RICKETTS CALLS ON FANS TO ACT RESPECTFULLY, SPEAKS OUT ABOUT RESPONSE TO KNEELING PLAYERS

LINCOLN - Gov. Pete Ricketts urged Husker fans to treat opposing players respectfully, even those who kneel during “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Fans at the Nebraska-Maryland volleyball match last week shouted at three Maryland players who knelt during the national anthem. One yelled, "Stand up you piece of trash."

“I think it’s disgraceful to kneel during the national anthem, especially when we’re talking about Veterans Day,” the governor said. “We have people who died for this flag.

“Having said that, however, we’re also known for having the best fans in college sports, and two wrongs don’t make a right here,” he said. “Our fans should be respectful to the teams that come in from other places.”

Coach John Cook said that he was disappointed in the behavior of the fans and that a volleyball match is not a place to express personal views.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Ronnie Green and Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts followed suit and called for more respect from fans to visiting teams, while also apologizing to the Maryland volleyball program.

The Nebraska volleyball team met with Maryland players after the game and apologized for the pre-game incident, as well.

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UNMC, NEBRASKA MEDICINE TO TEST COVID-19 ANTIVIRAL DRUG

OMAHA - Thekisselkohoutes.com/news University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine have launched a new clinical research trial to evaluate the effectiveness of an oral drug that could prevent COVID-19.

The trial will reportedly evaluate the drug Molnupiravir which is sponsored by Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.

The trial is randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled. Adult participants will be used to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Molnupiravir, specifically whether it prevents hospitalization or death in adults who are living with a person who has COVID-19.

For 12 hours a day for five days, participants will randomly receive either the drug or the placebo and be asked to follow-up over the course of the next 30 days.

The study plans to research the effectiveness and safety of the medication in over 1,300 international participants.

Those who qualify for the study must be at least 19 years of age, have not gotten a COVID-19 vaccine, have never had COVID-19, and live with someone who recently tested positive for COVID-19.

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BUFFALO CREEK WILDFIRE CONTINUES TO BURN IN WESTERN NEBRASKA

NEBRASKA - The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency says the Buffalo Creek Wildfire burning in Western Nebraska is now 40 percent contained.

Approximately 2,538 acres have burned since the Buffalo Creek Wildlife Management Area caught fire last weekend.

The fire is roughly eight miles south of Gering and is burning mostly in Banner and Scotts Bluff Counties.

Two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, accompanied by nine Army National Guard soldiers, have provided support to the crews from surrounding areas and from Lincoln.

Gering Fire Chief Nathan Flowers and Banner County Fire Chief Tim Grubbs, in coordination with Nebraska Game and Parks and the Wildland Incident Response and Assistance Team, have established Unified Command.

“Rugged, inaccessible terrain and wind-driven runs have hampered firefighting efforts,” Flowers said. “Potential Red Flag warnings might continue to hamper suppression efforts.”

Low humidity, strong winds and warm temperatures are associated with increased fire weather danger, and have led to a Red Flag Warning designation.

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'WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE LEAVING': NEBRASKA'S TEACHER STAFFING CRISIS

NEBRASKA - Educational leaders in Nebraska are calling on local school boards, state lawmakers and Gov. Pete Ricketts to address a growing school staffing crisis.

More than 1,000 teachers have left the state's two largest school districts since the pandemic began.

Omaha Public Schools reported 239 teachers left in 2019-2020 and 320 in 2020-2021. Lincoln Public Schools saw similar departures with 251 teachers leaving in 2019-2020 and 241 in 2020-2021.

One former Nebraska teacher says she left the profession for a less stressful 9 to 5 job and claims that many of her colleagues have considered the same.

The Nebraska State Education Association calls it a crisis. They have since asked their 28,000 members what needs to be done in order to not only retain teachers, but to attract future teachers to the profession.

"We need to really listen to educators who are in the classroom doing the work and that's very important for our school boards and our legislators," Benson said.

Benson said they've already made some recommendations including using Federal American Pandemic Recovery Act funds to give $1,000 bonuses, allowing more planning time for teachers and additional family leave for COVID-19 related exposures.

Governor Pete Ricketts said that the issue is more in the hands of local school boards than it is the state's, but he is open to conversation on the topic if the legislature decides they want to discuss it.

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AS COVID CASES RISE, DOUGLAS COUNTY HEALTH DIRECTOR URGES MASK WEARING, DISTANCING

DOUGLAS COUNTY- With local hospitals brimming, COVID cases rising and flu season coming, Douglas County Health Director Lindsay Huse is pleading with people to not let down their guard — or their face masks.

