Human reporter covering higher ed/state govt
@JournalStarNews
| Dadx2 | Nebraska Guy | Aspiring handyman |
#FOIA
| Keep it one thou' bout the life that I chose
Living in Nebraska means half the timeline noticing the corn in the background of Fortenberry’s “I didn’t do it” film is too green for the video to have been shot recently.
Reading a graphic depiction of a rape scene, Sen. Steve Halloran interjected Sen. Cavanaugh's name (I don't believe he specified which one) several times for some reason.
Cavanaugh, through tears, responded that women in the
#neleg
have experienced sexual violence.
"Herbster used the email address charles
@herbsterangus
.com on his official filing with the Nebraska secretary of state. The same address was in the huge trove of Ashley Madison data dumped online by hackers."
BREAKING: UNL said it was closing the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house and suspending its operations while a sexual assault reported on the property earlier this week is investigated.
Fiji was already on probation for previous violations of UNL's policy.
I have placed multiple phone calls to several members of the NU Board of Regents over the last 24 hours and have not heard back from any of them, which leads me to believe they are being held in an undisclosed location with Kate Middleton.
Members of Nebraska
#fakenews
media wondering how they can best paint this for a half dozen or so radical leftists on the floor of the Leg.
Always looking to provide propaganda for some reason🤷♂️
@ChrisDunkerLJS
missing from the photo as we heard he took a call from
@georgesoros
Nebraska State Constitution Art. I-4:
"No person shall be compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship against his consent, and no preference shall be given by law to any religious society, nor shall any interference with the rights of conscience be permitted."
We need to put God back into our schools. I strongly support efforts to put prayer back into our K-12 schools. We should be teaching the next generation to love God and our great country.
The ACLU of Nebraska and Planned Parenthood North Central States have filed a lawsuit seeking a permanent injunction against LB574 from being enforced.
They argue the bill violates the Nebraska State Constitution's single-subject rule.
We found out we were having a baby before Everything happened this year. He finally arrived Saturday morning, as perfect as we could have hoped. Taking a few weeks off and limiting my activity On Here to spend some time with the little guy. Be well and stay safe!
If you are a homeowner/drug dealer planning on passing out rainbow fentanyl to kids for free this Halloween, please shoot me a message for a story I'm working on for
@JournalStarNews
.
#HappyHalloween
– make sure to closely monitor any candy your kids receive. Rainbow-colored fentanyl designed to entice children and young adults has been turning up in drug busts. (1/3)
Thanks to everyone who reached out tonight. I was livestreaming the protest at City-County and was pushed to the ground/briefly detained by a county deputy. They cut me loose after confirming I was press (I was wearing badge & vest). Scuffed my knee a little, but kept going.
#1A
Cavanaugh said that was one of the most cruel things that's happened to her at the
#neleg
and asked for any Republican women in the body to stand up for her.
Sen. Joni Albrecht said that was bad and why those books need to be banned.
A few students testifying before NU regents have said they plan to leave the state after graduation NOT because of tax structure, but because they don't feel like leaders are addressing their concerns, particularly with climate change.
Our friends at the Associated Press provided the world with this photo of the
#Keystone
pipeline spill near Washington, Kan. earlier this week.
Read more here:
What an incredible photo by
@justin_wan
, who in addition to capturing the remarkable and stunning scenes, was watching my back last night.
Oh yeah, Justin will be on furlough this next week. Support your local media, folks.
I requested a copy of the Nebraska State Patrol's policy or training materials for evidence technicians after $1.2M in drugs went missing from the Troop H evidence locker, and this is the first 8 pages of what the Patrol provided. There are 15 more just like it.
It's art:
Good on Flatwater for doing this. The last thing the state of Nebraska needs is some nativist bullshit.
Gov. Jim Pillen sidesteps questions raised by journalist's reporting, attacks their Chinese nationality instead. ⤵️
If you disagree with the reporting, just say that.
Attacking a reporter's nationality, calling the bad press you brought on yourself and the state a "sideshow," & refusing to walk it back or apologize is doubling down on hurtful comments.
If I can step outside being a reporter for a moment and comment as Chris Dunker, citizen, I've been really impressed by the young men and women I've interacted with in recent days. Young people are good and should be listened to!
