CITY NOW EXPECTED TO PITCH IN STIMULUS MONEY TO HELP LURE AIR SERVICE TO LINCOLN

LINCOLN - The mayor’s office is reconsidering whether to earmark a portion of its $46 million in federal stimulus money to the Lincoln Airport to help lure new air service to the city.

Last month, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird said the city would not earmark additional federal stimulus money over the $1.5 million the Lancaster County board committed to the Lincoln Airport Authority to use as incentives to encourage more airline service.

City Council members have contacted the mayor’s office encouraging the mayor to change her mind — and had planned to introduce a resolution encouraging the mayor’s office to contribute money to the airport authority.

“Council members have communicated with the mayor's office that they are very interested in having American Rescue dollars allocated to the airport,” said Chief of Staff Jennifer Brinkman. “And we appreciate their point of view and work in partnership with them to allocate city resources.”

There are about 140 airports in cities about Lincoln’s size competing for air service, and Lincoln has the disadvantage of being just an hour away from Omaha’s larger airport.

Federal Aviation Administration restrictions prohibit airlines from using any airport-generated revenue for minimum revenue guarantees, and the state’s constitution prohibits the airport authority from levying property taxes for them. Airports in other states don’t face the same taxing prohibition, Cusick said.

The guarantees are a one-year agreement that typically ranges from $500,000 to $2 million depending on the airline and the route, he said.

The Lincoln Airport got a $750,000 grant that it used — with private matching funds — to offer minimum revenue guarantees for Delta’s Atlanta flights, which stopped during the pandemic.

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NEBRASKA STATE SENATORS HONOR GEORGE NORRIS ON OPENING DAY OF 2022 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

LINCOLN- The Legislature’s 2022 session kicked off Wednesday with a brief visit from the ghost of a legendary Nebraska political figure: George W. Norris.

The opening day coincided with George W. Norris Day (as declared in state law) and the 85th anniversary of the first time Nebraska’s Legislature convened as a one-house, nonpartisan body.

Norris, widely considered the father of Nebraska’s system, served in the U.S. House of Representatives for five terms before serving in the U.S. Senate from 1913 to 1943. He is celebrated for several accomplishments, but his role in the creation of the unicameral was front-and-center Wednesday. It’s often said Norris wore out two sets of tires touring the state to campaign for the model over the traditional two-house system.

Sen. John McCollister of Omaha, who considers himself a “Republican in the George Norris tradition,” led the Legislature in honoring Norris in the legislative chamber — which is now named after Norris — and read excerpts of remarks the man-made 85 years prior.

“The constituents do not expect perfection, they know it is human to err,” he quoted in one excerpt. “But they do expect and have a right to expect absolute honesty, unlimited courage, and a reasonable degree of efficiency and wisdom.”

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'BIG IDEAS' PROPOSED FOR NORTH OMAHA USING $432 MILLION OF FEDERAL COVID FUNDS

LINCOLN — Saying that “now is the time for big ideas and assertive leadership,” two North Omaha state senators unveiled a plan Tuesday to use nearly $440 million of federal COVID relief money to help their neighborhoods emerge stronger after the pandemic.

In a statement, State Sens. Terrell McKinney and Justin Wayne said their North Omaha 2022 Recovery Plan would take advantage of a “once-in-a-lifetime” funding opportunity to help North Omaha recover from the pandemic and improve the lives of all area residents.

“When we’re dealing with problems that started before my lifetime, we understand that change will not happen overnight, but we cannot wait any longer,” McKinney said. “This plan is a pro-wealth building recovery plan that ensures North Omaha emerges from this pandemic as a more vibrant and resilient community.”

Wayne said he looks forward to getting support from the City of Omaha and from Douglas County for “projects that will make tangible and measurable progress in North Omaha.”

“Now is the time to act decisively,” he said, adding that the federal American Rescue Plan Act offers “transformational” funding.

Nebraska is in line to get $1.04 billion from that federal legislation. Deciding how to use those funds will be a major focus of the 2022 legislative session.

For more on this article click HERE

NEBRASKA SENATOR INTORDUCES 'HEARTBEAT' ABORTION BAN, TEEING UP LEGISLATIVE FIGHT

LINCOLN- On the first day of the 2022 legislative session, Nebraska lawmakers wasted no time diving into one of the most contentious political mires of the moment: abortion.

