Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers is filing a lawsuit against the Omaha Public Power District. He's seeking an injunction to stop OPPD from retiring three natural gas units and turning two others from coal to natural gas at its North Omaha Station. Hilgers says the move would reduce the station's output by 40-percent and lead to higher costs for customers. He added that the utility is putting environmental considerations over grid reliability.
Since his arrest last month by immigration agents, the public has grappled with how Ian Roberts became a public schools leader despite lacking authorization to work in the U.S., a history of criminal charges and falsified credentials. An Associated Press investigation has found that Roberts rose to the top job in Iowa's largest district with the help of a consulting firm that marketed his self-published books and helped build his profile. Roberts' relationship with Lively Paradox and its founder Nicole Price at times blurred the line between his public and private jobs. Des Moines officials blocked his plan to award a contract to Lively Paradox in 2023 after finding a conflict of interest, but Roberts later awarded Price a contract for a two-hour leadership exercise during a board retreat.
Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hansen is proposing using the county jail to house Homeland Security detainees. In an open letter to Douglas County Board Chairman Roger Garcia and Vice Chairman Mike Friend, Hanson says creating a contract with ICE to house detainees could bring in five-point-five to six-point-five million dollars per 100 beds that could be used to offset property taxes and fill the sheriff's office budget gaps. Hanson says detainees would remain closer to their families and have better access to legal representation.
The Douglas County Board of Trustees is planning to hold an emergency meeting. The board is meeting in closed session today for legal advice and personnel matters. The meeting agenda also includes an item on changing pharmacy licensure for the Douglas County Health Center Facility Administrator and Pharmacy Director. WOWT reports that a state investigation revealed errors in prescriptions filled by an unlicensed pharmacy tech working at the Douglas County hospital.
A priest within the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln has been reassigned after allegations he sexually abused a minor more than three-decades ago. KOLN-TV reports a woman came forward last month and accused Reverend Scott Courtney of abusing her back in 1993 when he was a seminarian. The diocese says it turned the case over to police, but no criminal charges have been filed. Courtney is now limited to providing spiritual guidance to retired priests in Lincoln. He was placed on leave from two parishes in 2018 over allegations of sexual contact with a woman.