Humanities Desk

A continuing resolution Congress passed to keep the government from shutting down also dried up funding for several water projects in Nebraska. That includes more than $8 million for a pipeline connecting the Santee Sioux Reservation in northeast Nebraska with clean drinking water – something the tribe hasn’t had in nearly 6 years. Tribal vice chairman Kameron Runnels says the setback is frustrating, but he has faith that the project will eventually be funded.

Brand inspectors have been ensuring the ownership of cattle at ranches and feedlots in the parts of Nebraska for more than 100 years. Now, a bill in the Unicameral seeks to exempt feedlots from paying for this inspection. Nebraska Public Media’s Brian Beach visited southwest Nebraska to learn why ranchers and beef producers are passionate about the legislation.

A legislative proposal to give all Nebraska counties the option to conduct elections entirely by mail was discussed Wednesday/this afternoon. Currently, only counties with populations under 10,000 can apply to the Secretary of State to mail ballots to all registered voters. In the last general election, 11 of the state’s 67 eligible counties did just that. In most counties, voters must request an absentee ballot to vote by mail.

Congressman Mike Flood was greeted with a relatively hostile crowd at his town hall in Columbus Tuesday evening. Flood represents Nebraska’s First Congressional District, which includes Columbus, Lincoln and Norfolk. Attendees booed references to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The biggest applause of the night came when Flood expressed his support for funding Ukraine.

Nebraska universities would be able to pay athletes name, image and likeness compensation directly under a bill heard Monday afternoon in a legislative committee. Last year, former college athletes brought a case against the NCAA claiming that it unfairly restricted them from profiting from NIL. The NCAA agreed to a nearly $3 billion settlement, allowing universities to pay current and former athletes the money they may have missed out on. But current Nebraska law prohibits universities from directly paying NIL compensation to athletes.

The Legislature’s Revenue Committee considered proposals to end taxes on tips and overtime pay. During a hearing Friday afternoon, Sen. Danielle Conrad said she introduced the bills to show her support for working families. She acknowledged opposition to the policies from both left and right-leaning think tanks, but she said the policies have majority support from both parties according to polling.

Under a bill from Sen. Merv Riepe, juveniles could be detained as young as 11 years old and charged as an adult as young as 12. That’s two years younger than current law allows. The bill also expands the list of crimes that make juveniles eligible for detention. Riepe said he introduced the bill to protect youth and promote community safety.

A constitutional amendment to end inheritance taxes in Nebraska was discussed in the Legislature Wednesday afternoon. Nebraska is one of five states that has inheritance taxes, and the only state where it is collected exclusively at the county level. Sen. Bob Hallstrom, who introduced the amendment, said the change would help the state be more competitive.

The U.S. Department of Education announced mass layoffs on Tuesday, cutting almost half of the department’s employees. Nebraska State Education Association officials even if they aren’t immediate, changes at the federal level can trickle down to the state education system.

A bill that would allocate funding for cybersecurity protections in schools was discussed in The Nebraska Legislature’s Education Committee Tuesday. The bill — known as the HACKER Act — would also create a state cybersecurity team.