SLAMA, SPELLERBERG, ROYAL AMONG STATE TREASURER APPLICANTS

LINCOLN- Following the announcement that State Treasurer John Murante would be leaving his post to serve as the state's Retirement Director, an application pool was opened by Gov. Pillen's office to find potential candidates for the role. Last week, a handful of Nebraskans from a slew of different backgrounds showed interest in applying.

However, the top three potential candidates, as it stands right now, seem to be Sen. Julie Slama, Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg, and former treasurer candidate Taylor Royal, who are all confirmed to have applied for the post. Slama, a lawyer, was appointed to the Legislature by former Gov. Pete Ricketts in 2019, and currently chairs the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee. Spellerberg, whose family owns Moostash Joe Tours, is considered by many in Nebraska to be a rising Republican, and is well known for his work in economic development.

Royal, a financial adviser, ran for treasurer in 2018 and for Mayor of Omaha in 2017. Two other candidates indicated that they considered applying, but are unconfirmed as of right now. These include Sen. Ben Hansen and former Sen. Theresa Thibodeau, but both confirmed that they're leaning towards passing on the opportunity. Local political observers expect Gov. Pillen to schedule interviews and make a decision promptly, as the Treasurer oversees programs like child support payments. This appointment will be Pillen's third as an elected official.

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NEBRASKA LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES INCLUDE FORMER WESTSIDE TEACHER CHALLENGING SEN. KAUTH

LINCOLN- As Nebraska inches closer to the 2024 general election, a large handful of Nebraskans have already announced their candidacy in what is expected to be an exciting legislative race, including a former instructor at Westside who is planning on challenging Sen. Kathleen Kauth for the District 31 seat.

Mary Ann Folchert, the former educator and current Democrat, is one of the most recent candidates to announce their candidacy. Ben Ungerman also announced recently, and will be running for the District 3 seat, which encompasses western Bellevue and parts of Papillion. Other candidates include former Sen. Dan Quick, as well as sitting Sen. Ray Aguilar, who will compete over Grand Island's District 35 seat for the second time.

Larissa Schultz, a native of Yutan, will be running for the District 23 seat, while Kearney Mayor Stan Clouse will run for District 37 alongside Lana Peister. Sen. Kauth, who Folchert is set to challenge, said she plans on campaigning on issues such as tax cuts, rising property valuations, and transgender student-athletes. Folchert, during her campaign announcement, said Nebraska needs state senators who place the needs of the state's citizens above political games. Public safety, education, healthcare, and workforce issues are among her listed priorities.

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GRAND ISLAND CASINO RESORT TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION AT FONNER PARK

GRAND ISLAND- Next month, work on the $100 million Grand Island Casino Resort at Fonner Park is expected to begin, according to several project officials. Almost immediately following the passage of a 2020 referendum seeking to authorize the use and sale of slot machines, table games, and sports betting, Fonner Park sought to obtain authorization for and begin construction of a new Nebraska-based casino.

Fonner Park, which is owned by the Hall County Livestock Improvement Association, partnered with Elite Casino Resorts to plan the facility and overhaul the land on which it is to be built. Based in Iowa, Elite operates three casinos in Nebraska's neighbor state. A temporary casino was opened last December in Fonner Park by Elite, and currently includes 300 slot machines and table games, generating a gross gaming revenue of $16.9 million between January and July of 2023.

Elite Casino Resorts named Vince Fiala, a former assistant manager of the company's Grand Falls Casino in Iowa, as the forthcoming general manager of its planned, and soon to be constructed, Grand Island Casino Resort. Fiala said that the Fonner Park casino space will eventually measure around 37,000 square feet, and will feature 650 slot machines, 20 live dealer table games, and a sportsbook. Along with the casino, a 116-room hotel overlooking the Fonner Park racetrack will also be built.

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NEARLY $17 MILLION IN FUNDING FROM CDC AIMS TO REDUCE DRUG OVERDOSES IN NEBRASKA

LINCOLN- Two Nebraska governmental entities have been awarded a combined total of nearly $17 million in federal funding to bolster their battle against drug overdoses. The Douglas County Health Department and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services are among 40 local health departments in the United States to receive the funding, which comes from the CDC's Overdose Date to Action Program.

Douglas County announced on Thursday that its funding, which comes out to around $4.45 million, will be disbursed over a five-year period. The Department of Health and Human Services will receive funding over the same timeframe, but in the amount of $12.4 million. The program's funding is meant to help state's collect more comprehensive and timely data on overdoses, which can be utilized to improve prevention tactics, which should, in turn, reduce deaths and harm.

