NGage News: Spring Edition

Membership Update:

Priority Items You Need to Know!

Annual Meeting & Banquet - Recap

NGage hosted its Annual Meeting & Banquet in February, where the membership met and elected board candidates, heard an exclusive update from executive director, Rachel Kreikemeier, and enjoyed a meal from the 1917 Club. Jeff Siegler, of Revitalize, or Die, was the guest speaker this year and gave a humorous talk about civic pride and apathy. Check out Jeff's Facebook post wrapping up his travels at the end of February, including to our area. While you're there, be sure to give his page a like and follow!

“The only thing that can make your community better is relentless, incremental improvement. It’s a little bit every day forever.”

Jeff Siegler

2025 Legislative Update | Bills We're Watching

Note from Senator Dorn on LB 415:

"LB 415 seeks to make small changes to the passed initiative for paid sick leave. The debate is centered on the committee amendment which incorporated much of LB 698 offered by Senator Paul Strommen. LB 698 would exempt seasonal workers, workers under 16 years of age, and employers who have 10 or fewer employees. Senators who support the committee amendment see this as protecting the smaller employer where the financial impact of providing 5 days of paid sick leave could be crippling."

LB 135

Introduced by Senator Holdcroft on January 13, LB 135 aims to modify provisions related to elections concerning bonds and tax levies, restricting bond issue elections related to schools and educational service

units to being held only during regularly scheduled elections or on traditional election dates. NGage believes that this will further hamper the ability of school districts, especially rural districts, to make the needed updates to their facilities in a timely manner.

LB 415

Sponsored by Senator Ballard and introduced on January 17, LB 415 proposes changes to the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act. The proposed amendments surrounding sick pay for part-time employees could lead to new compliance requirements or alter existing obligations under this Act, impacting operational policies, Human Resources practices, and potentially the financial aspects of managing a workforce. NGage holds the position that these unfunded mandates are detrimental to businesses. We do, however, encourage businesses to offer competitive benefits packages for their employees, which includes various forms of paid leave.

Business Recruitment, Retention, & Expansion

Welcome, New Members!

NGage would like to give a warm welcome to its newest members, joining for the 2025-2026 year. We are pleased to have the following businesses supporting our mission that in turn supports their efforts:

Koch Fertilizer - Leader ($5,000)

Nixon Properties & Restaurants (Jimmy John's) - Catalyst ($1,000)

Radiant Tech - Catalyst ($1,000)

Zephyr Towers - Catalyst ($1,000)

Curious about how an NGage membership could benefit your business and community? Here's a snapshot of the membership levels and rundown on how your investment impacts your work and ours. Contact Rachel with questions!

Community Engagement

DED, DCI visit Beatrice

NGage was pleased to welcome representatives from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and Development Counsellors International to Beatrice in late March. The two organizations are collaborating on a talent attraction campaign for the State's The Good Life is Calling initiative.

Members of the Beatrice community met at Zoellner Design Co. for coffee and a focus panel; following the panel, NGage staff gave a brief tour of Beatrice, including stops at the Homestead National Historical Park, Southeast Community College, and Historic Downtown.

Workforce Development / Talent Attraction

NGage and Beatrice High School are again partnering to bring a Career Fair to Beatrice High School.

Area employers are encouraged to register for this event to showcase your business and opportunities for students looking for jobs now or those seeking careers after high school. Those interested can scan the QR code or visit this link.

Childcare

The full $15 million reserved by the State of Nebraska for the refundable Child Care Tax Credit has been reserved within just seven weeks of the application period opening in January. Parents and legal guardians of young children have requested more than $19.3 million for the tax credit as of February 18, according to the Nebraska Department of Revenue, demonstrating the overwhelming demand for financial relief in covering child care expenses... READ MORE

Step Up to Quality, the Nebraska Department of Education’s (NDE) Quality Rating and Improvement System for early child care providers, surpassed more than 1,000 rated providers this month, the Office of Early Childhood announced [at the end of February].

As of July 2024, Step Up to Quality’s 10-year anniversary, the organization served more than 47,161 children. The program has more than 1,800 registered providers... READ MORE

Week of the Young Child is April 5-11, 2025! Join We Care for Kids in celebrating Nebraska’s young children and families by telling your story to our leaders and sharing the importance of child care in our state. In Nebraska, state legislators can act to ease the child care crisis for families and providers, but they need to hear from the public about why this issue should be a priority.

Their advocacy toolkit has easy steps and tools to support your outreach!

Housing

Redeveloping Former School Sites for the Future

There are a number of projects happening in Beatrice. One of the more notable projects is the redevelopment of Paddock Lane, Lincoln, Stoddard, and Cedar Elementary School sites. Read more for specifics on each site.