Nebraska
Nebraska lawmakers raise concerns about governor’s pick to lead state health department
:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/BPWZX4JTIFCT5CF5CPFO3S6QH4.JPG "Nebraska lawmakers raise concerns about governor’s pick to lead state health department")
LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – Gov. Jim Pillen’s appointment for CEO of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services was met with some harsh criticisms from some Nebraska lawmakers since Tuesday’s announcement that the job had been filled.
Dr. Steve Corsi is set to take on the role Sept. 11, replacing Dannette Smith, who exited the department earlier this month after serving at the helm of DHHS since her appointment by then-Gov. Pete Ricketts in January 2019.
Gov. Pillen’s office said in an email reply to 6 News on Wednesday that he chose Corsi because of his track record of conservatism and public service.
“Gov. Pillen was elected because of his strong conservative values. He has now appointed someone who also has a strong conservative track record of competence and experience in state health and social services to lead one of Nebraska’s most significant agencies.
Gov. Pillen expects all public servants, especially those entrusted with leadership responsibilities, to treat others with the utmost dignity and respect. Dr. Corsi has an established record of public service and servant leadership in multiple roles, including as a military officer responsible for the emotional health of all other service members in his care. Dr. Corsi’s experience meets the high expectations set by Gov. Pillen for all cabinet members.”
“I hope that he will meet the standards that Warren Buffett uses: first integrity, second intelligence, and third energy, and he looks like he has that potential,” said State Sen. Merv Riepe.
After reviewing Corsi’s credentials, Riepe said he believes he’s well-trained for the position.
And when it comes to his views shared publicly online, Riepe adds that he’s willing to give Corsi the benefit of the doubt.
“There isn’t any place in the state where we need discrimination against either any particular part of the population, whether it’s religious, conservatives or whether it’s the LGBTQ community or even the transgender community,” Riepe said. “[Corsi] has to start at the top with a big view.”
State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh’s input was more direct.
“A simple Google search does bring up some alarming questions of qualifications and really integrity and ethics,” she said in an interview with 6 News on Wednesday. “I’m hopeful the governor has done the due diligence of making those types of inquiries and getting solid answers as to why this is the right fit for Nebraska.”
Cavanaugh, who sits on the Health and Human Services Committee in the state legislature alongside Riepe, said she’s anxious to sit down with both Corsi and Pillen to learn more about him and his objectives for the role.
Right now, Cavanaugh said she’s worried about the trans and LGBTQ youth who are under the direct care of the state.
“Any youth that identifies in a way that is in conflict to how this gentleman believes, may not receive the appropriate care and quality care that they deserve to have, and that’s a huge concern,” Cavanaugh said.
“Hopefully he’s smart enough and wise enough to say ‘Look, I’m willing to try to look at this and say what works for the state of Nebraska, and the people of Nebraska,’” Riepe adds.
State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha posted several tweets Tuesday raising concerns about Corsi, calling into question his credentials and flagging reports from a Wyoming newspaper about controversial punishments implemented during his tenure as the state’s interim director of family services.
She also shared a link to a Missouri newspaper article reporting Corsi had been receiving paychecks from two state agencies simultaneously.
Hunt vowed to block Corsi in next year’s legislative session.
It’s not hard to find credible medical experts to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. This is just a leadership failure on the part of Gov Pillen.
They either did zero vetting of @SteveCorsi, or they vetted him and they loved him. I don’t know which is worse.
— Senator Megan Hunt (@NebraskaMegan) August 15, 2023
State Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha also raised concerns in his post on Wednesday morning.
“Corsi’s publicly available record raises a number of flags,” he said in an X post. “The leader of DHHS should not be vetted based on partisan values. They should be vetted on their ability to effectively serve the diverse health and human service needs of Nebraskans.”
Before Corsi’s X account was made private sometime before 6 p.m. Tuesday, 6 News took note of a post he had retweeted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, from a “citizen journalist” website account that perpetuates content from anti-vaccination influencers. A Nebraska Examiner report noted other posts Corsi had “liked,” including one suggesting transgender people are suffering from a mental illness.