"This grant will make a lasting impact and provide hope to those affected by substance use disorders," said Lindsay Huse, Douglas County Health Director. This award of funding is actually the second for the state's Department of Health for the same reason, and allowed DHHS to provide coroners with free toxicology testing and provide different amounts of funding to 18 local health departments.

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NEW NEBRASKA LAW REQUIRES SAFETY UPGRADE FOR CORRECTIONS STAFF

LINCOLN- Several new laws took effect in Nebraska over the weekend, including one that protects Nebraska corrections workers. The state must now provide all of them with protective vests, a move that unfortunately comes too late for some staffers in Lincoln. On May 31, inmates stabbed five staff members with makeshift weapons inside the Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln.

"Where they were all stabbed would have been prevented by these vests," said Michael Chipman. Now, thanks to LB50, it is a requirement. "These vets are really important because they help give you protection against edge weapons. So knives, we call them shanks. They make them out of barbed wire. They can make them out of a pencil. I mean, they make them out of a bunch of fun, different things," Chipman said.

He hopes this increased level of protection for corrections staff will help retain and even bring in some new employees.

"I think it will hopefully help the staff feel like, you know, it won't be as easy for them to get killed and or seriously injured," Chipman said. And they all hope that something like this never happens again.

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NEBRASKA'S THIRD RURAL BHECN SITE OPENS IN WAYNE, AIMS TO GROW BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE

OMAHA- To help grow the state’s mental and behavioral health workforce, the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska has opened its third rural site — this one in northeast Nebraska. The center at the Wayne State College campus joins a sister site at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, which launched in 2015, and another that started in 2019 at Chadron State College. 

The latest addition means the state-funded BHECN is halfway to meeting one of its goals: to develop six behavioral health regional sites. Recognizing a mental health professional shortage even back in 2009, the Nebraska Legislature created the BHECN to recruit, retain and increase the competency of the state’s behavioral health workforce. 

Dr. Marley Doyle, who heads the BHECN, said that establishing the rural sites in places like northeast, central Nebraska and the Panhandle is an attempt to tailor training, recruitment and retention to the needs of particular regions. “Nebraska is a geographically and demographically diverse state, and that means providers, students and trainees face different challenges” based on the part of the state in which they work, said Doyle. 

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SHOVELS SIGNAL CONSTRUCTION START FOR $95M MEDICAL SCHOOL IN KEARNEY

OMAHA- Ceremonial shovels broke ground this week for the $95 million Rural Health Education Building in Kearney, where a three-story, 110,000-square-foot medical school is soon to rise and then open in early 2026. Leaders of the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Omaha-based University of Nebraska Medical Center led the event signaling the construction start of the facility aimed at growing the state’s rural healthcare workforce.

“Our goal is to harness UNMC’s world-class skills to transform rural Nebraska through a unique endeavor not seen elsewhere in the United States: educating health care workers and professionals in rural areas,” said UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen. He called the project a “game-changer” in helping to fill shortages in all medical professions across the state.

The center will launch new programs to train physicians, pharmacists and public health professionals in Kearney, while also expanding the presence of other existing health and nursing programs. It will also contain state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories for pre-clinical education and complex clinical scenarios and primary care practice spaces.

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NEBRASKA AWARDED $10.8 MILLION TO MODERNIZE POWER GRID, FIGHT CLIMATE CRISIS

LINCOLN- Nebraska has been awarded nearly $11 million of federal funding in efforts to modernize the nation’s electric grid and fight the climate crisis. The U.S. Department of Energy announced that Nebraska will be sent $10.8 million through the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants program. Nebraska is among the seventh cohort of recipients, which includes eight other states and five tribes for a combined grant total of $125 million.

The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy will distribute the funds in a competitive grant process through a soon-to-be-created Grid Resiliency Grant Program. The state is expected to receive $27 million total over five years. The funding is available through the bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021, which U.S. Rep. Don Bacon and U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer supported.

Funding will help the state’s electricity industry and its ability to withstand weather-related incidents — such as storms or heat waves — but also physical attacks and cyberattacks. A department news release states it is imperative to modernize the state’s power grid to be more reliable and resilient as energy use transitions from fossil fuels to electricity.

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ACTIVISTS PREPARE FOR YEARLONG BATTLE OVER NEBRASKA PRIVATE SCHOOL FUNDING LAW

LINCOLN- Despite the fact that Support Our Schools Nebraska, an anti-school choice tax credit organization, was able to garner enough signatures to place an initiative that could repeal Nebraska's new scholarship tax credit law on the 2024 general election ballot, some proponents of the tax credits are calling the signature drive a victory of sorts.

