Humanities Desk

A meeting of the Coordinating Council for the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties provided an opportunity for supporters and opponents to discuss critical race theory

For the first time in more than twenty years the historic Carillon bells of First Plymouth Congregational Church in Lincoln have fallen silent.

Nebraska Public Media News has more on the bells and the woman who plays them.

A new report argues the Midwest is much more welcoming to certain types of immigrants than stereotypes -- or political rhetoric -- suggests.

Heartland Forward, an Arkansas-based think tank, says demographic shifts will soon turn the heartland, which the organization defines as the 20 states between the Rockies and the Appalachians, into a truly global place with a mix of cultures.

“Some might refer to it as a flyover country,” Heartland’s CEO Ross DeVol said, “but if it were a separate country it would be the third largest economy in the world.”

The students will meet everyday until Wednesday. They will debate bills that were brought up during the latest legislative session. Committee hearing rooms at the state capitol are the main sites of debate. Many of the students are interested in continue on a path in politics.

Nebraska has a youth poet laureate from Lincoln East High School. Nebraska Public Media News talks more about the poet’s life and art.

There was a golfing clinic and tournament near Omaha on Thursday morning. Visually impaired and blind people were given the opportunity to learn the game. They practiced putting, chipping, and went to the driving range.

Aubrey Trail is headed for Nebraska’s Death Row. A three-judge panel in Saline County determined Trail should die by Lethal injection. The 54-year-old was convicted of first-degree murder. He and his girlfriend Baily Boswell lured 24-year-old Sydney Loofe to their apartment in Wilber in 2019 where they killed and dismembered the woman. Lauren Dietrich With Nebraska Public Media reports from the Saline County Courhouse.

Three years after Sydney Loofe’s murder, Aubrey Trail said he wanted to tell the truth. Brought to court in a wheelchair, Trail asked Judge Vicky Johnson for an opportunity to speak to the family of the woman he murdered.

He said Loofe had never willingly been involved in any of the sexual escapades Trail claimed to have been involved with during multiple, contradictory confessions. Trail says nearly everything he said in previous cases was a lie.

After missing in action for over 70 years, a soldier killed during World War II will finally rest in his hometown in Giltner, in south central Nebraska.The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency was able to identify the soldier through DNA testing in February.

Regulated Bare Knuckle Boxing and Kickboxing matches can now be held in Nebraska alongside mixed Martial Martial Arts and other combat sports. Nebraska Public Media takes a behind the scenes look at the people who led the push to bring the sports to the Cornhusker State

Virtually everyone in Nebraska drives a car to get around, but what about the refugees who didn’t grow up behind the wheel, who now have to learn how to drive, but can’t even speak English? Juniper Refuge, a small non-profit in Lincoln, is teaching women refugees how to drive, but also build lasting friendships.