State Sen. Julie Slama of Sterling introduced a bill that would ban abortions after a so-called fetal heartbeat is detected.

Meanwhile, Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, who has pledged to fight any bans, introduced two bills to expand abortion access.

Slama’s bill, Legislative Bill 781, would require physicians, before they perform an abortion, to do an ultrasound and see whether they can detect a fetal “heartbeat.” A fetal heartbeat is defined in the bill as “cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac.”

Physicians can usually detect cardiac activity at about six weeks before many women know they’re pregnant.

The bill would make it illegal to perform an abortion if it’s been determined the fetus has a detectable “fetal heartbeat.”

In addition to Slama, 20 senators have signed onto the bill as cosponsors.

While abortion opponents, including the Nebraska Family Alliance, cheered the bill’s introduction Wednesday, abortion rights advocates reacted swiftly and strongly.

The ACLU of Nebraska issued a statement calling on senators to reject the bill, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska also came out in opposition, calling it a “six-week ban.”

Scout Richters, legal and policy counsel at the ACLU of Nebraska, called LB 781 “one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the entire nation,” a “red alarm” and “just one step removed” from a law that passed last year in Texas. It “clearly violates” Roe v. Wade and U.S. Supreme Court precedent, she said.

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REP. DON BACON OFFICIALLY FILES FOR REELECTION TO REPRESENT NEBRASKA'S 2ND DISTRICT

OMAHA -  Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon has officially filed for reelection to continue representing Omaha’s 2nd District.

The Republican tweeted photos of himself signing the necessary paperwork next to Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen.

“Today we made it official that I am seeking to continue serving the constituents of the 2nd Congressional District of Nebraska,“ Bacon said in a statement. “We have a strong team and group of volunteers who are already connecting with people across all three counties in our district.”

Bacon will be seeking his fourth term in Congress. Bacon defeated one-term Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford in 2016 and has been reelected twice by narrow margins.

Two Democrats, State Sen. Tony Vargas and Alisha Shelton, have both jumped into the race.

Rep. Bacon received support from GOP figures as well as the community upon his announcement. 

His opposition came from former President Trump saying, "Anyone want to run for congress against Don Bacon in Nebraska?" 

Trump's disapproval comes as a result of Rep. Bacon voting for President Bidens Infrastructure Bill. 

For more on this campaign, announcement click HERE

'IT'S NOT OUR MONEY' - RICKETTS, LINEHAN SAY $400 MILLION STATE SURPLUS NEEDS TO GO BACK TO TAXPAYERS

LINCOLN - Gov. Pete Ricketts and Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, chairwoman of the Legislature's Revenue Committee, vowed Thursday to return $400 million in surplus state revenue back to taxpayers rather than use it to increase state spending.

Speaking at a joint news conference in the Capitol Rotunda, with five other members of the Revenue Committee at their side, Ricketts and Linehan slammed the door on spending hikes.

"Nobody should be coming into this (legislative) session thinking we will be spending a lot more money," Ricketts said.

"We will give the money back to the people. It's not our money; it's the people of Nebraska's money."

Linehan said the Legislature should focus on efforts to "control spending so we can cut taxes."

The surplus of revenue provides "significant funding over and above our needs," she said. "It's not normally acceptable to keep $400 million to $500 million of taxpayers' money that we do not need."

Working together as a committee, Linehan said, "we'll manage to bring tax relief to every Nebraskan across the state."

The Revenue Committee appears poised to consider a reduction in corporate and personal income taxes, perhaps with an eye toward proposing major tax reform that would shift more of the tax burden to the sales tax by eliminating exemptions for a wide range of services.  

Ricketts said he will continue to focus on controlling state spending during his final year as governor. He'll be term-limited out of office at the end of the year.

The governor said the Legislature needs to act now to establish a 3% limit on annual property tax increases imposed by local governments, including public schools. His earlier effort to win legislative approval of the proposed lid fell four votes short of advancement.

For more on this article click HERE

SLAMA BACKS NEBRASKA TAX RELIEF WITH SURPLUS DOLLARS

NEBRASKA CITY - Taxes and budget surpluses are at the forefront of the Nebraska Legislature's 2022 session.

