Radio Ink magazine is known for world-famous lists. In April, they published a list of Radio’s Top- 20 leaders. It includes Eagle Communications’ President Gary Shorman.

“These are the radio industry’s best. They know how to motivate their teams to success. They are winning at sales, programming, and management.

They are relentless in what they do, and they do not fail. This list is made up of radio’s most positive. They are the people who take the time to mentor others and make a lasting impact on careers. They give time back to the radio industry to help it grow. They may not be promoting themselves or be among the powerful executives we always write about, but they are making the radio industry run like a well-oiled machine.”

Gary Shorman was very detailed in his response when we asked him about the characteristics of a successful leader. “Team builder,” he says. “No one can win with a dysfunctional team, so do the opposite. Find players who love their community and want to make it better. Find players who want to build their success year after year. Find players who want to be on a winning team. Once that is done, give them the opportunity to participate in decisions and goals, then give them the tools to succeed. At Eagle, I interview all our potential employee-owners before we bring them on board. I’m encouraged by what I see and how many of our newest have a strong desire to play on a winning team.

“Creativity. I get a chance to listen to a lot of radio stations. We win when our clients and advertisers win. That happens with creative marketing campaigns and continued brand-building. At Eagle, our businesses are the local businesses that compete with the big national companies. At one time it was the Sears & Roebuck catalog or the new Walmart store coming to town.

Today our customers battle for business with the brown delivery truck that brings products from around the world. To win, our local businesses need us to help tell their story on the radio and through our digital products. We win with creativity.”

Finally, he says, “Get results.

If something is not working, find another way. Ratings, no ratings. Good economy, bad economy. Stocks up, stocks down. Whatever is happening in the world, we all get paid for results. If you cannot find a way to get results, you will probably be working somewhere else.”

Shorman says leadership in any industry takes hard work and the ability to work with the people on your team.

“Radio is no exception. I have not met many leaders who made it to their position without learning the basics of the business and working harder than others around them to succeed. In any business, but especially radio, you must enjoy being a part of a team, loving those you work with and encouraging those who are facing challenges.”

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Legislature’s staunchest opponent of the death penalty is furious that the state attorney general is asking that the state’s first execution in decades occur on the senator’s birthday.

Attorney General Doug Peterson last week asked the Nebraska Supreme Court to speed up its decision on issuing a death warrant for Carey Dean Moore, who was sentenced to death for the 1979 killings of two Omaha cabbies. The attorney general suggested July 10 or another date in mid-July, because one of the state’s four lethal injection drugs will expire at the end of August.

Chambers told the Omaha World-Herald that he “was really outraged” by Peterson’s request, saying he’s disrespecting the court by drawing them into the political maelstrom over the death penalty.

Peterson’s spokeswoman, Suzanne Gage, says neither Peterson nor his staffers were aware that July 10 is Chambers’ birthday and weren’t sending any message to Chambers.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The surging business conditions in nine Midwest and Plains states will be tested by trade conflicts and other factors that could slow growth, an economist said in a survey report issued Friday.

The Mid-America Business Conditions Index recorded its highest mark in 14 years last month, hitting 67.3 in May, compared with 64.5 in April, according to the report. The March figure was 62.1.

This is the 18th straight month the index has remained above growth neutral 50.0, pointing to strong growth for the region over the next three to six months.

“The Goldilocks economy — not too hot, not too cold — will be tested in the months ahead as trade skirmishes and potential wars slow growth and contribute to higher prices for inputs such as steel and aluminum,” said Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey. “These higher prices will slow growth and push the Federal Reserve to be more aggressive in raising interest rates in the weeks and months ahead.”

The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth in that factor. A score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

The wholesale inflation index hit 88.9 in May, the highest figure since April 2011, and up from 85.7 in April.

“Both our regional wholesale inflation index and the U.S. inflation gauge are elevated. I expect this elevated inflation to begin to show up at the consumer level,” said Goss, who added that he consequently expects the Federal Reserve to raise short-term interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point later this month.

Economic optimism, as reflected by May’s business confidence index, decreased to 66.3 from April’s 70.2.

Healthy profit growth, still low interest rates, and lower tax rates, kept business confidence into a range indicating robust confidence, Goss said. However, he said, the May survey was conducted before the announcement of higher U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum.

TECUMSEH, Neb. (AP) — A three-judge panel has sentenced to death a Nebraska prisoner who killed his cellmate.

District Judge Vicky Johnson of Wilber, the presiding judge, announced the panel’s decision Friday in the murder case against 40-year-old Patrick Schroeder.

Schroeder has freely admitted strangling 22-year-old Terry Berry in April 2017 in their cell at Tecumseh State Prison in southeast Nebraska. Schroeder told investigators that he killed Berry for being too talkative and said he had warned Berry several times that he needed to “shut up.”

