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Nebraska Supreme Court rules in favor of a meatpacking worker fired during the pandemic
The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday reversed a lower court’s opinion denying several weeks of unemployment benefits to a packinghouse worker who said he refused to take on additional duties of a colleague absent with COVID-19. The ruling centered on whether Saied Badawi’s actions leading up to his termination from JBS Swift Beef amounted to […]
Civic Nebraska recognizes five Nebraskans for ‘strengthening democracy’
Civic Nebraska is honoring five Nebraskans for their efforts in creating a more “modern and robust democracy” in the Cornhusker state. The organization’s 2022 Strengthening Democracy Awards recipients include educators, advocates, students and activists. “A strong democracy does not build itself,” said Adam Morfeld, executive director. “It requires dedicated Americans putting community, learning, innovation, empowerment […]
Nebraska’s lone astronaut lands on familiar turf
Clayton Anderson is energized when he chats it up with visitors at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum — and they suddenly realize they’re talking to the real-life space hero showcased in an exhibit. “When it dawns on them, and their faces change, it’s incredible,” said Anderson, who is resettling in his hometown of […]
Omaha’s ICAN event draws about 2,500 and recognizes leader in elder care industry
OMAHA — Julie Kaminski, whose work in the elder care industry touches Nebraska, Iowa and beyond, received the ICAN Leadership Award Wednesday at a conference that drew about 2,500 participants. Three-fourths attended in person at the CHI Health Center. The 29th annual event, also offered virtually, included people from 323 companies and 37 states. As […]
Malcolm X Memorial Foundation hosts four-day celebration marking the Omaha native’s May 19 birthday
The North Omaha-based Malcolm X Memorial Foundation is hosting a four-day birthday celebration starting May 19 to pay tribute to the legacy of the African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist, who was born in Omaha in 1925. Events are centered at 3448 Evans St., the foundation site that marks the childhood home of the […]
An obsolete health club in Omaha is to see a different 24-hour use — as apartments
Editor’s note: This has been updated to revise the cost of the project. After sitting vacant and in disrepair for four years, a former 24 Hour Fitness in northwest Omaha is poised to bounce back as a $35 million apartment complex. In its new form, the obsolete health club will gain heft and height: A […]
Medical marijuana backers file a legal challenge in petition process
LINCOLN — Supporters of medical marijuana in Nebraska have launched a legal challenge to the state’s requirement that 5% of registered voters in at least 38 counties sign a petition to get the measure before voters on the ballot. On Monday, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska in filing […]
Mutual of Omaha’s downtown move expected to spur $1 billion in investment at new and old campuses
OMAHA — Mutual of Omaha’s move from midtown to downtown is now projected to spur roughly $1 billion in redevelopment — an escalated $600 million for the insurer’s new headquarters and a $400 million makeover at its old campus. That’s the update according to the Fortune 500 company and its real estate developer, Lanoha Real […]
Omahan rises from public housing to provider of affordable housing
Don Curry said he knows firsthand how affordable housing can help boost a kid toward success. As a 13-year-old in 1983, he and his mom and sister became one of the first families in Omaha’s scattered-site public housing program. They lived in a government subsidized home near 16th and Emmet Streets before Curry moved away […]
Retired Omaha Chamber leader takes consulting position with Wisconsin firm
David Brown, recently retired CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber, has been named lead consultant of a Madison, Wisconsin, firm. Brown, who led the Omaha chamber for nearly 20 years, said he will remain living in Omaha and will work remotely on a project-by-project basis for NEXT Generation Consulting. The firm helps businesses and organizations […]
$25 million Bluestem Prairie residential pocket ready to sprout in North Omaha
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include details from the groundbreaking, including remarks from Spencer Danner, who grew up at the site. OMAHA — A new $25 million neighborhood aimed at providing affordable homeownership opportunities is ready to sprout on a long-vacant North Omaha site once occupied by the neglected Wintergreen Apartments. The […]
Omaha’s Cinco de Mayo expects big bounce back
Nebraska’s biggest Cinco de Mayo celebration kicks off in South Omaha this weekend, highlighted by a Saturday parade of 100 entries that will stretch through the historic 24th Street commercial district. It’s a time to see folklorico dancers, floats, prancing horses, marching bands and area political candidates making final pitches before the May 10 primary […]