Former Senator Karnes Dead At 71

David Karnes, an Omaha civic leader who was briefly a U.S. senator from Nebraska, has died. Karnes died Sunday from cancer. He was 71. Then-Gov. Kay Orr shocked state Republicans when she appointed Karnes in 1987 to fill the unexpired term of Democrat U.S. Sen. Ed Zorinsky, who had died of a heart attack. Karnes ran unsuccessfully for a full term in 1988, losing to Bob Kerrey. The Omaha World-Herald reports Karnes was an attorney in Omaha and Washington D.C., and was involved in numerous civic organizations and lobbying work for Nebraska in Washington. Most recently, he helped Omaha secure part federal coronavirus funding for the city.