Nebraska Update

About 350 people tested positive for the virus each day statewide this last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those case numbers are similar to those seen in mid-to-early February.

In a weekly update, the state said Nebraska added roughly 2,600 cases over the same time period. Delta, for the second week in a row, has been the only variant detected by the state Department of Health and Human Services.

A unique memorial ceremony was held at the Lincoln Police Station Tuesday morning to honor fallen Investigator Mario Herrera who passed away on September 7, 2020.

“End of Watch Ride to Remember” is the name of a motorcycle tour put together by an organization called “Beyond the Call of Duty.” This is the second year of the tour.

Jagrut Shah is the founder of the organization and he says they will visit 194 police departments across the country to honor officers who died in 2020.

With only a few weeks until the United States military’s speedy withdrawal from Afghanistan is complete, Taliban forces continue to steadily reclaim territory across the country. A number of Nebraskans with deep ties to the country are taking those gains personally. There are mixed feelings about just how effective the past two decades have been in Afghanistan and what the future holds for the country.

Just four months after Nebraska lost in the regional final of the NCCA Women’s Volleyball tournament in Omaha, the Huskers are back on the court getting ready for the start of a new season in three weeks.
It’s been a long time since the Huskers played in front of a crowd at the DeVaney Center, but they’ll get that chance August 21st in the Red and White scrimmage. Practice for the new season started this week and coach John Cook said he expects this to be the Big 10’s best season ever.

More Nebraska school districts are considering their mask requirements heading into the upcoming school year, including the largest public school system in the state.

The Nebraska State Patrol has purchased18 high-tech drones to help analyze car crashes faster. The drones are officially ready to help serve the public.

Finding hundreds of unmarked graves at indigenous schools in Canada has sparked an investigation into similar schools in the U.S., including one in Genoa, Nebraska

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) recently hired a Senior Associate Athletic Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Dr. Lawrence Chatters. Nebraska Public Media News spoke with Dr. Chatters about diversity and its relation to UNL athletics and college athletics as a whole.

The months-long investigation for the radio program includes a comprehensive look at the history of an ethanol plant in Mead, Neb. It begins with a company’s promise for innovation and continues with the story of an environmental disaster that could have long-term implications. The hour-long Nebraska Public Media News documentary also uncovers new information regarding what state officials knew about the process AltEn was using for ethanol production.

A new data dashboard from Facebook reveals the trends of how small businesses posted during the pandemic, a new measure of how they communicated since March 2020.