Lincoln County Commissioner Chris Bruns was back at his seat Monday for a commissioner’s meeting and public hearing about zoning regulations for data centers.

Bruns, who was charged Aug. 21 with driving under the influence, did not attend the previous commissioner’s meeting that was held on Aug. 24.

On Monday, he apologized as the meeting began. Here is all of what he said:

“In spite of my attorney wishing that I wouldn’t, I believe that the community deserves to hear from me.

“Recently I made a serious mistake, one that I regret with every ounce of who I am. I put myself in circumstances, in contact with law enforcement, in which they ultimately arrested me. I absolutely take full responsibility for my actions.

“I know the community is disgusted with me — but no one is more disgusted and ashamed with my actions than me.

“I am cooperating fully with legal process and out of respect for that process, I won’t be discussing details of the case further today.

“What I do want to say is that I am genuinely sorry, first to my family, and especially my kids, who didn’t ask to have their father’s mistake to become a headline and I’m immensely sorry to this community. You put your trust in me and I let you down. It’s not a line that I’m saying because it’s expected of me here today. I’m making it because I truly mean it.

“I also won’t pretend that this happened in a vacuum. This has been one of the hardest years of my life. I’ve been dealing with the aftermath of a divorce, a change of job, a cancer scare, and for several weeks I’ve been facing a recall that has been filled with vitriol and threats against me and my kids.

“I’m not telling you that to excuse what I did or its seriousness. It absolutely does not excuse it. I’m telling you because you deserve the full picture and because I think it’s fair that you know the person behind the headlines, not just the headlines.

“I didn’t handle the stresses of life the way I should have, the way my children deserve, or in the way that my office commands.

“I also want to address something directly. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life and this incident is near the top of the list. However, the unprecedented, false and politically convenient accusations that were made to this board and the community last week — accusations that I was threatening and abusive at the jail — are not part of that list. While I was at the jail, did I witness some safety checks, visually inspecting inmates to be sure they are alive and breathing, being skipped — the kind of checks that matter enormously given how many deaths that facility has seen recently? Yes I did. Did I ask appropriately about it? Yes. However, I did not raise my voice, I did not demean, and I did not threaten anyone or their job. Our corrections staff and our law enforcement officers deserve the greatest respect and I simply asked the kind of questions that every one of you would want a county commissioner to ask if they see something like that.

“I’m not going to comment on that any further on that issue either, because it will play out, along with the audio-visual evidence that exists, in a separate legal process.

“What I can say is that I am working to learn from my mistakes, and that for however long or short of time I may have left in this room, I will keep doing work that this community deserves to the best of my ability. Again, I am truly sorry for my family and for all of you.”

On Aug. 24, Lincoln County Sheriff Jerome Kramer told the commissioners that Bruns was abusive to his staff during the time he was in jail. He said that Bruns treated his staff horribly.

Bruns was not at the meeting. Kramer spoke to the commissioners during a time reserved to hear concerns from elected officials and department heads. The meeting was livestreamed and Kramer’s comments were broadcast across the state by multiple news media outlets. It became headline news.

According to a Nebraska State Patrol spokesman, after a report was repeatedly requested by the Bulletin, a trooper found Bruns around 9:15 p.m. that night passed out behind the wheel of a Ford F150 pickup, with the engine running, parked on First St. in Sutherland.

NSP spokesman Cody Thomas said the pickup was near a restaurant, but confirmed that Bruns had not been in the restaurant that evening.

Thomas said the trooper performed a DUI investigation. A blood-alcohol test was administered at the jail. The result was 0.149, Thomas said. The legal limit is 0.08. Bruns was released at 2:42 a.m. on 10% of a $2,500 bond.

He and two other county commissioners face a possible recall, started by voters who are critical of their refusal to declare a moratorium on data center zoning permits.

Bruns, who has advocated for economic growth since his 2020 campaign, said that county zoning process can regulate data centers without a moratorium.

The zoning ordinances have since been expanded. The latest updates were unanimously approved Monday later in the commissioner’s meeting.

Bruns was elected commissioner in 2020. He represents Dist. 4, the northwest part of Lincoln County, which includes the village of Sutherland. He defeated Walt Johnson, who was appointed to the board the previous year when the board expanded from 3 to 5 members.

Bruns grew up in Lincoln County, obtained a degree in business administration and served 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He, his wife and family moved to a farm acreage near Sutherland in 2018.

In 2022, he challenged Mike Jacobson for the Dist. 42 seat in the state legislature. Jacobson was previously appointed to fill out the term of Mike Groene, who resigned due to the pressure of the job and accusations evolving from stored photos on his camera of a woman who worked in his office.

Jacobson edged Bruns by a narrow margin after a tight, competitive race.

Bruns was re-elected to his commissioner’s seat in 2024, defeating challenger Nancy Seifer Nelson by a wide margin in the May primary. With no Democrat challenger, he was a shoo-in that fall in the general election.

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