LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Kearney man has pleaded not guilty to charges that he filed false tax returns.
U.S. District Court records say Thomas Hird entered the pleas Wednesday to five counts of filing false returns for the tax years of 2012 through 2016. Prosecutors say he didn’t report more than $520,000 in income over those five years.
His next hearing is scheduled for June.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska system is taking steps to help people deal with historic flooding across the state, such as connecting residents with resources and offering financial assistance to students and staff.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is coordinating mobile water-testing units, resource open houses showcasing agencies offering recovery aid, and volunteer reception centers, the Lincoln Journal Star reported
“These volunteer reception centers are so important because we need to know what their skills are, what they can do, we need to understand how they can contribute,” said Chuck Hibberd, the dean of Nebraska Extension. “We need to ensure they are upstanding individuals because the people who can prey on victims are out there.”
Early estimates indicate the March blizzard and subsequent flooding caused nearly $1.4 billion in damage to property, farm operations and infrastructure in Nebraska. The flooding inundated multiple states in the Midwest.
March runoff in the upper Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, reached 11 million acre-feet — nearly 4 million acre-feet more than the previous record of 7.3 million set in 1952, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The average March upper basin runoff is 2.9 million acre-feet, the Corps said.
“We’re not getting out of this anytime soon, folks,” Hibberd said. “That’s why I think the university has an opportunity to put in a thoughtful, coordinated, systemwide effort to help Nebraska deal with this flood.”
UNL is adjusting some financial requirements for students facing hardship because of the flood, such as waiving application fees or deferring enrollment deposits, said Chancellor Ronnie Green.
“If covering the cost of your education is a significant challenge, we will work with you to find the best financial options available,” Green said.
The university is also working with students who will need to postpone moving to Lincoln to begin classes.
“There are students that are not going to be able to come this fall because of this,” Hibberd said, “and to defer their admission and scholarship offers until spring is just huge for those folks.”
The University of Nebraska Foundation has launched an emergency assistance fund for students and employees.
The Nebraska Extension has also compiled information from a number of resources to aid people with flood recovery.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Members of the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health in the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health will provide a tractor safety course from May through July in 12 towns across Nebraska.
The Nebraska Extension Tractor Safety & Hazardous Occupations Course is aimed at youths 14 and 15 years old. Those under age 14 aren’t eligible.
Federal law prohibits children under 16 from using certain equipment unless their parents or legal guardians own the farm. But certification received through the course grants an exemption, allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to drive tractors and work with certain equipment.
The course costs $60. Training will be held in Ainsworth, Geneva, Gering, Gordon, Grand Island, Kearney, McCook, Nelson, North Platte, O’Neill, Wayne, and Weeping Water.
Contact the appropriate Extension Office for more information or to register.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — Prices for admission tickets to this year’s 150th Nebraska State Fair will be as low as $2.
The Grand Island Independent reports that one package deal called The Hometown Pass sells for $10 and includes five gate admissions. Tickets bought at the gate Monday through Thursday are $6 for adults.
The Hometown Pass and other ticket deals are being offered online until midnight Aug. 22.
The Nebraska State Fair will take place Aug. 23 to Sept. 2 in Grand Island. This year’s fair will be the tenth in Grand Island after the fair moved from Lincoln in 2010.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska employers are struggling to find qualified workers to fill tens of thousands of open positions, and business leaders are calling for action to attract, train and retain local graduates and out-of-state prospects.
The Nebraska Labor Department says there are more than 36,000 open jobs in the state, the Omaha World-Herald reported . The state has just a 2.8% unemployment rate.
“We have a workforce crisis in this state,” said University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds.
Hudl, a Nebraska-based software company that creates technology for football teams, has grown from three employees to 1,400 in just 13 years, said Brian Kaiser, one of the company’s founders. But the organization has filled about a dozen high-paying tech positions with people living elsewhere because of the lack of homegrown talent.
“It’s turning into more and more of a problem for us,” Kaiser said. “We have some skills sets that are very hard to hire in the state of Nebraska.”
The worker shortage could cause some firms to leave the state if the issues persist, said Tonn Ostergard, CEO of Crete Carrier, a trucking company.
“You don’t want to sound like Chicken Little,” he said. “But we also have to be objective and say we have issues staring us in the face.”
