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LINCOLN, Neb. — A Nebraska state senator is under fire from his fellow lawmakers after referring to the American flag as a "rag" during debate. Sen. Ernie Chambers (I-Omaha) made the comments while discussing 223

BRANSON, Mo. – Tourist destinations across America have a busy season and an off-season. During the off-season, the economy tends to slow down. That holds true for a couple months each year in Branson, Missouri – a place known as a family-friendly town usually filled with visitors in the parks, lakes, and shops. “We are at about a six week standstill after the first of the year,” said Lynn Berry with the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau. The rest of the time, Branson welcomes 9 million visitors a year. When the town’s busy season slows down, nonprofit Christian Action Ministries speeds up. “Right now is the height of our season at Christian Action Ministries and dealing with food insecurity,” said Kevin Huddleston, the executive director with Christian Action Ministries.The organization helps feed the community. “Primarily to help people get through the off-season months,” he said. Huddleston said during the summer they see around 100 households a day. During this time of the year, that number is about 150. The population of Branson floats around 12,000 people for perspective. Each day, people line up before the doors open.“If it wasn’t for places like this, I’d go hungry most of the time,” Art said. Art is one of the people who came down to get food, something people can do once a month from this nonprofit. The process starts with some basic questions about your job, household and cooking abilities. Then they are allowed to pick two breads while the volunteers pack a larger bag accordingly.“Most of the people you see here wouldn’t eat if it wasn’t for places like this,” Art said. Art currently lives out of his car. “Construction or I work in restaurants, I’ll wash dishes, you know anything. Usually in the summer I try to work two jobs so I can save up for the time off,” he said. “Most tourism jobs are more of an entry-level position, a lot of them are part-time,” Huddleston said. “These jobs really aren’t intended for family breadwinners.” This is a situation Branson and other tourism-focused towns face.“Branson is kind of a perfect storm of tourism and poverty,” said Bryan Stallings, the executive director at Elevate Branson. The nonprofit helps people learn job skills. “Low paying wages, seasonal unemployment, no transportation system and no affordable housing,” Stallings explained. “It’s kind of created this perfect storm for poverty.” As people with low incomes looked to find other places to live, weekly rate motels flourished. But recently, there’s been trouble there too.“Over 40 of these motels we’ve seen about 16 of them close,” Stallings said. “Which is putting a squeeze on places to live for folks.” He said the town is 1,300 units short on affordable housing units. “One of the things we are trying to work with particularly is moving people out of hotel and motel rooms that have been serving as their apartment,” Lynn Berry said. She said while she sees a lot of people draw unemployment this time of year, Branson is doing better. “Truly back in the day, you could shoot a cannon down Main Street after October 31, and not hit anyone until about April 1,” she said. Local restaurants like Big D’s BBQ have come up with solutions to help maintain business in the winter. “We do [pull] back our schedule to some extent, we do close one day of the week here in the restaurant,” said Dana Peterson, the owner Big D’s BBQ. They feed up to a couple thousand people a day in the summer. During the winter, that number is in the hundreds. “It’s our core group of people that maintain the full employment, not our seasonal help when staff is at full capacity,” he said.Lynn said they’ve brought in more museums and other activities to do in town during bad weather or the parks off seasons, to help create more interest in coming to Branson during the winter. “Museums were probably the biggest hit for us,” she said.Branson continues to look for ways to make the town more year round, and keep people working. “It’s going to take all of us working together in our community to solve some of these issues,” Stallings said. 4120

