News

Gretna will have a new Mayor in November.

Unofficial results from the Sarpy County Election Commission show Jim Timmerman and Kip Edmonds were the top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s primary election. Incumbent Sally McGuire finished in fourth place, with 11-percent of the vote.

In late April, State Auditor Mike Foley released an audit critical of how former Gretna City Administrator Colleen Lawry used city funds. McGuire fired Lawry May first, and Lawry has since been charged with felony theft. Authorities say Lawry misused money intended for the Gretna senior citizens fund for herself.

Former Omaha mayor Mike Fahey is putting his support toward the University of Nebraska Foundation and UNO’s Department of Political Science.

Randall Adkins, Chair of the Political Science Department, says Fahey’s gift will allow the department to do three things.  He says the department will develop a course in Omaha city government and politics.  

They’ll also offer a lecture series where they bring a guest of national prominence each year to discuss city government and politics.  Finally, Adkins says the donation will provide stipends for interns to work at City Hall in city government.

November’s general election will feature a former Nebraska Governor and a current State Senator in the race for U.S. Senate.

Democratic Senate candidate Bob Kerrey and GOP candidate Deb Fischer won their respective primaries Tuesday night. Kerrey entered the Senate race one day before the primary election filing deadline. He previously served as a U.S. Senator from Nebraska.

State Senator Deb Fischer, of Valentine, narrowly defeated Attorney General Jon Bruning in the GOP primary. Fischer recently finished her second term in the Unicameral. In an interview Tuesday night with the AP, Fischer characterized the Senate race as “the focus of the entire nation.”

John Ewing has won the democratic nomination for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, defeating Gwen Howard.

Ewing is the Douglas County Treasurer and a former Omaha police officer who entered the race last summer. 

I caught up with Ewing during his celebration and he says he’s excited to win the nomination and gives a lot of credit to his hard working staff. But he says championship teams don’t celebrate during half time.

Ewing says as he goes forward in the campaign, his leadership experience is what will set him apart.  He says he wants to go to Washington to provide Nebraskans with the Good Life that we always talk about in the state.

Paul Landow, a professor in the Political Science department at UNO, says the economy is the main issue on voters’ minds.  Landow says people are concerned about their jobs, their bank accounts and what direction things are heading in terms of their personal financial life.  

He says anything voters can do to better their own personal financial life at the ballot box is what they’ll do...and if that means voting for new leadership in the House and Senate, they will.  Landow says turnout should be above average for the primary.

One big question this spring is what effect, if any, the redistricting that occurred earlier this year, will have on voters and candidates hoping to be elected.  Landow says the effects will likely be minor until the General Election in November.

The Douglas County Board is starting the process of putting together a 2012-2013 budget.

Douglas County’s new fiscal year begins July 1. Chairman Marc Kraft says everything is on the table, including a tax increase, because the county has limited sources of revenue. “The major challenge is that we have limited ability to create income sources. Most of our income comes from either grants or from property taxes, and a small amount comes from fees we charge.”

The current fiscal year budget of $311 million contains no tax increase. Kraft says the county board has worked to make services more efficient and cost-effective.

Polls are open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. today. 

Today is Nebraska’s Primary Election and Dave Phipps, Douglas County Election Commissioner, says they predict a turnout of 21%.  He says that would be about 66,500 people voting, with early ballots and votes cast today. 

Phipps says he doesn’t expect voters to have many issues with the new polling places.  He says the election commission sent cards in March advising people of their polling places.  Phipps says the election commission has been busy with a higher than usual rate of early votes.

Seven high school seniors are the recipients of this year’s DJ’s Hero awards.

The scholarships were awarded at Monday’s D.J.’s Hero Awards luncheon. The awards, sponsored by the Salvation Army, honor young people who’ve overcome obstacles and given back to their community.

The South Sarpy School District could soon have a new name.

The District 46 school board will hold a public meeting Monday about a possible name change. The board is considering two options: Springfield Community Schools, or Springfield Platteview Community Schools.

Director of Operations Brett Richards says the school district needs a clear identity, something it doesn't have with its current name. South Sarpy is part of the Learning Community, and Richards says a more specific name would help the school district attract students. 

Richards says a name change could also help Springfield grow as a community. Springfield is the only town in the South Sarpy District, which has four schools.

The Malcolm X Birthday Celebration features three days of events this week.

Walter Brooks is the Administrative Director for the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation.  He says the festivities kick off Thursday night with a program called “Verbal Gumbo.” 

The evening features spoken word artists and live music at the House of Loom.  Brooks says that’s followed by a presentation from a dynamic African-American motivational speaker on Friday called “Mental Liberation.”  

The guest speaker Friday is Nationally-acclaimed poet and author Basheer Jones.