Columns

Wed
06
Mar
Edgar's picture

A free weekend has become a rarity

A free weekend has become a rarity

Weekends for me are normally chock full of activities throughout the free time for most, and finally, for the first time since before the winter sports season began in early December, a free weekend was enjoyed to do whatever I wanted. So what did I do? Of course, I hit the road for “Crane Alley,” in and around my homeland of Central Nebraska, the Shelton, Gibbon and Wood River area’s to soak in the noise and wonder of the Sandhill Cranes.

The “river road,” as I always called it growing up in Shelton, didn’t disappoint, and while there are still more cranes that should be passing through the area, that over 200 mile drive this past Sunday sure served it’s purpose...some welcome down time doing things that I enjoy doing, and not what “I have to do.”

Wed
28
Feb
Edgar's picture

School tax credits and school aid have helped rural areas...but there’s a ways to go

School tax credits and school aid have helped rural areas...but there’s a ways to go

EDITORS NOTE: This opinion was first published by the Nebraska Examiner, online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

BY LYNN NEJEZCHLEB

In 2021, school tax credits were substantially increased to 25 percent of property taxes paid to your local school district. In addition, in 2023, state aid to schools was increased by providing foundation aid equal to $1,500 per student for the 2023-24 school year.

The tax credits directly lower property taxes, and school aid has the potential to lower property taxes by reducing the amount of local taxes needed to fund school operations. Recently, the Nebraska Department of Revenue and Nebraska Department of Education released data that show the results of these changes.

The reduction or potential reduction in property taxes is substantial. The data show that school tax credits for 2021 (the latest available data) totaled $274.5 million.

Wed
28
Feb
Edgar's picture

Response to J.L. Schmidt CapView (2/13/24) Column RE: LB45

Response to J.L. Schmidt CapView

A recent editorial in this publication showed no understanding of the constraints on city governments regarding rundown properties, citing LB 45. While it would be most desirable for all property owners to keep their properties in peak condition, that is not the reality; thus, communities across the state are left with buildings which continue to deteriorate.

Let me start at the beginning of how the Revitalize Rural Nebraska law came about. Another senator and I were contacted by a small town, not in Gage County, not even in my District, which had several dilapidated buildings in their commercial downtown area.

The town invited us to see how rundown these buildings were and told us how expensive they would be to renovate.

Wed
21
Feb
Edgar's picture

A special week, year for Cougar Nation

A special week, year for Cougar Nation
A special week, year for Cougar Nation

Wowza, the 2023-24 school year has been an amazing year for Cougar Nation, following a trip to the state semifinals in football this past fall, a dose of adrenaline was added this past week by the girls basketball team and Rowan Jarosik in the 2024 Nebraska State High School Wrestling Championships in Omaha.

I’ll begin with Rowan, going into the state meet, as a third place medalist out of the D-1 District meet in Weeping Water, perhaps one of the toughest Class D 150-pound districts in the state, Jarosik showed up and meant business in Omaha.

He opened with a chip on his shoulder, opening the meet with a 3:37 pinfall win over Colton Mader of Crawford, a district runner-up out of the D-4 District, and advanced to the quarterfinals and destroyed a district champion from the D-3 meet, Jayden Reed, pinning Reed in 1:14.

Wed
14
Feb
Edgar's picture

I’m Not Sure That I Love This Program

I’m Not Sure That I Love This Program

I’m sure that a year ago the Revitalize Rural Nebraska Grant Program proposed by Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams and passed by the Legislature sounded like a great deal.

Administered by the Department of Environment and Energy, it’s intended to provide money to help towns under 5,000 populations with the cost of clearing away rundown buildings. Some consideration is allegedly given to historic properties. But there’s nothing really being done to address the root cause of the dilapidation.

Dorn’s heart is in the right place. He wants the funds to help the communities get those buildings so they’re not eyesores. “That when people drive by, they go, ‘boy that makes our town not look very good.’” The department is accepting grant applications through this month.