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Almost every morning for the last 35 years, a 21-car-train pulls into Burlington, Vermont, with roughly 1,500 tons of wood chips that help power the city. Wood burning represents 30% of Burlington’s power grid, and 20% comes from solar panels and wind turbines. In 2014, when Burlington opened a hydro plant, that took over the remaining 50% of the city’s power grid and marked a historic moment – Burlington was now the first city in the U.S. to run 100% on renewable energy. “We had our challenges at the beginning,” said David MacDonnell. “There were a lot of growing pains that we went through.” MacDonnell knows firsthand about the path to the city’s energy milestone. He moved to Burlington in 1983 and began working for the city’s electric company, Burlington Electric Department, in 1984. MacDonnell started as an operator at B.E.D.’s McNeil Generating Station. “When I came, the plant was still in construction,” said MacDonnell. At McNeil’s, at that time, Burlington Electric was just starting to experiment with wood as a possible energy source. “It was very groundbreaking stuff at the time,” MacDonnell added. The idea stemmed from the company looking for a more cost-effective energy source, and wood proved to be that. But over the years, the company and the community realized there were added benefits. “The fuel budget last year was million and if you think about it, we get our fuel with in a 60-mile radius of this plant. We keep a lot of money local for the community. You know the mom and pop stores, loggers, and truckers. That really supports the whole area,” MacDonnell explained. With wood as the first renewable energy source, Burlington has also been less affected by the volatile fossil fuel industry so customer rates have been stable for more than a decade. “Burlington Electric has successful achieved the 100% renewable energy goal without raising rates for over a decade now, so we prove it is possible to maintain rates,” said Paul Pikna, a senior generation engineer at Burlington Electric. “One could even argue, if you count inflation, we’ve decreased rates over the decade.” But perhaps the biggest benefit in the successful application of wood as an energy source, is that it started the energy revolution in Burlington and now, in an era of concern about climate change, many point to Burlington’s energy grid as a model for other cities to consider. “It’s very satisfying for me to know that I worked at a place for my whole career that really amounted to something that I consider a very positive for Vermont, the country, the world,” said MacDonnell. After three decades with Burlington electric and helping it pave the way for renewable energy, MacDonnell is preparing to retire. He leaves feeling like he made more than money in his career, he made a difference. “You have a sense of pride knowing that you are doing something that is a difference. I have kids and grandkids and we want to make sure we leave this planet in good shape for them.” Burlington hit the historic milestone running 100% on renewable energy five years ago, and now at least four other cities have hit that milestone too. Those cities are Aspen, Colorado; Greensburg, Kansas; Kodiak, Alaska; and Rock Port, Missouri. Within the next decade, a dozen states are hoping to get there, states like Minnesota, Massachusetts, and even California. However, while other cities and states are trying to catch up to Burlington, it’s moving forward with the next step that is a more ambitious energy goal. Burlington wants to be the first net zero energy city in the country. Essentially, the city wants the total amount of energy it consumes to be equal to the total amount of renewable energy it creates. “About a month ago we rolled out a roadmap to go from where we are today to net zero across the thermal ground transportation electric sectors by 2030,” said Burlington’s Mayor Miro Weinberger. “The exciting thing about the roadmap is that we can get there with technology that is available today and are largely cost effective today.” The move forward, for Burlington, is not about energy bragging rights, but about data suggesting this move is critical. “All the climate models suggest we need to make substantial progress by 2030 and much more dramatic progress by 2050,” added Weinberger. 4376

Stress and pressure can lead to overeating, but nutritionists say a healthy diet is a better choice for managing what life throws at you. We looked into how nutrition can play a role in helping you rebound from these tough times. “At your physical healthiest that’s going to be the condition that supports your best mental wellness as well,” said University of Arizona Assistant Professor of Nutritional Sciences Ann Skulas-Ray.Skulas-Ray says in times like these, you want to give your yourself what you need. A poor diet is more like giving yourself the flu.“Think about when you are sick, so you have all this inflammation in your body. Have you ever tried to do your best work under those conditions when your whole body is inflamed? It doesn’t work,” Skulas-Ray said.She says the first step is to cut down on the junk. Highly processed foods, refined sugars and corn syrup feel good in the moment, but are not a recipe for long-term happiness.Skulas-Ray says there are a million diets out there, but she says most people can benefit from keeping it simple. Eat more fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and fatty fish.“Omega-3s are a good one, because the brain is actually made out of omega-3s," she said. "They are directly responsible for regulating inflammation in the body.”You also don't have to make drastic life changes overnight. Minor changes over time can go a long way.“Nobody eats a perfect diet, it's just about small changes you make over time,” she said. “And you should feel good about each incremental improvement.” This article was written by Brian Brennan for KGUN. 1616

Lending a helping hand is what Stephen Peth loves to do. Peth spends a lot of his time in the rehabilitation unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, helping wounded warriors get back on their feet. "The job is basically to do whatever we can to help the therapist," Peth explains. At 72 years old, Peth couldn't imagine any other way to spend his time. “I could be out on a golf course doing something for me, but to be here and be working for these wonderful service people that are here for a variety of reasons, to me, that’s inspirational,” he says. Peth says he’s inspired by all the patients he sees, because, he too, was once a warrior wounded in combat. "This is the boot that I was wearing the day that I got shot," he says. In 1967, 11 months into his tour during the Vietnam War, Peth, an army rescue helicopter pilot, was attacked by gunfire. "We took 39 hits on the aircraft,” he recalls. “I took a round through my boot and took a round though my arm." That dangerous mission earned him one of the highest awards of valor. "Gen. Craton Abrams came out and pinned a Silver Star on me," he says.His award and scars serve as reminders that he was once where these war heroes are now, compelling him find a way to serve his country once more. 1305

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