NEBRASKA COUNTIES INCONSISTENT IN WHO IS SENT EARLY BALLOT REQUEST CARDS

LINCOLN- Individual decisions by a dozen county election officials about mail notifications could affect which voters turn out for the June 28 special election in Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District. ​​​​

Counties are going their own way in sending postcards to voters to request early ballots for the upcoming special election between Mike Flood and Patty Pansing Brooks.

Five 1st District counties sent cards to voters who had signed up for long-term vote-by-mail lists: Lancaster, Madison, Platte, Dodge and Cuming.

Four counties — Butler, Colfax, Seward, and Sarpy — never send out such cards. None of them operates an indefinite vote-by-mail list, though Butler is considering creating one.

Stanton County mails a ballot to every voter before every election, including this one. Stanton is one of 11 rural Nebraska counties that vote entirely by mail.

Polk and Cass Counties typically send ballot-request cards to people who voted early in the last election but opted to go another route this time around.

Polk spent $850 to send ballot request cards to every active registered voter in the county. Cass considered doing the same but was too late. Instead, it sent cards to people who voted early in the May primary.

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GOVERNOR APPOINTS KATHLEEN KAUTH TO SEAT LEFT BY SEN. RICH PAHLS PASSING

LINCOLN -  Gov. Pete Ricketts on Tuesday, June 7 announced Kathleen Kauth of Omaha as his appointee for Legislative District 31. 

Five people applied to fill the vacant seat and four were interviewed, according to Ricketts. He said he made his decision to choose Kauth for her business experience. Kauth owns K.T. Beck Enterprises, and previously ran for Omaha City Council last year. The governor said the new state senator’s family moved to Nebraska in 2012. A graduate of Northern Iowa University, she obtained her degree in criminology and sociology, her master’s degree in public policy, and also holds a certificate from UNO in gerontology.

When asked if Kauth's pro-life stance was a factor in her being appointed, Ricketts said "I always look to appoint pro-life candidates because this is a pro-life state.” Many are watching the legislature for a possible special session following any action by the United States Supreme Court on abortion this summer. 

Additionally, Kauth stated she supports Constitutional carry. 

“I think there’s a happy medium somewhere” between input from law enforcement and what the public wants, “but if it’s in the Constitution, that is the highest law of the land.” 

Legislative District 31 includes part of Douglas County in southwest Omaha, as well as most of the Millard neighborhood, and was left vacant after the passing of State Sen. Rich Pahls of Omaha on April 27. Following her being sworn into office, Kauth announced she is planning to run for election to the seat in November should be successfully gather the 2,000 signatures required to appear on the ballot. Due to the timing of the vacancy, the seat goes up for election on the November ballot, and as it is after the primary candidates must petition on. Those successfully gathering the required signatures will all appear at that time for consideration. If successful she would serve the remainder of the term until January 2025.

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OFFICIALS SET LICENSING FEES, RULES TO OPERATE CASINOS IN NEBRASKA

OMAHA - Today is a big moment for the gaming industry in Nebraska. The Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission set licensing fees to operate casinos in the state.

Applications can now be submitted, along with an initial $1 million. The total fees are $5 million, which will be paid over the course of five years.

As soon as the gambling dollars begin to roll in, the money will start to go towards property tax relief to the joy of Nebraska homeowners.

It has been a long road to get to this point after Nebraska voters approved casino gambling in the state in November 2020.

Lynne McNally is the CEO of the Nebraska Horsemen’s Association. Lynne says the casinos will keep gambling dollars in the state and also help homeowners to keep some dollars in their pockets.

“20 cents of every dollar generated is going directly to the property tax relief fund that money belongs to the people of the state of Nebraska and we have a responsibility to send that money back as soon as possible.”

As much as $120 million a year could go to property tax relief in the state, according to official estimates.

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OMAHA HITS NEW STRIDES IN CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY

OMAHA — The signs are plentiful: newly framed houses around town, freshly bulldozed land, tower cranes dotting the skyline.

Such signs point to new construction activity records in Omaha which were found in a recently released report.

The City of Omaha's latest annual "Building and Development Summary" estimated the total value of building permits issued by the Planning Department last year climbed to roughly $1.15 billion — the highest yearly tally on record for the city and second-highest when accounting for inflation.

