The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has lifted the temporary statewide open fire ban at state park and wildlife management areas.

The decision follows recent rain across portions of the state, where additional precipitation is anticipated this weekend.

Some Nebraska parks and counties that have not received recent precipitation still may have local, individual burn bans in place. Guests should call the park they are visiting prior to arrival to confirm the local ban status. Find contact information for each park at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://links-1.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Foutdoornebraska.gov%2F%3Futm_medium=email%26utm_source=govdelivery/1/01000192e882536e-42cd78b0-a1cc-4959-bf87-0288fbf5fd88-000000/ofzdoL6wRih-BjDFFJHiR7cEIC_FZp0rA3y4rtiS1Mc=377">OutdoorNebraska.gov</a>.

Where individual bans are not in place, visitors may responsibly enjoy campfires in designated areas. They are reminded to exercise caution, as fire weather conditions can change rapidly, and nearly 90% of the state is still experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor.

To help keep Nebraska’s parks safe for all visitors, park and wildlife management area guests — including hunters — should follow these fire safety practices:

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has lifted the temporary statewide open fire ban at state park and wildlife management areas.The decision follows recent rain across portions of the state, where additional precipitation is anticipated this weekend.Some Nebraska parks and counties that have not received recent precipitation still may have local, individual burn bans in place. Guests should call the park they are visiting prior to arrival to confirm the local ban status. Find contact information for each park at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://links-1.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Foutdoornebraska.gov%2F%3Futm_medium=email%26utm_source=govdelivery/1/01000192e882536e-42cd78b0-a1cc-4959-bf87-0288fbf5fd88-000000/ofzdoL6wRih-BjDFFJHiR7cEIC_FZp0rA3y4rtiS1Mc=377">OutdoorNebraska.gov</a>.Where individual bans are not in place, visitors may responsibly enjoy campfires in designated areas. They are reminded to exercise caution, as fire weather conditions can change rapidly, and nearly 90% of the state is still experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor.To help keep Nebraska’s parks safe for all visitors, park and wildlife management area guests — including hunters — should follow these fire safety practices:<ul>
 <li>Dispose of cigarettes and other flammable materials appropriately.</li><li>Avoid activities that may produce sparks.</li><li>Never leave any open flame unattended.</li><li>Have fire safety tools, such as a shovel, bucket and fire extinguisher, on hand to promptly extinguish any unintended flames.</li><li>Make sure no chains or metal parts or objects are hanging or dragging from your vehicle or towed trailer.</li>
 </ul>

Statewide temporary open fire ban lifted

Lincoln, NE – There will be an overall increase of 5.49% in premiums next year for the medical and dental insurance plans used by nearly every Nebraska school district, following action by the Educators Health Alliance (EHA) Board of Directors. The EHA is a consortium of three statewide public school groups that manages the plan. All medical insurance rates and dental insurance rates for active employees and retirees will increase 5.49% from the 2024-25 rate level.

“While our medical claims have increased in the most recent months, we are comfortable approving a rate increase below some of the industry surveys we have seen,” said Trish Guinan, EHA Board Chair and NSEA Executive Director. “Given the rate of inflation over the last few years, we are pleased we’ve been able to maintain our streak of more than 20 years without a double-digit increase in rates, and to average an increase of 4.77% for the last decade.”

Guinan said the one benefit change made for 2025-26 is an increase in the out-of-pocket maximums.

“We believe it is important to minimize the change in benefits to our members. While we were able to maintain our deductible offerings for the sixth plan year in a row, we did make a change to the out-of-pocket maximums in order to reduce the rate increase,” said Guinan.

The successful rollout of the alternate network product offering to all districts in areas of the state where network competition exists will be continued in the 2025-26 plan year.

Guinan said the single-digit increase in premium rates is made possible due to several factors, including:

“The EHA Board has taken some strategic actions to manage our claim costs, especially with respect to the expansion of a diabetes claim management program to pre-diabetics and the launch of a new program to manage musculoskeletal claims,” said Beth Kernes Krause, EHA Vice Chair and Auburn Public Schools Board of Education member.

“The EHA Board takes its responsibility for plan oversight very seriously,” said Dr. Michael Dulaney, executive director of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators. “We believe the rate and benefit decisions reached for the 2025-26 plan year will allow the EHA to continue to provide a quality, affordable health insurance plan well into the future.”

“The EHA Board understands the financial concerns of our members as well as the fiscal constraints facing school districts,” said Colby Coash, associate executive director of the Nebraska Association of School Boards. “With 90,000 members in the plan, EHA has the largest risk pool in the state, which allows more predictability and stability in rates. This benefits both districts and individuals and their families.”

The Educators Health Alliance is a non-profit corporation that was created to procure quality, affordable healthcare insurance for Nebraska educational employees. The rates set by the EHA Board are for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE) healthcare plan used by more than 400 public school districts and affiliate groups in the state. The plan is governed by a 12-member board representing the Nebraska Association of School Boards, the Nebraska Council of School Administrators, and the Nebraska State Education Association. More than 90,000 Nebraskans are covered by the plan, making it the largest health plan in the state.

Find more information at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ehaplan.org/">https://www.ehaplan.org/</a>

Educators Health AllianceLincoln, NE – There will be an overall increase of 5.49% in premiums next year for the medical and dental insurance plans used by nearly every Nebraska school district, following action by the Educators Health Alliance (EHA) Board of Directors. The EHA is a consortium of three statewide public school groups that manages the plan. All medical insurance rates and dental insurance rates for active employees and retirees will increase 5.49% from the 2024-25 rate level.“While our medical claims have increased in the most recent months, we are comfortable approving a rate increase below some of the industry surveys we have seen,” said Trish Guinan, EHA Board Chair and NSEA Executive Director. “Given the rate of inflation over the last few years, we are pleased we’ve been able to maintain our streak of more than 20 years without a double-digit increase in rates, and to average an increase of 4.77% for the last decade.”Guinan said the one benefit change made for 2025-26 is an increase in the out-of-pocket maximums.“We believe it is important to minimize the change in benefits to our members. While we were able to maintain our deductible offerings for the sixth plan year in a row, we did make a change to the out-of-pocket maximums in order to reduce the rate increase,” said Guinan.The successful rollout of the alternate network product offering to all districts in areas of the state where network competition exists will be continued in the 2025-26 plan year.Guinan said the single-digit increase in premium rates is made possible due to several factors, including:<ul>
 <li>The implementation of several new programs to manage pharmacy costs;</li><li>Programs designed to assist in the management of chronic and emerging diseases; and</li><li>Holding the line on health and administrative cost increases.</li>
 </ul>“The EHA Board has taken some strategic actions to manage our claim costs, especially with respect to the expansion of a diabetes claim management program to pre-diabetics and the launch of a new program to manage musculoskeletal claims,” said Beth Kernes Krause, EHA Vice Chair and Auburn Public Schools Board of Education member.“The EHA Board takes its responsibility for plan oversight very seriously,” said Dr. Michael Dulaney, executive director of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators. “We believe the rate and benefit decisions reached for the 2025-26 plan year will allow the EHA to continue to provide a quality, affordable health insurance plan well into the future.”“The EHA Board understands the financial concerns of our members as well as the fiscal constraints facing school districts,” said Colby Coash, associate executive director of the Nebraska Association of School Boards. “With 90,000 members in the plan, EHA has the largest risk pool in the state, which allows more predictability and stability in rates. This benefits both districts and individuals and their families.”The Educators Health Alliance is a non-profit corporation that was created to procure quality, affordable healthcare insurance for Nebraska educational employees. The rates set by the EHA Board are for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE) healthcare plan used by more than 400 public school districts and affiliate groups in the state. The plan is governed by a 12-member board representing the Nebraska Association of School Boards, the Nebraska Council of School Administrators, and the Nebraska State Education Association. More than 90,000 Nebraskans are covered by the plan, making it the largest health plan in the state.Find more information at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ehaplan.org/">https://www.ehaplan.org/</a>

 Educators Health Alliance Sets 2025-26 School Year Rates

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/31/paid-petition-circulator-with-troubled-past-takes-the-stand-in-nebraska-medical-cannabis-trial/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN —&nbsp;A paid circulator for the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign took the stand in a civil case Thursday in favor of efforts to toss allegedly “fraudulent” or “malfeasant” petition signatures.

It was the second day in the trial challenging signatures in two medical cannabis ballot measures. Testimony continued Thursday from John “Jake” Brennan, a fraud investigator in the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office. Jennifer Henning, a paid petition circulator from Omaha for the petitions to&nbsp;<a href="https://sos.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/elections/2024/2024%20Ballot%20Measures%20Pamphlet.pdf" target="_blank">legalize and regulate medical cannabis</a>, testified later in the day.

Regardless of the outcome of the trial, which continues Friday, Nebraskans are voting&nbsp; on the measures, which appear on the general election ballot.

The lawsuit alleges the campaign didn’t collect the necessary&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/23/breaking-down-petition-signatures-for-nebraska-2024-ballot-measures/">86,499 signatures</a>&nbsp;for ballot access because of alleged&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/08/medical-cannabis-sponsors-push-back-on-nebraska-officials-claims-of-fraud-and-malfeasance/">notary malfeasance</a>&nbsp;or circulator fraud.

Henning, a commercial and residential property inspector, told Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong that she illegally signed off on 18 signatures for the campaign from Seward County that she did not personally collect. She alleged she then passed them off to ballot sponsor Crista Eggers, who Henning alleged illegally notarized those invalid signatures.

