KIOS News

Nebraska will reopen a series of federally funded grant programs to help small businesses and nonprofits that are struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nebraska still has $160 million available from the $1 billion it received under the federal CARES Act. The state will accept applications for assistance from 10 a.m. Wednesday until Nov. 13 on a first-come, first-served basis.

President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are holding a final debate Thursday in Nashville, with Kristen Welker of NBC News moderating. After a haphazard first debate, and a canceled second one, this final debate has new rules established by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Follow live updates and analysis.

Loading...

The August derecho is being called one of the worst storms ever.  The National Weather Service says the derecho was the worst thunderstorm disaster in U.S. history.  The Weather Service estimates the storm did seven-and-a-half-billion dollars worth of damage.  That's more damage than nine of the ten hurricanes to hit the U.S. this year.

A new billboard in Omaha is calling for justice for a man who died in police custody.  The billboard at 53rd and Center features Zachary Bear Heels, who died in Omaha police custody in 2017 after he was shocked 12 times and punched in the head.  None of the officers involved in the incident were convicted, but one officer lost his job.  The ACLU funded the billboard.

President Donald Trump is pushing back at Sen. Ben Sasse on Twitter, calling the Nebraska senator “a liability to the Republican Party, and an embarrassment” to the state. The president’s Twitter attack Saturday came after Sasse told constituents in a telephone town hall Wednesday that Trump has “flirted with white supremacists,” mocks Christian evangelicals in private, and “kisses dictators’ butts.” Sasse is running for a second term. He made his comments in response to a question about why he has been willing to publicly criticize a president of his own party.

The number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus and the rate of new cases remains high in Nebraska. The state said Tuesday that 299 people were hospitalized with COVID-19. That’s just under the record of 305 people set last weekend but well above the spring peak of 232 set on May 27. An Associated Press analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University shows the state continues to have the seventh-highest rate of new cases. The seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Nebraska declined slightly over the past two weeks, going from 13.22% on Sept. 28 to 13.08% on Monday.

Nebraska will soon celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day.  Under a new law that will take effect on November 13th, Indigenous Peoples' Day will be celebrated along with Columbus Day starting in 2021.  The bill's sponsor, State Senator Patty Pansing Brooks, tells WOWT it is important to recognize indigenous people for the impact in their communities.

As Iowa surpassed 100,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and remained the fourth-highest state for rate of infection, the mayor of Des Moines expressed concern that President Donald Trump’s rally this week at the city’s airport could become a super-spreader event. The state averaged 1,300 new cases per day over the past four days. On Saturday the state posted 21 more deaths after recording 14 deaths on Friday. on Sunday, the state reported six more deaths. As of Monday, positive cases in Iowa reached 100,052 and 1,464 people have died since the virus surfaced in March.

The state of Iowa is setting records when it comes to sports betting.  The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission says people bet more than 72-million dollars in September, up 43 percent from August.  Iowa's casinos kept about five-million dollars of that money, the state keeps about seven percent in tax revenue.

State health officials announced 663 new cases of COVID-19 in Nebraska yesterday. There are now 50,059 confirmed cases of the virus in the state, and 514 deaths. The Department of Health and Human Services reports 29 percent of hospital beds and 80 percent of ventilators are available. Television station KSNB reports that Grand Island Public Schools is experiencing a rapid rise in teachers and staff having to quarantine after testing positive or being exposed to the virus.

Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon has scored a big endorsement from a former political rival who lost to him in 2016. Former U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford, a Democrat, announced he will support Bacon in this year’s general election. Bacon is running against Democrat Kara Eastman in a competitive race for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, encompassing the Omaha area. Ashford lost his seat to Bacon in 2016 after serving one term in Congress. He released a statement announcing his endorsement minutes before a televised political debate between Bacon and Eastman.

A Nebraska college could cut dozens of programs.  Doane University in Crete has recommended several programs for elimination including International Studies, Physics, Philosophy, Political Science and Criminal Justice.  School officials say the proposed cuts are part of a process that began in January.  Officials have not revealed how many jobs would be impacted by eliminating the programs.