That figure accounts for construction ranging from houses and apartments to converted structures to new, altered, or expanded properties containing office, retail, educational and other operations.

The analysts who conducted the report noted that Omaha's housing market was strong, despite the total estimated value of residences issued building permits in 2021 dipped compared to the year before (from $461 million to nearly $431 million).

“Obviously people are investing in the community,” said City Planning Director Dave Fanslau. “It was a busy year, a historic year, just a lot of activity for the development and construction industries.”

2022 is expected to finish with as much or more permit activity, especially if the skyling-changing $600 million Mutual of Omaha downtown office tower gets out of the ground this year.

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TEXAS SHOOTING PROMPTS NEBRASKA SCHOOL LEADERS TO REVIEW SCHOOL SAFETY

OMAHA — Nebraska state education leaders plan to create a task force to review school safety in light of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont, chairwoman of the Legislature's Education Committee, said the task force would review current "school safety, security, and preparedness practices."

After consulting with education leaders in the past few days, Walz is asking Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt to create the comprehensive School Safety Task Force. Every issue and idea is on the table, Walz said.

The shooting at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday, May 24 left 19 students and two teachers dead. The 18-year-old shooter was eventually killed by police.

Blomstedt said "Folks don't want to just sit there and wring their hands. They want to talk about what we have in place and what we need to have in place."

He went on to say that he would work with Walz to put a group together that includes not just educators but representatives of the broader community, possibly including parents and students.

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PROTECTIVE CUSTODY UNIT FOR INTOXICATED PEOPLE WILL NO LONGER CONTRACT WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT

LINCOLN - After offering a safe place for police to take intoxicated people to sober up for nearly 40 years, a nonprofit agency known as The Bridge will no longer contract with local law enforcement agencies for the service.

The decision to not renew the contracts with Lincoln police for "civil protective custody" — once known as detox — was largely due to staffing issues caused by the nursing shortage, a situation that came to a head last fall.

City and county officials, now worried about the impact on county corrections, are searching for an alternative placement for intoxicated people who police believe are a danger to themselves or others, but don't need to be in jail.

The Bridge will maintain its other services, including a voluntary detox program, a respite program, and a 24-bed men's residential treatment program.

A lack of nurses also played a part in the agency's decision to temporarily close the protective custody unit last fall until it could deal with the staffing problems.

Stevenson said it was never The Bridge’s intent to close permanently last fall — and the agency spent $500,000 on promotion, incentives, wage increases, and hiring bonuses in an attempt to address staffing issues.

In the months since that happened, it has had to turn more than 400 people away from the voluntary detox program, she said.

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JEFF FORTENBERRY CHALLENGES CONVICTIONS, BUT FEDS FIRE BACK

LINCOLN - In March, a jury swiftly and decisively convicted then-U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of two counts of lying to federal agents and one count of trying to conceal the source of $30,000 in dirty campaign funds.

The former Nebraska congressman is now seeking to have those convictions overturned. Fortenberry posits that any misstatements he made were not substantive, or material, to federal authorities' investigation.

It is not enough to lie to federal agents to be convicted under federal law; the lie must be in regard to something substantial and it must throw off an investigation.

Fortenberry's attorneys argued: So what if Fortenberry claimed to not know he was told that $30,000 in campaign contributions came from a Nigerian billionaire? It had no effect on federal agents because they already knew the billionaire had funneled the money.

“The law does not criminalize every false statement that is made to the government,” Fortenberry’s attorney, John Littrell, wrote in a recent brief. “(It) criminalizes only the falsification or concealment … of a material fact.

U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. scheduled a hearing on that motion for June 28, the same day he is set to sentence Fortenberry in Los Angeles.

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NEW LICENSE PLATE EVOKES CREATIVE USE OF NEBRASKA'S NATURAL RESOURCES

LINCOLN- Nebraska's new license plate was unveiled at a ceremony earlier this week. A mosaic depicting a Roman chariot driver with flowing hair and ripped muscles will become the new design in 2023.

First Lady Susanne Shore, who led development of the new plate, joined her husband, Gov. Pete Ricketts, and others in saying the mosaic, which is the first one visitors see on tours of the State Capitol, will show Nebraska as more than cattle, windmills and sunsets — the traditional icons used on state plates.