The state’s biggest challenge in the coming decade will likely be retaining, attracting and training the people needed to fill jobs, said Bryan Slone, the president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“This is now the most pressing economic issue in the state,” Slone said. “It doesn’t get a lot of attention, but we are on the cusp of this becoming the 1,000-pound gorilla.”
Business leaders say the state could do more to retain high school graduates, increase training of underemployed workers and step up efforts to lure workers from other states. And investment in scholarships at the state’s colleges and universities, community colleges and nontraditional training programs is key.
Kandace Miller of Omaha’s AIM Institute said the nonprofit has identified 100 students who want to enroll in code school, which focusses on computer programming and website design, but can’t afford to do so.
Gov. Pete Ricketts in January proposed spending nearly $7 million over two years on additional college scholarship aid. The plan would give about 1,000 Nebraska students up to $4,000 in annual scholarships.
Bounds is pushing for more funding and has backed another legislative proposal that would allocate $30 million annually to scholarships.
“I think the workforce issue is that big,” Bounds said.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal disaster declaration for Nebraska has been amended to authorize public assistance grants for 50 counties to help pay for public facilities damaged in the wake March flooding — down from 65 counties and five tribal nations that had previously been approved.
A news release Saturday from the Federal Emergency Management Agency says more counties and tribal nations may be designated for additional reimbursement for public facilities — such as roads, bridges, utilities and water plants — as damage assessments in the state continue.
Individual assistance for homeowners, renters and businesses has been approved in 15 Nebraska counties and the Santee Sioux Nation.
The Omaha World-Herald reports that as of Saturday, 3,838 applicants have applied for individual assistance and nearly $12.5 million has been approved. More than $11 million of that was for housing assistance, which can include rent for a temporary place to stay or housing repairs.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers have confirmed Gov. Pete Ricketts’ appointee to lead the state Department of Health and Human Services.
Lawmakers voted 38-0 on Friday in favor of Dannette Smith as the department’s new chief executive officer.
Smith has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience and most recently served as director of the Virginia Beach Department of Human Services, a position she held since 2013.
Lawmakers praised Smith for her willingness to listen seriously to their concerns about the state’s social services.
Sen. Sara Howard, chairwoman of the Health and Human Services Committee, says Smith has “hit the ground running” in her new role and urged lawmakers to support the confirmation.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Proposed academic standards for teaching social studies in Nebraska would require public school students to learn how to manage money and would encourage them to look at history from multiple perspectives.
The Nebraska Department of Education is seeking public input on the draft standards released Thursday, which detail what students in kindergarten through 12th grade will learn in history, economics, geography and civics.
The draft builds on standards set in 2012 by adding clarity and direction for teachers, said Harris Payne, the Education Department’s director of social studies. The department is required to update the standards every seven years under state law.
The latest guidelines offer fewer standards but go into more detail. They include guidance about overarching themes that teachers should be addressing at each grade level.
“We’re not giving them 100 targets, but fewer targets and more depth,” Cory Epler said, the department’s chief academic officer.
Under the proposed financial literacy requirements, high school students would learn about setting financial goals, managing debt and investing.
Students will also be encouraged to explore historical events from the perspective of marginalized groups, such as Native Americans, immigrants and people of various sexual orientations. The standards also address climate change and civic engagement.
The Education Department selected a group of teachers, administrators, college representatives and staff from educational service units to create the draft standards. The group worked to make sure the standards align with the state’s multicultural education law, Payne said.
The draft standards are “not perfect” and will likely be edited in the coming months based on public input, Epler said.
The State Board of Education is expected to vote on the revised standards in the fall.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Two Nebraska state agencies that oversee environmental and energy issues are set to merge under a new law approved by Gov. Pete Ricketts.
Ricketts signed the measure last month to combine the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and the Nebraska State Energy Office.
The governor’s office said Friday that Jim Macy will oversee the combined agency in place of his current role as head of the environmental quality department. Former energy office director David Bracht stepped down last year.
The new agency will be renamed the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.
Ricketts proposed the merger as a way to increase state government efficiency. State officials say the merger could save roughly $207,000 in annual personnel expenses. That money will be used instead for operating costs and state aid programs.
The crew from Condon Signs works on installing the new digital sign at the Prairie Arts Center, 416 North Jeffers, on Friday afternoon. PAC will use the sign to promote upcoming classes and events.
The purchase of the sign was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Mid-Nebraska Community Foundation.
