaths that it apparently had not previously counted in Nebraska’s tally. That pushed the federal agency’s death toll for the state to 2,840 for the pandemic, while the state’s count remained at 2,427.

Overall, however, Nebraska continued a monthlong flattening of its summer delta surge.

The state added 4,775 new cases for the week ending Friday. That was slightly above the 4,676 tallied during the previous week but about 10% below the roughly 5,300 the state counted during each of the three prior weeks.

More notable decreases in new cases continued in the state’s most populous counties. Douglas County’s cases have been on a slow decline for the past three weeks. For the week ending Saturday, the county tallied 836 cases, down from 1,004 the week before.

Cases within the Sarpy/Cass Health Department have trended downward from 639 in the last week of August to 265 last week. And the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, which reinstated an indoor mask mandate Aug. 26, dropped from 1,021 cases the week ending Sept. 3 to 508 cases for the week ending Friday.

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FORTENBERRY SPOKESMAN POINTS OUT HE WASN'T CHARGED IN ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN DONATIONS

LINCOLN — A spokesman for Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., on Monday tamped down a report that the congressman was facing federal prosecution in connection with illegal campaign donations provided by a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire.

In March, the U.S. Justice Department announced its settlement with the billionaire, Gilbert Chagoury, over his efforts going back to 2012 to provide illegal “conduit” contributions to the political campaigns of four U.S. Congress members, including Fortenberry and former Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb.

Donations from foreigners to American campaigns are illegal. Chagoury, a Paris resident, paid a $1.8 million fine as part of the settlement over $180,000 in contributions, of which $30,200 went to Fortenberry’s 2016 campaign and $10,000 to Terry’s 2014 run.

Chad Kolton, a Fortenberry spokesman, said the congressman began fundraising this summer for an expected legal defense prompted by an FBI investigation into the donations.

“The people involved in that scheme were prosecuted, and no charges were filed against (Fortenberry),” Kolton said. “This legal expense trust was established in part to address costs associated with that investigation.”

The website Axios reported Monday that Fortenberry had set up a new “Fight with Fort” fundraising page for his legal expense fund. The Facebook page said, “(President Joe) Biden’s FBI is using its unlimited power to prosecute me on a bogus charge.”

The fundraising page, which was set up on Aug. 27, according to Axios, has since been removed from public view.

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SOME CALL FOR INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AFTER NEBRASKA REDISTRICTING

LINCOLN- During a politically fraught 13-day special session, some members of the Nebraska Legislature questioned aloud whether the once-in-a-decade task of redrawing voting maps would be better left to an independent commission.

Nebraska’s Legislature is unique among states in that lawmakers are elected without regard to party affiliation, and political parties don’t play a role in the body’s structure — but redistricting put a spotlight on party divisions.

Initial proposals from Republicans for congressional and state legislative district maps passed out of the Redistricting Committee on party-line votes, and both were met in the full Legislature by filibusters largely spearheaded by Democrats in staunch opposition to proposed changes.

Neither proposal had the votes to overcome those filibusters, and Speaker of the Legislature Mike Hilgers raised the possibility that lawmakers could end the special session without getting the job done.

But days of negotiations yielded hard-fought compromises, and legislators approved a congressional map on a 35-11 vote and a legislative map on a 37-7 vote.

Creating an independent commission for redistricting is not an original idea. Randall Adkins, a political scientist at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, called the shift by some states to commissions a “movement that has been growing.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 15 states give a commission the primary responsibility for drawing state legislative districts and 10 do so for congressional boundaries.

Some other states have commissions that fill an advisory role or serve as a backstop if the state legislature can’t get the job done.

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ACTIVITIES BEING CONSOLIDATED AT TECUMSEH; UNION SAYS THAT WILL AGGRAVATE STAFFING SHORTAGE

LINCOLN- Because of a prison staffing shortage, Nebraska officials are consolidating most activities at the Tecumseh State Prison into four 12-hour days.

Corrections Director Scott Frakes said the change will help the state maximize staffing, but an official with the union representing prison workers said it will make work more difficult and lead to more staff departures.

Tecumseh is one of four Nebraska prisons under a staffing emergency.

Frakes said in a statement Monday that the four-day schedule is not ideal but will allow the prison system to continue to provide services while maximizing staffing. By making the change, the department will be less likely to see staff fluctuations that prompt a need to cancel visitation, recreation, or other activities, he said.