“It’s like the crown jewel of all the pieces” of art in the State Capitol, said Drew Davies, an Omaha brand and design consultant, who designed the plate.

The mosaic, entitled “The Genius of Creative Energy,” is one of several on the second floor of the State Capitol done by artist Hildreth Meière in 1927 to depict the story of Nebraska.

By state law, the state license plate must be changed every six years. Ricketts said he selected his wife for the project because she had a “passion” for the project — and because she picks out the wall colors in their home.

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NEBRASKA GOVERNMENT BUILDING TO BE RENAMED FOR CHIEF STANDING BEAR

LINCOLN- Come July, the Executive Building just west of the State Capitol will be officially dedicated as the Chief Standing Bear Justice Administration Building.

New flooring, modern lighting, and other updates will be part of the $215,000 interior rehab of the five-story structure in downtown Lincoln.

But upon entering the building, workers and visitors will see the more artistic and dramatic reminders of the tragedy-to-triumph story behind the building’s namesake.

Those elements include a bust of the Ponca chief that was created by sculptor Benjamin Victor and is to be displayed outside the main doors.

A signature mural spanning a main wall just inside the entrance is to be finished in the next few days by artist Sarah Harris. The painting offers passers-by a creative account of pivotal points in Standing Bear’s journey.

Jason Jackson, director of the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services, said state officials thought Standing Bear was a fitting choice to honor, given that the building’s offices are occupied by professionals who support justice administration throughout the state.

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OMAHA CASINO EYES SUMMER GROUNDBREAKING

OMAHA- If everything goes smoothly, gamblers could possibly be hitting the casino next spring in Omaha.

WarHorse Gaming — a subsidiary of Ho-Chunk Inc., the economic development arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska — intends to break ground this summer on what it calls a “dynamic casino, racing and entertainment complex” at the current site of Horsemen’s Park near 63rd and Q streets.

The expansive facility will hold gambling tables and more than 1,200 gaming machines, as well as live and simulcast racing. There are also plans for a live entertainment stage, multiple bars, a food hall and a coffee shop.

WarHorse said they expect the groundbreaking ceremony at the Omaha location to take place sometime in mid- to late summer. When construction commences in the existing building, simulcasting will be moved to temporary trailers on the infield to continue operations.

Once renovations are complete, a transitional facility will be set up with roughly 800 gambling machines. A spokesperson said the temporary casino should be ready for public use about 10 months after the groundbreaking.

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NEBRASKA AUDITOR FINDS ISSUES WITH NOMI HEALTH TESTNEBRASKA CONTRACT

LINCOLN - The Nebraska state auditor found reason to question whether the state received nearly 400,000 COVID-19 tests promised in a contract with the Utah-based company that operated TestNebraska.

Questions that arose over the tests were just one issue the Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts found with the TestNebraska contract between the state and Nomi Health, according to a management letter released Wednesday, June 1.

The audit noted issues with documentation being provided and keeping contract language clear and unambiguous - both of which are issues that can increase the risk for loss or misuse of funds, according to the letter.

Nebraska was supposed to receive 1.2 million test kits according to the contract signed in April of 2020. However, the Department of Administrative Services, which handles state contracts, didn't have documentation proving the state received more than 803,000 of them.

No documents exist that can trace a list showing 1.23 million kits received to supporting documents, such as receipts. This led the auditor to question whether the state actually received nearly 397,000 kits - valued between $9.9 million and $12.9 million.

The Department of Administrative Services provided documentation that indicates the state received at least 995,900 kits and indicated there was a lack of packing slip documentation during the pandemic.

The department told teams receiving the kits about documentation procedures and expectations, which included filling out a form. However, DAS acknowledged some did not adhere to those expectations.

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STATE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN REPORT FILED FOR CHEMICALS INSIDE NOX-CRETE PLANT THAT BURNED FOR HOURS

OMAHA- Following a large fire at Omaha chemical plant Nox-Crete, the company filed a concern report with the Nebraska Department of Energy and Environment.

That document says "acids, bases, and solvents in large quantities were involved in the fire, but no details are available yet. The company will provide additional information when it becomes available."

