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Nebraska’s education commissioner announces his resignation
After nine years as commissioner of the Nebraska Department of Education, Matthew Blomstedt on Friday announced he is resigning. He said he’ll step down Jan. 3 and pledged help in a transition. The elected State Board of dEucation is charged with choosing Blomstedt’s successor. “I am looking forward to opportunities to continue my leadership in […]
Nebraska names new slate of vendors to handle Medicaid starting in 2024
OMAHA — In a process that’s seen more than typical scrutiny, Nebraska administrators on Friday announced their selection of three vendors to handle the state’s Medicaid managed care program starting in 2024. The services now cost the state nearly $3 billion a year. For the new five-year period, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services […]
$9 million federal award to UNMC center to beef up ag safety and health
OMAHA — A $9 million national award to the University of Nebraska Medical Center will help beef up regional efforts ranging from safety training for bison workers to studying dust-induced lung injury. The funds go to the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH) at UNMC’s College of Public Health. Though headquartered in […]
Young STEM prodigy from western Nebraska moves up in national contest
A teen from Grant, Nebraska, has been recognized as one of the country’s most promising STEM middle schoolers — named this week as a contest finalist headed to Washington D.C., to compete for roughly $100,000 in awards. Cooper Kroeker, now 15, is among 30 youths (and the only Nebraskan) selected from 1,807 applicants in the […]
Golden year for state-funded UNO Goodrich Scholarship Program
OMAHA — Marty Martinez recalls darting off the city bus with his shaggy hair, bell-bottoms and pointed-collar shirt, to get to his first humanities class at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He was 18 at the time, a fresh graduate of South High’s Class of 1972. His hometown was still reeling from recent race […]
Nebraska education chief takes pandemic-related message to Capitol Hill
Nebraska’s education commissioner told a congressional panel Tuesday that this school year in Husker territory started with “much more reason for optimism.” “I am hearing that schools believe student negative behaviors that were markedly up in ‘21-’22 seem, at least for now, to have waned,” Matthew Blomstedt said in testimony prepared for a U.S. House […]
A pro baseball team and Q Street revival are among ideas for South, North Omaha grants
OMAHA — Ideas to bring long-term economic vitality to South and North Omaha streamed in Monday as a series of public meetings kicked off on how to spend millions in federal recovery funds. Proposals ranged from funding a professional baseball team to replacing leaded water pipes in poor households to a multimillion-dollar revamp around the […]
Ground by Gretna outlets mall to turn into sprawling industrial park
GRETNA, Nebraska — About 170 acres of former farmland near the Nebraska Crossing outlets is expected to turn into the Omaha metro area’s largest contiguous industrial park. Developer NewStreet Properties believes that the project over time will lure investment of up to $190 million. The Gretna Logistics Park, as the site is called, is to […]
$50 million grant to help raze barracks-like Omaha public housing complex
OMAHA — A $50 million federal grant is to help launch what could be a $300 million makeover of the city’s largest public housing complex and South Omaha neighborhoods that surround it. Partners involved in the overhaul — the City of Omaha, Omaha Housing Authority, Canopy South and Brinshore Development — have been awaiting word […]
Study: Nebraska ranks high among states that lost young and wealthy
OMAHA — Nebraska ranked 10th in an analysis by a financial advice website that looked at which states (and the District of Columbia) are losing the most young rich professionals. To uncover losers and gainers, SmartAsset.com examined migration trends, inflow and outflow patterns, from 2019 to 2020. The researchers considered people younger than 35 years […]
$25 million Radius campus for youth residential treatment rises in North Omaha
OMAHA — A $25 million residential youth treatment center rising in North Omaha aims to fill a service gap in the metro area, one that has had courts and families sending some troubled teens off to other states to get help. The new Radius nonprofit will feature a 24-bedroom facility for residents ages 12 to […]
Gov. Ricketts takes aim at Title IX changes sought by federal officials
Gov. Pete Ricketts is criticizing the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed revisions to Title IX, and on Friday he called on other Nebraskans to weigh in as well. Federal education officials have stated that a review of current regulations, and of public and stakeholder meetings, suggest that the existing rules do not best fulfill the […]