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United State Postal Service Plans July Rate Hike

The U.S. Postal Service is planning on raising the price of a First-Class Mail to 73 cents on July 14, 2024, up by a nickel from the 68 cents one currently costs. The U.S. Postal Service raised First-Class mail to 68 cents from 64 cents on January 21, 2024.

Ainsworth Art Club Paints Windows at Sandhills Care Center

On Wednesday, April 17th the Ainsworth Art Club took a trip to the Sandhills Care Center to paint windows for the residents. This is the fourth time the Art Club has painted windows at the Care Center in the last two years. Both the students and residents really enjoy it. The students take the day to meet the residents, talk about what the residents would like to see on their windows, and then paint pieces that the residents will enjoy seeing.

In the past years the students have even made personal paintings for the residents to hang in their rooms.

Brown County Commissioners Consider Tree Removal Request

During the regular meeting of the Brown County Commissioners on April 16th, Brown County Highway Superintendent Kenny Turpin said he was contacted by Pat Schumacher asking the county to remove some trees and do some ditch work.

Long Pine Bridge Work to Begin May 20th

Work on the Long Pine Bridge is now projected to begin May 20, 2024. Prime contractor Iowa Civil Contracting, Inc., of Victor, IA has revised their work schedule and will reduce impacts to traffic prior to completely closing the bridge.

29 Golf Enthusiasts Showed Up to Do Spring Cleanup on April 20th

Twenty-nine golf enthusiasts showed up at the Ainsworth Golf Course on Saturday, April 20th for Spring Cleanup. Although the thermometer said 39˚ but felt like 26˚, the volunteers, including adults and youth, used rakes, chainsaws, pruning tools and muscles to pull out the shrubs, twigs and trees. The tree/brush line between the fairway on hole #7 and the outdoor bathrooms was completely removed. On the back side of hole #2, the brush was cleaned out of the ditch. Other cleanup areas on the course were also taken care of. Youth went around and painted the out of bounds post white.

Brown County Court Docket

Summarized - All Cases Include $ 50.00 Court Cost Robyn L. Zeigler: Overtaking/Passing Prohibited, $25.00 Fine; No Valid Registration-Car/Pickup, $25.00 Fine; Brown County Sheriff’s Office - Deputy Joel Carpenter.

Brown County Sheriff’s Report

April 7th through April 13th, 2024 Sunday, April 7th Responded to a report of suspicious activity near East 1st Street in Ainsworth. No criminal activity was found at this time.

Capitol News

Special Session Talk Abounds at the Capitol In 2021, the last special session of the Nebraska Legislature lasted 13 days and cost the state $105,436. Do the math, that’s $8,076.92 per day.

Nebraska Corn Farmers to Invest Nearly $3.1 Billion to Plant 9.85 Million Acres

Nebraska corn farmers will plant 9.85 million acres of corn in 2024 according to the March Prospective Plantings report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). If these planting estimates hold up, Nebraska corn farmers will invest nearly 3.1 billion dollars into the state’s economy over a two-month period as calculated by the University of Nebraska - Lincoln’s crop budgets. This total is a result of inputs, such as seed, fuel and fertilizer, but does not include land costs, labor or equipment. Despite the seemingly high investments now, the full economic impact will be realized over time.

Legislative Notes

The 2nd Session of the 108th Legislature adjourned “Sine Die” (‘Sine Die’ is a Latin phrase meaning without any future date being designated). In his speech yesterday, Governor Pillen made it clear that this is probably not my final session in the Nebraska Legislature. The Governor said he plans to call a special session to address the property tax issue. I supported Senator Linehan’s LB 388 brought on behalf of the Governor. Depending on the school district it would have lowered property taxes by 25-50%. The bill did not have the votes and it was passed over during debate on the floor.