Nebraska

Nebraska Supreme Court rules state agencies can charge 'special' fees to review document requests • Nebraska Examiner

Published

2 years ago

March 15, 2024

Nebraska Supreme Court rules state agencies can charge 'special' fees to review document requests • Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Friday that state agencies can impose a “special services charge” to review public records requests.

The 23-page ruling tends to affirm a $44,103 charge to a nonprofit news site, The Flatwater Free Press, to fulfill its request for public documents related to nitrate contamination of the state’s groundwater.

Flatwater maintained that the charge was excessive and not allowed by state public records law, an argument that Lancaster County District Judge Ryan Post agreed with.

‘Voluminous requests could be disruptive’

But the state appealed, and the Supreme Court ruled Friday that state public records laws recognized that “voluminous (records) requests could be disruptive to the public body.”

A “special service charge,” the court ruled, is allowed to cover the “existing salary or pay obligation” of state agencies’ employees after the first four hours of “searching, identifying, physically redacting, or copying.”

“However sympathetic we might be to (Flatwater’s) policy arguments,” the ruling stated, state law allows such fees to be charged.

Case ordered back to lower court

The court ordered the case back to Lancaster County District Court to determine whether the $44,103 fee conforms with the “special” fee allowance.

In a post Friday morning, Flatwater’s executive editor, Matthew Hansen, called the ruling “a blow to Nebraska’s public records law, a law written to protect media outlets like ours and Nebraskans like yourselves from the secrecy of those who hold power.”

“This clears the way for the State of Nebraska to charge us an ungodly amount of money to gain access to public records related to the state’s growing nitrate-in-groundwater problem,” Hansen wrote.

The case grew out of a public records request by Flatwater to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy for emails and other documents containing the words “nitrate,” “fertilizer” and “nutrient.”

Series on nitrate contamination

The news site has produced a series of stories on nitrate contamination of the state’s groundwater — and the adverse health effects — based on public records it has been able to obtain.

Included was a story concerning contamination near hog barns operated by the family of Gov. Jim Pillen, a story the governor said should be discounted because the author was from “communist China” — a comment that sparked a firestorm of calls for an apology.

Other news media, including the Nebraska Examiner, also use information gleaned from record requests for reporting.

Initially, NDEE told Flatwater that fulfilling its records request would cost $2,000.

That led Flatwater to narrow its request, but also generated a new estimate from NDEE that it would require 927 hours of staff time at a cost of $44,103 to provide the records. Flatwater sued, calling the fee excessive and not allowed.

A key argument was whether a state agency, under the law, had a right to “review” records before they are released to determine if they are indeed public records and whether any portion needed to be redacted as not public.

The Supreme Court, in its ruling, said that such a “review” is allowed.

Hansen, the Flatwater editor, said he expects the fight over this issue will continue at the Nebraska Legislature, which has the power to change state law.

Overall, he called it “a blow to the 10 words” that are etched into the north face of the State Capitol: “The Salvation of the State is Watchfulness in the Citizen.”

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Source link

Click to comment

Nebraska

NioCorp to start work on its minerals mine in southeast Nebraska

Published

12 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

NioCorp to start work on its minerals mine in southeast Nebraska

NioCorp announced Monday that it plans to start work on its critical minerals mine in southeast Nebraska.

The project, which the company is calling its mine portal project, will involve building a main entrance to the Elk Creek underground mine and will serve as the primary access point for personnel, equipment, and materials for the underground mining operations. It also will include excavating bedrock, drilling and blasting to establish the twin mine ramps, on-site access road construction, and construction of on-site supporting infrastructure.

The project, which will cost nearly $45 million, is set to get underway before the end of the month. It marks the first time Colorado-based NioCorp will actually start any significant work on the main mine, from which the company hopes to extract niobium, scandium, titanium and other minerals.

“Given the size of this excavation work, the portal project really marks the beginning of a major pre-construction activity at the Elk Creek Project site and is an important step toward preparing for underground development,” Scott Honan, the company’s president and chief operating officer, said in a release.

Mark A. Smith, Niocorp’s chairman and CEO, called the project, “a significant milestone.”

Niocorp has spent more than 15 years trying to develop the mine on land in Johnson County, about 65 miles southeast of Lincoln.

The company still needs to raise a significant amount of money to make the $1.2 billion mine a reality, though. In December, NioCorp said it had raised about $360 million, or a little more than a quarter of the total cost. It is still waiting for approval of a $780 million debt financing application from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

Source link

Nebraska

Nebraska Lottery results: See winning numbers for Pick 3, Pick 5 on March 1, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Sunday, March 1, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 1.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 1 drawing

7-6-5

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 1 drawing

04-20-28-30-39

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning 2 By 2 numbers from March 1 drawing

Red Balls: 02-10, White Balls: 25-26

Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning MyDay numbers from March 1 drawing

Month: 11, Day: 28, Year: 38

Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 1 drawing

10-11-12-35-56, Bonus: 04

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

Source link

Nebraska

Huskers/OSU game three canceled

Published

2 days ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

The third matchup this weekend between No. 9 Nebraska and No. 21 Oklahoma State was canceled Sunday due to expected bad weather in the Stillwater, Okla., area. The Cowgirls won the first matchup Thursday, 2-1 in 11 innings, while the Cornhuskers won Saturday, 4-3. The game will not be made up.

Nebraska now prepares for its home opener Thursday at Bowlin Stadium as the Huskers take on South Dakota State in a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Source link