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Nebraska lawmakers question why state prison leaders failed to comply with mandates

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Nebraska lawmakers question why state prison leaders failed to comply with mandates


Grappling with nation-leading jail progress, Nebraska officers are taking a look at methods to develop the state’s problem-solving courts as a possible answer.


LINCOLN — Like a instructor lecturing a scholar for failing to show in homework, Nebraska lawmakers Tuesday questioned why state corrections leaders have so typically failed to provide reviews, plans and different work merchandise mandated by the Legislature.

A 2021 legislation gave the Nebraska Division of Correctional Providers cash to provide you with a plan for a “midway again home,” a structured surroundings for parole violators in need of returning them to jail.

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That very same 12 months, lawmakers mandated a complete amenities research, and likewise required a research to find out whether or not inmates had been being correctly labeled primarily based on safety and programming wants.

Again in 2015, lawmakers required the division to provide an digital medical information monitoring system, and likewise to comprehensively research the effectiveness of its rehabilitation programming for inmates.

Persons are additionally studying…

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Thus far, none of these issues have been produced.

“The willingness to disregard what we’ve required in laws is regarding,” mentioned State Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha throughout a listening to of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.

He urged the division deliberately didn’t comply with the directives. He and different senators cited these failures as among the many causes Nebraska continues to have the nation’s most overcrowded jail system.

“Fairly frankly, not a lot has modified,” mentioned Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln.

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It fell to the division’s interim director — who has been on the job for simply days — to reply to senators’ questions. Scott Frakes, who led the division for seven years throughout the administration of Gov. Pete Ricketts, retired efficient earlier this month.

Interim Director Diane Sabatka-Rine supplied a wide range of causes for the failure to satisfy legislative mandates. The amenities research, for one, might be executed by the tip of this 12 months, and the inmate classification research by March, she mentioned.

However she additionally mentioned there’s little doubt the division has made “significant change” lately, citing enhancements in staffing and a recidivism price that she mentioned ranks in the very best one-third within the nation.

She additionally mentioned the division will proceed to discover greatest practices that may assist offenders succeed upon launch.

“I believe we will proceed to enhance the standard of life in lots of respects for our inhabitants,” she mentioned.

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Lathrop mentioned he referred to as Tuesday’s listening to as a technique to assess the place Nebraska’s long-troubled correctional system stands because the state prepares to usher in a brand new administration. The system for years has suffered from extreme inmate overcrowding and continual shortages of employees.

There’s now a chance to reset relations between the Legislature and corrections division. By subsequent 12 months, there might be a brand new governor, a brand new corrections director and far turnover within the Legislature’s management.

In response to a query, Sabatka-Rine indicated she is all in favour of changing into the everlasting corrections director. She is a 40-year division veteran, together with 10 years as a warden at three amenities, and 7 years serving inside central administration.

Throughout Tuesday’s listening to, Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln expressed frustration on the failure of the division to ship the analysis of inmate programming.

She mentioned persistent overcrowding within the prisons has led to staffing shortages, which in flip has left too little employees to supply for jail programming, which then led to inmates being launched unprepared to succeed, which then meant reoffending and extra overcrowding.

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“It’s a steady, vicious cycle,” she mentioned.

Sabatka-Rine mentioned the 2015 programming research was launched after which misplaced steam as a result of some employees turnover. However she mentioned the division “does all in its energy” to get inmates the assistance they want.

She mentioned generally inmates enter jail with sentences too brief to permit them to finish programming, or at occasions they refuse to take it.

Some senators questioned why inmates don’t get medical programming like alcohol and drug remedy till they’re inside three years of launch. Sabatka-Rine mentioned that’s primarily based on greatest practices nationally, which have discovered remedy is simplest simply earlier than inmates re-enter society.

The Legislature this previous session renewed its name for a programming research, passing one other such legislation. Sabatka-Rine mentioned the division is now engaged with the College of Nebraska at Omaha to launch the brand new research.

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The dearth of an digital medical monitoring system regardless of the 2015 mandate was raised final week as a potential issue within the loss of life of a 40-year-old inmate. The inmate had been in custody for practically 10 years earlier than she obtained a Pap smear, a preventative screening that would have revealed her treatable cervical most cancers.