Schroeder offered no rebuttal to prosecutors’ assertions that he should be sentenced to death. He’s said he believes in the death penalty.

At the time of Berry’s killing, Schroeder was already serving a life sentence for killing a 75-year-old Pawnee City farmer in 2006.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The agency monitoring Nebraska children in foster care says there’s a disproportionate number of minority youth in out-of-home care.

The Nebraska Foster Care Review Office found on March 31 that African-American, Native-American, biracial and Latino children were overrepresented in the population of youth in foster care and other forms of out-of-home care.

Nearly 15 percent of wards of the state are African-American, though black children represent only 6 percent of the overall population of Nebraska children, according to a special study in the office’s quarterly report. Nearly 6 percent of children in out-of-home care or trial home visit are Native-American, but Native-

American children comprise about 2 percent of the state’s children. About 20 percent of wards of the state are Latino, compared to their 17 percent makeup in the general population of children.

The study also found lopsided percentages for black children when considering youth who have been in out-of-home placements for two or more years.

Minority children are more likely to be separated from siblings while in foster care, the report said. Siblings can provide a source of stability and improve resiliency in these unstable conditions, according to the study.

The report also identified a greater overrepresentation of black youth in the juvenile justice system. About 25 percent of residents at the Geneva Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center are young black women, and 28 percent of those in the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center at Kearney are young black men.

The report didn’t identify why disproportionate placements are occurring but said state providers must evaluate where and how the disparity is happening.

The following students qualified for the President’s List at Mid-Plains Community College during the 2018 Spring Term. To make the list, each student had to complete 12 or more applicable credit hours in college-level courses and maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.9 or greater on a 4.0 scale.

Nebraska

Bartley – Erin Greenlee

Beaver City – Daniel Dringman

Bellevue – Allison Tichy

Benkelman – FayeLee Sanford

Broken Bow – Preston Sanchez, Briana Taylor

Curtis – Karmen Brush, Colleen Mortensen

Dunning – Renee Daniel

Gothenburg – Jaime Burkink, Dillon Higgins, Bryce Larson

Grand Island – Chance Boersen

Grant – Whitney Spencer, Bailey Wood

Hershey – Madison Hoatson

Imperial – Abigail Almanza, Jadin Bussell, Charlie Carter, Eric Chavira, Wayne Musick

Indianola – Drew Hofman, Genna Vogel

Kennard – Cheyanne Herzog

Lewellen – Ramona Steward, Brady Tophoj

Lexington – Luis Esquivel Saldana

McCook – David Brewster, Taye Collicott, Kyle Geisler, Ahria Golden, Brandon Molcyk, Tanner O’Neill, Kacee Samway, Kyli Scott, James Slaten

North Platte – Emily Ady, Brayden Aufrecht, Michael Bergmeier, Cristina Bravo, Emily Cady, Kayla Douglas, Isabelle Eisenrich, Remingten Elsen, Kathryn Greene, Colleen Griffin, Kaitlyn Hansen, Cody Harrison, Bryan Higgins, Colton Houser, Kaile Jacobson, Leela Keck, Zachary Kring, Zane Leibhart, Jaedyn Leisy, Cole Lewis, Ashley Linke, Charles Martin, Brandon McElwee, Jayden Miles, Brian Mixer, Lauren Pell, Madelyn Peters, Mirabella Pigati, Ethan Ramsey, Camron Sheets, Shawn Simpson, Jessica Slattery, Nathan Snider, Ryan Sorenson, Kamrin Stacy, Shayla Tallmon, Patricia Tofilau, Brandon Tolle, Taylor Wiese

Ogallala – Justine Gall, Jade Max, Amanda Most

Ord – Ashley Carson

Scottsbluff – Alysianna Camacho

Sidney – Mikenna Curlee

Sutherland – Alexandra Baker, Josiah Barmore, Shelly Compton, Katelyn Hecht

Tryon – Michaela Schultis

Wallace – Juan Gomez

Walton – Austin Jensen

Wauneta – Zachary Thompson

California

San Diego – Guillermo Gutierrez

Wasco – Christopher Brown

Colorado

Colorado Springs – Gabrielle Enloe, Cregan McCulloch

Fleming – Shaylee Johnson

Golden – Erin Renwick

Lakewood – Chanel Siebenthal

Nucla – Carlie Wytulka

Thornton – Rylee Younger

Windsor – Jacob Lombardelli

Iowa

Hubbard – Ricks Polk

Missouri

Rolla – Preston Parry

Texas

San Antonio – Loren Lealiiee

Utah

Moab – Adrianna Duehrssen

Washington

Raymond – Cameron Cogdill

CANADA

Parksville, British Columbia – Rebecca Carpenter

Saint-Charles-de-Bourget, Quebec – Mathieu Tremblay

CROATIA

Zagreb – Toni Kumanovic

MOZAMBIQUE

Maputo – Nelo Nducuia

SPAIN

Badalona – Laura Mata Garcia

 

The following students qualified for the Dean’s List during the 2018 Spring Term at Mid-Plains Community College. To be eligible, they had to complete 12 or more applicable credit hours of college-level courses and maintain an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 – 3.89 on a 4.0 scale.

