Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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This past week, the Legislature continued to hold public hearings on bills. Three bills by Sen. Kauth, relating to social issues, garnered significant interest from across the state. LB730 would require schools and state agencies to designate restrooms and locker rooms based on sex. LB731 would adopt the Gender Transition Malpractice Accountability Act and allow for civil actions relating to gender-altering procedures. LB732 would prohibit health care practitioners from providing cross-sex...
Dr. Karissa Niehoff, Chief Executive Officer of the NFHS Jennifer Schwartz, Executive Director of the Nebraska School Activities Association High school sports is experiencing record participation. It is also experiencing unprecedented pressure. Across the country, young athletes are training earlier, competing year-round and navigating expectations shaped by a rapidly expanding youth sports economy. For many families, athletics now feel like increasingly high stakes. High school sports operate differently—by design. They exist within s...
Tom Osborne for the Nebraska Hall of Fame? Sign me up. But maybe it's worth spending a bit of time considering the rules for induction into the state's most prestigious honor. They aren't very good. First off, a person must have been dead for 35 years before they can be considered. That always made me wonder, will people remember how big a deal night-show host Johnny Carson, of Norfolk, was? He was the undisputed "King of Late Night" who regularly reminded us that he was from Nebraska. Heck,...
Scroll through social media - any platforms - and you’ll see artificial intelligence-generated photos and videos. While elements of AI products may make it difficult to differentiate between what’s real and what’s not, the rapid rollout of deepfakes makes the line between fact from fiction a blurry mess. Case in point: A person from my hometown posted multiple pieces of AI-generated media on the book of faces over the weekend. So many, in fact, that I snoozed her for 30 days, all the while...
This past week, the Legislature concluded bill introduction for the year and began the committee hearing process. In Nebraska, all bills and constitutional amendment resolutions are referred to a legislative committee for a public hearing. Senators will continue to meet in the mornings for floor debate and attend committee hearings in the afternoons until the end of February. Full-day floor debate is tentatively scheduled to begin on March 3. So far this year, I introduced 15 bills and one...
It's one thing to try and cut out shenanigans in state government and another if you're part of it. Gov. Jim Pillen's recent "State of the State" address laid out plenty of goals to cut out funny business in state government, from ending frivolous lawsuits to reversing tax breaks for special interests. But not mentioned was a sizable, no-bid contract the governor approved in 2024 for a lobbyist he was well acquainted with, via overseas trade missions and events in Nebraska. State Auditor Mike...
I’ve been thinking a lot about hands-on education. Recently, I read an article from the Daily Yonder, which focuses on stories from rural America, highlighting a newspaper in Wisconsin - the Pulaski News - which has been a student-run community newspaper for 80 years. When the former owner decided to halt publication, the local school superintendent opted to keep the newspaper operational by having students deliver the news. The journalism teacher serves as the editor-in-chief. Students r...
Across Nebraska and the country, lawmakers are gathering in their state capitols and Washington, D.C. to begin another year of debating and passing legislation. The democratic process is something America prides itself on and one that requires input to thrive. While the process for public contributions varies by state, one commonality exists-lawmakers need to hear directly from their constituents on issues that are important to them. How can you make sure your voice is heard? Whether you're...
The Nebraska State Education Association strongly opposes Gov. Jim Pillen’s plan to include $7 million for a private school voucher program within the Nebraska Department of Labor’s budget. At a time when Nebraska’s budget is under intense scrutiny and lawmakers are weighing cuts to essential services, this proposal raises serious concerns about misplaced priorities and a lack of respect for voters’ clear rejection of voucher schemes. “Despite sending a very clear message at the ballot box in the last election, the governor has decided y...
As a reporter, you cover all kinds of stories. Stories about natural disasters, murders, grandmas who collect cookie jars and good samaritans. But it's the stories about fraud that make you scratch your head the most. What drives people, usually already prosperous people, to steal from their local sports club, collections for a sick person, or the town treasury? And, of course, there's all those scams on the internet. Often, the stealing is done by someone who appeared trustworthy and honest....
What if the world we are experiencing is actually a parallel universe, and we’re living in a different universe, watching and learning from situations on plane one and instituting - or denying - change on plane two? Kind of like Quantum Leap. As long as I’m using television shows as a reference point ... If we’re living in a plot line from “Stranger Things,” we need to seal the rift between the real world and the Upside Down. The demagorgons need to be defeated and the Mind Flayer must stop attacking people. If you know, you know. My heart and...
The second session of the 109th Legislature convened this past Wednesday, Jan. 7. Legislative sessions in even-numbered years last for just 60 days. Due to the shorter length of this session compared to last year, a good number of the bills introduced this year will likely not get to the floor or be debated due to a lack of time. Nonetheless, there is much work that needs to be done. This week, I would like to give a preview of three of the many issues that I anticipate the Legislature will be debating: the state budget, taxes, and...