“The only communication I had with her was through text message, and she was asking me about these petitions that I dropped the previous week,” Henning testified.

Attorneys in the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, who are representing Secretary of State Bob Evnen in the lawsuit, walked through at least 10 petition pages with Henning that she said she circulated but that Eggers signed about 11 days after Henning dropped them off.

On Tuesday, officials with the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office said petition circulators must&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/29/trial-begins-in-case-against-nebraskas-medical-cannabis-ballot-measures/">affirm they collected the signatures</a>&nbsp;on the petition sheets in the physical presence of a notary, who must notarize that form in the circulator’s presence.

Henning said she joined the campaign in 2022 to support her children, particularly her son who she said is profoundly disabled and has a variety of symptoms, including severe behaviors and epileptic seizures.

Before civil and criminal investigators reached out to Henning earlier this month, she testified, she never knew of the circulator-notary requirement and said she’d also dropped off petition sheets to at least two other notaries or incorrectly signed her oath at her kitchen table.&nbsp;

“I thought I was doing Crista a favor,” Henning said. “I would have never put myself in that position had I known that.”

Henning said she has been “ostracized” from the campaign and alleged Eggers instructed campaign workers to delete related text messages.

Eggers, a prospective witness in the case, started the campaign to help her young son, who also has severe seizures.

Attorney Alex Arkfeld, representing the petition sponsors, homed in on Henning’s past interactions with Nebraska courts, including two felony convictions involving fraudulent insurance fraud of more than $5,000. Henning pleaded guilty to those charges in 2022. She is currently on probation and continuing to repay thousands of dollars to the defrauded companies.

Henning said the two fraud counts came after her insurance company wouldn’t cover a feeding tube formula her son needed, which cost $3,000 per month. She said that her son also needed a wheelchair, and on top of home issues involving a septic tank, her family was in severe debt.

“I made really, really bad decisions that I’m embarrassed by, I’m ashamed of,” Henning said. “I’ve taken accountability. I’m on probation. I have rebuilt my life.”

Arkfeld noted earlier interactions Henning had in Nebraska courts where she submitted forged or fraudulent documents and was sanctioned by Douglas County District Judge James Masteller in a 2020 for taking photos of privileged attorney documents in a case against Children’s Hospital and later uploading them to Facebook.

Masteller cited at least three other infractions involving various courts&nbsp; in 2013, 2014 and 2015. He wrote that Henning “has an extensive history of perpetrating fraud and engaging in misconduct in court proceedings.”

“I’ve done a lot of horrible things, and I know you want to keep hitting on those,” Henning said. “I’m not on trial.”

Henning said she walks in daily fear of getting a parking or speeding ticket because of the conditions of her probation.

Arkfeld asked repeatedly whether Henning was offered any benefit in exchange for testifying, she said “no” and said she understood she could be charged at any time.

“You can tear my credibility, you can tear my character down,” Henning continued. “I’m not proud of anything that I did in my past, but every day I wake up and put one foot forward, and I try to be as honest and good as I can and make my children and myself and my husband proud.”

Arkfeld played a 15-minute recording that Henning submitted to Evnen’s attorneys Wednesday night, of a campaign phone call led by Eggers shortly after the Sept. 12 lawsuit was filed and after the measures were certified Sept. 13.

In the recording, Eggers said the campaign didn’t need to worry about the lawsuit and could be thankful of the efforts of those on the call in getting the petition measures onto the ballot.

“Our campaign is filled with integrity, and from Day One we’ve always been fighting for November 5. That’s been our fight all along,” Eggers said in the recording. “… I want us to continue being strong and being absolutely committed to November 5 as the day Nebraskans get the chance to vote on this.”

Under questioning, Henning confirmed that Eggers never instructed anyone to violate the law or act unethically during the recorded call.

Henning, under questioning by Justin Hall with the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, alleged that in another meeting, Eggers had instructed campaign workers to violate the law, but she did not produce a recording of such a discussion.&nbsp;

Early Thursday, Brennan, a certified fraud investigator, testified that his investigation included circulators who had a signature rejection rate higher than 50%.&nbsp;

He confirmed he did not talk to the notaries alleged to have committed malfeasance, which he outlined as:

Among those more general errors was crossing out an inaccurate notary stamp or signature, which sometimes incorrectly came from the circulator. On some of the examples shown in court, campaign workers had affixed a corrected stamp or a signature from a different notary.

David Wilson Jr., associate general counsel for the Secretary of State’s Office and director of licensing, including for notaries, testified Tuesday that crossing out bad notarizations is part of the guidance from Wilson’s office, but not the law. Wilson did note that the notary is attached to the circulator’s oath, so a second, new circulator’s signature might also be required.

Of 1,110 signatures directly identified as malfeasant, 706 were for the campaign’s legalization petition&nbsp; and 394 were for the regulatory petition.

Attorney Daniel Gutman, representing the ballot sponsors, said the AG’s Office is then extending those hundreds of signatures to tens of thousands more — the office is alleging &nbsp;49,187 “tainted” signatures on the legalization petition and 30,610 “tainted” signatures on the regulatory petition.

Evnen previously certified nearly 90,000 signatures on both measures.

Brennan said his investigatory process was about the totality of evidence and circumstances. He noted, for example, that notaries must be state licensed, but circulators do not.

“When I was looking at these, it would be a culmination of errors,” Brennan said of his process. “When you see things like multiple instances of missing a notary stamp, multiple instances of self notarization, those types of things come together.”

Brennan, responding to&nbsp; questions from Deputy Solicitor General Zach Viglianco, said he could “certainly” draw inferences on the number of times someone had problems and that if someone engages in some sort of intentional wrongful conduct, it calls into question other conduct they engage in.

“Is that something that happens in your experience as a fraud investigator?” Viglianco asked.

When Gutman asked whether Brennan had investigated Henning’s past, Brennan said he found online “only what was in the paper” and had not looked into Henning’s other legal history.

The trial continues at 8 a.m. Friday, If&nbsp; needed, it could extend to Monday. The trial was originally scheduled for a maximum of three days. Election Day is Tuesday.