She used her weekly appearance before the Douglas County Board to make an urgent appeal to people to get vaccines against COVID and the flu, wear masks indoors, be socially distant, and be aware and cautious in settings where there may be a lot of unvaccinated people.

“While we were cautiously optimistic in previous weeks presenting this data, I really wanted to make sure that I was expressing concern today,” Huse told the County Board. “Especially having heard from our hospitals and knowing that flu season is on the way. And we still have RSV circulating. We kind of have a convergence of a lot of things besides COVID that are all kind of mixing to create a really bad situation for our hospitals.”

Hospital occupancy rates in metropolitan Omaha are higher than at any point during the pandemic, Huse said. The hospitals’ staffed beds have hovered around 90% full over the past week.

People are hospitalized for a host of reasons besides COVID. But COVID hospitalizations have been holding steady at an elevated level of about 190, with more than 30 of those people on ventilators, according to data Huse presented. The county recorded 10 more COVID deaths last week.

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CONTROVERSIAL SOLAR FARM IN LANCASTER COUNTY FINALLY CLEARS PLANNING COMMISSION

LINCOLN- It took two votes, but the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission finally signed off on the second part of a large proposed solar farm east of Lincoln.

Commissioners voted 6-1 to approve a special permit for Ranger Power to put solar panels on about 1,430 acres of land stretching from 148th to 190th streets and from O Street to Havelock Avenue.

On Oct. 27, the commission voted to approve a special permit for the other half of the proposed 250-megawatt farm, on land stretching from 120th to 148th streets and from O to Havelock, which is in the city's zoning jurisdiction.

But they failed to approve the county portion, mainly because of a provision that allows panels to be placed on agricultural outlots, something that sparked strong opposition from homeowners in the area.

Several commissioners again voted against allowing the special permit because of the outlot issue. But they failed to get the required five votes.

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NEBRASKA SETS NATIONAL RECORD WITH 1.9% UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

LINCOLN - For the first time ever, Nebraska's unemployment rate has dropped below 2%.

According to data released Friday by the Nebraska Department of Labor, the state's unemployment rate for October was 1.9%. Not only has the rate never been that low in Nebraska, it's never been that low in any other state, either. A big part of the reason the unemployment rate continued to drop so low last month was the increase in people working. The number of filled jobs in the state grew by more than 30,500 compared with October 2020 and by more than 10,700 from September.

Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin said the month-to-month jobs increase was the highest ever recorded for October.

Despite the increase in people with jobs, Nebraska still faces a huge labor shortage. As of this week, there were more than 50,000 jobs being advertised statewide on the Department of Labor's website. A recent study from the Pew Charitable Trusts found that Nebraska has the largest shortage of workers in the country based on available jobs to unemployed workers, with a ratio of three open jobs to every one unemployed worker.

The state's unemployment rate was less than half the national rate of 4.6%

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NEBRASKA SCHOOL AID CHANGES WOULD SHIFT BURDEN TO STATE, SAVE $715 MILLION IN PROPERTY TAXES

LINCOLN - A trio of Nebraska education leaders unveiled a plan Thursday aimed at revamping the state’s school aid formula and saving property taxpayers $715 million a year.  Application of the plan this year would have meant $1.762 billion for state school aid instead of the currently budgeted figure of $1.047 billion. The plan would require a similar figure to be matched by state dollars, resulting in a 68% increase in state support for K-12 education.

Chair of the Legislature's Education Committee, State Senator Lynne Walz, announced that she would be introducing the bill in the upcoming legislative session. It is more than an education funding plan to her, citing the funds saved by property owners which can help improve local communities as well. 

“We recognize that education is the cornerstone to economic development and a strong workforce,” Walz said. “Education is a priority for every Nebraskan. We need to be responsive and assure that the funding and resources are available not only today but well into the future.” 

Nearly 60% of the total property tax bill statewide is funded by school property taxes, leading lawmakers to continually increase state aid to schools as a means of easing property taxes. Recently, however, lawmakers have preferred property tax credit programs that provide money directly to property owners to offset their tax bills. The state will provide nearly $1 billion for those programs in the coming year.

This shift in preference is likely the cause of Education Committee members not signing off on the plan yet. Other groups, like Greater Nebraska Schools Association, are still studying the issue as well.

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RICKETTS REBUKES UNL ON RACIAL EQUITY PLAN, SINGLES OUT CHANCELLOR GREEN

LINCOLN - Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts on Thursday rebuked UNL for its new racial equity plan and singled out Chancellor Ronnie Green for criticism. The comprehensive plan would examine everything from hiring to financial aid and from enrollment to classroom instruction. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln released the plan Wednesday.