Wed
14
Feb
Edgar's picture

Gov. Pillen Announces SEBT “Nebraska Solution”

Surrounded by more than 20 state senators in the Warner Chamber at the State Capitol, Governor Jim Pillen touted a “Nebraska solution” that will allow the state to take advantage of the federally-funded Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (SEBT) program, while ensuring that additional needs of children and their families are met. Gov. Pillen was joined in his announcement today by Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) CEO Steve Corsi, Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) Commissioner Brian Maher and Senator Ray Aguilar (District 35).

“My team has been in touch with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which has expressed interest and support for this plan,” said Gov. Pillen. “We simply must do better in Nebraska to enhance the quality of life and the quality of interaction with kids and their families during the summer months. This program will make sure that happens.”

Wed
14
Feb
Edgar's picture

Bringing the border crisis under control

Bringing the border crisis under control

The crisis at our Southern Border is enormous, unprecedented, and is putting Americans at risk. According to United States Customs and Border Protection, more than 1 million migrant encounters have been recorded at the border since October 1, 2024—a mark reached faster than any previous fiscal year on record. To this point in Fiscal Year 2024, 50 individuals whose names appear in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terrorist Screening Database have been stopped trying to enter the United States illegally. This is greater than the number of terrorist watchlist encounters at the border in FY17-FY22 combined.

The policies of the Biden administration have not lessened this crisis; they have worsened it. For the American public, for law enforcement agents putting their lives on the line daily, and for victims of human trafficking and unaccompanied children, this is unacceptable.

Wed
07
Feb
Edgar's picture

Cougars are the SNC champs...now comes crunch time

Cougars are the SNC champs...now comes crunch time
Cougars are the SNC champs...now comes crunch time

Winter sports, as hard as it is to believe, is coming to crunch time for teams across the state of Nebraska, and certainly for our three schools in Clay County. Wrestling districts are this weekend, while girls sub-district tournaments begin next Monday and Tuesday.

But this week, before I continue on with the “end is near” talk about the winter sports season, I have to pinpoint an amazing feat by the Sandy Creek boys basketball team, as the Cougars captured their first Southern Nebraska Conference basketball tournament title since 2002 with a 33-28 win over Centennial, on the Broncos home court, nonetheless!

Wed
07
Feb
Edgar's picture

Every child deserves an opportunity

Every child deserves an opportunity

As the chair of the Education Committee in the Nebraska Legislature, I’ve always been a major believer in public schools. I believe firmly that every K-12 aged child in our state deserves access to a well-funded, competitive, safe education.

I also believe that every family has unique needs and values in which a one-size-fitsall approach may not always be best. Because of this, I also support increasing school choice in the State of Nebraska.

Before last year’s historic legislative session, Nebraska was one of only two states that did not have any form of a school choice program. As a state, the majority of the Legislature knew we could do better and become more competitive.

The idea that 48 other states were ahead of us in the race was simply unacceptable. So last year Nebraska finally took a step in the right direction and passed LB 753, the Opportunity Scholarships Act.

Wed
07
Feb
Edgar's picture

Ricketts and Pillen on right side in electric vehicle debate

Ricketts and Pillen on right side in electric vehicle debate

Full Disclosure: My wife and I drive a four-year-old hybrid sedan. It runs on the electric motor up to 15 miles -per- hour before the gasoline engine engages. It feels and sounds like it’s dead at stop signs. It averages 44 miles-per-gallon in highway driving. But it’s a hybrid, not an all- electric vehicle.

U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts has vowed to use every tool he has to fight President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle mandates. Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen has signed a letter to Biden as one of 16 Governors also opposed to the mandate that two out of every three vehicles be battery electrics by 2032.

Ricketts and Pillen and the other 15 governors are all Republicans, but I don’t consider politics as the driving factor here. It’s something as laudable as saying consumers and the marketplace should guide growth for electric vehicles. It’s something as practical as Nebraska’s recent cold snap and the lack of recharging infrastructure.

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