Sabatka-Rine mentioned the division initially sought to satisfy the medical information mandate by shopping for an “off-the-shelf” program.

It then discovered this system wouldn’t adequately combine with the division’s different methods. The division then began to develop this system in-house, a course of that’s ongoing.

Lathrop mentioned the great amenities wants research ought to have been accomplished this 12 months, earlier than the Legislature thought-about Ricketts’ proposal to construct a $270 million, 1,500-bed jail to interchange the Nebraska State Penitentiary. Ultimately, senators determined to put aside the cash for a brand new jail however declined to acceptable it.

“It must be executed earlier than we spend one nickel on new house,” Lathrop mentioned.

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Whereas Ricketts had bought the brand new jail as a substitute for the penitentiary, Lathrop urged the older facility will finally be repurposed for extra prisoner housing. Pressed by Lathrop on whether or not that was probably, Sabatka-Rine mentioned it’s troublesome to foretell future capability wants.

“I’m closing the door,” she mentioned of the likelihood. “I’m not locking the door.”

Lathrop mentioned he nonetheless doesn’t perceive what occurred to the Legislature’s request for the halfway-back home. The concept behind the power was to offer parolees who commit technical violations a spot to reset their lives in need of having them returned to jail.

Lathrop mentioned he thought the directive was clear in each the laws and in a subsequent assembly he held with Frakes. As a substitute, the division not too long ago produced a report back to create 96 beds of transitional housing for paroled inmates.

“It’s not what we requested for,” Lathrop mentioned. “And we couldn’t have been clearer.”

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The World-Herald’s occasional collection on Nebraska’s jail disaster begins with the the state’s nation-leading incarceration spike, and the way previous actions by lawmakers have performed a job in that progress.

Paying the Price: Well-worn path to prison in North Omaha fuels racial incarceration disparities

Nebraska locks up individuals of shade at larger charges than the U.S. as a complete. The gaps between its low White incarceration price and excessive charges for racial minorities are among the many widest within the nation.

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Paying the Price: Lure of Omaha gangs proved too strong at age 12

Anthony Washington now sees his devotion to his gang as a “false idolization” that helped steer him to jail.

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Paying the Price: Once on death row, he wants to show that inmates can change

When Shakur Abdullah speaks to jail inmates who’re getting ready to transition again to society, he counsels them not to surrender hope they will flip their lives round.

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Omaha shows stiffer sentences aren't only way to tackle gun violence

Omaha police have labored hand in hand with affected communities to make use of all-new techniques, together with a beefed-up gang specialty unit, shot detection expertise and enhanced rewards for ideas.

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Gun law shifted hundreds of gun cases from federal courts — at state taxpayer expense

Nebraska’s powerful 2009 legislation despatched offenders to a state jail cell as an alternative of a federal one. Apart from the price to Nebraska taxpayers, the shift meant inmates had been higher capable of hold native gang ties.

cordes@owh.com, ​402-444-1130, twitter.com/henrycordes

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Nebraska

Busboom Kelly gets major pay bump as Nebraska volleyball head coach

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Busboom Kelly gets major pay bump as Nebraska volleyball head coach


LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – New Nebraska volleyball head coach Dani Busboom Kelly has signed a six-year, $4.575 million contract with the Huskers, set to begin Friday.

According to documents released by Nebraska Athletics, Busboom Kelly will earn a base salary of $700,000 in her first year, with annual increases of $25,000. By the final year of her contract, which runs through Jan. 31, 2031, she will make $825,000.

According to documents released by Nebraska Athletics, Dani Busboom Kelly will earn a base salary of $700,000 in her first year, with annual increases of $25,000. By the final year of her contract, which runs through Jan. 31, 2031, she will make $825,000.(Nebraska Athletics)

Her contract includes performance bonuses, including $50,000 if Nebraska wins the Big Ten Conference Championship and $100,000 if she is named AVCA National Coach of the Year.

She would also receive a $50,000 bonus for reaching the NCAA volleyball tournament’s Final Four and $100,000 for winning the national title.

