Opinion

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is defending his decision to send state patrol troopers to the U.S.-Mexico border at the request of fellow Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and using it as an opportunity to rail against the Biden administration.

On March 13, 2020, I issued a proclamation declaring a State of Emergency related to the coronavirus pandemic. The State of Emergency existed over the last year to help Nebraska mobilize resources to respond to the pandemic. This is a separate measure from the State’s Directed Health Measures (DHM), which ended a few weeks ago. The DHMs had included quarantine directions and other restrictions that varied over the course of the event. This week, I announced that the State of Emergency would end on June 30, 2021, removing the last official pandemic measure issued by the State of Nebraska.

The Legislature has adjourned. Football season hasn’t started.

By the end of March 2020, sports lovers had lost March Madness, the NBA playoffs, and the first part of the MLB season to COVID-19. Then the Summer Olympics were canceled, too.

The 4th of July just turned the corner. I think we should all take a moment and review what it is to be an American citizen.

A few months ago, I relaunched my Regulation Rewind initiative to highlight problematic regulations coming from the new administration. The executive overreach, particularly when it fails to recognize ongoing conservation efforts of those closest to the land, is particularly disappointing. As the red tape flows from President Biden and his administration, I continue to oppose such regulations that could be detrimental to Nebraskans and the Third District.

When I packed up to go away to college, my folks put me on the train in Scottsbluff at night and I arrived in Lincoln at 6:00 a.m. the next morning. It was a smooth trip and I recall having a good sleep as the miles clicked by.

Martin Luther King, Jr. once famously said that “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character–that is the goal of true education.” For generations, Nebraskans have supported our public schools to do just this—to help build the next generation of educated and involved citizens in our state. To that end, our public schools have generally focused on teaching material that supports our communities, and have steered away from hot button political issues.

When I talk about how important the agriculture industry is to our state, I often mention that one in four Nebraska jobs wouldn’t exist without it. But that is only part of the story: These jobs contribute more than $25 billion to our economy each year, and 96 percent of our nearly 50,000 farms and ranches are owned by Nebraska families.

It has come to my attention from many constituents in the 43rd District along with others across Nebraska that there is an issue with the new proposed Health and Human Development Standards being evaluated by the Nebraska State Board of Education. Many parents, grandparents and teachers have contacted me with serious concerns about this proposed curriculum. Teaching children about gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation and gender stereotypes is planned for as early as first grade.