Lawmakers returned to the Unicameral for the new session earlier this week. And, one of the first big issues on the docket involves how best to handle the state's $400 million budget surplus. That's in addition to federal money still kept in the state budget. 

Governor Pete Ricketts Thursday said he would like the money to be given back to taxpayers. Speaking on KMA's "Morning Line" program Friday morning, State Senator Julie Slama says she favors a two-pronged approach to returning the money back to residents. 

"I would like to see the Nebraska money go back to the Nebraska taxpayers," said Slama. "And, that federal money go towards one-time spending projects--investments that don't increase our year-over-year spending, because the feds have made it very clear this is one-off money." 

There is no shortage in Slama's mind of potential projects that the money could be used for.

"I know the 'Star Wars committee' is looking at expanding our outdoor recreational opportunities--I like that," she said. "I would also like to see those resources go towards rural economic development, expanding broadband access, investing in our main streets, and rural workforce housing." 

There is still a need for improved broadband services throughout rural parts of the state, Slama added.

"My new husband is an attorney," said Slama. "He works from our home in rural Sterling. He's learned firsthand just how difficult it can be to run and operate your own business when you don't have access to fast, reliable internet. And, that's just a microcosm of experiences across the board in rural Nebraska."

Other Nebraska lawmakers have proposed tackling property and income tax relief in tandem with a review of the state's tax exemption, but Slama is not convinced that a major overhaul of Nebraska's tax structure will take place this session. 

"I'd like to see a more structural overhaul of the tax system," she said. "However, I think in this session, we're going to look at more one-off tax relief reimbursements or other approaches that don't necessarily increase the spending lid and thus necessitate any kind of increase in balancing out." 

For more on this article click HERE

WITH COVID CASES SURGING, SOME LINCOLN RESIDENTS FACE LONG WAIT TO GET TESTED

LINCOLN - The closure Thursday of Lincoln's busiest COVID-19 testing site brought into sharp focus the difficulty many people have reported in getting a test as cases surge. 

The site referenced is Nomi Health, which temporarily shut down its drive-thru testing site at Gateway Mall due to frigid temperatures. 

Mario Cuartas, a product manager with the health care company, said Nomi had been averaging about 350-400 tests per day at the Gateway site in early November before seeing a spike before and after Thanksgiving that culminated in 722 tests on Nov. 29. 

Testing numbers returned into the 500s daily for most of December before rising to 960 on Dec. 23 and have remained close to that level since.

Because of that demand, Nomi Health has brought in additional staff and is planning to expand its parking lot testing site in Lincoln. 

In addition to increased staff, Cuartas said a second drive-thru tent should be up and running by the end of next week, or around January 14.

While the new location may increase testing capacity slightly, the main purpose is to decrease delays for the tests as waits have stretched to several hours. People have even been turned away at the end of the day as a result of the wait times.

These staggering numbers demonstrate the implications that closing, even for one day, can have on the local testing infrastructure.

Bryan Health said in a statement that it performed 1,569 tests in the week ending Saturday at its urgent care clinics and its two emergency rooms in Lincoln. 

CHI Health also offers walk-in testing at its three Priority Care locations in Lincoln; all of which have seen more traffic since around Christmas. 

States like Indiana, for example, have begun only administering rapid tests to children under age 18 and people over 50 with COVID-19 symptoms due to the lack of rapid antigen tests. 

But with cases hitting single-day records, even at-home tests have become difficult to find.

For more on this article click HERE.

SPEAKER HILGERS RELEASES MEMO OUTLINING PROCEDURES FOR 2022 SESSION

As Senators and staff prepare for the 2022 session to convene next Wednesday, January 5th, Speaker Mike Hilgers released his annual memo regarding certain procedural modifications and continuations for the 2022 session. A few items of highlight:

First, Senators will resume our regular afternoon committee schedules and will not have all-day committee hearings in 2022. Hilgers noted that he remains personally grateful for the work that senators and staff did to accommodate full-day schedules last year--it was critical to the functioning of the session.

In resuming normal committee hearing schedules, committees also will discontinue the temporary use of the "written submitted testimony" option. For next session, per our historical practice, for a person to have their name listed on the committee statement they will need to appear in person and provide oral testimony to a committee.