Zach Wendling<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/31/paid-petition-circulator-with-troubled-past-takes-the-stand-in-nebraska-medical-cannabis-trial/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN —&nbsp;A paid circulator for the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign took the stand in a civil case Thursday in favor of efforts to toss allegedly “fraudulent” or “malfeasant” petition signatures.It was the second day in the trial challenging signatures in two medical cannabis ballot measures. Testimony continued Thursday from John “Jake” Brennan, a fraud investigator in the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office. Jennifer Henning, a paid petition circulator from Omaha for the petitions to&nbsp;<a href="https://sos.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/elections/2024/2024%20Ballot%20Measures%20Pamphlet.pdf" target="_blank">legalize and regulate medical cannabis</a>, testified later in the day.Regardless of the outcome of the trial, which continues Friday, Nebraskans are voting&nbsp; on the measures, which appear on the general election ballot.The lawsuit alleges the campaign didn’t collect the necessary&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/23/breaking-down-petition-signatures-for-nebraska-2024-ballot-measures/">86,499 signatures</a>&nbsp;for ballot access because of alleged&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/08/medical-cannabis-sponsors-push-back-on-nebraska-officials-claims-of-fraud-and-malfeasance/">notary malfeasance</a>&nbsp;or circulator fraud.<h2>First circulator takes the stand</h2>Henning, a commercial and residential property inspector, told Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong that she illegally signed off on 18 signatures for the campaign from Seward County that she did not personally collect. She alleged she then passed them off to ballot sponsor Crista Eggers, who Henning alleged illegally notarized those invalid signatures.“The only communication I had with her was through text message, and she was asking me about these petitions that I dropped the previous week,” Henning testified.Attorneys in the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, who are representing Secretary of State Bob Evnen in the lawsuit, walked through at least 10 petition pages with Henning that she said she circulated but that Eggers signed about 11 days after Henning dropped them off.On Tuesday, officials with the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office said petition circulators must&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/29/trial-begins-in-case-against-nebraskas-medical-cannabis-ballot-measures/">affirm they collected the signatures</a>&nbsp;on the petition sheets in the physical presence of a notary, who must notarize that form in the circulator’s presence.Henning said she joined the campaign in 2022 to support her children, particularly her son who she said is profoundly disabled and has a variety of symptoms, including severe behaviors and epileptic seizures.Before civil and criminal investigators reached out to Henning earlier this month, she testified, she never knew of the circulator-notary requirement and said she’d also dropped off petition sheets to at least two other notaries or incorrectly signed her oath at her kitchen table.&nbsp;“I thought I was doing Crista a favor,” Henning said. “I would have never put myself in that position had I known that.”Henning said she has been “ostracized” from the campaign and alleged Eggers instructed campaign workers to delete related text messages.Eggers, a prospective witness in the case, started the campaign to help her young son, who also has severe seizures.<h2>‘I’m not on trial’</h2>Attorney Alex Arkfeld, representing the petition sponsors, homed in on Henning’s past interactions with Nebraska courts, including two felony convictions involving fraudulent insurance fraud of more than $5,000. Henning pleaded guilty to those charges in 2022. She is currently on probation and continuing to repay thousands of dollars to the defrauded companies.Henning said the two fraud counts came after her insurance company wouldn’t cover a feeding tube formula her son needed, which cost $3,000 per month. She said that her son also needed a wheelchair, and on top of home issues involving a septic tank, her family was in severe debt.“I made really, really bad decisions that I’m embarrassed by, I’m ashamed of,” Henning said. “I’ve taken accountability. I’m on probation. I have rebuilt my life.”Arkfeld noted earlier interactions Henning had in Nebraska courts where she submitted forged or fraudulent documents and was sanctioned by Douglas County District Judge James Masteller in a 2020 for taking photos of privileged attorney documents in a case against Children’s Hospital and later uploading them to Facebook.Masteller cited at least three other infractions involving various courts&nbsp; in 2013, 2014 and 2015. He wrote that Henning “has an extensive history of perpetrating fraud and engaging in misconduct in court proceedings.”“I’ve done a lot of horrible things, and I know you want to keep hitting on those,” Henning said. “I’m not on trial.”Henning said she walks in daily fear of getting a parking or speeding ticket because of the conditions of her probation.<h2>A campaign ‘filled with integrity’</h2>Arkfeld asked repeatedly whether Henning was offered any benefit in exchange for testifying, she said “no” and said she understood she could be charged at any time.“You can tear my credibility, you can tear my character down,” Henning continued. “I’m not proud of anything that I did in my past, but every day I wake up and put one foot forward, and I try to be as honest and good as I can and make my children and myself and my husband proud.”Arkfeld played a 15-minute recording that Henning submitted to Evnen’s attorneys Wednesday night, of a campaign phone call led by Eggers shortly after the Sept. 12 lawsuit was filed and after the measures were certified Sept. 13.In the recording, Eggers said the campaign didn’t need to worry about the lawsuit and could be thankful of the efforts of those on the call in getting the petition measures onto the ballot.“Our campaign is filled with integrity, and from Day One we’ve always been fighting for November 5. That’s been our fight all along,” Eggers said in the recording. “… I want us to continue being strong and being absolutely committed to November 5 as the day Nebraskans get the chance to vote on this.”Under questioning, Henning confirmed that Eggers never instructed anyone to violate the law or act unethically during the recorded call.Henning, under questioning by Justin Hall with the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, alleged that in another meeting, Eggers had instructed campaign workers to violate the law, but she did not produce a recording of such a discussion.&nbsp;<h2>‘A culmination of errors’</h2>Early Thursday, Brennan, a certified fraud investigator, testified that his investigation included circulators who had a signature rejection rate higher than 50%.&nbsp;He confirmed he did not talk to the notaries alleged to have committed malfeasance, which he outlined as:<ul>
 <li>Having no notary signature (nine signatures).</li><li>No notary stamp (57 signatures).</li><li>A notarization not completed&nbsp; in the presence of the circulator (583 signatures).</li><li>A notarization without a circulator’s signature (110 signatures).</li><li>Self-notarization (235 signatures).</li><li>Some other “notarial errors” (107 signatures).</li>
 </ul>Among those more general errors was crossing out an inaccurate notary stamp or signature, which sometimes incorrectly came from the circulator. On some of the examples shown in court, campaign workers had affixed a corrected stamp or a signature from a different notary.David Wilson Jr., associate general counsel for the Secretary of State’s Office and director of licensing, including for notaries, testified Tuesday that crossing out bad notarizations is part of the guidance from Wilson’s office, but not the law. Wilson did note that the notary is attached to the circulator’s oath, so a second, new circulator’s signature might also be required.Of 1,110 signatures directly identified as malfeasant, 706 were for the campaign’s legalization petition&nbsp; and 394 were for the regulatory petition.Attorney Daniel Gutman, representing the ballot sponsors, said the AG’s Office is then extending those hundreds of signatures to tens of thousands more — the office is alleging &nbsp;49,187 “tainted” signatures on the legalization petition and 30,610 “tainted” signatures on the regulatory petition.Evnen previously certified nearly 90,000 signatures on both measures.Brennan said his investigatory process was about the totality of evidence and circumstances. He noted, for example, that notaries must be state licensed, but circulators do not.“When I was looking at these, it would be a culmination of errors,” Brennan said of his process. “When you see things like multiple instances of missing a notary stamp, multiple instances of self notarization, those types of things come together.”<h2>Experience as a fraud investigator</h2>Brennan, responding to&nbsp; questions from Deputy Solicitor General Zach Viglianco, said he could “certainly” draw inferences on the number of times someone had problems and that if someone engages in some sort of intentional wrongful conduct, it calls into question other conduct they engage in.“Is that something that happens in your experience as a fraud investigator?” Viglianco asked.“Yes,” Brennan responded.When Gutman asked whether Brennan had investigated Henning’s past, Brennan said he found online “only what was in the paper” and had not looked into Henning’s other legal history.The trial continues at 8 a.m. Friday, If&nbsp; needed, it could extend to Monday. The trial was originally scheduled for a maximum of three days. Election Day is Tuesday.

Paid petition circulator with troubled past takes the stand in Nebraska medical cannabis trial

United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Alex Ogunshakin, age 41, a Nigerian citizen, was sentenced on October 31, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Senior United States District John M. Gerrard sentenced Ogunshakin to a total of 45 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Ogunshakin’s release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release and is subject to removal from the United States.

From sometime no later than January 2015, continuing to the September 2016, Ogunshakin participated in a scheme to defraud U.S. based businesses. As a part of the scheme, Ogunshakin and other individuals participated in a business e-mail compromise scheme in which co-conspirators used compromised e-mail accounts to send spoofed e-mails to thousands of business employees who handled accounting, to include authorizing and sending wire transfers. A spoofed e-mail is one in which the e-mail appears to be originating from a sender other than who is truly the sender. Co-conspirators spoofed e-mail addressed to pose as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or other business executives and would direct recipients of the e-mail to complete wire transfers. The business employee, thinking the wire transfer request was legitimate, would comply with the wire transfer and send money to a location providing in wiring instructions. Ogunshakin and other co-conspirators provided bank account information to the co-conspirators who sent the spoofed e-mails to the business executives.

In February 2015 and May 2015, two Nebraska based businesses were targeted by the scheme. The investigation into the scheme revealed over 70 U.S. based business were victimized and the loss amount exceed $6 million, with attempted losses exceeding $30 million.&nbsp;

Ogunshakin and the co-conspirators committed the offense from outside the United States, mostly from Nigeria.&nbsp; At the request of the United States, Nigerian authorities arrested Ogunshakin for the purpose of his extradition in October 2020, a court in Nigeria found him extraditable in July 2023, and Nigerian authorities extradited him to the United States in September 2023.&nbsp; The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Ogunshakin in coordination with the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Abuja, Nigeria’s Office of the Attorney General and Federal Ministry of Justice, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Ogunshakin’s co-conspirator, Adewale Akinloye, was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment in February 2019. Co-conspirators Richard Uzuh, Felix Okpoh, and Nnamdi Benson all remain at large. Co-conspirator Abiola Kayode’s extradition proceedings are ongoing.&nbsp;&nbsp;

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

United States Attorney OfficeUnited States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Alex Ogunshakin, age 41, a Nigerian citizen, was sentenced on October 31, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Senior United States District John M. Gerrard sentenced Ogunshakin to a total of 45 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Ogunshakin’s release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release and is subject to removal from the United States.From sometime no later than January 2015, continuing to the September 2016, Ogunshakin participated in a scheme to defraud U.S. based businesses. As a part of the scheme, Ogunshakin and other individuals participated in a business e-mail compromise scheme in which co-conspirators used compromised e-mail accounts to send spoofed e-mails to thousands of business employees who handled accounting, to include authorizing and sending wire transfers. A spoofed e-mail is one in which the e-mail appears to be originating from a sender other than who is truly the sender. Co-conspirators spoofed e-mail addressed to pose as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or other business executives and would direct recipients of the e-mail to complete wire transfers. The business employee, thinking the wire transfer request was legitimate, would comply with the wire transfer and send money to a location providing in wiring instructions. Ogunshakin and other co-conspirators provided bank account information to the co-conspirators who sent the spoofed e-mails to the business executives.In February 2015 and May 2015, two Nebraska based businesses were targeted by the scheme. The investigation into the scheme revealed over 70 U.S. based business were victimized and the loss amount exceed $6 million, with attempted losses exceeding $30 million.&nbsp;Ogunshakin and the co-conspirators committed the offense from outside the United States, mostly from Nigeria.&nbsp; At the request of the United States, Nigerian authorities arrested Ogunshakin for the purpose of his extradition in October 2020, a court in Nigeria found him extraditable in July 2023, and Nigerian authorities extradited him to the United States in September 2023.&nbsp; The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Ogunshakin in coordination with the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Abuja, Nigeria’s Office of the Attorney General and Federal Ministry of Justice, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.Ogunshakin’s co-conspirator, Adewale Akinloye, was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment in February 2019. Co-conspirators Richard Uzuh, Felix Okpoh, and Nnamdi Benson all remain at large. Co-conspirator Abiola Kayode’s extradition proceedings are ongoing.&nbsp;&nbsp;This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 Nigerian National Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/31/families-urge-nebraskans-to-retain-state-support-to-private-schools/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN —&nbsp;Christina Chvala of Omaha remembers feeling trapped last year when learning she couldn’t financially help both of her daughters attend the private schools of their choice.

Chvala’s younger daughter, Lela, now a seventh-grader, had already been in private school, but increased tuition complicated her continued attendance. And Chvala’s older daughter, Olu, now a high school freshman, had her sights on Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, an all girl, Catholic college-preparatory high school.

