NEBRASKA

Dig begins for remains at site of Native American boarding school

GENOA – Archeologists began digging in a central Nebraska field on July 10 trying to find the bodies of some 80 children who were buried more than a century ago at a Native American boarding school.

Crews are using shovels, trowels and smaller tools to find any remains. The children once attended the Genoa Indian Industrial School west of Omaha, which opened in 1884 and at its height was home to nearly 600 students before closing in 1931.

For decades, residents of the tiny community of Genoa, with help from Native Americans, researchers and state officials, have sought the location of a forgotten cemetery where the bodies of up to 80 students are believed to be buried.

Genoa was part of a national system of more than 400 Native American boarding schools that attempted to assimilate Indigenous people into white culture by separating children from their families and cutting them off from their heritage.

Newspaper clippings, records and a student’s letter indicate at least 86 students died at the school, usually due to diseases such as tuberculosis and typhoid, but at least one death was blamed on an accidental shooting.

Researchers identified 49 of the children killed but have not been able to find names for 37 students. The bodies of some of those children were returned to their homes but others are believed to have been buried on the school grounds at a location long ago forgotten.

If the dig reveals human remains, the State Archeology Office will continue to work with the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs in deciding what’s next. They could rebury the remains in the field and create a memorial or exhume and return the bodies to tribes, Williams said.

KANSAS?

Judge prohibits changing trans people’s sex listing on driver’s licenses

TOPEKA – Kansas must stop allowing transgender people to change the sex listed on their driver’s licenses, a state-court judge ordered on July 10 as part of a lawsuit filed by the state’s Republican attorney general.

District Judge Teresa Watson’s order will remain in effect for up to two weeks, although she can extend it. But it’s significant because transgender people have been able to change their driver’s licenses in Kansas for at least four years, and almost 400 people have done it. For now, Kansas will be among only a few states that don’t allow any such changes.

The judge issued the order three days after Attorney General Kris Kobach sued two officials in Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration. Kelly announced last month that the state’s motor vehicles division would continue changing driver’s licenses for transgender people so that their sex listing matches their gender identities.

Kobach contends that a law, which took effect on July 1, prevents such changes and requires the state to reverse any previous changes in its records. It defines “male” and “female” so that Kansas law does not recognize the gender identities of transgender, non-binary or gender non-conforming people.

Four times as many people a month have changed their driver’s licenses this year than in previous years. Such changes accelerated in May and June as LGBTQ+ rights advocates encouraged people to do it ahead of the new law.

The new Kansas law defines a person’s sex as male or female, based on the “biological reproductive system” identified at birth, applying that definition to any state law or regulation.

It also says that “important governmental objectives” of protecting people’s privacy, health and safety justify single-sex spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms. However, that part of the law contains no enforcement mechanism.

ARIZONA

Governor orders contraceptive medications available over the counter

PHOENIX – Adults in Arizona can now obtain contraceptive medications over the counter at a pharmacy without a doctor’s prescription under a governor’s order announced on July 6.

Gov. Katie Hobbs said the rule will go into effect immediately. It applies to self-administered birth control such as hormonal and oral contraceptives, and patients 18 or older need only complete a screening and a blood pressure test.

“We are building an Arizona for everyone, which means ensuring people across the state have what they need to live a free and healthy life,” the Democratic governor said in a statement.

Over 20 states have statutes that let pharmacists dispense FDA-approved hormonal contraceptives without a prescription, according to a statement from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Hobbs has used her executive powers in recent months to promote reproductive freedom. In June she issued a sweeping executive order effectively stripping prosecutors of their ability to pursue charges against anyone involved with a legally obtained abortion.

She also plans to support legislation next year that would codify access to birth control.

NEW MEXICO

Regulators fine oil producer $40 million for natural gas burn-off

SANTA FE – New Mexico oilfield and air quality regulators on June 29 announced unprecedented state fines against a Texas-based oil and natural gas producer on accusations that the company flouted local pollution reporting and control requirements by burning off vast amounts of natural gas in a prolific energy-production zone in the southeast of the state.

The New Mexico Environment Department announced a $40.3 million penalty against Austin, Texas-based Ameredev, alleging the burning caused excessive emissions in 2019 and 2020 at five facilities in New Mexico’s Lea County. Regulators raised concerns about the excess release of several pollutants linked to climate warming or known to cause serious health issues, including sulfur dioxide.

The agency alleged that Ameredev mined oil and natural gas without any means of transporting the gas away via pipeline, as required by state law. The company instead is accused of burning off the natural gas in excess of limits or without authorization in 2019 and 2020 – with excess emissions equivalent to pollution that would come from heating 16,640 homes for a year, the agency said in a statement.

The open-air burning, or “flaring,” of natural gas is often used as a control measure to avoid direct emissions into the atmosphere, with permit requirements to estimate burning.

Representatives for Ameredev and a parent company could not immediately be reached for comment.

The sanctions can be disputed administratively, and eventually appealed in court.

Advanced oil-drilling techniques have unlocked massive amounts of natural gas from New Mexico’s portion of the Permian Basin, which extends into Texas. But existing pipelines don’t always have enough capacity to gather and transport the gas.

State oil and gas regulators recently updated regulations to limit venting and flaring at petroleum production sites to reduce methane pollution, with some allowances for emergencies and mandatory reporting.

High schools to strengthen penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct

ALBUQUERQUE – In an effort to rein in bad behavior in high school sports, the New Mexico Activities Association is toughening the penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

A majority of approximately 160 member high schools voted late last month to change the bylaws regarding the code of conduct. The changes will take effect in the upcoming 2023-2024 school year.

This includes not just athletes but coaches, staff or people watching on the sidelines.

Anyone violating sportsmanship rules twice will be suspended for the remainder of an athletic season.

Someone outside of a team who violates conduct rules could also get banned from events for the rest of a season.

Unsportsmanlike conduct includes but is not limited to acts of violence or abuse, verbal attacks on officials, attacks on fans or inappropriate chants from spectators.

If an offense occurs when the athletic season is over, a penalty could be applied to the following season.