Second, the legislature is streamlining the method for submitting position letters for the public hearing record as an exhibit. The current process of submitting these comments through email has created confusion over the last couple of years, especially as the timing/recipient requirements have changed. There will now be an online database for submitting statements for the record; members of the public submitting comments will have the option to have his/her comments included as part of the public hearing record.

Senators access to the rotunda and lobbyists during the debate through the main entrance to the chamber will be reinstated.

Please view the full memo by clicking HERE

ABORTION, VACCINE MANDATES, CRT- HOW HOT BUTTON ISSUES COULD PLAY OUT IN THE NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE

LINCOLN- Abortion, voting rights, critical race theory, and vaccine mandates. In the upcoming legislative session, issues that have commanded national political conversations and highlighted party divisions this past year are likely to surface at Nebraska’s Capitol in Lincoln. In most cases, it’s unclear what form specific legislation might take.

But there’s little doubt among political observers that the issues will play some role in the 60-day session that starts Jan. 5 — a session that is already slated to be jam-packed with legislative action, including the allocation of $1 billion in federal COVID relief money. One policy area that states have been testing: restrictions on abortion. Anti-abortion advocates in Nebraska have been watching other states and court activity with interest. Meanwhile, proponents of abortion access have been preparing for a legislative struggle.

Scout Richters, legal and policy counsel at the ACLU of Nebraska, told The World-Herald earlier this month that the ACLU is “laser-focused” on the possibility of an attempt in the Legislature to pass a ban.

“No matter how it’s tailored, the bottom line is that we need to be ready for either the Texas-style bounty hunter model or some other kind of ban,” she said.

Access to voting has also been a subject of legislation in other states over the last year, following the 2020 presidential election and former President Donald Trump’s ongoing campaign to undermine its results. There doesn’t seem to be a single documented case in the state of the impersonation such a voter ID law would address, The World-Herald reported in August. But supporters have framed it as a prevention strategy. Opponents say it’s an unnecessary barrier, especially for people already at the margins of voting access.

While advocates for and against voter ID requirements largely tend to fall along party lines, with Republicans for and Democrats against, polls have found a majority of Americans support them.

Critical race theory is an academic framework that is decades old and views racism as systemic, embedded in systems and policies, rather than as an individual issue. University of Nebraska Regent and Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Pillen introduced a resolution for the Board of Regents to ban “any imposition” of the theory at the university. After regents rejected that resolution, Pillen and Ricketts vowed to keep fighting on the issue. Regardless, the issue of who gets to decide what kids learn in school in Nebraska will undoubtedly be a topic of debate. State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston said she and other lawmakers will propose a policy in reaction to the State Board of Education and Department of Education’s failed attempt to write health and sex education standards for Nebraska schools earlier this year.

The Legislature has a lot to cover in the upcoming session, these issues and more will certainly become topics of debate over its 60-day course.

For more on this article click HERE

NEBRASKA STATE SENATOR TO TRY AGAIN TO ALLOW 'CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY' OF HANDGUNS

LINCOLN — State Sen. Tom Brewer, a decorated veteran who knows something about overcoming adversity, is loading up another effort to obtain a victory that has eluded gun-rights advocates in Nebraska. Brewer said he will introduce a proposal during the upcoming legislative session to allow Nebraskans to carry a concealed handgun without meeting the current requirements of a criminal background check, a $100 fee, and an eight- to 16-hour class on safe gun handling.

Constitutional carry — which refers to the belief that the U.S. Constitution already gives people the right to carry concealed guns — is a hot-button issue that has previously failed in the Nebraska Legislature. But it’s the law of the land in 21 states, including every state surrounding Nebraska except Colorado.

As of Nov. 1, there were more than 85,671 Nebraskans licensed to carry concealed weapons.

Speaking during a town hall meeting organized by the National Rifle Association, Gov. Ricketts pledged to sign a statewide constitutional carry bill if it reaches his desk. While that was hardly a surprise, the pledge did reinforce the governor’s pro-gun credentials.

“Law-abiding Nebraskans who are legally allowed to own a firearm should not have to jump through hoops to exercise their constitutional rights,” Ricketts said in a statement this past week.

Brewer, who served six tours in Afghanistan and was wounded multiple times, agreed, and said that neighboring states have not reported “issues” with allowing concealed carry without training or background checks.

“I don’t see the downside of it,” he said.

