Margaret Reist

2 days ago | journalstar.com | Margaret Reist

Attention Lincoln drivers: City leaders would like to remind you that it’s time to take the long view. “The sun is shining, the squirrels are frolicking, the birds are chirping — and the orange cones are out,” said Lincoln Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jason Ball. “And so, it’s again the time of year where I like to remind everybody that this is a great sign of progress.”A temporary frustration. A part of the city’s growth.

3 days ago | journalstar.com | Margaret Reist

The City Council on Monday approved a two-year labor contract with a union that represents about 900 city employees, primarily supervisors, mid-level managers and specialists who will get a 3% pay raise each of the next two years. The contract will be retroactive to August 2024, said Barb McIntyre, Lincoln-Lancaster County Human Resources Director. The Lincoln City Employees Association ratified the contract last month, the first labor contract that has reached an agreement this year.

4 days ago | journalstar.com | Margaret Reist

Some good news on the refugee resettlement front, in the face of a lot of bad news since the crackdown on immigration by the Trump administration: the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department can help. The department got a two-year, $350,000 federal grant through the state for a navigator — someone to help refugees resettled before Jan. 21, when an executive order from Trump suspended the refugee resettlement program, including funding to help refugees once they're here.

5 days ago | journalstar.com | Margaret Reist

Before long, there will be more vending machines in Lincoln offering products focused on health, hygiene and safety, not junk food. The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department plans to install at least two, possibly three, vending machines that offer a variety of free items: home tests for sexually transmitted diseases, condoms, feminine hygiene products, pregnancy tests and Narcan to counteract opioid overdoses.

1 week ago | journalstar.com | Margaret Reist

The 7,712 early-vote ballots that still need to be counted are unlikely to change the outcome of Monday’s election — even the close race between two District 7 school board candidates. Anything can happen, of course — but assuming most people will vote based on their party affiliation, it will be an uphill battle for Republican Cheryl Meyer-Thompson, who trailed Democrat Marilyn Johnson-Farr by just 467 votes on Tuesday.