LINCOLN — Nearly a dozen volunteers from across Nebraska, including one state lawmaker, will be honored in October for their volunteer work “to make our communities better.”
Gov. Jim Pillen on Thursday announced the 2023 Step Forward Award honorees and invited all Nebraskans to thank and celebrate the volunteers at an Oct 6 ceremony at 11 a.m. in Lincoln.
Summer and fall are prime times for getting outdoors across the U.S. According to an annual survey produced by the outdoor industry, 55% of Americans age 6 and up participated in some kind of outdoor recreation in 2022, and that number is on the rise.
However, the activities they choose are shifting. Over the past century, participation has declined in some activities, such as hunting, and increased in others, like bird-watching.
Published by Nikki Palmer on Wed, 08/23/2023 - 5:00am
Government funding helped keep U.S. charities afloat during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study I conducted with Stephanie Karol, a fellow economist.
Published by Nikki Palmer on Wed, 08/23/2023 - 4:00am
Inside a jail cell at Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, Albertyn Pino's only plan was to finish the six-month sentence for public intoxication, along with other charges, and to return to her abusive boyfriend.
Published by Nikki Palmer on Wed, 08/23/2023 - 3:00am
The spectrum of youth homelessness is vast.
It includes young children sleeping with their mothers in crowded shelters and families living in tent encampments in public parks. There are teenage runaways who have fled abusive homes to live on the streets and kids who spend their nights hidden in cars or abandoned buildings.
Published by Nikki Palmer on Wed, 08/16/2023 - 5:00am
While sweltering heat in prisons without air conditioning has long been an issue in the South, extreme heat waves worsened by climate change are expanding the problem into Northern states.
Published by Nikki Palmer on Wed, 08/16/2023 - 4:00am
More than 100 years later, Viola Fletcher can still vividly remember the smell of her thriving neighborhood — dubbed America’s “Black Wall Street” — burning.
Published by Nikki Palmer on Wed, 08/16/2023 - 3:00am
Native Hawaiians are devastated by the recent wildfires that swept through Lahaina, Maui, killing dozens of residents and destroying hundreds of homes, buildings, Christian churches and Buddhist temples.
It is not just the historic buildings and landmarks that are important to Native Hawaiians. This region of Maui has a longer history.
Published by Nikki Palmer on Wed, 08/16/2023 - 2:00am
OMAHA, Neb. – “Connecting Community with Opportunity” is the theme of the 17th annual Nonprofit Summit of the Midlands to be held Thursday, Nov. 2 at the Embassy Suites La Vista Hotel and Conference Center. Hosted by the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands (NAM), the all-day Summit annually brings together more than 300 nonprofit executives, employees, board members and volunteers from Nebraska and Iowa.
Published by Nikki Palmer on Wed, 08/09/2023 - 5:00am
Fewer than a third of charities in the U.S. (31%) engaged in advocacy in the last five years. This represents a dramatic decline in the past two decades, we found, even though the law allows these groups to speak up regarding the issues that affect the people they serve.