Nebraska recently became one of the stops for the nationally based Feeding and Fueling the World workshop series.
Sponsored locally by the Nebraska Corn Board and the Nebraska Soybean Board, the workshop was designed for science teachers by science teachers to learn curriculum emphasizing modern agriculture that they can take back to their classrooms.
“We know that a lot of our students are not going to be directly working in production agriculture…” said Stacie Turnbull, secretary of agriculture education, “but they’re going to be heavily involved in the outside aspects providing the financial side of agriculture, the precision ag, food processing… as we continue to provide for this growing population.”
Science content with a focus on agriculture covers topics like biotechnology, soil health, renewable energy like biofuels, and other subjects to help advocate for the role American agriculture plays in feeding the growing world.
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The Feeding and Fueling the World series is facilitated nationally by the Nourish the Future education initiative and will make stops in North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Iowa throughout the rest of the month of June.
For more information visit https://nourishthefuture.org/events.
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Thirty-two Nebraska state senators joined Sen. Brad von Gillern’s letter calling on the Nebraska Board of Regents to delay a vote on the proposed $800 million acquisition of Nebraska Medicine.
The letter, dated Thursday and bearing a total of 33 signatures from state senators, shared concerns about the proposed acquisition, including the lack of transparency to the public and the Legislature.
According to the letter, the regents’ Jan. 9 meeting agenda item summary indicates that the Board has “negotiated the final agreement over a series of meetings in the past 18 months”.
The regents will consider a proposal in which Clarkson Regional Health Services would give up its 50% membership in Nebraska Medicine. The deal would give full control of the health system to the University of Nebraska.
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However, the letter said the public and Legislature have had little time to understand the proposal, its impact and any financial implications of the transaction.
“The University of Nebraska and Nebraska Medicine are two institutions of tremendous significance to our state, and any major changes to the existing structures must be carefully considered,” the letter stated.
Senators are asking the Board to delay the vote to “ensure all viable alternatives have been considered and until all stakeholders understand the impact of the proposal for the state” and the two institutions.
The Board of Regents meeting, previously set for Friday, will now be held Thursday, Jan. 15 at 9 a.m.
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A political dispute broke out on the first day of Nebraska’s legislative session after Governor Jim Pillen accused State Senator Machaela Cavanaugh of removing portraits from the capitol walls. Cavanaugh says she was following building rules and denies the move was political.
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Parts of a temporary historical exhibit inside the Nebraska State Capitol were torn down by a state senator, Gov. Pillen alleges.
Gov. Pillen said Wednesday on social media that several displays of historical figures, key events in the American Revolution and portraits of those who signed the Declaration of Independence were “ripped off the walls” by state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha.
A 40-second video shared by Pillen appears to show Sen. Cavanaugh taking down several displays and a photo showed the items on the floor of her office.
A 40-second video shared by Gov. Jim Pillen shows Sen. Cavanaugh taking down several displays and a photo showed the items on the floor of her office.(Governor Jim Pillen’s office)
The displays featuring material made by the controversial conservative group PragerU were put up in the state Capitol as part of the United States’ 250th anniversary.
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“Celebrating America during our 250th year should be a moment of unity and patriotism, not divisiveness and destructive partisanship. I am disappointed in this shameful and selfish bad example,” Pillen wrote.
Cavanaugh told 10/11 that senators are prohibited from putting items on the walls in the hallway outside their offices. She said the posters line the entire hallway around the first floor, but she only took down the ones outside her office.
“When I walked in this morning and saw these poster boards lining the hallway of my office, I thought well I’m not allowed to have things lining the hall of my office… I tried to take them down as gently as I could and not damage any of them, and I stacked them inside of my office and I let the state patrol know that they were there,” Cavanaugh said.
PragerU has previously faced criticism for making content that historians, researchers and scholars have considered inaccurate or misleading. Some parents and educators have also spoken out against the nonprofit, saying its content spreads misinformation and is being used for “indoctrinating children.”
The Founders Museum exhibit in particular has been criticized by The American Historical Association for blurring the line between reality and fiction, according to NPR.
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The exhibit is supposed to remain on display during public building hours through the summer.
Nebraska’s celebration of America’s 250th birthday includes showcasing historical figures and events in our most important public space, our beautiful State Capitol. These include Declaration of Independence signers and prominent women in American history, among others.
