Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 67
Wait, what? Governor Jim Pillen has reversed his opposition to a federal summer grocery program that would aid around 150,000 children of low-income families. Pillen succumbed to a lot of outside pressure from a bipartisan group of state lawmakers, a bill introduced by one of them to request the aid and another state senator who made it his priority to ensure it would be debated in the remaining days of the legislative session. Back in December he proclaimed that he didn't "believe in welfare."...
Kathy Mesner has a word for the potential fallout from a property valuation dispute in Lancaster County. Catastrophic. "I don't think it's too much to say it may be catastrophic not only in terms of bankrupting projects ... but displacing all these low-income households across the state," said Mesner, an attorney and president of Central City-based Mesner Development Co. In the past year, a narrow disagreement on how to value 21 Lincoln-area properties has morphed into a court fight over a...
Before he took office, Gov. Jim Pillen joked about phone conversations being exempt from public disclosure. Now, his administration has taken what seems to be an unprecedented step to shield the governor’s communications. Pillen’s staff denied the “Flatwater Free Press” access to four emails the governor sent, in part citing “executive privilege” – a phrase absent from Nebraska’s public records laws. A half-dozen former and current officials and advocates who spoke to the “Flatwater Free Press” couldn’t recall any other Nebraska governors who i...
The Legislature adjourned shortly after Memorial Day, but my duties as your representative continue at a fast pace. In the interim between the adjournment of the previous session and the convening of the next session, senators remain hard at work serving on special and select committees, studying subjects of local importance and addressing issues brought forward by constituents. During the session, I was appointed to serve on the LR178 Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Select Committee with six of...
In a letter dated June 16, the group, led by Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, urged Xavier Becerra, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to drop a proposed modification of HIPAA’s Privacy Rule. The change would prohibit the use and disclosure of protected health information — including reproductive health — “for a criminal, civil or administrative investigation or proceedings” against those who lawfully provided care, such as across state lines. The attorneys general wrote that the Biden administr...
I am curious as to what ever happened to scruples in public life. Anybody know? You remember scruples: Stand-up people, the do-the-right-thing-regardless crowd? Maybe my naivete is showing, but I swear scruples used to be a thing. They - or lack of them - came to mind when I read that Italian authorities found the young British tourist who carved "Ivan +Haley 23" into the wall of Rome's 2,000-year-old Colosseum. Pro tip, Ivan: Love may conquer all, make the world go round and find a way, but eve...
Seward County routinely seizes money from motorists on Interstate 80, keeps the cash – and never convicts the drivers of a crime. The county's sheriff's department and county attorney use this practice, known as civil asset forfeiture, so often that a third of all cases of this kind in Nebraska state courts come from Seward County, population 17,962, a Flatwater Free Press analysis of court records shows. The county has hauled in $7.5 million in forfeited cash in the past five years, some of i...
The Nebraska Court of Appeals has affirmed the Honorable Mark Johnson’s denial of Darryl Lierman’s latest motion for postconviction relief, according to Antelope County attorney Joe Smith. Nebraska Court of Appeals judges, the Honorable Francie Reidmann, the Honorable Riko Bishop and the Honorable Lawrence Welch rendered their opinion May 16. Lierman was represented by Michael Moyer of Madison, while Nebraska Attorney General Michael Hilger and Matthew Lewis served as counsel for the State of Nebraska. Lierman claimed his trial counsel was ine...
The Nebraska Supreme Court listened to arguments in two cases, April 27, in O'Neill, as part of Law Day. Twenty-six Summerland students, along with sponsors Dan Roeber and Patty Sukup, got a first-hand look at how the court operates. Upon arrival at O'Neill High School, students went through a security check, conducted by the Nebraska State Patrol. Judge Kale Burdick explained what students would witness. After introduction of the justices, the court listened to two arguments, with lawyers...
Many major issues were debated this past week in the Legislature, with LB 626 and LB 574 being the two most highly-contested bills considered by senators. LB 626 would adopt the Nebraska Heartbeat Act and restrict abortion to when a fetal heartbeat is first detected, thereby reducing the current 20-week abortion time window to about six weeks. This bill includes exceptions for rape, incest, sexual assault, medical emergencies (such as ectopic pregnancies and the removal of the remains of an...
It has been 35 years since members of the Nebraska Legislature had a pay raise and 17 years since term limits took effect. If lawmakers are wondering why, they simply need to check the actions of some of their colleagues. Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh told fellow senators and a TV audience she was “going to be mean” because a fellow Omaha senator introduced a bill, restricting transgender surgery, she doesn’t like. But it’s not just the one anti-transgender bill she doesn’t like, she’s going to oppose every one of that senator’s proposals. No...
We are now past the one-third mark of this 90-day legislative session but still have a great deal of work to do. The various standing committees are busy holding public hearings on the 820 bills and 22 substantive resolutions that were introduced in January. We have around four more weeks of hearings yet to go. Thus far, two of my bills have been presented before committees. The week began with Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican delivering the State of the Judiciary address...
I'd like to introduce myself. I am Senator Barry DeKay, newly elected to represent District 40 in the Nebraska Legislature. District 40 consists of Antelope, Cedar, Dixon, Holt, Knox and Pierce counties. I am a lifelong resident of rural Niobrara, a fourth-generation rancher and a longtime high school basketball referee. My wife Brenda and I have two children. I am honored to serve the residents of northeast Nebraska in the Legislature. The 108th Legislature began Jan. 4. Thirteen newly-elected...