Ricketts said the plan would inject critical race theory “into every corner of campus.”

“It will pit people against each other by conditioning everyone to see others through the lens of race rather than as individuals with unique strengths,” Ricketts said in a statement. “I urged Chancellor Green to avoid divisive policies,” the governor said. “Since then, Chancellor Green has misrepresented my position on it in conversations with university stakeholders. He has told people that I support it, and nothing could be further from the truth.” 

Ricketts said Green called him Tuesday to advise him of the plan’s pending release. Green and the UNL administration declined to respond to Ricketts’ comments. University of Nebraska President Ted Carter also declined to comment.

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NEBRASKA STATE SENATORS REACH THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT KILIMANJARO

TANZANIA- Nebraska’s mountain-climbing state senators reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro Wednesday morning.

“Summit,” read a one-word text message from Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon that was received in Lincoln at 12:16 a.m. Wednesday. It was 9:16 a.m. on the storied mountain in Tanzania.

A map-tracking site showed Brewer at an elevation of 19,315 feet at Uhuru Peak, near a glacier at the summit at 12:32 a.m. Lincoln time.

The peak of the mountain reaches 19,340 feet.

Brewer and four fellow state senators, Anna Wishart of Lincoln, Justin Wayne of Omaha, Ben Hansen of Blair, and Dave Murman of Glenvil, were scheduled to descend on a long journey down to a base camp after leaving the summit.

That would complete a challenging 18-hour day of climbing and descending the mountain that began with a departure from a base camp below the summit at midnight.

Summit night, as it is called, is considered to be the most challenging part of the ascent — cold, dark, usually windy, and the steepest part of the journey up the mountain.

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FEDS HAVE MORE THAN 11,600 PAGES OF EVIDENCE, 50 RECORDINGS IN REP. FORTENBERRY CASE

LINCOLN -  Federal prosecutors have turned over more than 11,600 pages of documents and more than 50 audio and video recordings to lawyers defending U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry from allegations that he lied and misled federal investigators. 

The revelation, contained in a court filing this week, prompted the Republican congressman's attorneys to seek a two-month delay in the trial to provide more time to review the evidence. The request, which was granted, means the trial will now begin on February 15th, 2022.

Fortenberry, 60, was indicted last month by a federal grand jury on three charges: two counts of making false statements to investigators, and one count of concealing material facts. If found guilty, the congressman — who has represented Nebraska's 1st District since 2005 — would face up to five years in prison on each count.

The allegations stem from a federal investigation into $180,000 of illegal "conduit" campaign contributions given to four American candidates by a foreign national, Gilbert Chagoury, a Nigerian-born billionaire now living in Paris. Fortenberry received $30,200 from a group of Los Angeles residents at a fundraiser there in 2016. The money was provided by Chagoury, through at least two go-betweens. 

Fortenberry faces reelection in 2022 and has a campaign staff working on the race. One Democrat, State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln, has indicated that she will run for the post and has planned an announcement for Monday in Lincoln.

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GROUP THAT FOUGHT NEBRASKA SEX ED STANDARDS FORMS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE

LINCOLN -  Members of a coalition that successfully fought against statewide health and sex education standards have launched a political action committee. The members of the Protect Nebraska Children Coalition want to turn their momentum into victories at the ballot box. 

The political committee, which was formally announced Thursday, will raise money and support candidates. Initially, the group will focus on school board races, but if it has enough resources, it may support candidates for other offices, said Katie McClemens, a director of the PAC.

The group has already endorsed two candidates for the Nebraska State Board of Education in 2022: Elizabeth Tegtmeier and Sherry Jones. Both candidates identify as conservatives. Tegtmeier, of North Platte, is running in District 7. The incumbent is Robin Stevens of Gothenburg. Jones, of Grand Island, is running in District 6. Maureen Nickels of Chapman is the incumbent and president of the board.

“It’s not enough to just stop these standards; we have to have a next-level strategy, and that’s where the PAC comes into play,” McClemens said.

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STATE SENATORS READY TO CLIMB MT. KILIMANJARO WITH BAD WEATHER AHEAD, AND DOCUMENTARY FILM CREW IN TOW

TANZANIA - "It looks much bigger up close," Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon texted Thursday as five state senators finished preparations for their ascent up Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa with the threat of bad weather ahead.

