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The state’s Commission on Latino -Americans is starting new projects yet facing old challenges this year. This group finds itself in a unique position as it attempts to expand its reach.

The State Board of Education voted against starting the rule change process for board member Kirk Penner’s proposal to prohibit sexually explicit materials in school libraries and remove the requirement to buy a minimum number of new books every year.

A recreation trail connecting Lincoln and Omaha continues to move through the planning process, with the Lower Platte South Natural Resource District seeking input to determine a proposed route. In 2022, the Nebraska Legislature allocated $8.3 million dollars to connect two segments of the MoPac Trail in rural Cass County. Currently, the western portion of the trail ends in the village of Wabash, while the eastern section ends near South Bend, leaving an eight-mile gap.

A filibuster in the Nebraska Legislature has blocked a proposal aimed at giving tenants a “clean slate” if eviction proceedings were started against them, but they were never evicted.

On Sept. 12, 2022, Malcolm X became the first Black man or woman voted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame. By May, a bust of Malcolm X will be inside the Nebraska State Capitol, along with 26 other Nebraskans.

Host Intro: A proposal aimed at helping Nebraskans who have faced eviction from their homes was slowed by a filibuster Wednesday in the Legislature.

A campaign to celebrate and make immigrants in the state feel welcome saw so much success last month, it’s making changes to the plan. The statewide effort will expand next year.

Doane University students are performing and producing the play "The Delays" this week. It’s the first production that faculty are only mentoring students.

A Nebraska Air Force employee was arrested Saturday for sharing classified information about the war in Ukraine. David Slater, a 63-year-old employee at the Offutt Air Force Base, faces one count of conspiracy to disclose national defense information and two counts of unauthorized disclosure of national defense information.

Purchasers of land in all or part of eight western Nebraska counties would have to certify they are not affiliated with any foreign adversaries.

As the University of Nebraska continues the search for a new president, interim president Chris Kabourek said he wants to keep the university moving forward. Nebraska Public Media’s Jolie Peal sat down with Kabourek to discuss his goals for the university as challenges like budget cuts continue.

Host Intro: Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen has vetoed a bill allowing Nebraska cities to establish needle exchange programs for drug users. Sen. Meghan Hunt, chief sponsor of the legislation, says she’ll try to override the veto.

Nebraska state senators approved two amendments Monday on LB 1087, which would increase Medicaid funding for the state’s hospitals.

School boards could let teachers and other staff carry guns in school, under a proposal advanced by the Legislature’s Education Committee today/Thursday. And senators advanced a proposal aimed at helping native American tribal members experiencing mental health crises.

A seventeen-year-old from Hall County, accused in a massive sextortion case involving multiple victims must face the charges as an adult. The judge in the case called the teenager “an extreme threat to the security of the public.” Cody Holum argued he would benefit from the counseling and rehabilitation services available to a juvenile defendant until he was 19 years old. A Hall County District Judge determined just a year’s worth of services would not provide enough time to deal with the “alarming” behavior he’s shown over several years.

Nebraska’s chief medical officer, Dr. Timothy Tesmer, was scheduled to provide clarification on the state’s gender affirming care regulations for minors at a briefing Thursday afternoon. However, he and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services declined to attend. Last week, the Health and Human Services Committee requested a briefing from Tesmer to clarify the final rules and regulations of LB574, which was passed by the legislature last year.

The U.S. Department of Education aims to send completed 2024-25 Free Applications for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSAs, to colleges in March. The FAFSA typically goes out in October, but for the 2024-25 form, there have been roadblocks due to needed changes from the FAFSA Simplification Act.

The Nebraska legislature heard arguments for and against a bill that would allow a controversial execution method to be used in the state. Nebraska Public Media’s Kassidy Arena reports if passed, the state would be the fourth in the U.S. to approve nitrogen gas for executions.

Host Intro: Debate in the Nebraska Legislature over inheritance taxes Wednesday showed a generational divide, and raised questions about whether senators were debating things that are irrelevant to many Nebraskans.

As of January, Nebraskans can start donating to scholarship granting organizations, or SGOs, to fund tuition for students going to private schools. In return, donors receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit. There are currently four certified SGOs in the state.