This is because Support Our Schools failed to obtain the 122,000 signatures necessary to stop the bill from taking effect on January 1st, 2024. "When the bill takes effect, we look forward to the first round of scholarships reaching children in need for the 2024-2025 school year," said Tom Venzor, director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference, an organization in support of the new law.

Keep Kids First, a group formed in opposition to Support Our Schools, also celebrated the semi-victory. "Our goal has always been to help as many kids as possible as quickly as possible, and we can do that now," Keep Kids First said in a statement following the deadline of the petition drive. Opponents of the tax credit answered these celebrations with a shrug, noting that the new law could be repealed before 2025, when contributors can begin claiming tax credits.

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OMAHA CITY COUNCIL WILL INTERVIEW FIVE APPLICANTS FOR SOUTH OMAHA VACANCY

OMAHA- The Omaha City Council, following the departure of Vinny Palermo, is set to interview five applicants to fill the vacant District 4 seat, which encompasses South Omaha. On Wednesday, the Council President and Vice President announced that they had chosen the five individuals among 12 applications. Whoever is chosen for the seat will serve the final two years of Palermo's term, which ends in 2025.

The five South Omahans selected include Garry Gernandt, who previously represented the district for 16 years; Metro Community College Board Member Ron Hug; neighborhood organization leader Rebecca Barrientos-Patlan; former aide to Mayor Stothert Terri Blackburn; and Erik O. Servellon, a former member of the Douglas-Sarpy Learning Community Coordinating Council.

"Council members worked together to identify the candidates they were most interested in advancing to the public interviews," said Pete Festersen, the Council's President, "We look forward to engaging them in-depth." Three of the five selected applicants are Democrats, with the remaining two being Republicans. However, the Council is elected on a nonpartisan basis.

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KEARNEY, NORFOLK SCHOOL OFFICIALS EXPLAIN TRANS STUDENT-ATHLETE POLICIES

LINCOLN- Just as the Nebraska Legislature is set to take up a proposal next year relating to transgender student-athletes, several local school boards in the state are moving ahead. Recently, Kearney Public Schools and Norfolk Public Schools passed more restrictive policies relating to transgender athletes than the standards outlined by the Nebraska State Activities Association. Each of the district's policies will require students in grades 6-12 to participate in sports according to their sex at birth.

Kearney Superintendent Jason Mundork said policy conversations surrounding this issue began last fall after several transgender students within the district expressed interest in competing. "If we didn't, I felt like this poor kid and the family was going to become a talking point," said Mundorf, "And that's pretty unfair to the kid." Norfolk Superintendent Jami Jo Thompson said in a statement following the enactment of the policy that she does not anticipate any students being turned away, and that, if any are, the district would work to help them find a new activity.

Sen. Kathleen Kauth has made clear that LB575 will be a priority for her in the upcoming 2024 Legislative session. The bill would define K-12 bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams as male or female, according to students' sex at birth. Last month, Kauth said she was pleased with the action taken by Kearney and Norfolk. "We want to make sure that we give them [Kearney and Norfolk] the support from the state so that they have the infrastructure that they need," Kauth said, indicating that she will push hard for the passage of LB575.

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GOV. PILLEN AND DELEGATION PRESS TRADE IN JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA

LINCOLN- Over the past week, Gov. Pillen, alongside a local delegation, traveled to South Korea and Japan in an attempt to increase trade with the East Asian nations. Gov. Pillen described the nations as "tremendous consumers" of Nebraska's agricultural products, and said he wishes to grow exchange opportunities.

"This visit will strengthen our already well-established partnerships," Pillen said before leaving for the trade missions. The weeklong tour, which will stretch until Friday, will also include Department of Agriculture Director Sherry Vinton, other state government representatives, and local business leaders.

The Nebraska-based group is set to tour several hydrogen facilities in the nation, a handful of engineering corporations, and hold meetings with South Korean and Japanese officials. Japan is one of Nebraska's longest-running foreign investors, having invested nearly $4.5 billion into the state since 2010. South Korea doesn't fall too far behind that, and held the spot as Nebraska's fourth largest foreign export partner in 2022.

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PILLEN URGES SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS TO PASS ALONG NEW STATE FUNDS AS TAX RELIEF

LINCOLN- A tug of war between local school officials and Gov. Jim Pillen is currently underway over how the $300 million a year in extra funds allocated this year for K-12 schools should be used. Earlier this month, Gov. Pillen attended a Zoom call with Nebraska's school superintendents, and urged them to utilize 97% of the recent increase in state aid as property tax relief. Pillen reminded officials that the intent of the $300 million was to reduce property tax bills, and not to increase spending.