“This will ensure appropriate staffing to keep the facility secure, as well as provide a consistent schedule for the inmate population,” Frakes said.

The four-day operational schedule will go into effect on Oct. 18, according to the statement. Activities will be scheduled between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Jerry Brittain, vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 88, said the change will stretch staff too thin during evenings and weekends, adding to the security risk and strain those employees face.

“You can’t run a prison like a shopping mall,” he said. “They’re reaching for any straw that will buy them time.”

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OMAHA POLITICAL ACTIVIST PRECIOUS McKESSON APPOINTED TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ROLE

OMAHA- President Joe Biden’s administration has appointed Omaha political activist Precious McKesson to a position at the U.S. Department of Education.

According to the department’s website, McKesson is now a special assistant in the department’s Office of Communications and Outreach based out of Washington, D.C. The Department of Education did not respond to The World-Herald’s questions about McKesson’s new role and appointment.

In 2020, McKesson cast the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District’s electoral ballot for Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. She was a staffer for the Biden campaign in Nebraska and has worked as finance director and constituency director for the Nebraska Democratic Party.

She’s still the party’s Black Caucus chair, state Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said in a text message, but will soon pass that role to someone else. Before working for the party, McKesson worked in a staff position with Omaha State Sen. Justin Wayne and the Legislature’s Urban Affairs Committee.

She had considered running for Congress in the 2nd District but decided against it.

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NEBRASKA VIETNAM VETS MEMORIAL WINS $250K GRANT FROM FACEBOOK

PAPILLION- The social media giant Facebook donated $250,000 this week to a group building a memorial in Papillion to Nebraskans who served, and died, in the Vietnam War.

A portion of the grant — $100,000 — will be used for educational programs tied to the 2-acre memorial, which is slated to open in 2023 on a site adjacent to the SumTur Amphitheater, said George Abbott, secretary-treasurer of the Nebraska Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation. The rest will go toward the construction of the $5.4 million project.

“That was a real blessing for us,” Abbott said. “We have a hard time getting any money specifically for educational programs.”

The memorial is slated to include a restored UH-1 Huey helicopter with a rescue display, 11 obelisks listing historical events from individual years of the Vietnam War, an array of flagpoles, benches, and green space.

It will also include a V-shaped wall of black granite listing the names of the 396 Nebraskans killed in the war, funded by a donor who has asked to remain anonymous.

Facebook opened a large data center in Papillion in 2019. Last spring the company announced a $400 million expansion in Springfield that will boost its facilities in Sarpy County to 3.6 million square feet.

Matt Sexton, the data center’s community development manager, said at the time that Facebook had donated $2 million to organizations in Sarpy County.

“Facebook is excited that Sarpy County will be home to this important Memorial which will serve as a community connection point and provide valuable learning opportunities,” Sexton said in a statement this week.

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PATRICIA TIMM RESIGNS FROM STATE EDUCATION BOARD; RICKETTS TO APPOINT REPLACEMENT

BEATRICE- Patricia Timm of Beatrice has resigned from the Nebraska State Board of Education citing "personal health reasons." Timm, 74, is a former kindergarten teacher and K-12 art teacher. She had served on the board since 2004 and previously spent 16 years on the Beatrice school board. The resignation creates a vacancy in District 5. Under state law, Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts would appoint a replacement.

State law says that a person would be chosen "from among qualified persons" residing in the district. The appointee would serve for the remainder of her unexpired term and until a successor is elected.

Timm was last elected in 2018, defeating challenger Maris Bentley, and would have been up for re-election next year. She was originally appointed by Governor Mike Johanns.

District 5 covers 16 counties in southeast and eastern Nebraska and a northwestern portion of Lancaster County.

When the state education board last met on Sept. 3, Timm was absent. At that meeting, the board voted to indefinitely postpone the controversial proposed health education standards.

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NEBRASKA OFFICIALS BAR ST. FRANCIS FROM TAKING NEW CHILD WELFARE CASES TEMPORARILY

LINCOLN- State licensure officials barred a Kansas contractor from caring for any new Omaha-area children and families for 60 days starting on Friday.

The Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Division imposed the restriction Thursday along with granting St. Francis Ministries a probationary license as a child placing agency.

