Nebraska Update

Nebraska senators voted 27-20 in favor of overriding Gov. Jim Pillen's veto of a needle exchange bill, falling three votes short of the number needed to override.

Two Nebraska high school seniors — one in Pender and one in Lincoln — committed to the University of Nebraska under the new Presidential Scholars program. The scholarship gives a full-ride plus a $5,000 stipend for any University of Nebraska school to in-state students who score a 36 on the ACT. The university announced the program last month.

The state’s Commission on Latino -Americans is starting new projects yet facing old challenges this year. This group finds itself in a unique position as it attempts to expand its reach.

The State Board of Education voted against starting the rule change process for board member Kirk Penner’s proposal to prohibit sexually explicit materials in school libraries and remove the requirement to buy a minimum number of new books every year.

A recreation trail connecting Lincoln and Omaha continues to move through the planning process, with the Lower Platte South Natural Resource District seeking input to determine a proposed route. In 2022, the Nebraska Legislature allocated $8.3 million dollars to connect two segments of the MoPac Trail in rural Cass County. Currently, the western portion of the trail ends in the village of Wabash, while the eastern section ends near South Bend, leaving an eight-mile gap.

A filibuster in the Nebraska Legislature has blocked a proposal aimed at giving tenants a “clean slate” if eviction proceedings were started against them, but they were never evicted.

On Sept. 12, 2022, Malcolm X became the first Black man or woman voted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame. By May, a bust of Malcolm X will be inside the Nebraska State Capitol, along with 26 other Nebraskans.

Host Intro: A proposal aimed at helping Nebraskans who have faced eviction from their homes was slowed by a filibuster Wednesday in the Legislature.

A campaign to celebrate and make immigrants in the state feel welcome saw so much success last month, it’s making changes to the plan. The statewide effort will expand next year.

Doane University students are performing and producing the play "The Delays" this week. It’s the first production that faculty are only mentoring students.