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Another clause of the contract states that if the Huskers make it to the Final Four in any given year, the contract will be extended another year, with the same $25,000 base salary increase.

At Louisville, Busboom Kelly’s base salary was $400,000 through 2028.

Busboom Kelly will succeed her former coach and mentor, John Cook, who announced his retirement on Wednesday after 25 seasons as Nebraska’s head volleyball coach.

Cook was earning $825,000 before retiring, having signed a contract extension in May 2024.

Busboom Kelly will be formally introduced as the Huskers’ head coach on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The welcome event will be open to the public with an introductory press conference to follow.

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Parents deserve the right to choose what’s best for their children • Nebraska Examiner

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Parents deserve the right to choose what’s best for their children • Nebraska Examiner


Every parent wants their child to succeed. That looks different for every student — whether it’s academic excellence, social growth or emotional well-being. But ultimately it’s about helping each child reach their full potential. When a child struggles in school — whether academically, socially or emotionally — parents deserve real solutions to help them thrive.

This week is National School Choice Week, and it’s a reminder of the importance of empowering parents to choose the school that best meets their child’s unique needs. Public, private or parochial — every student deserves a chance to succeed in an environment that works for them. 

During my time in the Legislature, I worked with my colleagues, Gov. Pete Ricketts, and later Gov. Jim Pillen to champion education reform that supported kids, parents, teachers, and taxpayers.

Education matters

We mandated a focus on reading in early grades and testing for learning disabilities so conditions like dyslexia are diagnosed and addressed at an early age. We invested in teacher recruitment, retention and loan forgiveness programs. And we provided a record 38% increase in state funding for public schools, the largest increase in four decades.  

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This funding included a minimum of $1,500 per student in foundation aid that provided state funding to more than 180 rural school districts that otherwise weren’t receiving state K-12 equalization aid. We also increased how much the state would cover of special education costs from 42% to 80%, doubling the state’s commitment to children with special needs.  

Despite relentless opposition from the teachers union, a bipartisan majority of the Legislature passed school choice bills in 2023 and 2024. With the adoption of the Opportunity Scholarships Act tax credit program two years ago, Nebraska became the 49th state to approve a school choice bill. Last year the Legislature replaced that program with an education scholarship program funded with a $10 million state appropriation.

Through these two scholarship programs, more than 4,000 students from across the state were given access to the best educational fit for them.  These scholarships are making a life-changing difference for families in Norfolk, Seward, Beatrice, Omaha, Nebraska City, Ogallala, South Sioux City, David City, Grand Island, Lincoln and dozens more communities across the state. For many families, this is the first time they’ve been able to choose an educational path that meets their children’s needs. 

Tragically for these families, special interests led by unions spent more than $7 million misrepresenting these programs, which resulted in their repeal in November. There is a disturbing irony in the election results.  Former teachers union president Jenni Benson gave a TV interview in which she stated their repeal efforts wouldn’t take scholarships from kids. The union’s paid advertising stated the scholarship programs took money from public schools. And petition circulators said the program benefitted the rich when the program prioritized low-income families. Regardless of the barrage of false claims, several communities, who want and need better educational options voted not to repeal Opportunity Scholarships.  

These communities stretch across Nebraska, from the economically depressed urban areas of Omaha to Scotts Bluff County and communities as diverse as Lexington and Norfolk. 

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Growing elsewhere

Meanwhile school choice is advancing across the country with new and expanded programs proposed in Texas, North Dakota, Tennessee, South Dakota, Virginia and elsewhere.  

Across the Missouri River, Iowa’s education savings account (ESA) program will be accessible to all families regardless of income beginning this fall. Nebraska families deserve the same opportunities. 

Supporters of school choice in Nebraska won’t relent because the future of our kids is too important to walk away from. This year Nebraska lawmakers will consider several proposals to empower parents to choose the school that’s the best fit for their child, including an Iowa-style ESA, vouchers, and tax credit scholarships, among others.  

With more than 4,000 Nebraska students receiving scholarships in the current school year, a new program will be needed to keep those students from losing their newfound opportunity. I simply cannot believe Nebraskans are in favor of disrupting the education of 4,000 children who finally found the right school.

