Columns

A proposed Constitutional Amendment to require the State of Nebraska to pay all classroom expenses related to the operation of public elementary and secondary schools is just a different approach to the same old problem—school finance and the complicated funding formula and the battle between big and small.

I don’t know if the sponsor, Sen. Tom Briese of Albion, ever knew the late Sen. Dan Lynch of Omaha. But I was quickly reminded of a Lynch attempt a couple decades ago to make Nebraska one school district with the state literally running public education and picking up the tab.

Great idea … but where are you going to get the money to pay for it? Aye, there’s the rub. It’s always something.

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On Jan. 20, we witnessed the transition of power from one president to the next–a hallmark of our democracy. I congratulate President Biden and Vice President Harris as we move forward as a country to tackle the challenges we have in front of us. I look forward to working with the Biden administration on important issues such as rural health care, increasing trade opportunities, and fixing our nation’s infrastructure.

LINCOLN—Nebraska state senators introduced various bills in the first eight days of the 2021 legislative session.

Property tax relief was at the top of the list for many senators during last year’s session, and that focus will continue into the 2021 session. Bills related to property tax relief included the following:

• LB292, introduced by Sen. Curt Friesen of Henderson, would allow the county treasurer to accept partial payments for the discharge of current or delinquent real property taxes, personal property taxes, or both.

• LR22CA, introduced by Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, would amend the state constitution to limit the total amount of property tax revenue raised by political subdivisions.

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Would you believe it? This old editor missed his newspaper deadline...nope, no column since the last week in October either. During those roughly 2,600 weeks or 600 months, or 50 years with a column of some sort nearly every week, I never missed a newspaper deadline until six weeks ago.

So what happened? Simple enough, COVID-19 struck on Friday night and I was under quarantine for two weeks. Mercy the bug hit me like nothing else before in life, that I can remember anyway. Tired like never before, dehydrated like never before and miserable as never before.

No energy, no stamina, very little interest in anything; I would not wish this virus on any human being.

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Governor Pete Ricketts proclaimed January as “Human Trafficking Awareness Month” during a press conference at the state Capitol. The governor also gave an update on the state’s ongoing response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Nebraska Attorney General (AG) Doug Peterson joined the Governor to discuss the State’s efforts to prevent human trafficking. Additionally, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Incident Commander, Angie Ling, overviewed the progress of coronavirus vaccination in Nebraska.

Gov. Ricketts: Human Trafficking Awareness

• Senators across party lines have stepped up to help stop human trafficking in Nebraska.

• We started with LB 294e in 2015 from Speaker Jim Scheer.

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High on my 2021 “Snowball’s Chance in Hell” list is the creation of a non-politically charged, nonpartisan way to redistrict the state based on official census results.

I know it sounds like a no-brainer to create an independent commission to re-draw the maps. But given that the Governor doesn’t like the idea–he vetoed the last attempt created by a bipartisan group of senators in 2016 – and that rural Nebraska is likely to lose two senators as their seats shift to the populous Lincoln, Omaha and Bellevue metroplex, it’s going to be tough.

Let me recap. A stubborn chief executive and a widening urban-rural split. Not necessarily the stuff of which dreams are made.

The actions of violent protesters at the heart of our republic this week were appalling and despicable. I continue to condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms. Our republic remains strong because of our shared commitment to settling our disagreements democratically, at the ballot box and through the deliberations of Congress. It was a testament to the dedication we have to our republic when we continued with the business of Congress that same day.

On Wednesday, Jan. 6, we met in a Joint Session of Congress to review and certify electoral votes from the states. At this joint session, states’ electoral votes are counted in alphabetical order. In order to debate whether to accept a state’s electoral votes, an objection must be presented in writing, signed by at least one Representative and one Senator. The process allows members of the House and Senate to raise their concerns.

Many of you may or may not know that I’m an enormous fan of bald eagles. I’ve crossed many areas in the state of Nebraska to get some pictures, while also keeping an eye out for them in other surrounding states that I’ve been through.

Finally about a month ago right around the start of December, I decided there’s got to be a reasonable place close...at least sort of close that I can go and capture some “frozen images,” if you will, of this majestic bird of great American pride.

New Year’s Day 2021 was that day for me.

The trip to my destination, the Loess Bluffs federal reserve near Mound City, MO, wasn’t overly close, but with every adventure that I take, I always enjoy the drive through the back roads from point A to point B.

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When I walked through the door of my aunt’s house and my cousins all started showing up, it dawned on me just how long it had been since seeing most of them.

I spent Christmas Eve at my aunt’s, with all but five of the cousins present, which, when you look at the photo we took together, there’s a lot of cousins.

Growing up there were only seven of us on my dad’s side (cousin-wise)... three more if you include my mom’s side.

And then we all grew up and all but four of us had kids, so now there’s 18 and the only one’s missing on Christmas Eve were my brother, his wife and their two kids and my youngest sister Zoey.

No matter how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other, we can pick up and take off like we just saw each other last week. And that’s one of the things I love about my family.

Maybe at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve it’s time to get a hold of the handle of your “porcelain palace” and push downward to try to get rid of and flush the year 2020 away!

It might just be the right thing to do to wipe our hands clean of the past year, but more importantly welcome in a new year.

In all seriousness, this year has been a tough one for many people, both physically and mentally.

We’ve lost many and have watched so many deal with COVID-19. We’ve seen the graduating classes of 2020 have to graduate without the normal “pomp and circumstance” that students enjoy when they take the next steps in their lives.

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