In the meantime, any new child welfare cases in Douglas and Sarpy Counties will be handled by state child welfare workers, according to an HHS release. The department will deploy existing staff to manage the cases, while hiring additional workers.

HHS officials said that "while St. Francis has shown improvement in key areas, the decision to restrict new referrals is the best course of action right now to allow (St. Francis) the time to work with (the department) to correct deficiencies and build appropriate staff."

“I have seen this work in other states over the course of my career. This is a way for DHHS to augment St. Francis’ resources,” said HHS CEO Dannette Smith.

St. Francis Ministries, a nonprofit based in Salina, Kansas, holds a multi-million contract with HHS to manage the care of abused and neglected children in the two-county area. The contract and St. Francis' performance under it have been controversial and are the focus of a legislative investigation this summer.

The agency has yet to meet key requirements of its contract, including the caseload limits for workers set by state law.

In addition, state health inspectors put the agency's license as a child placing agency on probation in May after the nonprofit failed a September inspection and, despite repeated opportunities, had not corrected its problems by mid-April. HHS initially gave St. Francis until Aug. 1 to correct its deficiencies, then extended the deadline to Sept. 30.

Thursday's action extends the probationary license for another 60 days but adds the restriction on accepting new cases. St. Francis has 15 days to appeal the decision.

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CONGRESS AVOIDS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. HOW DID NEBRASKA'S DELEGATION VOTE?

WASHINGTON D.C.- Congress avoided a government shutdown Thursday, and it did so without support from the five members of Nebraska's congressional delegation.

The three members of the House and two senators joined a majority of their fellow Republicans in opposing the measure, which will fund the government through Dec. 3.

The legislation was needed to keep the government running once the current budget year ended at midnight Thursday. Its passage buys lawmakers more time to craft the spending measures that will fund federal agencies and the programs they administer.

The House approved the measure by a 254-175 vote not long after Senate passage in a 65-35 vote. A large majority of Republicans in both chambers voted against it.

In statements, Nebraska congressional members cited a range of reasons for opposing the legislation — though several directed their critiques at the spending habits of Washington.

“Congress’ broken budget process is not good for our country," Sen. Deb Fischer said. "Instead of funding the spending priorities of the past, we need to make tough decisions and pass a responsible budget that properly addresses the current needs of the nation.”

Fischer's fellow Nebraskan in the U.S. Senate, Ben Sasse, shared similar criticisms over the process.

Rep. Don Bacon, who represents the Omaha area, cited the failure to include funding for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry pointed to late additions to the package as the reason for his "no" vote. Fortenberry represents Nebraska's 1st District, which includes Bellevue and Lincoln.

Rep. Adrian Smith, who represents Nebraska's vast and mostly rural 3rd District, said Thursday's vote symbolized a failure of leadership by Democrats, who currently control both chambers of Congress and the White House.

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HERBSTER CUTS TIES WITH FORMER TRUMP AIDE OVER SEXUAL HARASSMENT ALLEGATION

LINCOLN — The gubernatorial campaign of Charles W. Herbster has cut ties with longtime Donald Trump aide Corey Lewandowski after a woman accused him of sexual harassment at a Las Vegas event last weekend.

In a statement issued Thursday, Herbster said that he asked Lewandowski, who served as Trump's first campaign manager in 2016 and later as a political adviser, to "step back" from his role as a senior adviser to Herbster's Republican campaign for governor.

"Corey and his family will remain in my prayers,” Herbster said in the statement.

On Wednesday, the news outlet Politico reported that an Idaho woman, who was attending a charity event with her husband, alleged that Lewandowski had made repeated, unwanted sexual advances toward her, touching her leg and buttocks, and making lewd comments.

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NEBRASKA'S NEW CONGRESSIONAL, LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS TAKE EFFECT FRIDAY

OMAHA WORLD HERALD — Nebraska lawmakers wrapped up a special session Thursday by approving new congressional, legislative and other political district boundaries.

Gov. Pete Ricketts immediately signed the package of legislation, which passed with an emergency clause, meaning that the redrawn districts will take effect Friday.

Lawmakers had aimed to finish the once-a-decade redistricting process by Thursday, so that counties, school districts and other local subdivisions have time to redraw their election districts, and local election officials can make changes to voting precincts.

The deadline also gives potential candidates time to decide whether to run for office. Candidates can start filing on Jan. 5 for the May 10 primary election.

