GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) – The annual Nebraska-Maine Wrestling Exchange is over 40 years old, but this year featured girls wrestlers for the very first time.

Northwest High School hosted the inaugural event, which had 16 total bouts, featuring local athletes from Kearney, Northwest, Grand Island, Lexington, Adams Central and other area schools.

The wrestlers selected to compete included state medalists, as well as state champions, such as Johnson County Central’s Jocelyn Prado, Adams Central’s Kayden Sipp and Grand Island’s Anyia Roberts.

Organizers said the event finally coming to fruition is a testament to the growth and popularity of girls wrestling.

“It’s exploding, this is Nebraska’s fourth year of being sanctioned. Maine is going into their second year, they don’t have the numbers yet that we do, but it’s growing. A lot of these girls have wrestled all over the Midwest, all over the country, in national tournaments, so it is exploding everywhere,” said Jeff Paige, Northwest girls wrestling coach.

When all was said and done, Nebraska was the winner of the first-ever girls wrestling exhibition, topping Maine 49-24.

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LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The American Civil Liberties of Nebraska filed a lawsuit Monday against the secretary of state.

The lawsuit would force Secretary of State Bob Evnen to allow convicted felons to register to vote.

Earlier this month, Evnen told county election offices to stop letting felons register.

He said he was following an opinion issued by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who said two state laws restoring felons’ voting rights were unconstitutional.

SEE ALSO: Nebraska AG says law restoring felons’ voting rights is unconstitutional

But the ACLU said attorney general opinions are nonbinding and cannot overturn a law passed by the Legislature.

The organization said Evnen is nullifying a law — which the state constitution says only the courts can do — and is therefore violating the separation of powers.

“Secretary Evnen’s actions, taken less than four months before a presidential election, have dramatically upended two decades of settled election law and created chaos, confusion, and uncertainty in Nebraska’s electoral process,” the lawsuit says.

The ACLU brought the suit on behalf of nonprofit Civic Nebraska and three people with felony convictions who are eligible to register under state law.

“We have paid our debt in full, and we should be fully included in our democracy,” said one of the plaintiffs, T.J. King, in a press release. “Being a productive member of society comes with many responsibilities, including jobs, bills and takes. Those are essential, and so is having a say in who represents us and how tax dollars are spent.”

The ACLU wants to bypass the lower courts and take the lawsuit directly to the Nebraska Supreme Court “given the nature and urgency of the case.”

An opening-game loss for Team USA Volleyball.

The Americans stormed back from a 2-0 deficit to force a game five, but fell to China 3-2: 20-25, 19-25, 25-17, 25-20, 13-15. China grabbed two points for the Pool A standings, while the US, by forcing a fifth set, earned one point.

Nebraska’s trio of representatives on the team all got the start. Justine Wong-Orantes played all five sets at libero, leading Team USA with 17 digs.

Jordan Larson and Kelsey Robinson Cook were pulled for much of the middle sets. Larson notched four kills with a 0.167 hitting percentage while Robinson Cook added three kills on 0.077 hitting.

Team USA continues pool play July 31 against Serbia.

Watch a replay of the USA-China match on Peacock.

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