Humanities Desk

A few years ago, the Otoe-Missouria Tribe was welcomed back to their ancestral lands in Nebraska. A new milestone being unveiled Saturday (4/26) hopes to continue that reconciliation.

An old saying says March often “comes in like a lion.” But this March was more like a huffing and puffing wolf, blowing a lot of stuff down. March is known to be windy in Nebraska – typically the second-windiest month on average behind April, according to National Weather Service. In fact, March 2025 set some of the windiest and costliest records in Nebraska history, continuing an escalating trend of expensive and damaging weather in Nebraska.

The effort to regulate medical marijuana in Nebraska faced a setback Thursday afternoon in the Unicameral. The Legislature’s General Affairs Committee voted 5 to 3 against advancing a bill meant to regulate medical cannabis. More than two-thirds of Nebraskans voted in favor of legalizing medical marijuana through an initiative in November’s election.

A lifesaving program started in Virginia in 1999 continues to help find lost autistic children in Nebraska. Project LifeSaver is designed to help protect children with a tendency to wander. Lincoln businessman Dan Young and retired Lincoln Police Officer Todd Beam are responsible for spreading the program across Nebraska.

More than 500 measles cases and two deaths have been reported in Texas this year, and the outbreak is spreading to other parts of the country. As of Friday, Nebraska does not have any reported cases, but neighboring states Kansas and Colorado do. At a press conference Friday afternoon, Gov. Jim Pillen said the virus’ arrival in Nebraska is not a matter of if, but when.

This Saturday, vinyl fans will be lining up outside their favorite music shop and celebrating Record Store Day- a day when people support their local record store, while also buying limited release records.

April 1975, as the Vietnam War was ending, President Ford authorized Operation Babylift where thousands of Vietnamese children were flown out of the country to be adopted in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Florida. At refueling stops at Hickam Air Force Base near Honolulu Nebraska native Gwen Phalen helped care for infants. She recorded a letter April 8, 1975 to her grandmother in Orleans, Nebraska recounting the experience.

President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to enact a minimum of 10 percent tariffs on all foreign goods. Many countries, including China, India and Japan, will face tariffs more than double that. John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, says the move will make it harder to find new markets for the state’s agricultural goods while hurting existing export markets.

Humanities Nebraska received news late Wednesday night that a little over 40% of their budget is being cut. This cut comes from a total termination of the money coming from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Hospitals’ access to a federal drug discount program will be strengthened under a bill passed in the Nebraska Legislature Thursday. The 340B program requires drug companies to provide discounts to certain hospitals in exchange for their participation in Medicare and Medicaid. In recent years, some drug companies have placed data reporting requirements on hospitals and restricted which pharmacies they can use to distribute the discounted drugs. A bill from Sen. Brian Hardin prohibits these restrictions.