Lawmakers in the 109th Nebraska Legislature began the session Wednesday at the capitol in Lincoln.
The newly appointed Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court, Jeffrey Funke, swore in the 25 senators who were elected or re-elected in November.
After the swearing in ceremony, the state senators unanimously again selected Sen. John Arch, a Republican from La Vista, as speaker. Arch has held the position since 2023.
While the Unicameral is officially nonpartisan, this year’s body includes 33 Republicans, 15 Democrats and one progressive independent.
Senators will be able to introduce new legislation through January 22.
*Additionally, the South Dakota Legislature session will begin on January 14, and the text of Gov. Kristi Noem's proposed educational savings account pilot program is now available.
Noem announced the $4 million dollar program in December, which would be directed to funding for home school and private school students.
South Dakota House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, and Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff, R-Pierre, announced the bill's filing on Wednesday.
It would allocate $3,000 for each student. Noem wants it to start with low-income students but eventually extend to every student in the state.
"This program will provide an opportunity for all parents to have agency in the education of their children, regardless of their financial means,” said Sen. Mehlhaff in a statement.
A coalition of South Dakota education groups are warning about the effects of implementing school voucher programs.
Rob Monson, executive director of School Administrators of South Dakota, is opposed to the idea. He said public schools must educate all South Dakota kids, whereas private schools can be selective.
“If a student is in a wheelchair or needs nursing services, they can choose not to take that student. When those kiddos roll up at a public school, front door, tomorrow, they’re coming in," Monson added. "The public school will be—not necessarily forced—but we will have to do whatever is needed to provide for that child.”
Some question the cost associated with a voucher program during a lean budget year. Recent changes to Republican majorities in the state Legislature make the idea more likely to reach fruition than in previous sessions.
*In other news, the federal agency that works to ensure worker safety is investigating a workplace death that occurred Monday at the Tyson Foods plant in the Sioux City metro.
The Sioux City Journal first reported Wednesday on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation into the death at the Tyson plant in Dakota City.
The incident happened in the warehouse material handling area of the facility, according to a U.S. Department of Labor media relations official. OSHA has up to six months to carry out the investigation.
*Additionally, the federal post office in Rock Valley, Iowa, will reopen on Friday after being closed since late June, due to severe flooding.
Northwest Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra announced the post office opening in a release. Feenstra said that over many months he made it clear to officials that the post office should be restored.
United States Postal Service officials last summer began serving Rock Valley people out of the facility in Sioux Center, Iowa. Additionally, a temporary post office was first set up near Rock Valley City Hall starting on July 1.
The Rock River flooded in Rock Valley, a town with 4,000 residents, starting on June 21, 2024.
In the last week of December, the window opened for some communities in Northwest Iowa impacted by historic flooding this summer to apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency buyouts.
Rock Valley officials submitted an application to ask for funding for 110 homes. If approved, a homeowner will get paid the value of their property before the natural disaster. To qualify, their home must be in an area with a history of flooding.
