Chief Borders has by all accounts had a terrific spring practice at Jack linebacker for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Many are eager to see him during Saturday’s spring game, but the truth is that he been up to more than just playing football.

The former Georgia high school football star was back in the Peach State last weekend during the Rivals camp series stop in Atlanta. Many talented players were there, but Borders was hanging around a specific recruit who happens to be Rivals’ and ESPN’s top-ranked player in the country.

That recruit is quarterback Julian Lewis of Carrollton, Georgia. Known as “Ju Ju,” he is a former 2026 prospect who committed to the USC Trojans last August and reclassified to the 2025 recruiting class. Lewis may be committed, but to say his options are limited is far from true.

In a recent Twitter post from Tennessee Rivals (VolReport) worker Dale Dowden, there are pictures of Borders and Lewis hanging around each other at the camp.

Lewis was offered by the Cornhuskers in December 2022, not long after Matt Rhule’s arrival as head coach.

The Huskers are not afraid to fight tooth and nail for a five-star quarterback as they did that and came out victorious with Dylan Raiola in the 2024 class. Lewis might be an even bigger catch, as some see him as a generational talent.

Dowden is a specialist in recruiting but is also a photographer who captured Borders and Lewis on camera. Take a look below.

Today starts a very active period of weather in which several rounds of showers and thunderstorms will be possible through the weekend.

First off today, we’ll continue to see spotty, light rain here and there in the morning before more showers move in from a line of thunderstorms currently off to the west. Better chance for heavy rain and storms will come after about 9pm Thursday night.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON/OVERNIGHT – SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA

The first of several rounds of severe weather across Nebraska is expected later this afternoon into the evening. For those under a Slight (Level 2 – yellow) risk, storms will first begin there and threaten mainly large hail, but a tornado or two and damaging wind will also be possible.

Stormcast below in one of the latest model runs has the timing of storms throughout the rest of the morning, Thursday evening and into Friday morning.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING – EASTERN NEBRASKA

While Thursday is the first threat of severe weather nearby, Friday has the greater threat in eastern Nebraska. Just east of Lincoln, there’s an Enhanced (Level 3 – orange) risk for numerous severe storms possible that are more persistent and/or widespread, a few being intense.

Namely, the fact that both significant tornadoes (EF2 or higher) and significant hail (2″+) are possible Friday afternoon into the evening with this round of storms. Severe wind gusts could also be up to 70 mph.

Some clearing after the morning storms continue north will happen in southeast Nebraska, allowing the environment to destabilize and more thunderstorms to redevelop by the early afternoon. Stormcast has timing of this round below.

Especially after about 2 p.m., we’ll be watching for any and all severe threats in these storms. Be sure to be weather aware during this timeframe and adjust plans as needed.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON/NIGHT – SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA

Through the weekend, additional severe storms are anticipated to be impacting southeast Nebraska late Saturday afternoon. The higher threat of severe weather is southeast (including Falls City) in another Enhanced risk. All severe weather hazards will be possible.

A fourth found of thunderstorms on Sunday is possible after about 1 p.m. with a lower end tornado threat, hail up to 1″ in diameter and gusts up to 60 mph.

Stay weather aware and check back in frequently as the Storm Alert Team continues to update information.

Meteorologist Jessica Blum 
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LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Being locked behind heavy metal doors can seem like the end of the line.

“With a prison sentence, you feel like everything’s shut off to you,” said Tami Fuller, who is currently serving a sentence in Lincoln’s Community Correctional Center.

However, a new program aims to make sure those doors don’t stay shut forever.

Fuller is one of more than 200 Nebraska inmates involved in the Unlocking Potential With Academic Resources and Development, or UPWARD, program. About 30 Southeast Community College instructors teach courses between the Reception and Treatment Center, Nebraska State Penitentiary, Nebraska Correctional Center for Women, Community Correctional Center and the Center for People.

The program’s administrator, SCC’s Amy Doty, experienced incarceration, and she says it was education that made all the difference in her life.

“After incarceration, instead of just kind of being in the moment and I’m feeling kind of hopeless and thinking about all the barriers that I was going to face when I went home, I was able to focus on building skills and building knowledge and becoming a better critical thinker,” Doty said.

Participants earn college credits, and some say the good goes well beyond the instruction.

“I’ve had them use my only my first name, or call me a student, which is amazing,” Fuller said. “When you’re incarcerated, you learn, everybody says your last name, not your first. So it humanizes you again, it makes you back into a real person.”

Some inmates look to the education to start a new chapter in their lives, like Jessica Whittaker, who’s currently taking a class to get her CDL.

“I anticipate that I’ll be a truck driver,” Whittaker said. “Overall, I want to be financially stable and set myself up for success.”

Some inmates are even using the opportunity to give back, like Lawrence Garner, who’s taking a communications class and wants to give speeches at juvenile facilities when he gets out, steering them away from crime.

“A lot of these kids are coming from broken homes, one parent homes, and I’d just like to maybe share my experience,” Garner said. “I’d take one, just one. Save one.”

It’s not just the students who soak in lessons.

“I’ve learned a lot from my students,” Rebecca Bartlett, an SCC instructor, said. “I’ve learned so much about perseverance and determination. I have learned so much from them about hope.”

The UPWARD program is set to expand next fall, with SCC administrators angling to tap into federal dollars to help run it.

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