The Nebraska prosecutor who declined to file charges after a white bar owner fatally shot a Black man during protests last spring has switched political parties after Democrats criticized his handling of the case. The state GOP says Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine planned to register as a Republican on Wednesday. The Nebraska Democratic Party passed a resolution last month that said Kleine “perpetuated white supremacy” with his comments about 22-year-old James Scurlock, who was shot and killed by Jake Gardner after they scuffled outside of Gardner’s bar.

Critics are questioning the police response to an unpermitted parade in support of President Donald Trump through the heart of Omaha. Witnesses say the Sunday afternoon parade of trucks and vehicles flying Trump flags and signs blocked traffic and ran through red lights and that cross traffic was blocked by parade participants on motorcycles. Police tell the Omaha World-Herald that parade participants had left by the time officers responded to reports of the parade along Dodge Street. Police confirmed caravan participants had not secured a parade permit beforehand.

The number of COVID-19 cases is continuing to climb in Nebraska.  Health officials reported 498 new cases yesterday, bringing the total in the state to 48-thousand-757.  The coronavirus has claimed 507 lives in Nebraska since the beginning of the pandemic.

Some of the biggest conservative names in Nebraska politics are lining up against ballot measures to legalize casinos, which they argue would fuel an increase in gambling addictions and related social problems. Opponents of the legalization measure include Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts, former Gov. Kay Orr and U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne, a former Nebraska football coach. Voters will decide next month whether to allow casinos at state-licensed race tracks in Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, Columbus and South Sioux City. In-person, early voting for the general election started Monday.

A lawsuit accuses Omaha police of using excessive force when they responded to protests against police brutality and racial injustice in Nebraska's largest city earlier this year with pepper balls and mass arrests. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska filed a federal lawsuit Monday challenging police tactics. City officials said they believe police acted properly, and previously, they have defended the arrests made during protests because police believed the gatherings had the potential to become violent and in some cases violence had already broken out.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Thursday released the 2017 Economic Impact of the Nebraska Agricultural Production Complex report. The report uses 2017 data because that was the year of the most recent Census of Agriculture. The report found that agriculture accounts for nearly 34% of business sales, 22% of the gross state product and nearly a quarter of the state’s jobs. Those figures were reported even though 2017 was the lowest-income year for Nebraska farmers and ranchers of the decade.

Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse is working from his Nebraska home until October 12th.  Sasse attended a gathering for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett at the White House Rose Garden last month, and doctors advised him to stay inside as much as possible after close interaction with multiple people who were infected with COVID-19.  Several people who attended the event later tested positive for COVID-19, including President Trump.  A spokesperson for Sasse says the senator has had two COVID-19 tests since then, and both tests came back negative.

Charles Schwab’s $26 billion acquisition of rival broker TD Ameritrade is set to close next week after the companies received final approval from regulators. The Federal Reserve signed off on the stock swap deal this week. The companies said the deal that was announced last November — not long after both brokers eliminated commissions on most stock trades — will close on Tuesday. Schwab and TD Ameritrade haven’t said how many jobs are expected to be eliminated after the merger, but significant cost cuts are expected.

State health officials announced 621 new cases of COVID-19 in Nebraska yesterday. There are now 46,185 confirmed cases of the virus in the state, and 493 deaths. The Department of Health and Human Services reports 29 percent of hospital beds and 78 percent of ventilators are available. There are 86 new cases of COVID-19 in Douglas County K-12 schools. The cases were reported in the last two weeks. The County Health Department says 46 cases are in staff members while 40 cases are students.  The department says more than 350 people are quarantining, while another 400 are self-isolating.

Polls across Nebraska will be open as usual for the November 3rd General Election, even with a high number of people voting early. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen says COVID-19 protections and precautions used in the state's primary election will again be in place for the general election. He says as more is known about COVID-19, he expects the percentage of those going to the polls in November to be higher than in the primary. Evnen also urged voters not to give their ballot to an unfamiliar third party who promises to turn it in on their behalf. Along with Gov.

The city of Lincoln is tops in the nation when it comes to census reporting.  Lincoln ranks first among cities over 250-thousand people in census participation.  The city spent 40-thousand-dollars to encourage people to fill out their 2020 U.S. Census forms.  Lancaster County officials say the community will receive an additional 13-thousand-dollars in federal funding over the next decade for every person who takes part in the census.