“I always wanted to write but I had to have something to write about,” author, food writer, and podcast host Laurie Woolever told the audience at the North Platte Town Hall lecture series Wednesday. In her quest for writing topics, Woolever traveled the world, experienced new cultures, and ate exotic foods while working as an […]

The Nebraska State Board of Education met in March and April at the Nebraska Department of Education building in Lincoln.   Federal funding changes When the federal Department of Education pulled back all unspent COVID-19 funds from states and school districts, Nebraska had $9 million in unliquidated funds.  One project that was affected was a literacy […]

Using art to process the grief of his sister’s death, Sutherland native Robert D. Quimby, alongside his mother, Ruth Quimby, are featured artists at the Prairie Arts Center in February. “The goal of the exhibition is not to mourn, but to celebrate life and the possibility of healing,” said Quimby. “Grief is universal; so, too, […]

The Nebraska State Board of Education convened Jan. 10 for the first business meeting of 2025 after board training sessions and the election of officers on Jan. 9. Board elections The board was gridlocked along party lines, and voted 4-4 for the position of president for 53 votes. After a brief recess in which a […]

The Nebraska State Board of Education met on Dec. 6 in Lincoln, the board’s final meeting in 2024. Here are some of the main topics: Armed security The board adopted a model policy for authorized security personnel to carry firearms in schools as required in Neb. Rev Stat. 28-1204.04. This policy only applies to Class […]

Controlling one’s thoughts can impact the trajectory of a person’s life as well as the lives of the next four generations in their family, Dr. Lee Warren told the audience Oct. 21 at a North Platte Town Hall Lecture. Until the early mid-2000s, doctors believed the human brain was structurally fixed by inherited genes. Then, the […]

The Nebraska State Board of Education convened on Friday, Sept. 6 in Nebraska City for a short but significant meeting.  Nebraska Literacy Project bolstered by $55 million On Sept. 3, the Nebraska Department of Education was awarded a $55 million federal literacy grant, which will be used to address the state board’s goal of 75% […]

The Nebraska State Board of Education met on Aug. 2 in Lincoln and took a major step toward a dress code and grooming policy for school students, among other actions. Here is a report on the meeting: Nebraska literacy project The SBOE heard a report from Nebraska Department of Education staff on the Nebraska Literacy […]

The Nebraska Board of Education met in Lincoln on June 7 and discussed an important topic — reading instruction.  The topic of reading instruction has concerned parents, teachers, administrators, and taxpayers alike. The Nebraska Department of Education staff is designing the system that will guide Nebraska schools and educator preparation programs in delivering evidence-based reading […]

This spring the Nebraska State Board of Education considered a motion by Kirk Penner to prohibit books with sexually explicit content in school libraries.  This measure would have aligned print materials with the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA), a federal law signed by President Bill Clinton in 2000, which prevents the same content from being […]