“I had no idea how I was going to figure it out, and I had no more hours in the day for another job,” Chvala said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do and I was going to be faced with kind of that ‘Sophie’s Choice’ of OK, whose education do I take away?”

Chvala has been a single mother for over 10 years. She had met with a financial adviser, cut back on groceries and essentials and tried to find funding, but supporting both Olu and Lela seemed out of reach.

“And then I got that email, and I just started crying,” Chvala said when she learned both her daughters would receive “<a href="https://revenue.nebraska.gov/businesses/opportunity-scholarship-act#:~:text=The%20scholarships%20are%20funded%20by,2024%2C%202025%2C%20and%202026." target="_blank">opportunity scholarships</a>.” “I knew that I didn’t have to have that awful conversation. I knew that I could then be the bringer of hope.

“It’s so small to some people, but for our little family, it’s life-changing,” Chvala said, describing the scholarships as “a breath of fresh air” and “a wind in our sails.”

Chvala is one of three mothers interviewed by the Nebraska Examiner who urged Nebraskans to vote to “retain” on&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/ballot-measures/private-education-scholarship-partial-referendum/">Referendum Measure 435</a>&nbsp;on the&nbsp;<a href="https://sos.nebraska.gov/elections/2024-elections" target="_blank">Nov. 5 ballot</a>&nbsp;to preserve the main section of the state’s latest “school choice” law.

The three families have a total of nine children receiving “opportunity scholarships” under Legislative Bill 753, passed in 2023 under the leadership of State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn. The first-of-its-kind Nebraska program was designed as a $25 million annual tax credit encouraging donations for scholarships to private K-12 schools.

A total of $2.6 million in scholarships was distributed, the average at $1,723, to 1,515 students for the 2024-25 school year.

The remaining contributions will be sent to students for next school year or to transfer students, according to a spokesperson for the Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska scholarship-granting organization, the largest in Nebraska.

The organization received 965 tax credit contributions, totaling $9.53 million, ranging from $50 to $100,000. The average contribution was $9,800.

That program will officially end after Thursday. Linehan led the effort to end the program in favor of&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=55486" target="_blank">LB 1402</a>, a direct appropriation to the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office, at a cost of $10 million a year. Nebraska State Treasurer Tom Briese is set to award all scholarship funds to 4,000 families on Thursday, too.

If voters repealed LB 1402, any unspent funds would return to the State of Nebraska, as would any unclaimed tax credits, up to the $25 million limit under the previous law. Linehan is in her final year in the Legislature because of term limits.

Katie Zach of Lincoln said the scholarships mean hope and opportunity for four of six of her children who are receiving funds under LB 753 to attend private school. Zach is a stay-at-home mom. Her children range in age from 6 months to 9 years old Her husband, John, is a private school teacher and coach.

Zach said her family’s income is right around the poverty line so any small disruption could be disastrous.

“A small thing like the refrigerator going down, which just happened, already tips us over,” Zach said. “That kind of relief makes a huge difference.”

‘Thank goodness there are people out there who care that those kinds of things make a difference,’” Zach said of the scholarship funds.

Public school advocates have said the state should not offset attendance costs for private schools, many of which are religious, because they are held to different standards than public schools and could pose threats to future public school funding if the program costs increase.

Zach said the question isn’t whether the schools involved are public or private but about better education for all children. She said her family didn’t have a true “choice” because of their finances.

“At the end of the day, it’s every family wanting to have the same chance at or the same ability to use the right tool for them,” Zach said. “It’s not about public-private. It’s about lower-income families being able to give their kids a shot.”

Opponents of the programs note that public schools must follow nondiscrimination laws and accept all students, regardless of any special needs. But for Ann Rief, a mother near St. Paul, Nebraska, that wasn’t the case for her son Azraeyl.

“That’s not the whole truth, because we were turned away, and that was because our son had some special needs,” Rief said.

The Riefs, who have two sons in high school, served as foster parents to Azraeyl before finalizing his adoption in July. They wanted to send him to the same school his older brothers attended, but Azraeyl was on an individualized education plan.

Rief said the local school district&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Agencies/Education__Department_of/846_20240830-102307.pdf" target="_blank">didn’t have the resources needed to help</a>.

“It felt kind of like a slap in the face,” said Rief, whose family&nbsp;<a href="https://www.education.ne.gov/fos/enrollment-option-application-instructions-faqs/" target="_blank">no longer lived in that district’s boundaries</a>. “Here we are, solid family, wanting to send him back to the place where our boys had a good experience and the public school setting that’s close to our house. And then to be told ‘no,’ it was hard, discouraging, disappointing.”

Azraeyl went to kindergarten one year later and is now thriving and catching up, Rief said. She said her family chose the school because it would attend to Azraeyl’s “whole person,” including faith, which is important to the family, and diversity, to support Azraeyl, who is African American and “trying to find how he fits.”

Rief said she couldn’t help but think of other students, who might come from a trauma background, who are in foster care or who come from minority communities and might benefit from a different environment but can’t because of financial limitations.

“Having these scholarships in place to allow, whether it’s the foster parents or the guardians or the parents, to make that choice is really huge for those kids and their future,” Rief said.

Chvala and Zach said the prospects that the program might go away is heart-breaking to think about and said parents question their life choices when they can’t provide for their children.

Chvala said her older daughter worked hard to receive an academic scholarship to Duchesne, and the family thought it&nbsp;could be a place she could thrive after Olu’s past experiences with racism and sexism.

Olu was worrying about whether she needed to find a job or work in the summer at 14 years old to help pay for her education, which her mother said would have taken away from her passion as a lacrosse player, which could help with college.

Linehan has frequently said that she’s never believed that if Nebraskans understood that they’re “taking hope” from children and parents that they would vote to repeal the program.

If they do, Linehan said she thinks the legislation will return in part because she believes Gov. Jim Pillen is “in the fight for the long run” and the thousands of families who lose scholarships will demand answers and change.

Leaders for the Support our Schools campaign to repeal LB 1402 — Tim Royers of the Nebraska State Education Association and Jenni Benson, leader of the campaign —&nbsp;have said they’re not to blame for taking the scholarships away because Linehan voluntarily got rid of&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=50326" target="_blank">LB 753</a>&nbsp;to get around its referendum, already on the 2024 ballot.

Asked about LB 1402, Royers and Benson have pointed to a lack of accountability and transparency measures required by private schools and pointed to other states where the programs haven’t been beneficial.

Chvala said she can understand and respect where opponents to the laws are coming from and that she knows opponents aren’t saying they value her daughters’ education less. But she said that won’t be the message her daughters hear LB 1402 is defeated.

Instead, it will be that their dreams are worth having if only they have money.

“I’ll do anything for my kids. It’s really not me that that affects,” Chvala said. “It’s my daughters.