We must stand together for these children and protect their scholarships. This is common sense, and it should not be controversial. As Governor Jim Pillen said in his State of the State address, “Every child deserves a chance to succeed.”  

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Lou Ann Linehan served as chair of the Nebraska Legislature’s Revenue Committee for six years before being term-limited after 2024.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

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Cook retires after 722 volleyball wins at Nebraska

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Cook retires after 722 volleyball wins at Nebraska


Nebraska women’s volleyball coach John Cook, who won four NCAA titles in 25 seasons with the Cornhuskers, announced his retirement Wednesday.

Former Nebraska player and assistant Dani Busboom Kelly will take over the Huskers program after eight seasons leading Louisville.

“It’s been a great run,” Cook, 68, said in a statement released by Nebraska. “I want to thank my family for their support … I’ve had the opportunity to work with some great coaches and staff over the years, and I’m forever grateful for how hard they worked and for how much they gave to Nebraska volleyball.”

Busboom Kelly, 39, was a key player for the 2006 Huskers team that won the national championship in Omaha, Nebraska. She was a setter and a libero during her college playing career.

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She was Cook’s assistant in 2015, when Nebraska also won the NCAA title in Omaha. A Nebraska native, Busboom Kelly took over at Louisville in 2017 and went 203-43 with the Cardinals, leading them to the Final Four three times. That included national championship match appearances in 2022, when the Cardinals lost to Texas, and in 2024, when they fell to Penn State.

Busboom Kelly’s Cardinals won or shared the ACC title four times, and she was AVCA National Coach of the Year in 2021, when Louisville made the Final Four for the first time in program history.

Busboom Kelly agreed to a six-year contract with Nebraska, the school announced.

“The opportunity to come home to Nebraska is more than a dream come true,” she said in a statement. “A huge thank you to John Cook. I would not be here without his mentorship and support.

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“I’ve gotten chills listening to the roars (for Nebraska volleyball) since I was 9 years old. Nebraska is the greatest place in the world to play volleyball and I am honored to be a part of it once again! My family and I can’t wait to get to work and bring more championships home.”

Cook, a San Diego native, began his coaching career at the high school level in California and then was a college assistant at UC San Diego and Nebraska before becoming head coach at Wisconsin in 1992. After seven seasons with the Badgers, he returned to Nebraska as associate head coach in 1999 and then took over the Huskers in 2000, when he won his first NCAA title. The Huskers’ other national championships were in 2006, 2015 and 2017.

Cook has led the Huskers to 12 appearances in the Final Four, including this past season when they lost to Penn State in the semifinals.

Cook won nine regular-season titles when Nebraska was in the Big 12 and five when the school moved to the Big Ten. His career head coaching record is 883-176 (.834), the fifth-best winning percentage all time for a Division I volleyball coach.

Cook was 722-103 at Nebraska, which is the best winning percentage (.875) for any Division I program over the past 25 years. He was a three-time AVCA National Coach of the Year. Under Cook, Nebraska produced five Olympians, three AVCA Division I National Player of the Year award winners and 72 AVCA All-Americans.

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Nebraska also set the standard for volleyball attendance, consistently selling out its former home, the NU Coliseum (which held 4,125), during the first half of Cook’s career and then doing the same in the larger Devaney Center (8,300) when the team relocated there in 2013. Nebraska has sold out 337 consecutive regular-season home matches since 2001 and has led the nation in attendance every season since moving to the Devaney Center.

Under Cook, the Huskers also set a world record for attendance at a women’s sporting event on Aug. 30, 2023, when Nebraska faced Omaha at Memorial Stadium before a crowd of 92,003.

“For me personally, the greatest accomplishment in coaching is seeing former players go into coaching or other careers and taking the lessons they’ve learned from being a Nebraska volleyball player and applying it to their everyday lives,” Cook said.

“Lastly and most importantly, I want to thank the fans for always supporting Nebraska volleyball. I’ve always said to ‘Dream Big,’ and we’ve dreamed bigger than any volleyball program in the history of the world.”



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