Nebraska
80% of Nebraska EMS agencies rely on volunteers to make sacrifice for rural communities
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) — A Hickman woman’s story of waiting for an ambulance during a medical emergency has put a spotlight on rural emergency medical services across Nebraska.
Ronicka Schottel suffered a miscarriage Aug. 12 and waited more than half an hour for an ambulance — all while her mother repeatedly called 911.
But it’s not just a Hickman problem — or even just a Nebraska problem. Like the pandemic highlighted, healthcare problems are exacerbated in rural areas.
A 2024 report from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services shows 80% of EMS agencies are staffed exclusively with volunteers.
That’s forcing agencies across the state to grapple with how to recruit and retain talent willing to serve and sacrifice their own personal time.
“When I first moved to Linwood after I got married, several of the volunteers had asked me to join and I never did,” said Linwood Fire Chief Joel Cerny. I thought I was too busy. Then we had a small fire in our yard, and it was racing up the hill towards my barn full of straw. Volunteers came and put it out before it got to the barn and saved my barn. So I thought if all them guys took time off of their day to come help me, I should help them.”
That was 40 years ago — and Joel Cerny has been a volunteer firefighter/EMT ever since — serving the last 25 years as chief.
Linwood is located in Butler County, Nebraska, a small town just south of the Platte River registering around 100 residents as of the 2020 census.
Cerny said people often move to rural communities like his without realizing there’s not someone sitting at the station 24/7.
Getting someone certified to work fires is fairly straightforward, but EMT certification requires a months-long class, 180 hours and a difficult national registry test.
A 2024 Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services report showed there’s about 6,300 EMT licenses in Nebraska, but that doesn’t mean they’re all active.
Cerny and Blair Volunteer Firefighter/EMT Brenda Jenny have both made the volunteer sacrifice, giving up events, holidays, work and sleep to make a difference in their communities.
“My dad was on the department as well,” Jenny said. “He was a 55-year member of the Blair Volunteer Fire Department, so I learned from the best.”
Jenny tries to make her dad proud, her heart for service born from years of watching her dad.
“It has to come from the heart,” she said of the struggle to find new volunteers. “You have to want to serve the community and serve your fellow neighbors. And in this day and age, I think everybody is time starved.”
Blair VFD has started a cadet program to try and get new recruits.
Hickman Fire Chief John Brady previously told 10/11 they have been working with Lincoln Fire and Rescue to try and get EMS technicians on a rotation in Hickman, getting them experience and potentially a small stipend to help the volunteer department have more coverage.
At their rural fire board meeting on Monday, Chief Brady also said the department has 11 new applicants, nine of whom are emergency medicine providers, and also just recently purchased three vehicles, one of which is a new ambulance.
10/11 Investigates will be looking at solutions in a story next week, including more on Schottel’s story and an in-depth look at one town in northern Kansas that is innovating to solve their shortage.
This is a complex story and only one part of a multi-part series. If you or someone you know has an experience with rural EMS in Nebraska, reach out to Darsha Dodge at Darsha.Dodge@1011now.com.
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Iowa coach Ben McCollum met with the media following his team’s 77-71 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Sweet 16. The Cornhuskers led by three at the half but Iowa was able to outscore Nebraska 34-25 in the second half.
Pryce Sandfort led all scorers with 25 points while shooting 8 of 13 from the field and 6 of 10 from the 3-point line. Bennett Stirtz led the Hawkeyes with 20 points and played for all 40 minutes.
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Iowa shot 52% (27-52) from the floor, 43% (13-30) from beyond the arc and 83% (10-12) from the free throw line. Nebraska struggled shooting 41% (24-58) from the field, 34% (13-38) from the 3-point line and 91% (10-11) from the charity stripe.
The Hawkeyes’ head coach acknowledged that his team had a poor start but a great finish and said that his team will need to play better to advance beyond the Elite Eight.
Yeah, I think to start we weren’t fantastic to start. They had an elite game plan to start. They played with elite pace. They adjusted their defense quite a bit. I think a lot of people will talk about the rivalry. I was around it when I was in Iowa, you know, and grew up in Iowa and understand the rivalry and whatnot. It’s nice to have — I guess if you would a call it rival that runs such a class program.
I think Coach Hoiberg, they have got great kids. They completely turned everything around from the previous season, and they have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about or anything. I have the utmost respect for them, all their players, and especially Coach Hoiberg. Heck of a season. I know it’s no consolation, but we still want to beat ’em every time and they want to beat us every time.
But from and internal perspective, there’s not a lot of bad blood there. It’s actually a lot of respect. I was really pleased with our second-half performance. I thought we actually decided we were going to try — not try. They had a lot to do with it, but kind of. Yeah, they’re smiling over there because they saw me break my marker.
And I thought our kids did a good job of executing offensively in both halves. We spent a lot of time trying to make sure that we could score, and you saw the result of that. We didn’t defend. But we were able to score, so we were able to stay in the game long enough and then get enough stops and had some big possessions down the stretch. Really good program win for everybody, coaches, managers, everybody included.
Iowa advances to the Elite Eight with the victory. Nebraska’s season ends with a record of 28-7.
Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.
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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday
LINCOLN, Neb — Gov. Jim Pillen has appointed Antonio Gomez of Jackson to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, adding a longtime Siouxland business leader and public servant to the panel.
Commission members serve four-year terms and are subject to approval by the Nebraska Legislature.
Gomez launched Gomez Pallets in South Sioux City in 1983. He has since retired from daily operations, but last year the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce recognized him with the W. Edwards Deming Business Leadership and Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.
Gomez previously served on the Nebraska Commission on Latino Americans from 1981 to 2002. He also served as a Dakota County commissioner for 12 years and was on the Foundation Board for Northeast Community College.
Gomez’s appointment is effective April 1.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers will face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. This is the Huskers’ first Sweet 16 in program history, while Iowa is playing in its first Sweet 16 since 1999.
Nebraska defeated Vanderbilt 74-72 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Iowa advanced after beating the defending national champion, the Florida Gators, 73-72.
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CBS Sports reporter Isaac Trotter broke down Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup. Trotter started by looking at the two previous matchups in this series.
These teams have played twice. Iowa won at home in a 57-52 rockfight. Nebraska returned the favor by winning at home, 84-75 in overtime, in another to-the-death brawl.
It’s no secret that Nebraska’s defense caused significant problems for the Iowa offense in the second game, and if the Hawkeyes are going to win the rubber match, Trotter believes that turnovers will be the key.
There are no secrets in the rubber match. Nebraska’s no-middle defense has given Iowa real problems both times. The Hawkeyes turned it over 20% of the time in Game 1 and 26% of the time in Game 2. That can’t happen in the third encounter.
CBS Sports believes that Iowa has the best player on the floor in Bennett Stirtz, but Trotter also believes that Nebraska’s defense is just too much in the end for Iowa.
Iowa has the best player on the floor, Bennett Stirtz, and can hurt Nebraska on the glass, but the Huskers get the nod because of this pick-and-roll defense. You have to be able to guard ball screens effectively to shut down Iowa, and Nebraska has been an elite pick-and-roll defense, rating in the 99th percentile nationally, per Synergy.
In the end, Trotter selected Nebraska as his pick. Should the Huskers advance to the Elite Eight, Nebraska would play the winner of the Illinois-Houston game. Nebraska-Iowa play in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT on TBS.
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Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16
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