Former Nebraska baseball pitcher Brett Sears was called up to AAA on Friday afternoon, as he made the move to the Gwinnett Stripers. The announcement was made on social media on Friday.

Sears went 3-3 with a 3.65 ERA. He had 34 strikeouts and a. 187 batting average against. The Atlanta Braves selected him in the seventh round of the 2024 MLB draft.

It should be no surprise to Nebraska baseball fans, as they watched Sears put together a dominating career on the mound. All told, he went 11-6 over the course of four seasons, along with 155 strikeouts in 171 innings pitched. He sported a 3.84 ERA in total and was dominant for Nebraska on several occasions.

Now, it appears he is playing at a high level in the minor leagues. It will be interesting to see how quickly he makes it to the pros, as he continues to rise up the minor league ranks. This certainly speaks to the Huskers’ recent success at the minor league level.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – On Friday, Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley released an audit report on the Commission on African American Affairs, a commission seeking to enhance the cause of African American rights and to develop solutions to problems common to all Nebraska African Americans.

The Commission was formed through the passing of LB 918 in 2020 and is comprised of 14 African American members who were appointed by the Governor from a panel of nominees submitted by the public. Each member serves a four-year term.

Some of Foley’s key report highlights include:

• The report covers the first four and a half fiscal years of the Commission’s existence, through Dec. 31, 2024, during which time it spent $347,000. Those expenditures are summarized in Exhibit B of the report (page 47).
• Despite its short existence, the Commission has had eight Chairpersons and four Executive Directors. The audit report alleges that the third of the four Executive Directors – John Carter, whose tenure lasted only two and a half months – misrepresented to the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services (DAS) his appointment to that position. None of the four Executive Directors have stayed longer than seven and a half months and the position has been vacant since April 1.
• Page four of the report identifies seven key audit findings:
  • Open meetings violations (details on page 5-12);
  • Alleged misrepresentations to DAS by John Carter that he was duly named Interim Executive Director (details on pages 12-20);
  • Questionable Commission expenditures (details on pages 20-28);
  • Questionable Commission purchasing card transactions (details on pages 28-31);
  • Violation of State contract bidding procedures (details on pages 31-34);
  • Excessive use of temporary employees (details on pages 34-35); and
  • Problematic reliance upon poor DAS – State Accounting assistance provided to the Commission (details on pages 35-39).

The full report is available here.

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LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – A renewed search is planned this weekend for Jerica Hamre, the Nebraska mother who vanished a little over a year ago.

Revealed information about where her cell phone pinged the night she went missing, and a private investigation is bringing volunteers back to the Arapahoe area.

It’s the first organized search since last October, and it’s being led by the private investigator of “Bring ‘em Home Nebraska.”

That investigator said he believes he knows who is responsible for Jerica’s disappearance – but the police have yet to name a suspect, leaving everyone searching for any evidence they can.

As for Jerica’s parents, the pain is immense—but so is their faith, they say, that keeps them moving forward.

“Lord, I trust you, you know where she is– and if you so desire to reveal that– I will be patient and wait,” said Lisa Hamre, Jerica’s mother. “And if you choose to never allow us to know where she is, I choose to be okay with that too.”

A mother’s prayer.

Said with a heart full of faith that Saturday, July 12, will bring them a step closer to answers about their daughter.

“Her phone was out in the same area the night she disappeared,” said Erik Rezabek.

Private investigator Erik Rezabek with Bring ‘em Home Nebraska said that information shared by the Lincoln police department prompted the re-search of the nearly 900 square mile area of brush and trees.

“We absolutely believe that somebody knows what happened,” said Craig Hamre, Jerica’s father. “And possibly even multiple individuals.”

Jerica’s parents are now raising Jerica’s daughters, who they say remind them so much of the little girl they raised years ago.

“I think it would be a lot more difficult if we didn’t have little glimpses of Jerica every day in her daughters,” Craig said. “Obviously, it’s not easy, but it’s made it a lot easier to deal with.”

Still, Craig and Lisa Hamre say they are leaning on their faith and the support from the community.

“Law enforcement is pulled in so many different directions,” Craig explained. “Sometimes it seems like they’re not doing enough– but there’s so much on their platter– so an organization like Bring ‘em Home Nebraska has been a huge encouragement to us.”

“We don’t feel forgotten because of their efforts,” Lisa added.

The search begins at 9 a.m. this Saturday at Arapahoe City Park. Volunteers are encouraged to RSVP by emailing Bring ’em Home Nebraska.

You can find that email by clicking here.

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