May 2 - 9, 2021 Sunday, May 2nd Johnstown Rural Fire Department responded to a mutual aid request for a fire South of Wood Lake. During a traffic stop on Hwy.

Ainsworth Community Schools Superintendent Dale Hafer has released a statement regarding the first draft of new Health and Physical Education standards proposed by the Nebraska Department of Education. The state will vote on the proposed standards this fall. The proposed standards can be found on the Nebraska Department of Education website (https://www.education.ne.gov/).

The Nebraska American Legion is hosting a Walk the Walk Event to honor Nebraska’s 74 Medal of Honor recipients. Legion members Daryl Harrison and Kenneth Hanel will walk the walk across Nebraska.

American Civics - Meeting #1 The Curriculum, Americanism, and Multicultural Education Committee - Frank Beel, Scott Erthum and Jessica Pozehl, conducted its 1st of two required annual meetings regarding American Civics. The committee meeting was held prior to the regular May 10th Board meeting.

We are in that season of every legislative session where the desire of senators to cooperate and compromise with each other is just about gone. Several really good bills have been killed because of vote-trading schemes between senators across three factions (conservatives, liberals, moderates). None of these three factions have enough votes to get anything done by themselves, so coalitions have to be built. It is this time of the session when you get to see exactly who a senator really is. It is easy to see what is important to them and what is not. The votes on the board do not lie.

Lawmakers Overwhelmingly Advance Phase-Out of Social Security Tax Nebraska is one of 13 states that still tax Social Security benefits. Lawmakers have given overwhelming first-round approval to a 10- year plan to phase that tax out, but with a healthy price tag when fully implemented.