Author

Charlyne Berens

Charlyne Berens

Charlyne Berens,og Lincoln, is a professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications. She is the author of two books about the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature and of a biography of longtime State Sen. Jerome Warner.

COMMENTARY

Warner family showed Nebraska what public service means

By: - October 4, 2023

First, there’s the Jerome and Betty Warner Highway between Lincoln and Nebraska City. Then there’s the Warner Chamber in Nebraska’s State Capitol. Yes, it’s the same family – a family which, throughout nearly all the 20th century, showed their fellow Nebraskans what it meant to be public servants who could wield significant influence but could also […]

COMMENTARY

Our nonpartisan, one-house Legislature isn’t broken, so why fix it?

By: - March 3, 2023

For almost 90 years, Nebraska’s one-house, nonpartisan Legislature has served this state and its people well. The current proposal, Legislative Resolution 2CA, to return to a two-house, partisan body would expand the size and complexity of our Legislature with little or no benefit to the people Although far from perfect, our current system has done […]