State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, the Republican chair of the Redistricting Committee, praised colleagues and legislative staff for their hard work in getting the job done within a compressed timetable.

"It's been a hard month for everyone," she said. "Everyone had to give, in an incredibly tight framework, and I thank you all."

Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha, the Democratic vice chair of the committee, said this year brought the most transparent and public redistricting process ever in Nebraska, despite the difficulties of getting information out in a timely manner.

"This was a very frustrating process, it was a process, but it got done," he said.

Under the new congressional plan, all of Douglas County remained in the 2nd Congressional District, along with western Sarpy County. The more rural Saunders County was added, moving out of the 1st District to the 2nd.

Gretna, Springfield and Papillion’s southern neighborhoods stayed with the Omaha-dominated district, where they are currently, and will continue to be represented by Rep. Don Bacon in Congress.

La Vista and the bulk of Papillion were shifted out of the 2nd District and into the 1st District, where they will be represented by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. Bellevue and Offutt Air Force Base already are in the 1st District, where they would remain. Both Bacon and Fortenberry are Republicans.

The legislative plan moved District 36 from central Nebraska to western Sarpy County. The change means State Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg will not represent the people who elected him during his last year in office. He is term-limited.

But the shift of population from rural Nebraska to its urban areas, especially the Omaha metro area, meant that a legislative district also had to be moved. Williams agreed to the change so lawmakers could get the redistricting done.

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SECRETARY OF STATE BOB ENVEN POSTPONED RE-ELECTION EVENT AFTER TESTING POSITIVE FOR COVID-19

LINCOLN — The “unforeseen circumstances” that prevented Secretary of State Bob Evnen from attending a press conference announcing his reelection campaign was a positive test for COVID-19, his office confirmed Tuesday.

Evnen, a Republican and 68-year-old Lincoln attorney, had scheduled a press conference Monday morning to announce his reelection plans, but then his campaign postponed the event.

Multiple messages sent Monday to campaign officials, Evnen and his office seeking comment on a report that he had COVID-19 were not answered.

His State Capitol office issued a press release Tuesday morning confirming that he had taken a quick antigen test for COVID on Sunday and had tested positive. He also took a PCR test, but those results were not back as of Tuesday morning.

“Secretary Evnen has had both COVID vaccinations. His symptoms are not severe, and he is working from his home office,” said his office spokeswoman Cindi Allen.

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TIM McCOY, NO. 2 OFFICIAL AT NEBRASKA GAME AND PARKS, TO BE RECOMMENDED AS NEXT DIRECTOR

LINCOLN — Tim McCoy, the current deputy director of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, will be recommended by a search committee on Wednesday to take the agency’s top job.

McCoy, a native of Arapahoe, has held the No. 2 post at the commission since 2012.

If confirmed by the full commission on Wednesday, he would replace Jim Douglas, who announced in March that he would be retiring, effective Nov. 1, after 47 years with Game and Parks. Douglas’ current salary is $159,395 per year, according to the 2021 State of Nebraska Personnel Almanac, produced by the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services.

McCoy has been with the agency since 2002. Before being named deputy director, he served as the administrator of the wildlife division.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and master’s and doctorate degrees in fish and wildlife from the University of Missouri.

The agency’s search committee met last week and narrowed the pool of candidates from three to one.

The two other finalists were Jim Swenson, the state parks administrator with Nebraska Game and Parks, and Roger Kuhn, an assistant director for development at Game and Parks.

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RISK DIAL LOWERED AS COVID-19 CASES DROP IN LINCOLN, BUT MASK MANDATE EXTNEDED

LINCOLN -COVID-19 cases have continued to decline in Lancaster County, an encouraging sign that has spurred the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department to lower its risk dial for the first time in months.

But it's not enough to end the county's mask mandate.

Health Director Pat Lopez on Tuesday announced that mask mandate, set to expire on Thursday, would be extended another month as part of a new directed health measure.

At the same time, Lopez said the county's COVID-19 risk dial has dropped from mid-orange to low orange, signaling that while the risk of spread is still high, it is slightly less than it has been in recent weeks. The dial had been in mid-orange since Aug. 24 after climbing steadily since July.

COVID-19 cases have now declined nearly 35% in Lancaster County since the beginning of September. The seven-day daily average of cases dropped last week to 90, down from a high of 140.