Nebraska

Ansley – Jodi Dethlefs

Arcadia – Clay Bauer

Ashby – Brook Jamison

Bartley – Jaydenn Miller

Blair – Mark Starks

Brady – Jared Most

Broken Bow – Jesse Gabriel, Elise Montgomery

Champion – Richard Stolz

Culbertson – Courtney Searcey, Grant Wilkinson

Curtis – Rylie Brown

Elwood – Heidi Button

Gothenburg – Kendra Bihlmaier, Ty Clement, Madison Gilg, Tanis Sack

Grant – Heather Cockerill, Crystal Jones, Kaden Kammerer, Caden Picquet

Hayes Center – Alex Lawson

Hershey – William Schillinger

Holdrege – Brooke Kuehn, Tatiana Young

Imperial – Cheyanne Kuhlmann, Taylin McNair, Alyssa Moreno

Indianola – Michaela Holdcroft

Kearney – Nikolas Malleck, Brylle Morgan

Lewellen – Katlin Dikeman

Lexington – Isabel Arredondo, Cristian Prado

Litchfield – Justine Pickar

Maxwell – Jesse Carlyle

Maywood – Dayne Littell, Devon Littell

McCook – Andrew Eschliman, Lindi Johnson, Mary Kain, Abby Kalinski, Jadyn Reynolds, Madison Riemenschneider, Emmerie Roth, Masen Sis, Caleb Suda, Owen Wais, Erin Werkmeister, Cailee Zwickle

North Platte – Rylee Brott, Kayla Bush, Angelica Diones, Troy Dye, Marleine Emanuel, Trevor Entz, Carl Epley, Kelsey Epp, Joshua Golden, Bobbi Gustason, Angelena Harrison, Jonathan Hastings, George Haws, Jennifer Howell, Megan Johnson, Zachary Karre, Tacie Lucas, Stephanie Manka, Jessica Martin, Kathleen McIntyre, Jaedyn Michaels, Heath Monie, Mercedes Nolda, Robert Park, Dylan Petersen, Samantha Robins, Aubri Rose, Jared Schaefer, Lindi Simmons, Ian Smith, Jonathan Spradlin, Alisha Starner, Sabrina Stineman, Wendi Stover, Anders Swanson, Selena Venezie, Erin White, Hallie Wilson, Emma Young

Ogallala – Cole Beckius, Tara Doughty, Austin Johnson, Amanda Kroeger, Nasencio Rivas, Avery Unrein, Camile Unrein, Aaron Wright

