LINCOLN, Neb. — New requirements for the Emergency Food Assistance Program could mean some people lose access to food they previously received, and organizations like the Food Bank of Lincoln are warning the community about the looming change.

It has been five months since the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) directed state agencies to review options to ensure undocumented immigrants do not receive taxpayer-funded benefits like food from the program. Nebraska DHHS manages the program in the state, and food banks distribute the food. DHHS confirms it is currently evaluating potential implementation of the request.

Says in a statement provided to 10/11,

The Food Bank of Lincoln says 10 percent of the food it distributes is provided by the USDA through the program, and the new rule would add another barrier to food access.

“We believe that all people should have access to food. Always. End of story for us. And so for us, it’s counter to our mission to think about turning away a child or a senior or a family because of their legal status and not providing them food,” said Tiffany Murray, chief operating officer of the Food Bank of Lincoln.

Currently, people receiving food provided by the USDA submit their income and household size, but their full name is not required on the form. The Food Bank said, under the new rules, a full name must be printed and signed, which may make some people hesitant to participate.

The Food Bank of Lincoln said during the last fiscal year they distributed

10/11 reached out to DHHS about when the changes would be implemented and had not received a response detailing the timeline as of Friday.

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Stephen C. Mason, 76, professor emeritus of agronomy and horticulture at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, died June 15 in Lincoln from complications of pneumonia and Parkinson’s disease.

Mason retired Sept. 5, 2017, after 33 years of teaching and research in crop production and management in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. Admired by his students and respected by colleagues, Mason was a passionate teacher, adviser, mentor and researcher who generously shared his time and expertise.

“Dr. Mason was widely recognized as one of the most dedicated and impactful teaching faculty members in our department,” said Martha Mamo, department head of agronomy and horticulture. “He had a deep commitment to agronomy education and made lasting contributions through his teaching, mentorship and service.” 

The oldest of five children, Mason was born Aug. 24, 1949, in Chillicothe, Missouri, to Frank and Martha (Deaton) Mason. He earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from the University of Missouri in 1971 and a master’s degree and doctorate in agronomy from Purdue University in 1976 and 1983, respectively.

He met his wife, Nora D’Croz, while they were both studying for their master’s at Purdue. They married in Colombia in 1979 and moved to Lincoln in 1984. 

He began his career at Nebraska as an assistant professor in crop production and management with a 75% teaching and 25% research appointment. He moved to a 50/50 appointment in the early 1990s and was promoted to full professor in 1994.

Mason instructed all undergraduate grain-crop production courses at the university, co-taught several other courses and co-led College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources education study tours to Argentina with his wife, Nora D’Croz, an adjunct assistant professor of agronomy and horticulture.

He greatly enjoyed teaching and working with graduate students. Working with the international sorghum and millet program gave him the opportunity to conduct research mutually beneficial to developing countries and Nebraska, mentor graduate students and work with them after they returned to their home countries — many of whom made meaningful contributions to academia, research and agricultural development.

He was the principal investigator for the INTSORMIL Collaborative Research Support Program from 1986 to 2007 and regional coordinator for INTSORMIL Central America Program for seven years. He led a McKnight Foundation-funded soil and water management research project in Burkina Faso from 2010 to 2015. He also served as the IANR point person for collaboration with the University of Zagreb in Croatia for numerous years.

Mason’s research at Nebraska focused on production practices and environmental effects on grain quality of maize and grain sorghum, dryland production practices for maize and grain sorghum including plant population and planting date, yield component analysis, grain sorghum/soybean rotation, production practices for pearl millet as an alternate grain crop as well as international research in Africa and Latin America.

Mason received numerous honors and awards. He was named a Fellow of the National American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture in 1990, American Society of Agronomy in 1998 and Crop Science Society of America in 2006. He was honored with CASNR and university undergraduate teaching and advising awards, the Nelson Outstanding Graduate Student Advising Award and outstanding teaching awards from ASA and CSSA. He also authored or co-authored more than 90 peer-reviewed journal publications, four book chapters and one book.

“His work significantly advanced the mission of the department, the university and Nebraska agriculture,” Mamo said. “Many of us had the privilege of working alongside Dr. Mason and benefited from his collegiality, wisdom and unwavering commitment to student success and agricultural education.”

Having played basketball in high school, Mason continued pickup games with fellow university professors until his shoulders no longer allowed it. A devoted Husker volleyball fan, he attended nearly every home match beginning in the mid-1990s and greatly enjoyed traveling, especially with his family.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Linda Dale. He is survived by his wife, Nora; his son and daughter-in-law, Daniel Mason-D’Croz and Ximena Alvis Gonzales; his son and daughter-in-law, Michael Mason-D’Croz and Lisa Mason-D’Croz; his granddaughters, Gabriela and Camila Mason-D’Croz; his brothers, Mark and Larry Mason; and his sister, Ann Bach.

A celebration of life will be 2 to 4 p.m. Aug. 24 in the Nebraska East Union’s Arbor Suite.

The Logan County Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to approve a moratorium on data centers, making Logan the 12th county in the state to temporarily halt any data center construction.

The 12-month development ban also bars wind and solar energy systems, as well as cryptocurrency mining facilities, County Clerk Jennifer Nicholson said.

“Data centers are popping up everywhere,” Nicholson said. “We are in the middle of redoing our comprehensive plan and zoning regulations, and we want to get those in place since we currently don’t have anything that addresses data centers.”

Eleven other counties already have moratoriums in place: Butler, Box Butte, Custer, Dundy, Furnas, Hayes, Harlan, Johnson, Kearney, Otoe and Seward.

Cass, Gage and Garfield county planning commissions have voted in favor of moratoriums, but they await final approval from their respective county boards.

Logan County Commissioner Jon Hill said the moratorium buys the county time to finish refining its regulations in order to protect the county’s resources. While Hill said several residents are in favor of data centers and the business they may bring to the region, others are concerned about water use and how a center might impact the county’s electric supply and rates. He said he has questions of his own.

“I do have questions about why they cover so much land,” Hill said, referring to hyperscale data centers. “Some of them I’ve read about are three or five thousand acres.”

One potential data center developer, Tenaska, sent a representative to a Gage County meeting on moratoriums. The representative warned that moratoriums can create the appearance of being closed for business. Hill said that would not apply in Logan County.

“There might be an appearance that way, but I can’t say why,” Hill said. “Because we’ve made it plain in our action that it would be just twelve months until we can get regulations fixed up for them.”

Lincoln County Commissioners, on the other hand, rejected a moratorium earlier this week. Despite a large crowd showing up in force to advocate for strict regulations around data centers, or, better yet, a moratorium, board members argued that their existing regulations that address data centers are enough. Judy Clark, development director for the county, said the county is still working on refining those regulations that touch on data centers. Since the vote, county election officials confirmed a recall drive has been initiated against three of the five county commissioners.

Other counties are also reworking their zoning regulations, even ones that do not have moratoriums that temporarily bar development. This comes after legislation passed by lawmakers this year setting up a timeline for county boards to follow when they receive special or conditional use permit applications, typically used by data center developers. While some bills, like LB1261, do come with protections for counties, such as requirements for any developer needing a great deal of power to finance upgrades to the grid, many counties are working to ensure that any developer that hopes to build in their region has to abide by local rules as well, tailored to suit the community.