The trip to and then up the storied mountain, which is 19,340 feet high at its peak, was to begin in eight hours, Brewer texted at about 11 p.m. in Tanzania, nine hours ahead of Lincoln time

"In eight hours we start," he said. "Weather will move in on Sunday for 3 days snow and winds will come up," Brewer texted in answer to a question.

Sens. Anna Wishart of Lincoln, Justin Wayne of Omaha, Ben Hansen of Blair, and Dave Murman of Glenvil are joining Brewer on the climb accompanied by an embedded film crew that will document the adventure for Educational Media Enterprises. The plan is to provide the film to Nebraska Public Media's statewide network at no cost, with national distribution through Amazon Prime Video.

Brewer, a retired U.S. Army colonel who led troops in Afghanistan and was seriously wounded in combat, is leading the adventure that has begun to attract some national attention, partly because of its nonpartisan and multicultural nature.

The group is composed of three Republicans and two Democrats; a Native (Brewer) and an African American (Wayne); one woman; two urban senators and three rural senators.  

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FORMER STATE SEN. THIBODEAU ENTERS REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY

LINCOLN — The race for the Republican nomination for governor now has one more competitor.

Former State Sen. Theresa Thibodeau, of Omaha, officially announced her entry into the primary race on Wednesday. She joins veteran Michael Connely, businessman Charles Herbster, State Sen. Brett Lindstrom, University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen, and businessman Breland Ridenour. Former Governor Dave Heineman is also actively exploring a run for his former job. Current Gov. Pete Ricketts is term-limited and cannot run.

Thibodeau was appointed by Ricketts to the Nebraska Legislature in 2017 to fill a vacancy in Omaha's 9th Legislative District. She was defeated in her bid for re-election in 2018 by Machaela Cavanaugh. Thibodeau has also served as chair of the Douglas County Republican Party. She was previously announced as Herbster’s running mate, but she dropped out of his campaign in July. 

The newly announced candidate is expected to participate in a town hall event in Weeping Water on Saturday. Also expected to participate are Connely, Lindstrom, and Ridenour.

The lone Democratic candidate to announce their candidacy is State Sen. Carol Blood. Libertarian candidate Scott Zimmerman has also announced his intentions to run.

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STATE AUDITOR JANSSEN ANNOUNCES HE WILL NOT RUN FOR ANOTHER TERM, LT. GOVERNOR FOLEY TO SEEK OLD JOB

LINCOLN - Nebraska State Auditor Charlie Janssen announced Thursday that he won't seek reelection, and he endorsed his predecessor to the position, Lt. Gov. Mike Foley, who plans to run for his old office.

While Janssen is not running again or planning to in the immediate future, he does not plan to step away from politics as a whole. He said he will be more of a "free agent" in the immediate future and could potentially run for office in the future.

“I've been elected for 16 straight years, but I'm by no means saying I'm getting out of it,” said Janssen who served in the Legislature from 2009 to 2015. 

As auditor, Janssen was able to work with lawmakers from both parties which allowed the securing of funding for additional workers within his office. These workers tracked state government spending and investigated waste. Janssen also successfully lobbied for a policy that gave the auditor's office subpoena power, allowing for better access to financial information. He also hired a Democrat, former state Senator Russ Karpisek, as his top deputy. 

Both Republicans, Foley and Janssen, have held their current jobs since 2015. They also both ran for governor in the state's Republican primary where Janssen dropped out and Foley lost to Governor Pete Ricketts. Foley has previously held the title of auditor from 2007 to 2015 and served as a state senator from 2001 to 2007.

“I intend to ask the citizens of Nebraska to grant me an additional opportunity for public service,” Foley said.

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NEBRASKA'S SEN. FISCHER PART OF NEW BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO BOOST CASH SALES OF CATTLE

WASHINGTON D.C.- Sen. Deb Fischer and a bipartisan group of senators have come together on a plan intended to address the growing disparity between the price that ranchers are paid for their cattle and what consumers pay for beef.

The Nebraska Republican and the other lawmakers said that their compromise measure would require meatpackers to acquire more of their cattle through open bidding and also promote more transparency in the nation’s cattle markets.

Fischer said it’s important that everyone along the beef supply chain — cow-calf producers, feeders, packers, and consumers — be treated fairly. That starts with robust cash sales for cattle, she said.

“We are looking for ways that everyone can profit, and for consumers to be able to benefit from getting good beef,” Fischer said in an interview. “I’m hearing from people all over the country, not just Nebraska, on the importance of getting this done.”

While consumers are paying record prices for beef — and packers are often making record profits — farmers and ranchers have endured years of declining prices for their cattle. Many producers blame the market conditions on the extreme consolidation in the nation’s meatpacking industry.