But the executive director of Nebraskans Against Gun Violence said she sees problems, especially for law enforcement, if people can carry concealed weapons without criminal records checks or safety courses.

“The long and short of it is that guns are dangerous,” said Melody Vaccaro of Lincoln. “And it is not too much to ask people to go through some basic steps before carrying a loaded gun.”

For more on this article click HERE

DEMOCRAT BLOOD'S GUBERNATORIAL MESSAGE FEATURES APPEAL TO RURAL VOTERS

LINCOLN- Democratic gubernatorial candidate Carol Blood is targeting much of her campaign message at traditionally Republican rural Nebraska, with a pledge to increase state school aid and tackle unfunded and underfunded state mandates that increase local government costs and property taxes.

"The answer is not a state cap on local government spending," the Bellevue senator said in a telephone interview.

"We need to fully fund the formula for state aid to schools," Blood said, and "reinstate state aid to local government."

As a former member of the Bellevue City Council, she said, she counted "over $10 million in unfunded state mandates" that increased the costs of local government in her community with an accompanying impact on property taxes.

"My experience at the local level gives me a different perspective," she said.

The answer to achieving property tax relief is "not to continue to kick the can down the road," she said.

Blood said the state needs to play a larger role in financing K-12 schools in order to reduce the outsized reliance on property taxes and create a more equitable tax system rather than "playing big daddy" by imposing mandates.

"State officials should not tell Nebraskans how to run their local government," she said. "That's not OK."

For more on this article click HERE

REMEMBERING STANLEY TRUHLSEN, LEGENDARY OPHTHALMOLOGIST, UNMC SUPPORTER

OMAHA- Without fanfare, Stan Truhlsen, MD, changed the landscape of UNMC and the field of ophthalmology.

The legendary ophthalmologist and philanthropist died Dec. 23 at age 101 and long will be remembered for his kindness and positivity, generous spirit, and radiant smile.

"Stan was a giant on this campus," UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, said. "He continued to be active and interested in UNMC and was instrumental in elevating UNMC to where it is today. Stan and Dottie were among the very first to welcome me to Nebraska and have not only been strong supporters of UNMC but very good friends. He was so very proud of the eye institute that bears his name and particulars of the high quality of education, research, and care that occurs every day. We are saddened by his passing and grateful for his generosity."

Dr. Truhlsen made contributions that helped position UNMC and Nebraska Medicine as medical research, education, and patient care leader.

His pride and joy — the Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute — opened in 2013 at 40th and Leavenworth Streets. Five years later, he funded the skywalk connection between the Truhlsen Eye Institute and the Lauritzen Outpatient Center & Fritch Surgery Center.

Dr. Truhlsen graduated from UNL in 1941 and UNMC in 1944. He completed residencies at Albany Hospital in New York and Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. A private practice physician, he joined UNMC’s ophthalmology department in 1951. He was appointed emeritus clinical professor of ophthalmology in 1993. He was interim chairman of the department of ophthalmology in 1989-90. He received UNMC’s Distinguished Service to Medicine Award in 2003.

Dr. Truhlsen was accomplished on the national stage. He was elected president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the nation's largest organization of physicians specializing in eye care. While president, he participated in the academy’s launch of the National Eye Care Program, which brought together 7,000 volunteer ophthalmologists nationwide who provided, at no cost, care for the elderly in need.

Dr. Truhlsen's generosity also extended to the larger Omaha community. His gifts have provided funding for The Durham Museum's lecture hall, renovations, and an addition to Countryside Community Church, the Holland Performing Arts Center, the Salvation Army Kroc Center and the Joslyn Art Museum sculpture garden.

For more on this article click HERE

COVID-RELATED SHORTAGES COULD SEND TAB FOR OFFUTT REBUILDING THROUGH THE ROOF

BELLEVUE- Rebuilding Offutt Air Force Base from the devastating March 2019 flood is going to take longer and cost more than engineers first thought, military and congressional sources say.

Rep. Don Bacon, the former commander of the base’s 55th Wing, said he’s been told by Offutt officials to expect the original estimate of nearly $800 million, calculated within six months of the flood, to rise by more than one-third.

“They’re saying they’re about $300 million short,” Bacon said. That would bring the total to about $1.1 billion.

He worked successfully to secure $100 million in the National Defense Authorization Act, which President Joe Biden signed.

