Humanities Desk

It has 77 students already signed up for its creative arts courses. 52 seniors and 25 juniors for the next school year have applied for the two-hour per day early career opportunity. LPS said it will choose 50 names at random for each grade.

Is it possible that COVID-19 cases in Nebraska have peaked? According to CDC data, COVID cases for the whole state are down nearly 12% since mid-January. UNMC’s Dr. James Lawler said that depends on what part of the state you’re asking about.

The Nebraska Public Power District agreed to pay $2.5 Million to the family of Kenny Angel. He died when Spencer Dam on the Niobrara River collapsed and flooded the family's property in March 2019.
In their lawsuit, filed in Holt County District Court, the family blamed his death on the negligence of NPPD and the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources in failing to maintain the 93-year-old structure and failing to warn the public about the risk the dam posed the community.

In 2017, University of Nebraska Lincoln Political Science Professor Kevin Smith co-authored a study that asked a random sample of 800 people whether politics was a significant stressor in their lives. Categories covered physical health, mental health, regretted behavior, and social and lifestyle costs. For about 40% of respondents, the answer was yes. Last year, Smith issued the survey again to a different group of people, two weeks before and two weeks after the 2020 election, to see how things have changed. And he found, for the most part, people are as stressed out as ever about politics. Professor Smith joins me now to talk more about the study.

Nebraska hospitals are feeling the brunt of omicron right now, and the situation may look grim even after the state’s peak. "We're still in for a long haul here in terms of caring for Nebraskans in our hospitals," said Jeremy Nordquist, the president of the Nebraska Hospital Association. COVID hospitalizations tend to lag behind the cases. Whenever cases start to slow down, hospitals will remain busier in the weeks after.

Irvin Joseph Brown, 89, doesn’t have any known relatives or family. He was deployed in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines. Later in life, he worked as a postman for 15 years before retiring in 1987.

100-year Questions Still Simmer Around Proposed Perkins Co. Canal

The 7-day average of 4,400 has never been higher at any point of the pandemic as omicron continues it’s spread. According to CDC data, cases are up 108% in the last two weeks. As the latest variant arrived in Nebraska later than more populous areas of the country, it will take longer for Nebraska to reach its peak level of spread.

The Grand Theatre in Downtown Lincoln will run two shows in theatres reserved for people who have been vaccinated. Showing a vaccination card and a photo I.D. will be required to enter.

The new report by state epidemiologist Matt Donahue and his team also concluded that boosted Nebraskans were 46 times less likely to be hospitalized compared to those unvaccinated. Those fully vaccinated – without a booster – were 11 times less likely to find themselves in a packed medical center.