It goes on to say “mineral spirits (liquid), naphtha (liquid) and acid NOS (liquid)" were released. Two of those listed are petroleum, the other, is a caustic acid per the filing.

Douglas County health reports no impact to air quality, but doctors said those who may have breathed in any of that smoke could be at risk.

Doctors advise those to be aware of any odd symptoms in the days to come and to go to the doctor if experiencing anything out of the ordinary. In the scope of the long term, Doctors are still uncertain as to what chemicals were in the fire, what the effects are under heat, and the overall weight of concern.

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COVID RELATED HOSPITALIZATIONS TICK UP IN NEBRASKA

LINCOLN- The spring virus rise continues to rick upwards in Nebraska as omicron subvariants travel around.

An average of 86 people were hospitalized with COVID in Nebraska for the week ending May 28th, up 19% from 72 a week earlier, according to figures from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Statewide case numbers were down slightly last week, according to the CDC, but that appeared to be due to a delay in reporting some positive test results over the Memorial Day weekend. Daily numbers earlier in the week suggest cases were up about 10% from the previous week, which would mark the seventh straight weekly increase in Nebraska.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services’ respiratory illness dashboard indicated that the state recorded 2,017 new COVID cases for the week ending May 28. That also represents an increase from the preceding week. The positivity rate of 11.6% also was up significantly from 5.1% at the end of April.

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'STAFFING EMERGENCY' SOON TO END AT NEBRASKA STATE PENITENTIARY

LINCOLN — A staffing emergency in place since October 2019 at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln will soon be lifted.

Nebraska Corrections Director Scott Frakes announced Wednesday, June 1 that normal work schedules, and normal inmate activities, will return on July 18.

The State Pen had been on an altered, seven-day, 12-hour operations schedule due to a staff shortage. Visitation time was cut back, as well as limits on inmate recreation and rehabilitation programs.

Salary increases and hiring bonuses attracted applicants and provided an influx of 472 new hires, allowing the emergency to end.

There are now just 18 job vacancies in protective services at the penitentiary now, compared to 76 in December 2021.

The staffing emergency lasted longer than anticipated, Frakes said, “but throughout the pandemic, the schedule served us well while dealing with the challenges brought by COVID.”

Returning to a 16-hour operational day for inmates means four more hours a day for volunteer programs, recreation, and other pro-social activities, which improves conditions for inmates, Frakes said. Returning to 40-hour work weeks for most employees helps with their work-life balance, he said.

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PASSENGER AND FREIGHT RAIL PROJECTS IN 32 STATES GET MILLIONS FROM U.S. DOT

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is doling out millions of dollars to railroad projects throughout the country in hopes of improving supply chains and passenger rail service.

More than 46 projects will receive $368 million in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements to improve safety and broaden the nation's rail infrastructure, including one in Nebraska.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg commented saying that railroads have become congested when cargo moves from shipyards to trains, leading to "higher costs and longer delays for Americans and for businesses."

The grants will go to projects in 32 states, with nearly double the 25% minimum investment going to rural communities, according to Amit Bose, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration.

The rural projects, Bose said, include $8.3 million for a Florida Panhandle rural capacity expansion, “which will allow the Florida Gulf and Atlantic Railroad to move critical goods in rural areas,” as well as $11 million to upgrade the Cimarron Valley Railroad in southwest Kansas that will “help agricultural and biodiesel producers move more goods more quickly.”

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GRAND ISLAND CRANE TRANSIT LOOKING AT CONTRACTING WITH RIDESHARE COMPANY FOR SERVICES

GRAND ISLAND- The answer to Grand Islands transit problems remains a growing concern for CRANE transit.

Contracting with an Uber-style company for “mobility on demand” services for the community is one solution being considered.

A series of Go GI focus group sessions held this week at Grand Island City Hall proposed other alternatives and took input from the community on how to improve local transit.

The responses from these focus groups will be used to help draft a development plan that is headed by the Grand Island Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. Focus Groups began in December and stretch through September of this year.

So far, three options have been proposed: Expansion of current service; service addition, potentially “mobility-on-demand” and going to a fixed-route system.