Fischer, Grassley, and Democrats Ron Wyden of Oregon and Jon Tester of Montana announced they had reached an agreement on a “Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act.”

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OMAHA CITY COUNCIL APPROVES MORE THAN $340,000 TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS, RAPID REHOUSING

OMAHA- The Omaha City Council approved more than $340,000 in grants to address homelessness and rapid rehousing at a meeting earlier this week.

Four area agencies and shelters were allocated money by the city through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant.

The Siena Francis House was awarded $167,487 to provide emergency shelter for about 3,500 people experiencing homelessness. The agency, at 17th and Nicholas Streets, is Nebraska’s largest provider of services to individuals experiencing homelessness.

Heartland Family Services was allocated $68,221 for the rapid rehousing of homeless individuals and families.

The nonprofit Together was given $63,221 to provide rapid rehousing.

And the Stephen Center, at 2723 Q St., received $45,000 to be used for emergency shelter.

In its annual count, the Metro Area Continuum of Care found that 1,405 people in Omaha and Council Bluffs were homeless on Jan. 22.

About 900 people are on a housing waitlist on any given day in Douglas, Sarpy, and Pottawattamie Counties, and of those 300 to 400 are chronically homeless, the Metro Area Continuum of Care estimates.

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NEBRASKA CORRECTIONS WORKERS GET HEFTY RAISES IN HOPES OF SOLVING STAFFING CRISIS

LINCOLN — The Ricketts administration announced generous raises for state corrections officers and other state security workers to address the growing staffing crisis at state prisons and institutions that house the mentally ill and developmentally disabled.

Assuming the union approves the agreement, starting wages for corrections corporals and prison caseworkers will rise from $20 an hour to $28 an hour. Sergeants will get a bump from $24 an hour to $32 an hour.

The deal, reached with the union that represents such security workers, also includes an increase in overtime pay, from 1½ times regular pay to 2 times. There also are new incentives for members of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 88 to recruit new employees and cut into the high turnover rates — which have exceeded 30% — in such positions.

“It’s a new day,” said Gary Young, a Lincoln attorney who is the chief negotiator for the FOP.

State Corrections Director Scott Frakes said in a statement that the agreement reflected the state’s efforts to attract and retain critically important employees.

“My staff works long hours with some of the most dangerous people alive, and they deserve to pay that recognizes how important their work is for public safety,” Frakes said.

After the increases, Young said, the starting pay for state corrections security staff will be higher than that paid at county jails, most local police departments, and the Nebraska State Patrol. The FOP has long complained that the state loses too many employees to jails in Douglas, Sarpy, and Lancaster Counties with better pay.

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NEBRASKA FILES LAWSUIT TO STOP COVID VACCINE MANDATE FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS

NEBRASKA- Attorney General Doug Peterson filed a multistate lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care facilities that receive Medicaid or Medicare funding.

“The lawsuit asserts that state health officials and local hospital administrators are in the best position to address appropriate COVID-19 issues in Nebraska health care facilities,” a statement from Peterson’s office reads. “We hope to avoid the detrimental impact that the mandate threatens to healthcare services in Nebraska.”

More than 90% of employees at eight Omaha and Lincoln health systems that already have required their workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 have gotten their shots.

The health systems’ chief medical officers jointly announced that they would require vaccination in early August, well ahead of the mandate for health care facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid dollars. All eight health systems have granted exemptions to a small percentage of their employees on medical or religious grounds.

Among many arguments in the 58-page filing, the states allege that the mandate puts health care workers’ jobs at risk and threatens to exacerbate a worker shortage that’s especially worrisome in rural areas.

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LINCOLN DIOCESE DECLARES FASTING DAY AFTER SEX ABUSE REPORT

LINCOLN- The Catholic Diocese in Lincoln has declared a day of fasting for its priests in response to a report that identified hundreds of cases of church sex abuse in Nebraska going back decades.

A message sent to Lincoln-area parishioners said Bishop James Conley proclaimed Friday, November 12th as a day of fasting and abstinence “in reparation for offenses” highlighted in the report by the Nebraska Attorney General's Office.

The message said priests were also to offer “three Masses for the healing of victims." It said fasting allows for one meal and two smaller snacks, and abstention from all meat.

Attorney General Doug Peterson released the report last week, expressing frustration that no accused offenders in the church would face charges because the statute of limitations has passed in the vast majority of cases. In some cases, accused priests have died or their whereabouts are unknown, and in one case, an accuser declined to participate in a prosecution.

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