Five Nebraska VR partners received awards for their role in creating inclusive workplaces and advocacy for disability employment. The 2021 Disability Employment and Inclusion Awards highlight the successful partnership between Nebraska VR and the businesses and communities they serve. Nebraska VR offers individualized services to help people with disabilities find employment consistent with their...Read More
SCOTTSBLUFF, NE, (October 7, 2021) – Little Free Libraries are a global phenomenon. The small, front-yard book exchanges number more than 100,000 around the world in over 100 countries-from Italy to Brazil to Japan. Now, a new Little Free Library located in the circle drive at Educational Service Unit #13 will join the movement to share books, bring people together, and create communities of...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren It’s late September, a month since 10 ballplayers from Hastings saw their wild ride to the Little League World Series come to an end, and Hunter Nepple can still close his eyes and feel the dirt beneath his cleats. “You’ve never played on an infield that perfectly smooth or grass that perfectly trimmed and green,” said Nepple, a shortstop and one of Hastings’ ace pitchers. “You...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren The steps on the State Capitol building’s north-side seem to go on forever. Nebraskans, young and old, have stomped, climbed and trudged that flight since construction of the Capitol, a remarkable feat in its own right, finished in 1932. Once at the top, they all do the same thing, no matter their business in the state’s most iconic structure. They look up. Four-hundred feet up...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren The question from the team at ESU 16 nearly caught Brady Public Schools superintendent James McGown off guard. “What can we do for you?” School districts, McGown explained, are a service industry. They’re often the ones posing such questions, prying for specific needs and searching for supports specialized to every single one of their students. When the ESU 16 Listening Tour...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren Jesse Zweep stands in the doorway of his classroom at Louisville High School, underneath a string of state championship banners, and waves me in. I’m here in this rock quarry town of just over a thousand people to tell the story of a SkillsUSA chapter that has enjoyed an eye-opening string of success in recent years, and Zweep, who started the program in 2007, is my point of...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren It was about half an hour before kick-off when Mitch Beeson heard the familiar sounds of a pick-up football game breaking out between a rowdy pack of grade-school kids. The Clarkson-Leigh senior, a standout on both sides of the ball for the Patriots, paused mid-stretch and, for a moment, just listened. Friendly banter turned to laughter, football in its purest form...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren After half a century operating from its downtown home on the sixth floor of the Nebraska State Office Building, NDE is heading east to wide open spaces and an abundance of possibilities. The department’s new headquarters at 500 S 84th St, just south of O Street, will be a one-stop shop for services and programs, said State Board Relations and Rules and Regulations Officer Dr...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren Even with all the magic moments to come, snapshots of memories that will weave together over the next nine months to tell the story of a school year, Tuesday night is going to be tough to top for the Wildcats in St. Paul. On the night before the last night of summer, First Day of School Eve’s Eve, if you will, the district’s PTO put on a bash that was equal parts celebration and...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren At the end of each school year, Sutherland Elementary parents receive a carefully crafted note from the school intended to identify any possible student needs for the fall. School supplies, backpacks, clothing, etc. Things that can easily be taken for granted. Things that a student cannot succeed without. Usually, eight to 10 families will respond yes, and just as many or more...Read More