“Mobility on demand” summons and pays for a ride via mobile phone, examples being Uber and Lyft.

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VILSACK OFFERS INTEGRATED PLAN FOR DOMESTIC FOOD PRODUCTION

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Biden administration has set aside billions of dollars to help the nation’s food supply chain recover from the coronavirus pandemic — and, more recently, the looming global effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and on Wednesday, June 1, it announced new funding and a comprehensive overview of how those initiatives mesh.

“A transformed food system is part of how we as a country become more resilient and competitive in the face of these big and future challenges and threats,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said Wednesday at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

After the pandemic exposed the deficient resilience of the nation's meat processing industry, in part because of the industry's consolidation over the years, the White House said that increasing the processing capability has been a primary focus for the nation. The top four meatpacking companies control 85% of the beef market, 70% of the pork market, and more than 50% of the chicken market.

Livestock producers lost a significant amount of their sales when the coronavirus put a halt to large processing facilities, forcing some to euthanize their animals.

A push for efficiency led to the consolidation of the meatpacking industry, but the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for balance and resilience, Vilsack concluded.

In response, the USDA created the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program to provide up to $375 million to aid the creation or expansion of smaller, independent processors. The first phase of the program that recently closed for applications is poised to distribute about $150 million in grants. Funding requests totaled more than $800 million, the USDA reported.

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RICKETTS POINTS TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS IN WAKE OF NEW GUN VIOLENCE

LINCOLN — Gov. Pete Ricketts pointed Thursday, May 26 to the need for more mental health services to help identify and assist troubled Americans as a means of addressing gun violence like this week's most recent attack that killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas.

"The gun is just a tool," the governor said in answering a question from Jeff Zeleny, chief national affairs correspondent for CNN, during a speaking appearance at the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics.

Ricketts went on to say that depriving Americans of their 2nd Amendment gun ownership rights is not the answer to gun violence. Instead, it is important to "look for signs" of mental illness that may lead to violence and address those needs, he added.

He also said he is "open to ideas to be preventative" in addressing gun violence within the context of protecting the 2nd Amendment.

Ricketts also commented on the sharp political division that's apparent in the country today, especially in the wake of gun violence.

"Politics (in America) has always been divisive," Ricketts said. "We'll get through this ... but it's not going to happen fast."

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ORGANIZERS SAY NEBRASKA MEDICAL MARIJUANA PETITIONS ARE BACK ON TRACK

LINCOLN- Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana said it was nearing the halfway point in its campaign to qualify a pair of petitions that would legalize the use of cannabis for medical treatments for the November ballot.

State Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln, a co-sponsor of the petitions, said the group is on track to gather the 87,000 signatures needed before the July 7 deadline, despite several setbacks earlier this year.

“We are really pulling together a campaign,” Wishart said, “and we’ve got a ton of people who have gotten out of the house to come grab a petition and collect signatures.”

At the start of May, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana had collected roughly 20,000 signatures for each of its two petitions. This week, the campaign reported that 40,000 people had signed petitions.

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HERBSTER FIGHTS THE SCOPE OF SUBPOENAS AGAINST "TRUMP WORLD" TRIO WHO HELPED HIM

OMAHA — It’s not a question of if but how deeply “Trump world” will be dragged into dueling lawsuits between Nebraska businessman Charles Herbster and State Sen. Julie Slama.

Recent documents filed in Slama's counter-lawsuit against Herbster show that her lawyers are working to subpoena records from at least three longtime aides of former President Donald Trump.

The three aides included are former Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway, who served as Herbster’s national campaign manager; Corey Lewandowski, a Trump campaign manager and Herbster consultant; and David Bossie with Citizens United, who helped run Trump’s 2016 campaign and also consulted for Herbster.

Herbster's legal team is attempting to narrow the scope of the subpoenas sent, arguing that some records and information reach beyond the scope of Slama's allegations.

His attorneys also objected to the scope of subpoenas sent to two members of Herbster’s former campaign staff: campaign manager Ellen Keast and spokeswoman Emily Novotny.

The first court hearing is scheduled for June 14 in Johnson County District Court. The hearing will be held at the Gage County Courthouse in Beatrice to accommodate the judge, whose assignment covers multiple counties.

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