Costco’s plans for a huge chicken farm north of Lincoln have been scuttled by a Lancaster County District judge. Neighbors to the facility near Raymond successfully sued to block a special use permit needed to begin construction.
The order from Lancaster District Judge Jodi Nelson denied the special zoning permit required to build a commercial feedlot on agricultural land surrounded by fast growing residential sub-divisions. The order stated the poultry barns would “more likely than not have negative effects… on health, safety, and general welfare.”

The Nebraska Legislature cut taxes and approved new spending during its 2021 session.

West Nile season is back in Nebraska – and sooner than usual, as Iowa has already reported one case. Nebraska Public Media’s Will Bauer has details.
The Douglas County Health Department, in Omaha, had planned to hold off messaging “Usually, we see our first cases in July or August, but we do know that our friends in Iowa already have a case this year. As I may have suggested earlier, we never really know what to expect, but we do know how to address it.”
That’s Douglas County Health Department spokesman Phil Rooney.
According to the CDC, about 1 in 5 people infected with West Nile develops symptoms. About 1 in 150 develops serious – and sometimes fatal – illnesses.
Rooney says to make sure to wear bug spray with DEET, a chemical that repels mosquitoes, think about long sleeves when outdoors near dusk or dawn and report standing water to the health department for treatment.
The disease is sometimes perplexing for public health officials. Three years ago, Nebraska led the nation with 251 human cases. The last two years, however, the state saw significant drops – as has the rest of the country.
Rooney 2: “So, it really is a mystery. It’s maybe where the flocks of birds fly because the birds carry it, the mosquitoes feed off them and the mosquitoes take it from birds to us. So, it really remains a mystery.”

More Nebraskans are getting COVID vaccinations and breaking free after more than a year of masking up and public health lockdowns.
Meanwhile, a Lincoln woman is still doing her part to chronicle the pandemic's ups and downs through music.
U-N-L Broadcast Journalism Professor Barney McCoy reports on Laura Deitchler's crusade to keep the music and its meaning alive for her neighbors during the pandemic.

More Nebraskans are getting COVID vaccinations and breaking free after more than a year of masking up and public health lockdowns.
Meanwhile, a Lincoln woman is still doing her part to chronicle the pandemic's ups and downs through music.
U-N-L Broadcast Journalism Professor Barney McCoy reports on Laura Deitchler's crusade to keep the music and its meaning alive for her neighbors during the pandemic.

Legislative session ends with praise, criticism

Legislature overrides vetoes, approves redistricting guidelines

If you’re tired of slow broadband internet speeds in some parts of rural Nebraska, help is on the way. Governor Pete Ricketts signed legislation Wednesday that will spend $40 million over two years to help improve rural broadband across the state.

With some companies in Nebraska’s most populous cities moving out of offices during the pandemic, some worry what will happen to the barren buildings now that life is returning to normal. But, as Nebraska Public Media’s Will Bauer reports, the vacant spaces don’t necessarily mean gloom and doom for downtowns in the state’s biggest cities.
Todd Ogden’s standing on the corner of 13th and N streets in Lincoln. There are some empty buildings in capital city’s downtown, with lease signs in windows nearby. It’s changing, he says. But’s it’s not a change that worries the head of Lincoln’s Downton Association because what’s leaving is being replaced – just in a new way.
In a post pandemic world, many businesses are reconsidering their traditional office spaces.
Real estate brokers and experts say this is a pivotal moment for the future of office and work life. A lot of companies are to be determined on the future of their physical space. And that still leaves questions about what impacts that could have on cities – and, particularly, downtown areas. If the trend continues – and many companies decide to ditch an expensive lease – what happens to a bustling downtown over lunch hour?

A state law to make Nebraska more competitive in keeping military veterans in the state has been officially signed. LB 387 is a way to level the playing field when it comes to taxing military benefits.
In front of the steps of the Governor’s Mansion in Lincoln Tuesday, Governor Pete Ricketts made official an effort that has been in the works for five years by signing the legislation approved by Nebraska lawmakers this session.