Other athletic programs get into hot water because their student-athletes gamble or have weird hazing rituals.
Husker Athletics wades into the middle of a Supreme Court ethics controversy.
We are not the same.
BREAKING: There won’t be a special session to consider any new abortion laws in
#Nebraska
this year.
Gov. Ricketts says only 30 senators are willing to do a special session following the Dobbs decision; 33 would be needed to break a filibuster.
Shortly after, Sen. Megan Hunt moved to adjourn. Speaker John Arch said he supported motion.
"There’s times when we just have to step back from debate, and this is one of those times."
#neleg
was supposed to go 'til 9 pm, is adjourning at 8 pm.
Keisei Tominaga’s legend continues.
The
#Husker
sensation brings together politicians from all sides in this
#neleg
resolution celebrating his title as greatest 3-point shooter maybe ever.
A public records request uncovered the White House's Coronavirus Task Force has repeatedly -- since August -- urged Nebraska to put a statewide mask mandate in place, something Gov. Ricketts has refused to do.
Every week, NE Gov. Pete Ricketts receives a detailed report from the WH covid task force. Along with stats, it includes state-specific recommendations for fighting the virus. Neither the White House nor governor have opted to share these publicly.
So I put in a records request.
Nebraska’s LGBT and drag community are rallying in the Rotunda ahead of a Judiciary Community hearing on LB371, which would limit who could view a drag show.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has suspended the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity through 2026.
The University Conduct Board determined violations of the Student Code of Conduct occurred, as a criminal investigation into a reported sexual assault continue.
Story to come.
After voters in Ohio passed a constitutional amendment Tuesday night guaranteeing the right to seek an abortion, organizers of a similar effort in Nebraska plan to launch a signature petition next week.
Protect Our Rights is planning a Nov. 16 kickoff in Omaha.
Just heard Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte is resigning from the Legislature after accusations surfaced that he shared pictures of a legislative staffer with inappropriate captions.
“It’s not about the medication, it’s about the message,” Nola Rhea said. “The message is, ‘You are not welcome here.’ I think that’s the thrust of it, and I think that’s the thing that gets me so worried about the future here.”
In a joint statement by doctors at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine, the state is entering "a dangerous period" when it comes to COVID, with daily counts equal to May peak and "rapidly rising."
Nebraska lawmakers just advanced a bill (LB20) from Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne that would remove the 2-year wait for felons to have their voting rights restored. Vote was 34-3.
The
#NELegAfterDark
strikes again.
Thinking chemical weapons are bad and shouldn't be used in civilian settings and informing the public that their tax dollars are being spent to buy more chemical weapons is not controversial.
BREAKING: Lancaster County Judge Ryan Post ruled the University of Nebraska-Lincoln must disclose the "metrics mutually agreed to" in former
#Husker
football coach Scott Frost's contract.
USA Today sued the university for those records.
Media of Nebraska, which represents newspapers, radio and television outlets in the state, objects to the credential policy put forward by Gov. Pete Ricketts yesterday. Read the letter sent to the governor here:
Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne's proposal (LB20) that would restore the voting rights to felons immediately upon the completion of their sentence just advanced to the final round of consideration without objection.
#neleg
The University of Nebraska’s top administrators say they have “significant concerns” how a resolution from Regent Jim Pillen opposing the teaching of critical race theory would be interpreted by faculty/staff/students, and may harm recruitment and retention efforts.
At a pro-Palestinian event at the Union on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s City Campus. There’s maybe 120ish people listening to speakers right now, and maybe an equal number just kind of milling about. Event is scheduled to go to 7 pm tonight.
Sen. Suzanne Geist resigned from the
#neleg
less than an hour ago to focus on her
#LNK
mayoral race.
Most bills already needed 33 votes to clear a filibuster. There are now 31 Republicans in the body.
It’s Day 57.
#Husker
fans: The Nebraska Board of Regents is NOT meeting today. The board CAN'T meet in an "impromptu session." State law requires the board give advance notice if they are planning to meet. Regents are also not responsible for hiring coaches. Carry on!
UNL said the majority of the campus community has been vaccinated for COVID:
-- 81% of faculty
-- 74% of staff
-- 91% of Husker athletes
-- 69% of students taking classes on campus
If I don't want my kid to read or watch something, I don't let them read or watch that thing. I don't understand these people trying to police how everyone else parents their kids.
