Nebraska

'Defender of Downtrodden' keeps voters guessing as deadline nears to file for 2024 election | Nebraska Examiner

Published

3 months ago

February 19, 2024

'Defender of Downtrodden' keeps voters guessing as deadline nears to file for 2024 election | Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — The self-proclaimed “Defender of the Downtrodden” is keeping voters guessing about whether he might seek to reclaim his North Omaha seat in the Nebraska Legislature.

In a recent interview with the Examiner, former State Sen. Ernie Chambers — the longest serving legislator in state history — said he’s “thinking about” running against incumbent Sen. Terrell McKinney.

‘Thinking’ different than ‘planning’

But Chambers, now 86, added that thinking about it is “different than planning or intending to.”

Former Nebraska State Sen. Ernie Chambers during a news conference in South Omaha on June 28, 2023. (CIndy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)

The final deadline to file as a candidate for the Nebraska Legislature is March 1 at 5 p.m.

The filing deadline for incumbents came and went on Thursday with one big surprise: State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar declined to seek another term, setting off a storm of speculation about who might seek her seat in southeast Nebraska.

Sixteen of the 25 seats up for election in 2024 are “open” seats — seats lacking an incumbent — and four other races feature appointees making their first run to retain their post. Appointees, as history has shown, aren’t a shoo-in for re-election.

Big turnover coming

So a big turnover is ahead for the 49-seat, nonpartisan Unicameral.

As of Friday, only one legislative district in the state lacked a candidate: Fremont’s District 15, where two-term Sen. Lynne Walz is barred from running again due to term limits.

One remaining mystery as the deadline looms is whether Chambers — who served 46 years in the Unicameral — might seek a return to the Legislature, where he often dominated floor debate and listed his occupation as “Defender of the Downtrodden.”

Chambers has “returned” once before, reclaiming his seat in 2012 after being term-limited in 2008.

‘People won’t let me be’

After leaving office in 2021 — again, due to term limits — the veteran senator said he’d consider running again in 2024 if his health was good and his mind was “clear.”

Chambers said both of those boxes are checked, but “people won’t let me be.”

He said that those people believe he could block some of the “bad things” that have happened in recent sessions, and that he has a “magic wand” to do that.

“But there’s only so much one person can do,” Chambers said. “Even Jesus would end up on the cross.”

Still, he described what’s been coming out of Lincoln as “crazy” and “pathetic.”

“It’s like a throwback to all those years ago when you had nutty people bringing backward stuff,” Chambers said.

Yet, the former senator said, it’s hard to imagine driving back and forth to Lincoln, amid the cold, snow and slush of winter, to serve again.

“To be completely honest, I’m thinking about it, but I can’t say really say if I’ll do it,” Chambers said.

Here are the candidates who have filed as of Friday. Incumbents noted with *:

District 1

Mike Powers of Palmyra. A former school board member, he ran unsuccessfully for the Legislature in 2000, 2004 and in 2020.

District 3

Ben “Felix” Ungerman of Papillion. A retired Air Force colonel, he serves as deputy chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Don Bacon.

District 5

Tim Benak of Omaha. A 10-year veteran of the Omaha Fire Department as well as an adjunct instructor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Flint Harkness of Omaha. He serves as a resource teacher for special education.

Margo Juarez of Omaha. A member of the Omaha School Board, she is a retired federal tax examiner.

Gilbert Ayala of Omaha. He ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2016 and 2020, and for Omaha City Council in 2021.

District 7

Dunixi Guereca of Omaha. He is the executive director of Stand for Schools, which supports public schools and opposes school choice laws.

Christopher Geary of Omaha. A martial arts instructor/studio owner and former Marine, he ran unsuccessfully for Omaha mayor in 2017 and the Nebraska Legislature in 2012.

District 9

*John Cavanaugh of Omaha. A lawyer and member of a widely known political family.

Julia Palzer of Omaha. Also a lawyer, she previously served as dean of admissions at Creighton University School of Law.

District 11

* Terrell McKinney of Omaha. A law student at Creighton School of Law.

District 13

Tracy Hightower Henne of Omaha. A lawyer who serves as executive director of the Nebraska Innocence Project.

District 15

None

District 17

Glen Meyer of Pender. Chairman of the Thurston County Board, he has farmed and worked as a sales manager for a seed company.

District 19

*Rob Dover of Norfolk. Real estate manager/owner of a real estate firm. He was appointed to the Legislature in July 2022 by then-Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Jeanne Reigle of Madison. A farmer, she is a member of the governing board of the Northeast Community College.

District 21

*Beau Ballard of Lincoln. A small-business owner, he was appointed to the Legislature in December 2022 by then-Gov. Ricketts.

Seth Derner of Lincoln. He is co-founder of a business that designs instructional programs, curriculum and online learning modules.

District 23

Jacob Wolff of Colon. A Navy veteran who recently moved into the district after living in Omaha.

Dennis Fujan of Prague. A farmer and a Navy veteran, he is a past president of the Nebraska Soybean Association.

Alan Zavodny of David City. A farmer and former David City mayor.

Jared Storm of David City. A small-business owner and pilot.

