Thursday, April 23
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Posts about protests this weekend and next Friday are still up on several private Facebook groups, according to Media Matters for America. Users say they’d probably have more freedom to gather without a stay-at-home order.
Good morning,
Today we have stories of a small Lincoln bank moving the second-most small business relief loans in the country, farmers in Nebraska faced with euthanizing hogs as meat packing plants are hit by Covid-19 and tens of thousands already signing up for Nebraska’s new web-based testing tool.
Your top local stories
Check out an interactive version of this map on our website.
In Omaha
- As meteorologists predict severe weather in May, some worry how and where people will take shelter amid pandemic.
- A mixed-status family in Omaha said everyone in their family is being excluded from receiving stimulus checks because the father is not an American citizen.
- A Boys Town official is offering tools to help address families’ mental health through this crisis.
- An Elkhorn mom pondered ways to give her kids a fulfilling summer if social distancing and Covid-19 are still a part of our lives then.
- Incoming I-80 construction would probably have caused major congestion, but Covid-19 could soften the impact as fewer people are on the road now.
Around the State
- As tens of thousands take an assessment on Nebraska’s new web-based testing tool, here are some answers to common questions about the service.
- Farmers have held off hog and cattle sales, or in some cases euthanized animals, as Covid-19 continues hitting meat packing plants.
- Hog farmers are also looking at selling to independent markets now that the usual supply chain avenues have been disrupted.
- A software update in October probably saved the Nebraska Department of Labor from system collapse after about 100,000 applied for benefits in the last month. The labor department has moved through about 40% of those benefits claims so far.
- Rural counties with meat packing plants are driving the number of Covid-19 cases, far exceeding metro areas.
- Grand Island hospital staff struggle to provide care as they see a huge number of people whose individual needs change drastically hour by hour.
- A Lincoln nurse’s dispatch from New York: ‘It’s sad and it’s gruesome and it’s devastating’
- Gov. Ricketts to hold daily press briefing at 2 p.m.
What to do during quarantine?
From our list of things to do during quarantine:
Buy Local Art
Artists at all levels depend on sales. If you’re new to collecting but wish to dip a toe in, the following sites specialize in works on paper and/or more budget-friendly emerging artists: In Omaha: Gallery 72, Project Project, and Benson First Fridays; In Lincoln: Constellation Studios.
What’s happening in the United States?
Local Banks Beat Big Institutions in Federal Fund Scramble
- Though its ranked No. 202 in size against other U.S. banks, Union Bank and Trust in Lincoln processed the second-most loans for small business relief in the country. Other small banks had similar success all over the country.
- Epidemiological models have guided us through the coronavirus pandemic, but the models rarely agree. For May, there are varying predictions of when and how intensely the U.S. will hit its peak cases and deaths.
Research says Number of Cases Tiny Compared to Actual Infections
- On March 1 the U.S. officially 23 cases of Covid-19. Research says that was probably closer to 28,000, a figure represented graphically in this story by a a dime-sized collection of dots against a group of points the size of a basketball.
- Representatives in face masks will vote on the $484 billion package to replenish small business relief funds as well as provide materials to hospitals and other resources.
What’s happening across the world?
Merkel Says German States Exiting Lockdown Too Soon
- In Germany, quick action and widespread testing meant it amassed the world’s fifth-most cases but a relatively low death rate. However, as some states move out of lockdown, Chancellor Angela Merkel tries to pump the brakes, saying the pandemic is only beginning.
Check out more coverage online at TheReader.com
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