Zach Wendling<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/31/families-urge-nebraskans-to-retain-state-support-to-private-schools/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN —&nbsp;Christina Chvala of Omaha remembers feeling trapped last year when learning she couldn’t financially help both of her daughters attend the private schools of their choice.Chvala’s younger daughter, Lela, now a seventh-grader, had already been in private school, but increased tuition complicated her continued attendance. And Chvala’s older daughter, Olu, now a high school freshman, had her sights on Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, an all girl, Catholic college-preparatory high school.“I had no idea how I was going to figure it out, and I had no more hours in the day for another job,” Chvala said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do and I was going to be faced with kind of that ‘Sophie’s Choice’ of OK, whose education do I take away?”Chvala has been a single mother for over 10 years. She had met with a financial adviser, cut back on groceries and essentials and tried to find funding, but supporting both Olu and Lela seemed out of reach.“And then I got that email, and I just started crying,” Chvala said when she learned both her daughters would receive “<a href="https://revenue.nebraska.gov/businesses/opportunity-scholarship-act#:~:text=The%20scholarships%20are%20funded%20by,2024%2C%202025%2C%20and%202026." target="_blank">opportunity scholarships</a>.” “I knew that I didn’t have to have that awful conversation. I knew that I could then be the bringer of hope.“It’s so small to some people, but for our little family, it’s life-changing,” Chvala said, describing the scholarships as “a breath of fresh air” and “a wind in our sails.”<h2>Millions in scholarships distributed</h2>Chvala is one of three mothers interviewed by the Nebraska Examiner who urged Nebraskans to vote to “retain” on&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/ballot-measures/private-education-scholarship-partial-referendum/">Referendum Measure 435</a>&nbsp;on the&nbsp;<a href="https://sos.nebraska.gov/elections/2024-elections" target="_blank">Nov. 5 ballot</a>&nbsp;to preserve the main section of the state’s latest “school choice” law.The three families have a total of nine children receiving “opportunity scholarships” under Legislative Bill 753, passed in 2023 under the leadership of State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn. The first-of-its-kind Nebraska program was designed as a $25 million annual tax credit encouraging donations for scholarships to private K-12 schools.A total of $2.6 million in scholarships was distributed, the average at $1,723, to 1,515 students for the 2024-25 school year.The remaining contributions will be sent to students for next school year or to transfer students, according to a spokesperson for the Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska scholarship-granting organization, the largest in Nebraska.The organization received 965 tax credit contributions, totaling $9.53 million, ranging from $50 to $100,000. The average contribution was $9,800.That program will officially end after Thursday. Linehan led the effort to end the program in favor of&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=55486" target="_blank">LB 1402</a>, a direct appropriation to the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office, at a cost of $10 million a year. Nebraska State Treasurer Tom Briese is set to award all scholarship funds to 4,000 families on Thursday, too.If voters repealed LB 1402, any unspent funds would return to the State of Nebraska, as would any unclaimed tax credits, up to the $25 million limit under the previous law. Linehan is in her final year in the Legislature because of term limits.<h2>‘It’s not about public-private’</h2>Katie Zach of Lincoln said the scholarships mean hope and opportunity for four of six of her children who are receiving funds under LB 753 to attend private school. Zach is a stay-at-home mom. Her children range in age from 6 months to 9 years old Her husband, John, is a private school teacher and coach.Zach said her family’s income is right around the poverty line so any small disruption could be disastrous.“A small thing like the refrigerator going down, which just happened, already tips us over,” Zach said. “That kind of relief makes a huge difference.”‘Thank goodness there are people out there who care that those kinds of things make a difference,’” Zach said of the scholarship funds.Public school advocates have said the state should not offset attendance costs for private schools, many of which are religious, because they are held to different standards than public schools and could pose threats to future public school funding if the program costs increase.Zach said the question isn’t whether the schools involved are public or private but about better education for all children. She said her family didn’t have a true “choice” because of their finances.“At the end of the day, it’s every family wanting to have the same chance at or the same ability to use the right tool for them,” Zach said. “It’s not about public-private. It’s about lower-income families being able to give their kids a shot.”<h2>‘A slap in the face’</h2>Opponents of the programs note that public schools must follow nondiscrimination laws and accept all students, regardless of any special needs. But for Ann Rief, a mother near St. Paul, Nebraska, that wasn’t the case for her son Azraeyl.“That’s not the whole truth, because we were turned away, and that was because our son had some special needs,” Rief said.The Riefs, who have two sons in high school, served as foster parents to Azraeyl before finalizing his adoption in July. They wanted to send him to the same school his older brothers attended, but Azraeyl was on an individualized education plan.Rief said the local school district&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Agencies/Education__Department_of/846_20240830-102307.pdf" target="_blank">didn’t have the resources needed to help</a>.“It felt kind of like a slap in the face,” said Rief, whose family&nbsp;<a href="https://www.education.ne.gov/fos/enrollment-option-application-instructions-faqs/" target="_blank">no longer lived in that district’s boundaries</a>. “Here we are, solid family, wanting to send him back to the place where our boys had a good experience and the public school setting that’s close to our house. And then to be told ‘no,’ it was hard, discouraging, disappointing.”Azraeyl went to kindergarten one year later and is now thriving and catching up, Rief said. She said her family chose the school because it would attend to Azraeyl’s “whole person,” including faith, which is important to the family, and diversity, to support Azraeyl, who is African American and “trying to find how he fits.”Rief said she couldn’t help but think of other students, who might come from a trauma background, who are in foster care or who come from minority communities and might benefit from a different environment but can’t because of financial limitations.“Having these scholarships in place to allow, whether it’s the foster parents or the guardians or the parents, to make that choice is really huge for those kids and their future,” Rief said.Chvala and Zach said the prospects that the program might go away is heart-breaking to think about and said parents question their life choices when they can’t provide for their children.<h2>‘I’ll do anything for my kids’</h2>Chvala said her older daughter worked hard to receive an academic scholarship to Duchesne, and the family thought it&nbsp;could be a place she could thrive after Olu’s past experiences with racism and sexism.Olu was worrying about whether she needed to find a job or work in the summer at 14 years old to help pay for her education, which her mother said would have taken away from her passion as a lacrosse player, which could help with college.Linehan has frequently said that she’s never believed that if Nebraskans understood that they’re “taking hope” from children and parents that they would vote to repeal the program.If they do, Linehan said she thinks the legislation will return in part because she believes Gov. Jim Pillen is “in the fight for the long run” and the thousands of families who lose scholarships will demand answers and change.Leaders for the Support our Schools campaign to repeal LB 1402 — Tim Royers of the Nebraska State Education Association and Jenni Benson, leader of the campaign —&nbsp;have said they’re not to blame for taking the scholarships away because Linehan voluntarily got rid of&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=50326" target="_blank">LB 753</a>&nbsp;to get around its referendum, already on the 2024 ballot.Asked about LB 1402, Royers and Benson have pointed to a lack of accountability and transparency measures required by private schools and pointed to other states where the programs haven’t been beneficial.Chvala said she can understand and respect where opponents to the laws are coming from and that she knows opponents aren’t saying they value her daughters’ education less. But she said that won’t be the message her daughters hear LB 1402 is defeated.Instead, it will be that their dreams are worth having if only they have money.“I’ll do anything for my kids. It’s really not me that that affects,” Chvala said. “It’s my daughters.

Families urge Nebraskans to Retain State Support to Private Schools

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/31/iowa-wisconsin-national-educators-urge-nebraskans-to-repeal-state-support-to-private-schools/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN —&nbsp;Educators from Iowa, Wisconsin and the National Education Association are joining Cornhusker State educators in urging Nebraskans to repeal a law that funds “education scholarships” for private K-12 schools.

The public school advocates said Nebraskans should vote to “repeal” on&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/ballot-measures/private-education-scholarship-partial-referendum/">Referendum Measure 435</a>&nbsp;on the&nbsp;<a href="https://sos.nebraska.gov/elections/2024-elections" target="_blank">Nov. 5 ballot</a>&nbsp;to remove the main section of&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=55486" target="_blank">Legislative Bill 1402</a>, which was passed in April. The law appropriates $10 million annually so the State Treasurer’s Office can provide “education scholarships” for Nebraska families to attend private schools.&nbsp;

The Treasurer’s Office will join scholarship-granting organization Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska on Thursday to announce that 4,000 students will receive all $10 million through the scholarships, regardless of the partial referendum on the general election ballot.

Ron Duff Martin, a Wisconsin educator who serves as an at-large member of the National Education Association, told the Nebraska Examiner that Milwaukee was really the “birthplace of the voucher program” in the early 1990s.

“From there it just grew,” Martin said. “It grew not only in Wisconsin, but we saw other states that adopted similar legislation.”

Peggy Wirtz-Olsen, president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, said the&nbsp;<a href="https://will-law.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-11-13-Proposed-Nonparty-Brief-To-File.pdf" target="_blank">Wisconsin legislation</a>&nbsp;has led to funding two systems, one of which included $568.5 million in taxpayer dollars in the 2022-23 school year going to a “web of private voucher systems.”

“That labyrinth, that web, is entirely, in terms of funding, unsustainable,” Wirtz-Olsen said.

Martin said that in Wisconsin, lawmakers set the state budget for public education and then “skim off the top” for private-school vouchers.&nbsp;

“Our local school districts are having to go to referendum to keep the doors open and the lights on,” Wirtz-Olsen said.

In Nebraska, the vast majority of public school funding comes from property taxes, which are assessed locally. The state offers $1,500 in foundation aid per public school student, and public school advocates have expressed concern in losing students needed to help stabilize funding that shifts year over year.

Lawmakers have perennially updated Nebraksa’s major state funding distribution model since it was adopted in the 1990s, and advocates and lawmakers have agreed major changes are needed but haven’t yet agreed in what form.

Public funding help for Nebraska’s private schools could not increase without future approval. The lead lawmaker supporting such a program, State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, has repeatedly said the state is in good financial health and can afford to extend a small fraction of “hope” to families. Linehan is in her final year in the Legislature because of term limits.

Martin has joined the Cornhusker State teacher’s union and visited the state to oppose its newest laws on at least four occasions. He warned, “Nebraskans: Don’t be Wisconsin.”

“Nebraska: Don’t go down that road,” Martin said. “You’re a state that has warded it off and you’ve done a really good job. Continue to go down the route that you’ve gone for 100-plus years with your public schools.”

Martin attended a campaign fundraiser July 11 with Jenni Benson, the former president of the Nebraska teacher’s union and current president of the Support Our Schools Nebraska campaign, which has opposed the current ballot measure.

At that event, Benson pointed to a quote displayed in her office that reads, “There is a special place in Hell for those who remain neutral in a crisis.” Benson told those at the July event that the current battle over school funding is such a crisis.

Nebraska became the 49th state nationwide to embrace “school choice” legislation in 2023, with&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=50326" target="_blank">LB 753</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://revenue.nebraska.gov/businesses/opportunity-scholarship-act#:~:text=The%20scholarships%20are%20funded%20by,2024%2C%202025%2C%20and%202026." target="_blank">Opportunity Scholarships Act</a>. In 2024, facing a public referendum on the fall ballot for that program, lawmakers replaced it with LB 1402, leading to a second referendum.

The National Education Association and Nebraska State Education Association have been the major donors behind repeal efforts on both pieces of legislation.&nbsp;

Martin said that’s because of concerns over accountability, transparency and concern over potentially funding two school systems eventually.

Asked why he’s sure Nebraska would follow the same path, Martin said providing a small initial investment — currently $10 million in Nebraska —&nbsp;is similar to what happened in states like Arizona, Wisconsin or Florida, but the funding eventually ballooned.

“I don’t see anything different,” Martin said.

Kentucky and Colorado also have&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/2024/10/11/school-choice-goes-before-voters-in-3-states-faces-pushback-in-others/" target="_blank">school choice questions</a>&nbsp;on their November ballot.