According to the state, Corsi will be paid an annual salary of $257,000, corresponding with the salary of former DHHS CEO Dannette Smith.
Most recently, Corsi was the CEO of the Central Wyoming Counseling Center. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California Baptist University in the psychology field.
Copyright 2023 WOWT. All rights reserved.
Nebraska is now a leader to land Aiden Manutai. Here is the latest.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers aren’t exactly done in the 2025 cycle as they have been searching for some flip targets. After actively searching, the Huskers may have found another one.
That guy is Aiden Manutai. Manutai is a Kahuku High School defensive back from Kahuku, Hawaii. He plays safety and is a listed four-star from ESPN. Manutai is committed to the California Golden Bears.
Manutai has been a target for the Cornhuskers for a bit of time and started to trend towards the Cornhuskers earlier this month. Manutai was originally interested in Nebraska along with five other schools before committing to the Bears.
Manutai did not make a trip to Lincoln this weekend, which is a good sign for the Golden Bears. However, the Cornhuskers are in a good spot despite this visit not happening. The Huskers made their first bowl game in years which is a positive sign for any recruit.
Manutai is also one of many recruits who were influenced by the addition of Dawson Merritt, who recently flipped from Alabama to Nebraska. Will Manutai be the next flip for the Big Red?
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It was an unseasonably nice afternoon in Memorial Stadium. And no, I’m not talking about temperatures in the high 50s for the final home game. In his second game as offensive coordinator, Dana Holgorsen’s offense exploded for arguably the Nebraska offense’s best game under Matt Rhule. Dylan Raiola played his best game, throwing for over 290 yards with no sacks and no turnovers. For the first time all season, I’d say the Huskers played well in all three phases of the game, and that was enough to send them bowling this December.
The story of this game was the Huskers offense. Emmett Johnson became Nebraska’s second 100-yard running back of the Matt Rhule era, joining Anthony Grant last season against Louisiana Tech. The Huskers had just two of their runs “stuffed” (a run for 0 or fewer yards) on their way to their second-best rushing output this season.
I was struck by the blocking effort in this game. Jahmal Banks held his block on the edge until Dante Dowdell crossed the goal line. Linemen were pulling and still blocking ten yards downfield, helping players fight for extra yards. That type of extra effort made this a special night for the offense.
The Husker’s offense also dominated the control of the ball. The Nebraska offense was built on methodical drives. Even if you remove Nebraska’s two explosive plays, the Huskers offense still managed an EPA of 3.88. This was the first game all season where Nebraska’s non-explosive plays went for a positive EPA.
Special teams was also a big positive for the Huskers in this game. Nebraska’s special teams performed 12.5 points better than Wisconsin’s this game. This was just the second time this season that Nebraska’s special teams unit was a net positive (Ohio State, 2.86 EPA). John Hohl’s 14 points were the most by a kicker in the Matt Rhule era.
The defense still had its concerning moments this game. Wisconsin performed in the 90th percentile or better in many offensive statistics, including its seven explosive plays. These big plays are a cause for concern against Iowa, as the Wisconsin offense is one of the worst teams in the country in generating explosive plays, at just 5.8%. The Nebraska defense was stout on crucial plays, allowing just a 30% 3rd-down success rate and a 33% red zone success rate.
Going into this game, Nebraska lost nine straight games after winning number five and ten consecutive games to Wisconsin. Many people on social media want to make fun of Nebraska fans for storming the field after getting to bowl eligibility. I’m happy these people can enjoy their laughs while they can. The Matt Rhule rebuild is running on schedule, and we all know what year three looks like for him.
Through 11 games, the Nebraska skill position group is the youngest in college football. The extra practice to build chemistry with each other and get more practice reps running Holgorsen’s offense is invaluable. The 2024 seniors won much less than most in Lincoln would’ve liked. But as they walked off the field for the final time, they put Nebraska football on a new trajectory.
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Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
Nebraska and Wisconsin Volleyball have played a total of six sets against each other this season, all of which have been won by the Huskers. Seniors, Merritt Beason, Leyla Blackwell, Lindsay Krause, Kennadi Orr and Lexi Rodriguez were all celebrated for their contributions to the program after tonight’s win.
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