Bacon said he will work to get the rest of the funding next year.

Officials at Offutt’s 55th Wing agreed that costs would be higher, though they declined to specify an amount.

Costs are rising, in part, because the initial estimates were done very quickly and with incomplete information about what reconstruction would need to include, according to Lt. Col. Chris Conover, who is leading Offutt’s reconstruction effort. He also blamed the COVID-19 pandemic, which is pushing up the costs of both supplies and labor — a case of one disaster compounding another.

For more on this article click HERE

MIDLANDERS OF THE YEAR: NEBRASKA'S SCHOOL WORKERS CARE FOR STUDENTS THROUGH COVID

OMAHA- Three consecutive school years have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Full remote learning at the end of the 2019-20 school year morphed into teachers simultaneously teaching in-person and remote students in 2020-21.

Along the way, workers in school districts across the Omaha metro area have overhauled their operations and worked long hours to meet new demands.

Custodians sanitized surfaces according to enhanced cleaning protocols.

In kitchens and parking lots, nutrition workers and other staff formed human assembly lines to package and pass out thousands of to-go meals.

Teachers taught students who were prepping food in restaurants and watching virtual classes on their phones because their families needed the extra income. Then teachers organized help sessions outside normal hours to catch students up.

“It’s not like somebody said, ‘Look, here’s the model. This is what you’re going to have to do.’ We just got it put in our laps, and then we had to figure it out,” Hillside Elementary Principal Cynthia Bailey said. “We continue to try to figure it out.”

For their work educating, feeding, comforting, and caring for students and their families throughout the pandemic, The Omaha World-Herald honored all school workers. They named teachers the newspaper’s Midlanders of the Year for 2021.

For the full article click HERE

REDISTRICTED SEN. MATT WILLIAMS STILL REPRESENTS THOSE WHO ELECTED HIM

LINCOLN- Sen. Matt Williams, who lives in Gothenburg in central Nebraska, now is the state senator in a legislative district in Sarpy County that edges the Iowa border half a state away.

Legislative District 36 was moved from rural Nebraska to the metro area during September's special session of the Legislature to accommodate redistricting demands imposed by the state's shifting population.

But Williams, a Gothenburg banker who has one more year to serve in the Legislature before he's term-limited at the end of 2022, didn't move with his district.

"Technically, yes, I now represent Legislative District 36 in Sarpy County," Williams said during a telephone interview.

"But, practically, I still represent the same people in old Legislative District 36," he said. "I feel like I represent the people who elected me."

There have been no trips to Sarpy County to introduce himself, Williams said, although he may accept some invitations to events in the fast-growing metropolitan Omaha county during the coming year.

There will be no change in his voting pattern, Williams said. He's still the senator from Gothenburg and he's still who he was.

"I think there's a misconception that senators would change their mode of operation after being redistricted," Williams said. "But they really don't.

For more on this article click HERE

TWITTER SUSPENDS ACCOUNT OF NEWLY APPOINTED NEBRASKA BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER

LINCOLN- An appointee to the state board of education who had his account on Twitter suspended appears to have shared posts questioning vaccines for young children and comparing Europe’s response to the pandemic to “Nazi Germany.”

Gov. Pete Ricketts announced the appointment of Republican Kirk Penner, an Aurora businessman, and former school board member, to a vacant seat on the Nebraska State Board of Education last Thursday (Dec. 23rd).

By Friday afternoon, Penner’s Twitter account was suspended. It’s unclear when and why the account was suspended. Twitter did not immediately respond to questions from the Omaha World-Herald regarding the suspension.

A call to Penner on Friday went straight to voicemail. The Governor’s Office did not immediately respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.

Screenshots of what appear to be tweets from Penner’s account circulated on social media Friday.

One apparent Penner tweet about vaccination said: “Using 5-11-year-old children as guinea pigs is sad. Children are not at risk.”

Penner retweeted a tweet that says, “police are patrolling the streets to check people’s health papers to see if they are allowed to be there,” in an apparent reference to Europe’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. “We used to think this was only something that happened in Nazi Germany in the past.”

In an apparent reply to a tweet from U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Penner wrote, according to a screenshot, “a medical doctor with pronouns in his bio has zero credibility. ZERO.”