Lee Will, Pillen's budget advisor, claimed there have been some "misunderstandings" surrounding the allocations, which increased state aid but also imposed a new spending lid on districts. State Sen. Tom Briese, who sponsored the law that provides these allocations, said the new 3% cap was intended to ensure that property taxpayers got relief. While some of the school officials on the call with Gov. Pillen called it a "reminder," others argued that it was more like a "scolding."

Some officials, including Dave Welsch, a school board member from Milford, argued that Nebraska's schools don't "spend money willy-nilly," but have to be realistic when it comes to inflation. "But last year wasn't a normal inflation time, and if you don't pay your staff adequately, you're going to lose them," said Welsch. Lee Will, however, didn't see it that way, and said that districts exceeding the cap are "abusing the intent" of the new funding.

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NEBRASKA INVESTMENT COUNCIL TAKES SOME INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AWAY FROM BLACKROCK

LINCOLN- On Thursday, the Nebraska Investment Council voted to transfer some power away from BlackRock, a nationwide firm that some conservatives have criticized for considering environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, factors in investing. The vote marked the second time the Investment Council has called for change due to concern over so-called ESG investing, concerns that have been labeled by some as "political theater."

Following a 5-0 vote, the Chicago-based Northern Trust was given management of half of the state's $7.3 billion worth of passive investments, with BlackRock still holding on to the other half. BlackRock will continue to be the manager of the state's active investments, which total out to around $40 billion, and are used for state pension funds and college savings plans.

Gail Werner-Robinson, who chairs the Investment Council, said the change in management was related to the eight-member panel's concerns about ESG, but added that she has been uncomfortable for a time with BlackRock's management of all of the state's investments. Michael Walden-Newman, however, the state investment officer, said the change in banks was not prompted by ESG policies, but rather because Northern Trust offered better rates.

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OPS BOARD ADOPTS GOALS FOR INTERM SUPERINTENDENT MATT RAY

OMAHA- During the OPS Board's Thursday meeting, a list of goals for the 2023-2024 school year were outlined and presented to interim Superintendent Matt Ray, who is leading the school district during the search for a permanent superintendent. Ray will be evaluated twice during his term on the three main goals outlined by the Board: academics, staff retention and recruitment, and student attendance.

Each goal was given a specific definition of what the Board would see a "acceptable" or "exceptional" work by Ray. "The goal evaluation matches what our board has done in previous years," said Ricky Smith, the board's vice president. Smith went on to say that the first goal was crafted by Ray himself, as he wanted to focus specifically on making sure the district completes a widespread implementation of quality instruction.

The second goal was created by the school board accountability committee, and is attempting to ensure that OPS develops a pipeline of teachers so that 95% of teaching positions are filled by August 1st of 2024. Ray's performance, as laid out by the Board, will be deemed successful if he can ensure that at least 50% of the district's student teachers sign a contract after nine months of teaching, and if he is able to increase engagement in providing pathways to for educators to begin teaching at certain OPS high schools.

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NEBRASKA'S PAID SICK LEAVE CAMPAIGN RAISES OVER $1.3 MILLION IN FIRST TWO MONTHS

LINCOLN- A petition drive seeking to require all Nebraska businesses to provide a minimum amount of paid sick leave to their employees has surpassed $1 million in contributions in just over two months. Since it's launch in July, Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans, the organization seeking to place this issue on the 2024 general election ballot, has raised just over $1.3 million, and has already spent roughly $1.2 million on pay for petition staff and advertising.

That amount raised is far more than contributions gathered by other active ballot initiative groups working on the same timeline. A petition to legalize medical marijuana, for example, has raised just over $32,000, and another seeking to replace state and local taxes with a consumption tax has garnered around $68,000 in contributions. Jo Giles, who heads the sick leave campaign and is also executive director of the Women's Fund of Omaha, sees this amount of money as a sign that Nebraskans want change in paid sick leave policies.

Most of the funding for the campaign came from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a national organization that supports efforts to promote "economic equity, affordable health care, climate solutions, racial justice, voter access, and other essential social-change goals." They contributed $1.2 million to the paid sick leave campaign. Other contributors include local groups, like the Nebraska Appleseed Action Fund, the Women's Fund of Omaha, and the ACLU of Nebraska.

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LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATE ANNOUNCES RUN. NOW HE NEEDS TO MOVE INTO THE DISTRICT.