The first time I walked into the State Capitol, I wondered "what is making all these people walk like Olympic racers down these halls?" I almost got run over by some walkers; the new guy needed to get out of the way. To be sure, the Capitol hallways extend in a square, making them ideal for a quick walk around the square for exercise or just to clear the brain. And if you hang around the Capitol long enough, you realize that people who work there – either as staffers or elected officials – nee...
One goal for 2026: Read more books. I finished three (gasp!) in 2025. That’s a far cry from the 50 to 60 books I read annually during my teaching years. My reading days began dwindling when I started working at the newspaper in 2013. The upside: I read a lot more newspapers and professional articles related to the media industry. I miss reading. I miss finding myself immersed in setting and characters and plot lines. I miss whodunits and true crime novels, my favorite genre, which began years a...
As the new year gets underway, consumers are encountering a rise in scams that exploit job seekers, financial pressures, and seasonal challenges. Fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated tactics to steal personal information and money. Here are some practical steps to help protect yourself and your loved ones from these growing threats. Fake Jobs, Real Losses: If your New Year’s resolutions include finding a new job, work-from-home opportunities may sound appealing. While many remote positions are legitimate, some aren’t what they app...
A former Nebraska state senator, once again, is calling on the United States to do more to help Ukraine win its war with Russia. Tom Brewer, who served in the Legislature from 2017 to 2025 and earned two Purple Hearts during 36 years in the military, recently made his eighth trip to the front in Ukraine. The trips have been part of Brewer's personal crusade to show support for that war-torn country, and to help Americans realize that stopping Russia from overtaking Ukraine is a stand for...
To borrow a line from “Seasons of Love” from Rent, “How do measure, measure a year?” The next verse of the song seems pretty accurate for a journalist: “In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee (or tea in my case), in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In 525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year in the life.” In the case of SAM, how do you measure which story or articles written throughout the year were simply the best? Should website page views be the determining...
Three thoughts ... Among the tasks waiting for the Nebraska Legislature when it reassembles after the first of the year will be a budget shortfall, the perennial pitch for lower property taxes and a roster of issues from education to fulfilling the wishes of the electorate ... finally. State senators also will be dealing with a couple personnel issues during the 60-day session, a pair of stinkers that have already occupied a considerable amount of time not simply for lawmakers but for the...
When did dinosaurs and aliens become Christmas decorations? I ask because I'm kind of stunned (my natural condition) at some of the strange, weird and downright odd things you see in people's yards this time of year. A lime-green Santa-saurus in our neighborhood caught my eye, and somewhere, I've seen a Santa alien wishing "humans" a Merry Christmas. Just today, I drove by a place that featured an inflatable Santa riding a motorboat in the front yard. (Maybe I missed a line in " 'Twas a Night...
After writing news articles for the past dozen years, it felt good to flex my creative writing skills and create the story on the front page of this week’s edition. When I taught, I spent considerable time fine-tuning my creative writing craft alongside my students. My preferred genre: poetry, although I did begin a young adult novel during that time. Some may think writing is writing. While the process remains the same, creative writing taps a different part of the brain, pulls from d...
The Nebraska Public Service Commission is a five-member elected board responsible for oversight of several essential infrastructure sectors and services affecting all Nebraskans. The Commission’s jurisdiction includes broadband and telecommunications, the statewide 911 system contract, natural gas regulation and pipeline routing, railroad safety, commercial grain storage, commercial ground transportation, and modular and manufactured housing safety. This winter quarter has been active across a...
No matter your opinion of immigrants, I think we can agree on one thing – having a federal detention center in Nebraska is not a good look for our state. The opening of the “Cornhusker Clink” illustrates that Nebraska is in full-throated agreement with the roundup and deportation of those who came to our country in search of a better life but in violation of immigration rules. There’s growing opposition to the sometimes brutal roundups organized by mask-wearing agents of the Trump Adminis...
Heartbroken. Almost 24 hours have passed since Husker volleyball’s season ended a week earlier than hoped for. I still feel the sting today, especially for the players and coaches who dedicate their time and talents to our state’s cherished treasure. On any given day, an undefeated team may lose. The loss hurts -- it requires peeking into windows dotted with unanswered questions -- but it does not diminish the spark and grit we fans have witnessed throughout the season. I’ve listened to comme...
So much for cutting federal spending. Just recently, President Trump announced a new $12 billion payout to American farmers. It's not a reward for great work – farmers produced another record crop this year. No, it's a bailout for a failed tariff war with China, that largest customer for our agricultural crops. President Trump loves tariffs, no doubt about that, despite the fact that when you place an additional tax on foreign goods, it gets passed on eventually to us at the cash register. B...
A U.S. Department of Agriculture program is helping rural communities with resources for feasibility studies, preliminary design, and technical assistance on proposed water and waste disposal projects. USDA Rural Development’s Special Evaluation Assistance for Rural Communities and Households (SEARCH) program was designed for communities in rural areas of 2,500 or less with limited financial resources. By covering predevelopment costs, the program ensures that communities aren’t left behind simply because they can’t afford the first steps...
