Omaha Mayor John Ewing is launching a new initiative. Heartland Honors Nine-11 is aimed at commemorating the 25th anniversary of the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks. The program will be led by volunteers, and it will feature 11 days of remembrance events from September 1st through September 11th.
Residents are calling for Omaha officials to invest more money in the city's parks. Mayor John Ewing's proposed 2027 budget includes six-million-dollars for city parks, which marks a 20-percent increase over last year. Residents gathered at Omaha City Hall last night to call for more funding to replace broken playground equipment and repair roads and parking lots.
The Nebraska Board of Education is approving an all-girls middle school in North Omaha. The Identity Preparatory Academy will become the first Black-founded all-girls school in Nebraska. The academy will open on August 19th.
A suspect in a road rage shooting in Omaha is identified. Thirty-eight-year-old Nathan Hess is facing charges including second-degree assault and use of a weapon to commit a felony. Hess told police he heard a loud noise and thought someone was shooting at him before he opened fire at a Camaro near 90th Street and West Center Road on Monday. The driver of the Camaro, a 35-year-old man, was unarmed and was taken to a hospital in serious condition with gunshot wounds.
The Iowa Libertarian Party will meet tonight to choose a new candidate for lieutenant governor. That follows the withdrawal of Nicholas Gluba's running mate, Jules Cutler. Gluba says Cutler, who lived in the former Soviet Union, is dealing with PTSD tied to that country's political system. Last month, a judge ruled Cutler was disqualified from the ballot over improperly filed paperwork. The party will meet virtually at 8 p.m. to nominate Cutler's replacement.
The state of Iowa is partnering with tech giant Meta in a campaign to fight scams on social media. The Iowa Attorney General's Office will join Meta in a new public service announcement campaign aimed at combating romance, investment and user support scams that target social media users. Last month, the Iowa AG's Office and Meta conducted several joint training sessions with Iowa law enforcement on tools to combat cybercriminals. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that Americans lost nearly 16-billion dollars to online fraud last year.