Allie French of Prague. The co-owner of a bait shop and head of Nebraskans Against Government Overreach.

District 25

*Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln. A former county prosecutor, she was appointed to the Legislature in April by Gov. Jim Pillen.

Nicki Behmer Popp of Lincoln. A small-business owner, Realtor and member of the Lincoln Airport Authority.

Maher Aurang Zeb of Lincoln. A small business owner, he ran unsuccessfully for the Lincoln City Council in 2021 and the Lincoln Airport Authority in 2019.

District 27

Jason Prokop of Lincoln. The director of an early childhood care and education nonprofit, he once served as an adviser to then-U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson.

District 29

*Eliot Bostar of Lincoln. The executive director of the Nebraska Conservation Voters and Conservation Nebraska.

Phil Bruce of Lincoln. A cybersecurity analyst who launched a nonprofit that works on community building.

District 31

*Kathleen Kauth of Omaha. A professional mediator, she was appointed to the Legislature in June 2022 by then-Gov. Ricketts.

Mary Ann Folchert of Omaha. A former teacher.

District 33

Michelle Smith of Hastings. A mental health practitioner.

Dan Lonowski of Hastings. An Army veteran and retired teacher, now a manager for a substance and alcohol abuse prevention program.

Paul Hamelink of Hastings. A former member of the Hastings City Council and owner of a cigar lounge.

District 35

*Ray Aguilar of Grand Island. The retired owner of a janitorial service, he served in the Legislature from 1999 to 2008, then was re-elected to the post in 2020.

Dan Quick of Grand Island. A former state senator, who has served as president of a labor union, he was defeated for re-election in 2020 by Aguilar.

District 37

Stanley Clouse of Kearney. The mayor of Kearney, he is an account manager for Nebraska Public Power District.

Lana Peister of Kearney. A nurse and small business partner.

District 39

Tony Sorrentino of Omaha. A lawyer and certified public accountant, he is president/founder of a firm that helps health plans comply with federal law. Sorrentino ran unsuccessfully for the Legislature in 2006.

Allison Heimes of Omaha. A lawyer, she ran unsuccessfully for the Legislature in 2020.

District 41

Ethan Clark of Ord. He works in marketing for an agriculture implement company.

Nadine Diane Bane of Scotia. A retiree with experience in farming, nursing and trucking.

Daniel McKeon of Amherst. An Army National Guard veteran, he works as an agronomy consultant.

District 43

Tanya Storer of Whitman. A rancher and former member of the Cherry County Board, she ran unsuccessfully for the Legislature in 2020.

Tony Tangwall of Whitney. A rancher and senior pastor at his church.

District 45

*Rita Sanders of Bellevue. A former mayor of Bellevue and a commercial real estate developer.

Sarah Centineo of Bellevue. A nurse and attorney, she is a member of the Bellevue School Board.

District 47

Paul Strommen of Sidney. A member of the Sidney City Council and the Nebraska Oil and Gas Commission, he is an executive with an ethanol plant.

Larry Bolinger of Alliance. A property manager and Air Force veteran, he ran unsuccessfully for Nebraska attorney general in 2022 and for U.S. Congress in 2018 and 2020.

District 49

*Jen Day of Omaha. A small-business owner and fitness coach.

Caleb Muhs, Omaha. A financial consultant, he has degrees in law and finance.

Bob Anderson of Papillion. An Air Force veteran, he and his wife own child care businesses, and he formed a nonprofit geared toward defense-related research.

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Nebraska

Kenyan delegation visits Central Nebraska and tours facilities

Published

1 hour ago

June 1, 2024

Press Room

Kenyan delegation visits Central Nebraska and tours facilities

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) – A Kenyan Delegation visited Central Nebraska on Friday and toured facilities they could potentially send employees to.

The truck driver shortage is no secret.

“There are tens of thousands of truck driving jobs that are open at any given time,” said Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen.

But, global workforce developments in collaboration with Kenya hope to combat that issue.

Grand Island Express is one of the facilities the delegation toured, and they currently have over 20 employees with green-card sponsorships and 60 more in the process of obtaining one.

Evnen addressed concerns Nebraskans may have about the global workforce development, “In this industry, the immigrants aren’t taking people’s jobs, they’re filling jobs that are going unfilled.”

Once the ball gets rolling, Evnen said they expect to have around 500 Kenyans join the workforce.

Kenya Principal Secretary, State Department for Diaspora Affairs, Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Roseline Njogu, has led the delegation and said in her time here, she’s seen similarities in Nebraska and Kenya.

“When people bring 100% or 120% of who they are into these places that just comes through in the workplace,” said Njogu. “So I saw that here and I thought that’s something I’ve also seen at home and I think these values even across all these miles are shared and make for a good, a good pairing.”

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Nebraska

Ex-Nebraska Scouts leader accused of child sex crimes enters plea

Published

9 hours ago

May 31, 2024

Press Room

Ex-Nebraska Scouts leader accused of child sex crimes enters plea

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – A former Nebraska Boy Scouts leader accused of child sex crimes entered a plea in federal court Thursday.