Linehan is the sponsor behind LB 753 and LB 1402, as well as various versions that didn’t pass during her eight-year legislative tenure.

LB 753, which comes off the law books officially Oct. 31, appropriated $25 million every calendar year as a one-to-one refundable income tax credit for donations to scholarship-granting organizations, like Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska.

That organization is the largest, receiving 965 tax credit contributions since Jan. 1, when the law began, totaling about $9.53 million. The average credit was $9,800, and credits ranged from $50 to $100,000, according to a spokesperson.

In total the organization distributed $2.6 million in scholarships for this academic year to 1,515 students. The average scholarship was $1,723.

The LB 1402 program ended LB 753 and instead was designed to divert funds through the Nebraska Treasurer’s Office, at a smaller level of $10 million that wouldn’t grow, as the funding under LB 753 would have.

Linehan has noted that $10 million represents 0.02% of the total cost for Nebraska’s public schools, which receive more than $5 billion. Linehan has said it is a civil rights issue that families are locked into attending public schools, particularly for low-income families, students of color or children with disabilities.

“I’ve been lucky all my life, real lucky. I don’t know when people have the good fortune to have a good job, to be stable, why they would not help those who are not so lucky,” Linehan told the Examiner. “I’ve never understood it. I hope I never do.”

Helping to get the first legislation over the hurdle in 2023 was American Federation for Children, a national nonprofit that advocates for charter schools, vouchers and other forms of scholarships for private K-12 schools. Linehan’s daughter is a spokesperson for the organization, which was founded by former U.S. Education Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/27/betsy-devos-two-others-spent-big-on-nebraska-legislative-races/">Betsy DeVos</a>.

Tim Royers, president of the NSEA,&nbsp; said the problem isn’t with the cost but with the general concept.

Josh Brown, president of the Iowa State Education Association, said that the appropriation for Iowa school choice programs was projected to be hundreds of millions less than it has ended up costing, and that the state auditor can’t review how the funds are spent, because they go to private entities.

“There’s no looking at how the money is being spent,” Brown said of the&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/2023/06/15/more-states-use-taxpayer-dollars-to-help-people-pay-for-private-school/" target="_blank">Iowa system</a>.

Wirtz-Olsen, in Wisconsin, said the conversation would be different if taxpayers knew how the money is spent, what private schools’ academic standards and other procedures are, and whether the state could track student achievement.

“I believe very firmly in my heart of hearts that if taxpayers across Wisconsin could see all of that in their own tax bills that that would open their eyes,” Wirtz-Olsen said.

Private schools serve about 10% of students

In the next four years, more than $1 billion will go to Iowa schools, which serve less than 10% of students, Brown said. He expects private tuition costs to grow until low-income families can’t afford the programs even with the vouchers.

“They have snuck in a program pretending like it was to help those that are most unfortunate in a way that, in the end, is going to just be a public funded tuition for those who already would have been choosing that anyway,” Brown said.

Nebraska and Wisconsin have a similar, 9:1 split of students between public and private schools.

Linehan said the choice for Nebraskans this Nov. 5 is whether the 10% of students not attending public schools are as important as the other 90%.

“I think every kid matters, and I’m pretty sure most Nebraskans do,” Linehan said.

Brown said public schools were designed as a solution to inequality and said lawmakers should invest in public schools instead of finding “ways to divide us and have the haves and have nots and put people into a situation where we’re fighting among ourselves for limited resources.”

“In the end it’s not a war or anything between public and private schools,” Brown said. “It’s really a conflict between how public money is spent on private services without equal access and without taxpayer accountability.”

Zach Wendling<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/31/iowa-wisconsin-national-educators-urge-nebraskans-to-repeal-state-support-to-private-schools/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN —&nbsp;Educators from Iowa, Wisconsin and the National Education Association are joining Cornhusker State educators in urging Nebraskans to repeal a law that funds “education scholarships” for private K-12 schools.The public school advocates said Nebraskans should vote to “repeal” on&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/ballot-measures/private-education-scholarship-partial-referendum/">Referendum Measure 435</a>&nbsp;on the&nbsp;<a href="https://sos.nebraska.gov/elections/2024-elections" target="_blank">Nov. 5 ballot</a>&nbsp;to remove the main section of&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=55486" target="_blank">Legislative Bill 1402</a>, which was passed in April. The law appropriates $10 million annually so the State Treasurer’s Office can provide “education scholarships” for Nebraska families to attend private schools.&nbsp;The Treasurer’s Office will join scholarship-granting organization Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska on Thursday to announce that 4,000 students will receive all $10 million through the scholarships, regardless of the partial referendum on the general election ballot.Ron Duff Martin, a Wisconsin educator who serves as an at-large member of the National Education Association, told the Nebraska Examiner that Milwaukee was really the “birthplace of the voucher program” in the early 1990s.“From there it just grew,” Martin said. “It grew not only in Wisconsin, but we saw other states that adopted similar legislation.”<h2>Stability of funding</h2>Peggy Wirtz-Olsen, president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, said the&nbsp;<a href="https://will-law.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-11-13-Proposed-Nonparty-Brief-To-File.pdf" target="_blank">Wisconsin legislation</a>&nbsp;has led to funding two systems, one of which included $568.5 million in taxpayer dollars in the 2022-23 school year going to a “web of private voucher systems.”“That labyrinth, that web, is entirely, in terms of funding, unsustainable,” Wirtz-Olsen said.Martin said that in Wisconsin, lawmakers set the state budget for public education and then “skim off the top” for private-school vouchers.&nbsp;“Our local school districts are having to go to referendum to keep the doors open and the lights on,” Wirtz-Olsen said.In Nebraska, the vast majority of public school funding comes from property taxes, which are assessed locally. The state offers $1,500 in foundation aid per public school student, and public school advocates have expressed concern in losing students needed to help stabilize funding that shifts year over year.Lawmakers have perennially updated Nebraksa’s major state funding distribution model since it was adopted in the 1990s, and advocates and lawmakers have agreed major changes are needed but haven’t yet agreed in what form.Public funding help for Nebraska’s private schools could not increase without future approval. The lead lawmaker supporting such a program, State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, has repeatedly said the state is in good financial health and can afford to extend a small fraction of “hope” to families. Linehan is in her final year in the Legislature because of term limits.<h2>‘Nebraskans: Don’t be Wisconsin’</h2>Martin has joined the Cornhusker State teacher’s union and visited the state to oppose its newest laws on at least four occasions. He warned, “Nebraskans: Don’t be Wisconsin.”“Nebraska: Don’t go down that road,” Martin said. “You’re a state that has warded it off and you’ve done a really good job. Continue to go down the route that you’ve gone for 100-plus years with your public schools.”Martin attended a campaign fundraiser July 11 with Jenni Benson, the former president of the Nebraska teacher’s union and current president of the Support Our Schools Nebraska campaign, which has opposed the current ballot measure.At that event, Benson pointed to a quote displayed in her office that reads, “There is a special place in Hell for those who remain neutral in a crisis.” Benson told those at the July event that the current battle over school funding is such a crisis.Nebraska became the 49th state nationwide to embrace “school choice” legislation in 2023, with&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=50326" target="_blank">LB 753</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://revenue.nebraska.gov/businesses/opportunity-scholarship-act#:~:text=The%20scholarships%20are%20funded%20by,2024%2C%202025%2C%20and%202026." target="_blank">Opportunity Scholarships Act</a>. In 2024, facing a public referendum on the fall ballot for that program, lawmakers replaced it with LB 1402, leading to a second referendum.The National Education Association and Nebraska State Education Association have been the major donors behind repeal efforts on both pieces of legislation.&nbsp;Martin said that’s because of concerns over accountability, transparency and concern over potentially funding two school systems eventually.Asked why he’s sure Nebraska would follow the same path, Martin said providing a small initial investment — currently $10 million in Nebraska —&nbsp;is similar to what happened in states like Arizona, Wisconsin or Florida, but the funding eventually ballooned.“I don’t see anything different,” Martin said.Kentucky and Colorado also have&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/2024/10/11/school-choice-goes-before-voters-in-3-states-faces-pushback-in-others/" target="_blank">school choice questions</a>&nbsp;on their November ballot.<h2>Nebraska school choice laws</h2>Linehan is the sponsor behind LB 753 and LB 1402, as well as various versions that didn’t pass during her eight-year legislative tenure.LB 753, which comes off the law books officially Oct. 31, appropriated $25 million every calendar year as a one-to-one refundable income tax credit for donations to scholarship-granting organizations, like Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska.That organization is the largest, receiving 965 tax credit contributions since Jan. 1, when the law began, totaling about $9.53 million. The average credit was $9,800, and credits ranged from $50 to $100,000, according to a spokesperson.In total the organization distributed $2.6 million in scholarships for this academic year to 1,515 students. The average scholarship was $1,723.The LB 1402 program ended LB 753 and instead was designed to divert funds through the Nebraska Treasurer’s Office, at a smaller level of $10 million that wouldn’t grow, as the funding under LB 753 would have.Linehan has noted that $10 million represents 0.02% of the total cost for Nebraska’s public schools, which receive more than $5 billion. Linehan has said it is a civil rights issue that families are locked into attending public schools, particularly for low-income families, students of color or children with disabilities.“I’ve been lucky all my life, real lucky. I don’t know when people have the good fortune to have a good job, to be stable, why they would not help those who are not so lucky,” Linehan told the Examiner. “I’ve never understood it. I hope I never do.”Helping to get the first legislation over the hurdle in 2023 was American Federation for Children, a national nonprofit that advocates for charter schools, vouchers and other forms of scholarships for private K-12 schools. Linehan’s daughter is a spokesperson for the organization, which was founded by former U.S. Education Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/27/betsy-devos-two-others-spent-big-on-nebraska-legislative-races/">Betsy DeVos</a>.Tim Royers, president of the NSEA,&nbsp; said the problem isn’t with the cost but with the general concept.<h2>Accountability and transparency</h2>Josh Brown, president of the Iowa State Education Association, said that the appropriation for Iowa school choice programs was projected to be hundreds of millions less than it has ended up costing, and that the state auditor can’t review how the funds are spent, because they go to private entities.“There’s no looking at how the money is being spent,” Brown said of the&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/2023/06/15/more-states-use-taxpayer-dollars-to-help-people-pay-for-private-school/" target="_blank">Iowa system</a>.Wirtz-Olsen, in Wisconsin, said the conversation would be different if taxpayers knew how the money is spent, what private schools’ academic standards and other procedures are, and whether the state could track student achievement.“I believe very firmly in my heart of hearts that if taxpayers across Wisconsin could see all of that in their own tax bills that that would open their eyes,” Wirtz-Olsen said.<h2>Private schools serve about 10% of students</h2>In the next four years, more than $1 billion will go to Iowa schools, which serve less than 10% of students, Brown said. He expects private tuition costs to grow until low-income families can’t afford the programs even with the vouchers.“They have snuck in a program pretending like it was to help those that are most unfortunate in a way that, in the end, is going to just be a public funded tuition for those who already would have been choosing that anyway,” Brown said.Nebraska and Wisconsin have a similar, 9:1 split of students between public and private schools.Linehan said the choice for Nebraskans this Nov. 5 is whether the 10% of students not attending public schools are as important as the other 90%.“I think every kid matters, and I’m pretty sure most Nebraskans do,” Linehan said.Brown said public schools were designed as a solution to inequality and said lawmakers should invest in public schools instead of finding “ways to divide us and have the haves and have nots and put people into a situation where we’re fighting among ourselves for limited resources.”“In the end it’s not a war or anything between public and private schools,” Brown said. “It’s really a conflict between how public money is spent on private services without equal access and without taxpayer accountability.”