Hospitalizations, however, have not followed the same trajectory. They had leveled off at a daily average of around 100 last week, but as of Tuesday, there were 112 patients in local hospitals, half of whom are out-of-county residents.

"Hospital capacity continues to be seriously strained," Lopez said.

Lopez said the test positivity rate continues to be high, too, hovering around 10%.

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RICKETTS APPOINTS NEW SARPY COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSIONER

LINCOLN-Emily A. Ethington, who has served as a field director for the Republican Party in Sarpy County and for her twin sister, State Sen. Julie Slama, has been named Sarpy County election commissioner.

Gov. Pete Ricketts made the appointment, which was announced Thursday.

Ethington, 25, has been a branch manager for Edward R. Jones since April, according to her LinkedIn profile. Before that, she was a commercial loan assistant at Pinnacle Bank in Lincoln for almost three years.

From July to November 2020, she was the field director for the Sarpy County Republican Party, and from July 2019 to November 2020, she served as field director for Slama.

She succeeds Michelle Andahl, who had served in the position since 2017.

The governor appoints the election commissioner for counties larger than 100,000 people — currently Douglas, Sarpy and Lancaster.

Those commissioners must then appoint a deputy of the opposite political party.

Elections in Nebraska's 90 other counties are typically run by the county clerk or someone in the clerk’s office.

Ethington, who lives in Papillion, received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Peru State College.

According to a press release from Ricketts, she has volunteered with Cornhusker Girls State as a counselor, with Meals on Wheels through Tabitha Health, and with the Food Bank of Lincoln’s Backpack Program.

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KEYSTONE PIPELINE OPPONETS HAIL END TO EMINENT DOMAIN EFFORT

NEBRASKA- Opponents of the now-scuttled Keystone XL pipeline hailed an agreement between a Canadian company and Nebraska landowners to terminate the company’s efforts to condemn their land.

On Monday, a Madison County District Court judge accepted an agreement between TC Energy Corp. and the Johnson and Herrick families to rescind condemnation proceedings.

In June, TC Energy Corp., formerly TransCanada, said it was ending its decades-long effort to build a crude oil pipeline from Alberta to Nebraska. From there, the pipeline would have connected to a system reaching the Gulf Coast.

The company announced its decision after President Joe Biden in January revoked a necessary permit.

Jane Kleeb, founder of Bold Nebraska, credited the work of everyday Nebraskans with stopping the pipeline.

“Land justice happened only because of the hard work of citizens, grassroots organizing, and a legal team who believed the land was worth protecting,” she said.

Mark Hefflinger, also with Bold Nebraska, said about 60 landowners were in a situation similar to the Herrick and Johnson families. He said pipeline opponents hope that TC Energy will reach similar agreements with the other families.

Additionally, pipeline opponents want to see easements granted to TC Energy be revoked so that they can’t be transferred to another company.

TC Energy declined to comment on how it would handle additional terminations of condemnation proceedings or any cancellation of voluntary easements.

“It would be inappropriate to speak to matters before the courts,” the company said in a written statement. It did note that the project has been canceled.

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RICKETTS EXTENDS LIMIT ON ELECTIVE SURGERIES THROUGH OCTOBER

LINCOLN- Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts on Wednesday announced that the state is extending a directed health measure that limits elective surgeries and procedures.

It postpones inpatient surgeries that can wait four weeks or more without substantially changing a patient’s outcome. The measure has been in place since late August when Ricketts declared a hospital staffing emergency. It was set to expire Thursday and will now be in place through Oct. 31, unless the state extends it again.

Before the mandate, some health systems — including Nebraska Medicine and Bryan Health — had already limited such procedures. The measure, though, made it mandatory for all acute care hospitals, critical care hospitals and children’s hospitals.

Methodist Health System was among those that had announced a limit prior to the state’s health measure.

Dr. Garnet Blatchford, chief medical officer at Methodist Hospital and Methodist Women’s Hospital, told The World-Herald Wednesday that some surgeries canceled last month will now be canceled again.

People who are planning to have surgery may get a phone call with fairly short notice to postpone their procedure, she said.

“This involves a lot of extra work on nursing that’s already pretty stressed and pretty tired of the whole pandemic,” Blatchford said.

“As soon as it’s safe for them to come and have their surgery with good staff to take care of them, believe me, it will happen,” Blatchford said.

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