Humanities Desk

Nebraska could rejoin the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Compact under a bill discussed in the Legislature. The compact is made up of appointed government officials from eight member states that advocate for passenger rail projects and funding. Nebraska first joined the group in 2001 but left in 2018 due to concerns with the cost of membership and limited returns.

A group of Elkhorn residents are hoping to start an orchestra program in the local school district. They plan to speak to the Elkhorn Public Schools Board of Education Monday night.

The Nebraska Department of Education provided an update at Friday's State Board of Education meeting that national conversations have not yet impacted the state education department. NDE Commissioner Brian Maher also spoke about the state of mental health training funds that failed to be approved last month.

Where parents can surrender their infants without facing legal consequences would expand under a bill heard at the Nebraska Legislature Thursday. Currently, the Nebraska Safe Haven Law allows parents to drop off infants younger than 90 days old to staff at any hospital, fire station or police station monitored 24 hours a day.

Eighteen-year-old Joe Burgess ran for a seat on his county board and won. Burgess represents 3,000 people in District 5 of York County from his dorm room at UNL.

Two recently opened music venues are hoping to change the narrative that Omaha is flyover country for traveling bands. The Astro in La Vista, and the Steelhouse Omaha were created to help fill a void that Omaha had when it came to upper-midsized venues.

Friends and family gathered inside Ralston Arena to remember the life of fallen State Trooper Kyle McAcy on Thursday. McAcy died while on duty last Monday, Feb. 17. He was struck by a snowplow while helping people involved in a traffic crash on Interstate-80.

Federal efforts to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion, or D-E-I has affected the way schools teach Black History Month. It’s putting additional pressure on educators, who are finding themselves in the middle of the conversation.

All Nebraska public and private school students could have free lunches under a proposal heard Tuesday evening at the state capitol. Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh’s Hunger-Free Schools Act would require schools to offer free lunches to students regardless of their federal free or reduced lunch eligibility. The state would reimburse schools to offset the cost of the new requirement.

University of Nebraska Board of Regents policies outlining diversity initiatives in hiring, admissions and scholarships are on the chopping block. This comes after the U.S. Department of Education required schools to stop diversity policies or risk losing federal funding.