- 1st District
Bereuter touts ag-export work
BY GEORGE GREEN
Twenty-two years of
serving in the House of
Representatives has
helped Republican
incumbent Doug
Bereuter understand the
needs of the 1st District.
And on Election Day,
Bereuter said he hopes
Nebraskans will vote for
him again, bringing sen
iority and experience
back to Congress.
uespne claims Dy nis
opponent Democrat Alan
Jacobsen that he does
nothing for Nebraska’s
agricultural needs,
Bereuter said “no one in
the 1st District" is more
involved in agricultural
policy than himself.
Bereuter has worked
on the Committee of
International Relations
since 1983. He has been
the vice chairman since
1995. If elected, Bereuter
has the chance to become
chairman if the GOP
keeps control of the
Congress this election.
- He said he has worked
to increase foreign trade
in agricultural products
during his time of the
committee.
“I have been the most
active Congressman in
promoting exports," he
said.
Bereuter said he also
has worked hard to
increase the use of
ethanol, which would
help Nebraska farmers
because it is made from
corn.
Despite his hard work
in agriculture, Bereuter
said he is concerned with
more than agricultural
programs and problems.
Nebraskans care
about more than just their
crops, even though
Jacobsen has focused
most of his energy on
agricultural issues, he
said.
jacoDsen nas criu
cized Bereuter for not tak
ing a seat on the
Agricultural Committee,
where Jacobsen said he
could best help Nebraska
farmers.
Bereuter said it is
important to have
Nebraskans on that com
mittee, but it also is
important to have a voice
from Nebraska in other
influential committees.
Bereuter said he
knows that his con
stituents have several
needs because he stays in
“close contact” with his
district.
Bereuter said he holds
about 50 town hall meet
ings each year where he
talks with constituents
about their needs and
problems.
Through these meet
ings, Bereuter said he has
learned a lot about his dis
trict and how to better
serve it
Bereuter said one of
the best ways he serves his
district is through finding
federal money to pay for
local development proj
ects.
He highlighted the
plan to build a new $3.5
million bridge from the
Haymarket District in
Lincoln to the new base
ball stadium that will
house NU’s baseball team
and the Salt Dogs, the
Northern League profes
sional team.
The bridge is an exam
ple of a project paid for by
federal money that he
helped secure.
Bereuter learned
about development proj
ects at Harvard University
where he earned a mas
ter's degree in city plan
ning and another in pub
lic administration.
Before attending
Harvard, Bereuter earned
a bachelor's degree in
political science and
geography from the
University of Nebraska
Lincoln.
Knowledge about
planning and many years
of experience being a
Congressman have
helped Bereuter serve his
constituents, he said.
But, more important
ly, he said he represents
Nebraskans well because
he can effectively move
their opinions and
strengths to the country’s
capital.
“I bring the values and
common sense of
Nebraska to Congress,” he
said.
Jacobsen: Bereuter out of touch
BY GEORGE GREEN
Alan Jacobsen says
the next representative
from the 1st
Congressional District
will have a hand in mak
ing or breaking Nebraska
agriculture.
For this reason,
Jacobsen, the Democratic
nominee for the 1st
District, said it is time to
oust Doug Bereuter, a 22
year veteran
Congressman because he
has not helped Nebraska
farmers, he said.
“Farmers are not mak
ing any money, and the
government is not help
ing,” he said.
If elected, Jacobsen
said he will take a seat on
the House Agriculture
Committee, a move
Bereuter chose not to
make.
By passing over a seat
on the committee,
Bereuter chose his own
needs over the needs of
Nebraska farmers,
Jacobsen said.
Once on the commit
tee, he said he will begin
to help rewrite the 1996
Freedom to Farm Act,
which he said hurt farm
ers.
It is time for the “grain
cartel” - a small group of
people created by the bill
that sets crop prices - to
stop filling its pockets
while farmers empty their
bank accounts just to sur
vive, he said.
“Farmers are not making any money,
and the government is not helping
Alan Jacobsen
1st Congressional District candidate
Jacobsen said he will
also try to help farmers by
pushing for increased
ethanol use.
Increased ethanol use
would benefit Nebraska
farmers because it is
made from corn, he said.
Jacobsen cites the
struggles of Nebraska
farmers as one of the
main reasons he chose to
run against such a formi
dable opponent.
No challenger has fin
ished within 46,000 votes
of Bereuter in the last 10
elections.
Jacobsen doesn’t
mind the heavy odds
against him. Bereuter
isn’t invincible, he said.
But Jacobsen, a small
business owner who rais
es bison on an acreage
near Denton, has lagged
behind Bereuter in the
polls.
Still, Jacobsen main
tains that hard work will
bring him victory. He said
he has outworked
Bereuter during the cam
paign, stopping in count
less communities to talk
to residents.
Jacobsen said his
work ethic will not
change when he gets into
office.
In the past, Jacobsen
has worked hard to gain
election to other offices.
He ran unsuccessfully
for the state Legislature in
1990 and for the
Republican nomination
for governor in 1994.
In 1997, Jacobsen
switched parties because
of a distaste for the nega
tive campaigning that he
said the GOP advocated.
Before party switches
and bids for office,
Jacobsen a father of three,
graduated from the
University of Nebraska
Lincoln.
Jacobsen started A-J
Roofing and
Waterproofing Company
with his wife, Lori, a few
years after graduation.
He said his experi
ences with the business
have taught him about
economics and leader
ship, which he said was a
key point in his battle
against Bereuter.
“The primary issue is
leadership, not seniority,”
he said.
-2nd District
Terry vows eye
on spending
BY GEORGE GREEN
If Omahans in the 2nd District
send Republican LeeTerry back to
Washington, he said he will con
tinue to be a fiscally conservative
representative.
Elected in 1998 to his first
term in the House of
Representatives, Terry said the
most important theme in his
campaign is “holding the line on
spending.”
The vitality of the economy
Please see TERRY on 3
Family, career
inspire Kiel
BY GEORGE GREEN
Twenty years of teaching
experience has shown
Democrat Shelly Kiel that a
good education is priceless.
For this reason, Kiel said,
she will make educational
reforms a main priority if the
2nd District sends her to
Congress as its representative.
The federal government,
she said, needs to increase the
amount of money it gives stu
PleaseseeKIELon3
-3rd District
Osborne campaigns
toward easy victory
BY BRIAN CARLSON
Three years after
retiring from his football
coaching career, Tom
Osborne is poised to be
the 3rd District's next
congressman.
Drawing on the pop
ularity and respect he
built during 25 seasons
at Nebraska, Osborne
leads his Democratic
opponent Rollie
Reynolds by more than
70 points, according to a
copyrighted Omaha
World-Herald poll.
Osborne, who com
piled a 255-49-3 record
at Nebraska and won
three national champi
onships, acknowledged
his football success has
contributed to his suc
cess at the polls.
“I feel I’ve been
given a little bit of a plat
Please see OSBORNE
on 4
Reynolds bemoans
football-crazed state
BY BRIAN CARLSON
Rollie Reynolds says
the most important
issue in the 3rt* District
should be agriculture,
not football
But in this football
crazy state, how do you
defeat a Hall of Fame
former Nebraska foot
ball coach who won
three national titles?
It’s a question
Reynolds, the
Democrat, hasn’t been
able to answer.
According to an Omaha
World-Herald poll, he
trails Tom Osborne by
an 81-7 percentage
point margin.
Reynolds knows he
has no chance to defeat
Osborne, the legendary
former Nebraska foot
ball coach. He thinks the
district is making a dan
Please see REYNOLDS
on 4