Iowa, Wisconsin, national educators urge Nebraskans to repeal state support to private schools

DAMASCUS —U.S. forces conducted a series of air strikes against several known ISIS camps in Syria in the early evening of Oct. 28, resulting in up to 35 ISIS operatives killed, the U.S. Central Command reported Wednesday.

The strikes targeted multiple ISIS locations in the Syrian desert, targeting multiple ISIS senior leaders. There are no indications of civilian casualties, according to the Central Command.

The strikes will disrupt the ability of ISUS to plan, organize and conduct attacks against civilians as well as U.S. allies and partners throughout the region and beyond.

"Central Command forces alongside allies and partners in the region will continue to aggressively degrade ISUS operation capabilities to ensure its enduring defeat."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1730298603773.png" alt="A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II operates over the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility." />
 <figcaption>A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II operates over the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility.</figcaption>
 </figure>DAMASCUS —U.S. forces conducted a series of air strikes against several known ISIS camps in Syria in the early evening of Oct. 28, resulting in up to 35 ISIS operatives killed, the U.S. Central Command reported Wednesday.The strikes targeted multiple ISIS locations in the Syrian desert, targeting multiple ISIS senior leaders. There are no indications of civilian casualties, according to the Central Command.The strikes will disrupt the ability of ISUS to plan, organize and conduct attacks against civilians as well as U.S. allies and partners throughout the region and beyond."Central Command forces alongside allies and partners in the region will continue to aggressively degrade ISUS operation capabilities to ensure its enduring defeat."

U.S. forces conduct airstrikes against terrorist camps in Syria

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded UNMC one of 10 Regional Centers for Public Health Preparedness and Response across the nation.

These regional centers will play an essential role over the next five years in advancing the uptake of evidence-based strategies and interventions across communities, enhancing their ability to prepare for and respond to public health threats, according to the CDC.

UNMC will administer the center for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region Seven – Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

The center will work with a coalition of regional partners, including the University of Iowa and the University of Iowa College of Public Health. Other collaborators will include health departments from across the four states, as well as various rural and tribal partners.

The goal is to implement evidence-based practices in public health and emergency preparedness and response, especially in scenarios such as extreme weather events. The center also will work to address concerns around public health workforce development, workforce resiliency and improving community trust in public health, said principal investigator Rachel Lookadoo, JD, assistant professor of environmental, agricultural and occupational health.

The center will build upon an existing culture of regional cooperation within the four states, as well as a depth of expertise.

“Our preparedness efforts in the region are strong – but we can continue to strengthen them through coordination and collaboration,” said Lauren Sauer, associate professor of environmental, agricultural and occupational health, and associate director of research at the Global Center for Health Security, a co-principal investigator. “And so, we’ll work that our preparedness activities are not siloed and are evidence-based. One of the key goals of this contract is to improve regional coordination and improve a nationwide dialogue on evidence-based practice.”

Lookadoo added, “The goal of this center will be to help create a more interconnected regional approach to responding to some of the public health emergency threats that are particularly concerning to our region.”

The other regional centers are at Harvard University, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Minnesota, Tulane University, University of Utah, University of California San Francisco and University of Washington.

Caption: From left, Rachel Lookadoo, JD, and Lauren Sauer

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1730300987168.jpeg" alt=" From left, Rachel Lookadoo, JD, and Lauren Sauer" />
 <figcaption> From left, Rachel Lookadoo, JD, and Lauren Sauer</figcaption>
 </figure>UNMCThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded UNMC one of 10 Regional Centers for Public Health Preparedness and Response across the nation.These regional centers will play an essential role over the next five years in advancing the uptake of evidence-based strategies and interventions across communities, enhancing their ability to prepare for and respond to public health threats, according to the CDC.UNMC will administer the center for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region Seven – Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.The center will work with a coalition of regional partners, including the University of Iowa and the University of Iowa College of Public Health. Other collaborators will include health departments from across the four states, as well as various rural and tribal partners.The goal is to implement evidence-based practices in public health and emergency preparedness and response, especially in scenarios such as extreme weather events. The center also will work to address concerns around public health workforce development, workforce resiliency and improving community trust in public health, said principal investigator Rachel Lookadoo, JD, assistant professor of environmental, agricultural and occupational health.The center will build upon an existing culture of regional cooperation within the four states, as well as a depth of expertise.“Our preparedness efforts in the region are strong – but we can continue to strengthen them through coordination and collaboration,” said Lauren Sauer, associate professor of environmental, agricultural and occupational health, and associate director of research at the Global Center for Health Security, a co-principal investigator. “And so, we’ll work that our preparedness activities are not siloed and are evidence-based. One of the key goals of this contract is to improve regional coordination and improve a nationwide dialogue on evidence-based practice.”Lookadoo added, “The goal of this center will be to help create a more interconnected regional approach to responding to some of the public health emergency threats that are particularly concerning to our region.”The other regional centers are at Harvard University, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Minnesota, Tulane University, University of Utah, University of California San Francisco and University of Washington.Caption: From left, Rachel Lookadoo, JD, and Lauren Sauer

 UNMC named new public health regional center for CDC

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/29/trial-begins-in-case-against-nebraskas-medical-cannabis-ballot-measures/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — The trial over Nebraska’s two medical cannabis ballot measures began Tuesday with a broad examination into notary publics, citizen-led initiatives and the different groups that have reviewed the petition signatures.&nbsp;

The case in Lancaster County District Court involves two petitions from the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign that would&nbsp;<a href="https://sos.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/elections/2024/2024%20Ballot%20Measures%20Pamphlet.pdf" target="_blank">legalize and regulate medical cannabis</a>. Both petitions remain on the Nov. 5 ballot, but if this week’s legal challenges are successful, that could invalidate the election results. The trial picks back up Thursday.

The medical marijuana campaign needs&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/23/breaking-down-petition-signatures-for-nebraska-2024-ballot-measures/">86,499 valid signatures</a>. Nearly 90,000 signatures were verified on each petition.

Attorneys for John Kuehn, a former state senator and former State Board of Health member who&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/09/12/lawsuit-seeks-to-invalidate-nebraskas-medical-marijuana-ballot-measures/">filed the Sept. 12 lawsuit</a>, and Secretary of State Bob Evnen, a defendant in the lawsuit, sought to frame the case around one question: “Following the rules.”

Anne Mackin, an Austin-based attorney and one of Kuehn’s lead attorneys, said the question is whether the campaign garnered enough signatures, and said she is being aided by an “unbiased third-party firm” that Kuehn hired to review the signatures. She said the firm found suspicious behavior involving the petition drive.

“These are not isolated incidents. This is large, large-scale, known malfeasance by key campaign workers,” Mackin said. “It’s a larger scale than my client ever could have imagined when initially filing this lawsuit.”

Mackin is a former Texas assistant attorney general who worked as legal counsel for the Texas Senate and Federal Election Commission.

Deputy Solicitor General Zach Viglianco in the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, who is defending Evnen, said during opening arguments that “cheating is a choice.” He accused the ballot sponsors and a significant number of campaign circulators and notaries public of cheating Nebraskans.

“The choice those individuals made is an unfortunate one,” Viglianco said. “But it’s not a choice that can be ignored.”