Today, I had the opportunity to roam the ICU at Bryan Health for 10 hours as doctors, nurses, therapists and others provided care to those most sick with COVID. The experience will stick with me for a long time. Read about it this Sunday exclusively in the
@JournalStarNews
.
I hope the mob that stormed our center of government abides by the 6 p.m. curfew set in Washington D.C. or there will be some Lincolnites very, very upset at the lawlessness.
BREAKING: The referendum to overturn LB753, the Opportunity Scholarships Act that provides a 1:1 tax credit for private school scholarship donations, easily qualified for the 2024 general election ballot. 1/
#Husker
coach Matt Rhule, appearing on the Jim Rome Show, said he was "shocked and surprised" by news of Joseph's arrest.
"We were scheduled to meet (Wednesday)," Rhule told Rome, "but then obviously things have changed since then."
*Meanwhile*
The University of Nebraska at Omaha announced its next chancellor will be Joanne Li, the first woman of color appointed to that position. Li is currently the dean of the business college at Florida Int'l University.
A Lancaster County District Court judge has ruled Sen. Adam Morfeld, is a practicing attorney and can run for Lancaster County Attorney.
Morfeld's candidacy was challenged by the NEGOP.
This unfortunate typo from a letter signed by 26 office holders supporting NU Regent Jim Pillen's resolution to oppose critical race theory was just pointed out to me.
Steve Corsi, the new CEO of the Nebraska Dept. of Health and Human Services announced by Gov. Jim Pillen today, apparently does not like gay people, based on his Twitter likes.
Regarding the reports Trev Alberts is leaving NU for Texas A&M, Interim NU President Chris Kabourek (who is Alberts' boss right now) tells me:
"Trev has not told me he has accepted the A&M position."
Two people, including an employee of the Nebraska State Patrol's evidence unit, were arrested on suspicion of distributing 140g of cocaine and fentanyl that led to 9 overdose deaths in the
#LNK
area, law enforcement announced Friday morning.
Speaking on LB575, Sen. Megan Hunt calls sponsor Sen. Kathleen Kauth “a bigot.”
Sen. Loren Lippincott asks for a point of order; Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly reminds Hunt to address the bill.
Hunt: “Go ahead and censure me if you want.”
Just another day on the
@JournalStarNews
Facebook page with fellow citizens telling reporters, photographers and editors they deserve to be murdered for doing the work they love.
Today, we said goodbye to our JJ.
He was our walking buddy, my kids’ food disposal, and my writing partner during the pandemic and beyond, often falling asleep to the sound of typing, or snoring away while I was on the phone.
We will miss him dearly. He was a good boy.
Lincoln: Let’s do onnnnneee more feasibility study to see if we can save the Pershing mural.
Omaha: If we move fast enough, maybe we can take down the library while the books are still in it.
After the state paid $54k to some fraud in India for execution drugs it never received, it then paid a Gretna pharmacy $492k to procure the lethal injection drugs over each manufacturers' objections. Great reporting from
@LJSLegislature
&
@LJSpilger
.
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will consider allowing the sale of alcohol at Husker games, according to the agenda just published.
Story to come shortly:
Late this afternoon, I was notified of a graphic picture that was posted on the NEGOP Twitter account. The post was not authorized. The person responsible for the tweet, has been removed from the account and is no longer responsible for any NEGOP communication.
--Eric Underwood
HuffPo's
@ryanjreilly
asks
@LJSpilger
how she found out about a terrorist case involving an Amtrak train in rural Nebraska. "She spotted the unsealed case when checking the federal court docket online." Local journalism matters.
A federal judge in Arkansas ruled a law banning transgender youth from seeking certain health care procedures is unconstitutional and has issued a permanent injunction against it.
The 2021 Arkansas law is similar to LB574 passed this year in Nebraska.
Speaking to the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce by Zoom, NU President Ted Carter says Nebraska has "never really gotten full credit" for the Big Ten's decision to plan football this fall. He says Nebraska's efforts also brought back the Pac-12, too.
The Nebraska Association of Public Employees has filed a demand to bargain after Gov. Jim Pillen's executive order ending remote work arrangements beginning next year. The union asks the governor to respond by Dec. 12.
Story to come.