Penner will complete the remainder of the term of Patricia Timm, who resigned from the District 5 seat in October, citing personal health reasons. District 5 includes much of the south side of Lincoln and rural areas of Southeast Nebraska largely south of the Platte River from Phillips to Ashland. The term runs through Jan. 4, 2023.

For more on this article click HERE

OGALLALA ANNOUNCES COMMUNITY SOLAR FARM PROJECT WITH NEBRASKA PUBLIC POWER

OGALLALA- Ogallala and Nebraska Public Power District are poised to make the Keith County seat NPPD’s seventh retail town with a community solar farm.

The project should allow the city to cut its NPPD power bills and allow Ogallala residents to do likewise by subscribing for shares, said Pat Hanrahan, the district’s general manager for retail services.

Its 1.5-megawatt capacity “would be a very small percentage” of NPPD’s total power generation, “but the impact it will have on the community of Ogallala” will be greater, he said.

Ogallala is one of 79 Nebraska cities and villages where NPPD both sells and delivers electricity.

Hanrahan said GRNE Solar of Lincoln, which will lease the 13.5-acre site from the city and build the solar farm, should start construction this spring and likely will bring the project online next summer.

NPPD would buy the solar farm’s output from GRNE and work with the city in allocating shares to interested customers.

The power district, which has announced a goal of generating electricity with “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2050, launched its community solar program in January 2017.

Venango and Scottsbluff hosted NPPD’s first two pilot projects, with the latter city later adding a second, larger solar farm, Hanrahan said.

NPPD spokesman Grant Otten said Ogallala’s city government could buy power generated by the solar farm for about 4.8 cents per kilowatt-hour — a full cent less than its current cost.

For the full article click HERE

ARMED WITH DATA, NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS WILL GRAPPLE WITH NATION'S MOST OVERCROWDED PRISONS

LINCOLN- The problems facing Nebraska’s prisons are well-documented: A near-catastrophic staffing shortage and severe overcrowding that for years has been among the worst in the U.S.

Amid apparent progress hiring staff, Nebraska legislators are poised to address the long-standing overcrowding and underlying issues that contribute to that trend during the 60-day legislative session that starts Jan. 5. Armed with fresh analyses of state data, lawmakers will also weigh a pitch to build a new state prison.

“We have a thoughtful (Judiciary) Committee,” said State Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha, committee chair. “We have a diversity of perspectives on the committee, and we have an opportunity with the work that’s been done through the interim to follow through with asking the question, and coming with an answer to: How do we best spend taxpayer dollars on criminal justice?”

As of last week, corrections had received more than 630 applications for corporal positions since salary increases were announced in November, according to the department. It had received just 162 such applications in the five weeks prior.

As applicants come in, the prisons are still severely unstaffed for the time being. Another option being explored is a new prison in itself.

This has received opposition and support, some citing they are not ready to allocate the tax dollars.

One of those people is Sen. Terrell McKinney. He said, "The one thing I hope, overall, though, is, regardless of if they build it or not — I just hope that we can get some real legislation passed that’s really going to be transformative for the criminal justice system and the prison system before anyone signs off on that prison,”

For more on this article click HERE

NEBRASKA'S BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE HAS GROWN, BUT STATE STILL HAS SHORTAGE

LINCOLN- Despite growth in Nebraska's behavioral health workforce, a new study has found that the state still has a shortage of professionals in the field.

Findings in the legislative report from the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska, which is housed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, showed a 33.5% increase in the behavioral health workforce across the state.

The study, which ran from 2010 to 2020, also showed a 32% increase in prescribers and a 39% increase in psychologists and mental health therapists.

Despite the overall growth, the report showed a shortage of behavioral health professionals across much of the state as well as an aging workforce.

News that the workforce has grown is promising, said Marley Doyle, director of the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska.

One in five Nebraskans has a mental health diagnosis or substance abuse disorder, Doyle said. Those numbers have increased because of the pandemic. Last year, she added, overdose deaths in the state rose by 43%. And teachers have reported seeing many young people struggling with their mental health.

"So we know that there is a great need for behavioral health services. We also know that there are not enough behavioral health providers to meet this need," Doyle said.

The Behavioral Health Education Center has several partnerships with graduate behavioral health training programs across the state and is working on improving access to behavioral health care.

For the full article and report, click HERE