LINCOLN- Now three weeks ago, Jacob Wolff announced his candidacy for the District 23 seat in the Nebraska Legislature. One of his first goals will be to move into the east-central Nebraska district, which spans Saunders and Colfax Counties and most of Butler County. Legislative observers say they can’t recall an instance where a legislative candidate announced a run but didn’t live in the district.

It is not illegal — the State Constitution requires a candidate to reside in a legislative district at least one year before they are elected. But questions about a candidate’s residency have raised eyebrows in the past. Wolff, who is registered to vote in Omaha, said he has always intended to move to a rural area and is negotiating on a commercial/residential property near Wahoo, which is in District 23.

Wolff, a graduate of Omaha Roncalli High School, just completed a five-year stint as an officer in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps. He said new naval assignments delayed his return home and a search for a residence. “Additionally, the complexities of the commercial/residential purchase have taken more time than we wanted, but we are patient and hopeful,” Wolff said. Wolff is a registered nonpartisan is planning on switching his registration to Republican.

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OMAHA MAYOR ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER ON GUNS AFTER COUNCIL STRIKES LOCAL ORDINANCES

OMAHA- Just hours after the Omaha City Council repealed or amended a slew of gun ordinances to comply with a new Nebraska law that allows for the permitless concealed carry of firearms, Mayor Jean Stothert issued an executive order prohibiting people from carrying firearms while on city-owned property. Signs will be posted on these properties beginning next week.

Law enforcement personnel, trained security, and people who receive prior approval from Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer will be exempt from the order. Stother's order goes into effect on Saturday. On Tuesday, the Omaha City Council unanimously voted to repeal 22 gun ordinances and amend eight others as a result of the new law, which also goes into effect on Saturday.

City Council President Pete Festersen said Wednesday that he supports the Mayor's order. "Anything we can do to keep our public places safe and secure, we should be doing," he said, "In addition to the executive order, I'm also pushing additional measures we can adopt through ordinance." Festersen said he's considering regulating ghost guns and high-capacity accessories, as well as further protecting public spaces.

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NEBRASKA GOV. PILLEN ENACTS SECOND GOVERNOR-LED 'WOMEN'S BILL OF RIGHTS'

LINCOLN- On Wednesday, Gov. Pillen announced the implementation of a new executive order, which will establish a 'Women's Bill of Rights.' The order specifically defines a person's 'sex' as either male or female at birth, and applies to the executive branch, state agencies, boards, and commissions in Nebraska. A female, according to the order, is defined as someone whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce an ova, and a male is said to be someone whose reproductive system fertilizes an ova.

The order also provides specific definitions for woman, girl, man, boy, mother, and father. "It is common sense that men do not belong in women's only spaces," Pillen wrote in a statement announcing the order, "As Governor, it is my duty to protect our kids and women's athletics, which means providing single-sex spaces for women's sports, bathrooms, and changing rooms." An executive order does not carry the weight of a legislative bill or judicial ruling, but does provide guidance to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is expected to create the specific standards for LB574, a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors.

State Sen. Megan Hunt, who fought against LB574 this spring, said she's concerned that the order could impact Nebraska's ability to receive federal funding. "I guess that Gov. Pillen probably hates the fact that trans people would ever be protected or safe anywhere in Nebraska, but that's how it works today," she said, "And by putting this kind of messaging out, by making this part of his official policies and positions of his administration, he's putting funding for those services in danger in Nebraska."

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NEBRASKA GOVERNOR'S OFFICES TEMPORARILY RELOCATING DURING CAPITOL CONSTRUCTION

LINCOLN- Soon, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly, and other executive branch personnel will be moving from the State Capitol building as a result of increased construction. The move comes as a part of phase four of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning upgrades planned for the Capitol, which was focused on different quadrants in the building. Now, it's time for offices on the first and second floors on the northeast side of the building to move, which includes executive offices.

Pillen, Kelly, and their executive personnel will move to 1526 K Street, just on block north of the Capitol. "We knew the time would come when we would have to vacate the Capitol," said Pillen in a statement, "I love the history and the architecture and being able to point out all the unique features to guests and visitors. We will be displaced for a while, but the Capitol Commission will be working diligently to return our offices to working order as quickly as possible."

The governor's reception area and hearing room are also set to close, but his budget, policy, and research offices will be moved to the 11th, 12th, and 13th floors of the Capitol. Phase four of construction is expected to last through November 2024. "The objective is to get the work done on that wing as quickly as possible, so the Governor and his staff are not displaced for very long," said Brett Dougherty, acting administrator of the Capitol Commission.

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