Sydney Hayes, an attorney for the ballot sponsors, said the goal of the opposing attorneys is to find enough questionable signatures to invalidate both petitions.

Hayes told Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong that there isn’t enough evidence of “fraud” or mistakes, noting&nbsp;at most 706 questionable signatures on one petition and 394 signatures on the other.

“They simply can’t meet the numbers,” Hayes said. “In fact, they don’t even come close.”

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office and Kuehn’s attorneys are focusing on the behavior of certain notaries, Hayes said, seeking to invalidate any signatures that they touched.

Hayes said invalidating that many signatures is “quite simply” not the law. She and Daniel Gutman, another ballot sponsor attorney, have argued&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/08/medical-cannabis-sponsors-push-back-on-nebraska-officials-claims-of-fraud-and-malfeasance/">no court nationwide has ever accepted</a>.

Wayne Bena, deputy secretary of state for elections, testified that local county officials verify signatures by matching at least two of three identifying details –– printed names, birth dates or home addresses — to a voter’s registration file.

Bena testified that it is possible that county officials would not catch fraud, for example, if a circulator provided a registered voter’s information without their knowledge or consent. He noted county election officials also aren’t handwriting experts.

Much of Kuehn’s initial lawsuit focused on instances where the two-out-of-three rule wasn’t followed, or when the campaign wasn’t disclosing whether circulators were paid. However, Kuen’s attorneys largely avoided&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/09/27/district-court-judge-dismisses-some-but-not-all-charges-in-nebraska-medical-cannabis-lawsuit/">those arguments&nbsp;</a>on Tuesday,&nbsp;for the most part focusing on notaries and circulators, like Evnen’s attorneys.

David Wilson Jr., associate general counsel for the Secretary of State’s Office and director of licensing, who oversees the work of notaries for the office, explained that notarizations give “presumptive evidence” over a matter’s legal validity.

Wilson said notaries must physically witness an “oath” and confirm the identity of whose documents they are notarizing. In this case, that’s a notarization for a circulator swearing to the validity of the signatures they’ve gathered.

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office has alleged that thousands of signatures were collected where those requirements weren’t met.

Wilson testified that he is unaware of his office having criminal prosecutorial authority over notaries or of instances where one document being invalidated led to every document a particular notary touched being tossed.&nbsp;

At least one notary, Jacy Todd of York, has been criminally charged in the case. He faces 24 counts of alleged malfeasance. Todd is a prospective witness in the case but is currently facing medical issues that raised questions whether he’ll be able to testify in court.

Wilson said he is unaware of any other notaries being criminally charged for malfeasance.

Kait Madsen, an attorney for the ballot sponsors, asked Wilson whether there is additional training or continuing education for notaries, which he said there is not.&nbsp;

Zach Wendling<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/29/trial-begins-in-case-against-nebraskas-medical-cannabis-ballot-measures/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — The trial over Nebraska’s two medical cannabis ballot measures began Tuesday with a broad examination into notary publics, citizen-led initiatives and the different groups that have reviewed the petition signatures.&nbsp;The case in Lancaster County District Court involves two petitions from the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign that would&nbsp;<a href="https://sos.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/elections/2024/2024%20Ballot%20Measures%20Pamphlet.pdf" target="_blank">legalize and regulate medical cannabis</a>. Both petitions remain on the Nov. 5 ballot, but if this week’s legal challenges are successful, that could invalidate the election results. The trial picks back up Thursday.The medical marijuana campaign needs&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/23/breaking-down-petition-signatures-for-nebraska-2024-ballot-measures/">86,499 valid signatures</a>. Nearly 90,000 signatures were verified on each petition.<h2>‘Cheating is a choice’</h2>Attorneys for John Kuehn, a former state senator and former State Board of Health member who&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/09/12/lawsuit-seeks-to-invalidate-nebraskas-medical-marijuana-ballot-measures/">filed the Sept. 12 lawsuit</a>, and Secretary of State Bob Evnen, a defendant in the lawsuit, sought to frame the case around one question: “Following the rules.”Anne Mackin, an Austin-based attorney and one of Kuehn’s lead attorneys, said the question is whether the campaign garnered enough signatures, and said she is being aided by an “unbiased third-party firm” that Kuehn hired to review the signatures. She said the firm found suspicious behavior involving the petition drive.“These are not isolated incidents. This is large, large-scale, known malfeasance by key campaign workers,” Mackin said. “It’s a larger scale than my client ever could have imagined when initially filing this lawsuit.”Mackin is a former Texas assistant attorney general who worked as legal counsel for the Texas Senate and Federal Election Commission.Deputy Solicitor General Zach Viglianco in the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, who is defending Evnen, said during opening arguments that “cheating is a choice.” He accused the ballot sponsors and a significant number of campaign circulators and notaries public of cheating Nebraskans.“The choice those individuals made is an unfortunate one,” Viglianco said. “But it’s not a choice that can be ignored.”<h2>Pursuit of the ‘magic number’</h2>Sydney Hayes, an attorney for the ballot sponsors, said the goal of the opposing attorneys is to find enough questionable signatures to invalidate both petitions.Hayes told Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong that there isn’t enough evidence of “fraud” or mistakes, noting&nbsp;at most 706 questionable signatures on one petition and 394 signatures on the other.“They simply can’t meet the numbers,” Hayes said. “In fact, they don’t even come close.”The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office and Kuehn’s attorneys are focusing on the behavior of certain notaries, Hayes said, seeking to invalidate any signatures that they touched.Hayes said invalidating that many signatures is “quite simply” not the law. She and Daniel Gutman, another ballot sponsor attorney, have argued&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/08/medical-cannabis-sponsors-push-back-on-nebraska-officials-claims-of-fraud-and-malfeasance/">no court nationwide has ever accepted</a>.<h2>Signature validation and notaries</h2>Wayne Bena, deputy secretary of state for elections, testified that local county officials verify signatures by matching at least two of three identifying details –– printed names, birth dates or home addresses — to a voter’s registration file.Bena testified that it is possible that county officials would not catch fraud, for example, if a circulator provided a registered voter’s information without their knowledge or consent. He noted county election officials also aren’t handwriting experts.Much of Kuehn’s initial lawsuit focused on instances where the two-out-of-three rule wasn’t followed, or when the campaign wasn’t disclosing whether circulators were paid. However, Kuen’s attorneys largely avoided&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/09/27/district-court-judge-dismisses-some-but-not-all-charges-in-nebraska-medical-cannabis-lawsuit/">those arguments&nbsp;</a>on Tuesday,&nbsp;for the most part focusing on notaries and circulators, like Evnen’s attorneys.David Wilson Jr., associate general counsel for the Secretary of State’s Office and director of licensing, who oversees the work of notaries for the office, explained that notarizations give “presumptive evidence” over a matter’s legal validity.Wilson said notaries must physically witness an “oath” and confirm the identity of whose documents they are notarizing. In this case, that’s a notarization for a circulator swearing to the validity of the signatures they’ve gathered.The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office has alleged that thousands of signatures were collected where those requirements weren’t met.Wilson testified that he is unaware of his office having criminal prosecutorial authority over notaries or of instances where one document being invalidated led to every document a particular notary touched being tossed.&nbsp;At least one notary, Jacy Todd of York, has been criminally charged in the case. He faces 24 counts of alleged malfeasance. Todd is a prospective witness in the case but is currently facing medical issues that raised questions whether he’ll be able to testify in court.Wilson said he is unaware of any other notaries being criminally charged for malfeasance.Kait Madsen, an attorney for the ballot sponsors, asked Wilson whether there is additional training or continuing education for notaries, which he said there is not.&nbsp;Wilson said a mistake doesn’t always mean malfeasance.“Everyone makes mistakes,” Wilson said. “… It’s fact dependent on what happened.”<h2>Dual investigations</h2>Kory Langhofer, a high-profile, Phoenix-based elections attorney and co-founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://signafide.com/about.html" target="_blank">Signafide</a>, a cloud-based petition validation service that Kuehn hired to review the petitions. The firm uses artificial intelligence and manual labor to review petitions nationwide.Langhofer has represented various clients nationwide, including former President Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, including questions about the 2020 Arizona election results; Carly Fiorina’s Republican presidential campaign in 2016; and then-Gov. Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012.He testified that he began working in the ballot access field in 2011, has worked in all U.S. states and territories at least twice, and has reviewed at least 17 state ballot measure petitions, one of which involved a client favoring marijuana legalization.Signafide’s process involves AI and hours of visual review, Langhofer said. However, he noted the firm didn’t receive all the scans of the Nebraska petition pages, so his estimates would likely undercount some alleged irregularities.Hayes objected to using the network analysis because of Langhofer’s noted limitations. Mackin said the analysis is intended to corroborate evidence from the Attorney General’s Office.John Brennan, a civil investigator and certified fraud examiner in the Attorney General’s Office, walked Viglianco through a handful of examples of questionable circulator or notary signatures and instances where a circulator notarized his or her own petition sheet.Brennan said he has never investigated a case involving circulator fraud or notary malfeasance but said it is similar to consumer protection cases he’s investigated.Brennan said he reviewed more than 25,000 pages and outlined multiple pieces of evidence with some “facial” defects that he said were improperly validated, some of which were forwarded to a handwriting expert who is expected to be called as a witness later this week.The attorneys for Kuehn and the ballot sponsors will continue questioning Brennan on Thursday.