Darryl Lierman, 55, who is serving what could be called a life sentence at the Nebraska Department of Corrections penitentiary in Tecumseh for the sexual assault and abuse of his adopted daughter, was back in the Neligh courtroom last Wednesday, June 29. The Honorable Mark Johnson, earlier in June, ordered Lierman be transported to the Antelope County Jail the previous day and returned to Tecumseh after the hearing. Lierman sat in front of the Antelope County District Court judge with his court-appointed attorney, Mike Moyer of Madison, asking...
This past weekend is a blur. After wrapping up last week’s paper and making sure everything was organized for the rodeo, Scott and I headed north, to Fargo, where I was a finalist (and eventually named the winner) of the National Federation of Press Women’s Communicator of Achievement. We decided to take the less-traveled path and support small-town businesses. Word to the wise: call ahead, especially if you need to make a reservation. After driving around a South Dakota town for 20 min...
Is it good or bad that between 40 and 50% of voters turned out for the May primary election? While the number seems above average for a mid-term election, it’s still concerning that more than half of our state’s residents did not vote. When you consider options voters have to check the box before or on election day, whether via an early-voting ballot or at the poll, the number is disheartening. According to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office, 396,000 Nebraskans voted. Overall, that...
The 107th Legislature, second session, has adjourned sine die. The last day was filled with last-minute items, the governor’s closing speech and ceremonial procedures. The 13 senators who won’t be back in January, either due to term limits or deciding not to seek a second term, were recognized. Although I won’t be running for another term, I will miss my colleagues and am thankful for being given the chance to serve with them in representing the State of Nebraska. When I ran for office, my pr...
Many major issues were dealt with this past week in the Legislature, with the most significant being the passage of LB 873. When fully implemented, LB 873 will result in almost $900 million in annual tax relief. The legislation sets a floor for the refundable income tax credit of $548 million in 2022 and $560.7 million in 2023. This guarantees an approximate 25% refund for property taxes paid to school districts. Additionally, a similar income tax credit will be implemented for property taxes pa...
In 2011, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services wrote a bill that would allow well-behaved prisoners the chance to shorten their time behind bars. Eleven years later, that same department is applying the resulting law in a way neither the state senator who sponsored the bill nor the then-director of Nebraska’s prisons intended. Prison officials now shorten a prisoner’s final release date, but never change the day that prisoner becomes eligible for parole. The result: Thousands of prisoners sentenced under the law have potentially sta...
The Legislature spent four hours this past week debating LB 906, which focuses on employer vaccine mandates. As amended by Health and Human Services Committee amendments, LB 906 would apply to businesses with one or more employees but would only pertain to the COVID-19 vaccine. LB 906 clarifies that if an employer requires employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, an exemption to the mandate is allowed for a medical reason, accompanied by a signed statement from their health care...
As the U.S. Supreme Court considers the fate of Roe v. Wade, Nebraska lawmakers will face a range of abortion bills that will either restrict or expand abortion access. Sen. Julie Slama of Sterling introduced LB781 — the Heartbeat Act — on Jan. 5, which is one of three anti-abortion related bills introduced in the Nebraska Legislature in January. Sandy Danek, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, said she also is a part of the Nebraska Catholic Conference and Nebraska Family Alliance. The three organizations work in a coalition to lobby...
Tyler J. Napier, 33, who was sentenced Dec. 22, 2021, to concurrent 24-month and 12-month terms in prison by the Honorable Mark Johnson, was back in the Antelope County district courtroom last Wednesday, Jan. 26, accompanied by his court-appointed attorney, Martin Klein of Neligh. Notice of appeal was filed Jan. 13 by Klein and accepted by the Nebraska Court of Appeals/Nebraska Supreme Court. In appeal filings, Napier asserted the sentencing was excessive. Johnson denied Napier’s request to suspend sentence and release him on bond during the a...
The Legislature successfully concluded the special session called to enact legislation pertaining to redistricting on Thursday, Sept. 30. Based on the 2020 census data, new boundary lines were drawn for Congress, the Legislature, the Supreme Court, the Public Service Commission, the State Board of Education and the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. After a contentious start, senators agreed to compromise on redistricting maps for Congress and the Legislature. All six bills were given...
The special session of the Nebraska Legislature began Monday, Sept. 13, for the sole purpose of redistricting, along with various confirmations of gubernatorial appointments. The nine-member redistricting committee, of which I am a member, has been hard at work for several weeks prior to the session. The redistricting committee was tasked with drawing up several district maps, including, US Congress, Nebraska Legislature, State Supreme Court, Public Service Commission, University of Nebraska Boa...
The question of whether Nebraska should legalize medical marijuana will be debated by the Legislature this year. LB 474, the Medicinal Cannabis Act, was advanced this past week from the Judiciary Committee on a 5-2-1 vote. It has been prioritized by Senator Anna Wishart, the primary sponsor of LB 474. The bill, 62 pages in length, provides the regulatory framework to establish access to cannabis for medical purposes. It limits the allowable amount of cannabis, requires a patient to have a bona...