John Shores, Jr., 54, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. He faces 15-20 years in prison as part of the plea agreement, which included the dismissal of several similar charges. Acting U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr reminds the public there is no parole in the federal system.

In August 2023, Shores used the social messaging platform Whisper to communicate with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old female.

Shores asked the officer to exchange naked pictures and eventually arranged to meet with the user, fully under the belief that he’d be encountering a teenage girl. When Shores arrived at the location where they arranged the meeting, officers seized four phones from his vehicle.

The devices underwent forensic examination, which revealed that in July 2020, Shores had conversed with an actual 13-year-old girl living in southeastern Nebraska, who investigators were able to identify.

Shores had previously been associated with the Boy Scouts, but officials with the organization confirmed shortly after the initial allegations last August that he was no longer involved.

Shores is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 23.

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Nebraska

Years after landmark study, number of missing Natives in Nebraska has nearly doubled

Published

16 hours ago

May 31, 2024

Press Room

Years after landmark study, number of missing Natives in Nebraska has nearly doubled

LINCOLN — Lestina Saul-Merdassi still remembers the question she asked herself when her cousin went missing.

Will someone in power try to find him? Will anyone?

Her cousin, Merle Saul, went missing from Grand Island in 2015. He’s one of an estimated 4,200 unsolved cases of missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives nationally, as reported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“I feel like he was basically written off as a transient, written off because he suffered from alcohol-related issues,” said Saul-Merdassi, an Omaha resident and member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Oyate Tribe, during a 2023 legislative hearing. “People did not take into consideration that he is a United States veteran, and he risked his life in the Vietnam War for this country.”

In 2019, the Nebraska Legislature sought to better understand the reason behind the disproportionate number of missing Indigenous women and children in the state. Lawmakers directed the Nebraska State Patrol to investigate and produce recommendations to address the issue.

Five years later, few of those recommendations have been implemented. And the number of reported cases of missing Indigenous people in Nebraska has jumped from 23 in 2020 to 43 in 2024.

Law enforcement, state officials and activists offered a range of explanations for the rise in reported cases and seeming inaction on the report’s recommendations.

Better counting and awareness could be behind part of the increase in known cases, the patrol said.

Leadership changes, the COVID-19 pandemic, historical distrust, and coordination challenges among law enforcement agencies have complicated progress, the report’s authors said.

“Progress is not as fast as I would always like it to be, but I do believe that we are making progress,” said Judi gaiashkibos, a member of the Ponca Tribe and director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs, which worked with the patrol on the report.

The report, released in 2020, put Nebraska at the forefront of states on the issue of missing Indigenous people. At the time it was only the second state in the country to mandate a report investigating these disparities.

It uncovered some surprises – including that rates of missing African American and Indigenous boys and men outpaced the rate of missing Indigenous women. Other states undertook similar investigations, some using research methods first developed and used in the Nebraska report.

Many of those other states have acted on their recommendations. Nebraska, for the most part, has not.

“When I look at the finished project and everything that I learned from it, it’s one of the things I’m most proud of, but at the same time, it’s also one of my biggest failures because we didn’t see it through,” said former Capt. Matt Sutter, who led the report for the patrol.

A need for action

When lawmakers passed their bill in 2019 (Legislative Bill 154), Indigenous women and girls in Nebraska were reported missing at one of the highest rates in the country.

A 2018 analysis by the Urban Indian Health Institute indicated that 10% of Indigenous missing persons cases reported across 71 cities in the U.S. originated from Omaha and Lincoln.

“We needed somebody to do something,” recalled Omaha Tribe member Renee Sans Souci, one of the founding members of Native Women’s Task Force of Nebraska, a grassroots group dedicated to raising awareness about the issue.

The investigation required by the Legislature involved a series of well-attended listening sessions in Omaha, Santee, Macy, and Winnebago. Tribal and non-tribal residents attended, as did law enforcement and other organizations.

“We were there. And we were listening,” said patrol investigator Tyler Kroenke, who was then the lieutenant of a patrol area in northeast Nebraska that overlaps with reservation land.

The resulting report identified three primary issues: jurisdictional uncertainty; lack of communication between law enforcement agencies; and racial misclassification of missing people.

And it identified contributing factors: poverty, high rates of domestic abuse, high levels of substance abuse and geographic isolation in some Native communities.

Sans Souci already knew this.

Months before the report was released, Sans Souci’s niece, Ashlea Aldrich, 29, was found dead in a field near her boyfriend’s house, according to local news reports. The family told the Sioux City Journal that they had made dozens of calls to tribal police over the years with concerns about possible domestic violence against Aldrich, but said nothing was done.

The death certificate obtained by the Journal listed her immediate cause of death as “hypothermia complicating acute alcohol toxicity” and characterized her death as an “accident.” Aldrich’s family disagrees.

“We have to be our own detectives, our own attorneys, and often it’s the families who have to search for their missing loved ones,” Sans Souci said. “My sister has to live with that every day.”

Four years after Aldrich’s death, activists said uncertainty and a lack of trust persist.

“I believe some of that could go back to colonization and the U.S. Calvary, and how they violated our people, our women and our rights,” Saul-Merdassi said.

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