Oxford – Jacinda Vollmer

Papillion – Emily Marsden

Paxton – William Babbitt, Ashley Lugar, Justin Neilsen

Riverdale – Regan Rasmussen

Scottsbluff – Hever Morales

Smithfield – Samuel Siekman

Stapleton – John Main

Stratton – David White

Sutherland – Kelsey Folchert

Valentine – Kyle Osnes, Seth Pearson

Wallace – Abbey Rohde

Wauneta – David Thompson

Whitman – Breanna Daly

Colorado

Aurora – Makayla Jones

Breckenridge – Graham Gaspard

Centennial – Ryan Marstiller

Colorado Springs – Dylann Bylund

Evans – Ryan Maddera

Holyoke – Johnathan Rodriguez

Littleton – Ashlynn Krueger

Northglenn – Sidney Kizer

Sterling – Lacey Weigel

Thornton- Alicia Romo

Wray – Kedric Tufton

Yoder – Kylia Johnson

Hawaii

Lahaina – Dianarey Talaroc-Kaniho

Iowa

Hamburg – Bryce Moran, Masen Nelson-Maher

Malad City – Taya Thorpe

Illinois

Chicago – Erin Dziubski

Kansas

Belvue – Reed Murray

McLouth – Brody Troupe

Louisiana

Princeton – Moneshya Green

Massachusetts

Wareham – Andrew White

Nevada

Spring Creek – Katherine MacDiarmid

Washoe Valley – Bodie Golla

Oregon

Hermiston – Christopher Gonzales Rice

Salem – Brian Cashman

Texas

San Antonio – Lexa Lealiiee

Silsbee – Trajan Harris

Utah

Elsinore – Kenlee Wanlass

Gunnison – Jerusha Miner

Ogden – Brooklyn Evans

Syracuse – Alyiah Franco

Taylorsville – Kaylee Wengren

Washington

Spokane – Jack Busch

CANADA

Richmond, British Columbia – Kayla Harrison

Victoria, British Columbia – Emily Charchuk

Sainte-Ursule, Quebec – Christopher Bellemare

Stayner, Ontario – Tanner Zeggil

Summerville, New Brunswick – Shaun Hickey

NIGERIA

Samaru – Chinedu Okonkwo

PERU

Santa Rosa – Alejandra Vivar Aguilar

SERBIA

Pančevo – Antonije Petrovic

SPAIN

Reus – Anna Sanjuan

LINCOLN, Neb. – Everyone can help keep the beaches and landscapes free of litter at Lake McConaughy and Lake Ogallala state recreation areas through a new Adopt-a-Beach program.

Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area staff created this volunteer program, in part, as a response to public concerns regarding litter in those areas. Game and Parks has taken several steps to combat this issue, including new signage relating to litter prevention, increases in garbage collection points and servicing, as well as partnerships with Keep Keith County Beautiful for the placement of recycling stations throughout the parks.

The goal of Adopt-a-Beach is to encourage participation in the protection of fragile park landscapes so that future generations can continue to enjoy this area. The program was modeled after the Nebraska Department of Transportation’s Adopt-a-Highway Program.

Participants can enroll in the program starting June 11 at the Lake McConaughy Visitor and Water Interpretive Center. Beach area assignments will be based on a group’s request and the number of participants. Assignments will be made on a first-come basis. Gloves, pickers, buckets, bags, and vests can be provided to participants during business hours. A small sign will be placed at each beach entrance to acknowledge the group’s participation after the first year of the program.

For more information, contact the Lake McConaughy Visitor and Water Interpretive Center at 308-284-8800 or [email protected].

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha businessman who plans to run as an independent candidate for Nebraska state treasurer is challenging state requirements that make it difficult for nonpartisan candidates to file for office.

Kent Bernbeck said Tuesday he filed the federal lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of a law that substantially increased the number of signatures nonpartisan candidates must collect to be listed on the general election ballot. Candidates now need roughly 120,000 signatures, but the previous threshold was 4,000.

The law was introduced by Sen. John Murante, of Gretna, who is the GOP candidate for state treasurer. Bernbeck plans to run against him if the lawsuit is successful.

Bernbeck is being represented by the Voting Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — More Nebraska county election officials are seeking state permission to conduct elections exclusively by mail as turnout figures rise.

Garden County was the first in Nebraska to conduct a countywide all-mail election after receiving approval to pilot the project from the Secretary of State this year, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

Nebraska counties with populations of 10,000 people or fewer have had the option since 2009 to hold all-mail elections if given state approval.

More than 58 percent of Garden County voters cast a ballot in the May 15 primary election, compared to statewide voter turnout of about 24 percent.

Before this month’s primary, some of the county’s voters used to have to drive up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) to cast a ballot at one of the county’s four precinct sites.

Teresa McKeeman, county clerk and election commissioner, said ensuring precincts were properly staffed along with hiring and training poll workers can be difficult.
Other county election officials have also applied to expand all-mail elections in rural precincts to a county level.

Kathy Brandt oversees Morrill County’s elections. She said voter turnouts have topped 70 percent in the precincts where ballots have been distributed through the mail.

Conducting a mail-in election is more work on the front end for the clerk’s office, but results show the effort is worth it, according to county election commissioners.

“We have seen voter turnout go up,” Dawes County Clerk Cheryl Feist said. “It’s a convenience for our voters when they have the ballots before the election to have time to look at them and look at the candidates and issues before they make a choice.”

Brandt said it’s more cost-effective.

“We don’t have to pay poll workers, don’t have to pay their mileage or to rent polling sites,” she said. “We’re only paying postage.”

Morrill County and Dawes County are requesting state approval to pursue all-mail countywide for November’s general election.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — More than 600 Nebraska youths have received treatment through a new state initiative designed to help those who struggle with emotional and mental-health problems.

Organizers of the program marked its first year Tuesday at a Capitol ceremony with Gov. Pete Ricketts. The event also coincided with Mental Health Awareness Month.

The Behavioral Health System of Care offers a variety of community-based services for youths. It was created to allow earlier intervention for at-risk youths, increase school attendance and serve more youths in their homes.

It’s funded by a four-year, $12 million grant from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The state’s Division of Behavioral Health organizes the coalition that includes private groups and public agencies. Ricketts says it’s already having a positive impact.