• March 2, 2011
• Lincoln, NE

At the state finals for the Personal Finance Challenge, sponsored by the Nebraska Council on Economic Education, Treasurer Stenberg praised high school students for studying and testing their knowledge about personal finance, including money management, spending, saving, and investing.

The Treasurer welcomed the competitors and their families to the state finals April 30 at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Teams from Johnson-Brock High School were first- and second-place winners. Other competing teams came from West Point-Beemer High School, Cedar Rapids Public School and Wahoo High School. The teams were chosen from the online qualifying round in which 212 teams from 38 schools competed. The first-place team will represent Nebraska at the national competition May 16 in St. Louis.

“Understanding personal finance will serve you well throughout your lives,” Treasurer Stenberg told the young people. “Your participation in the Personal Finance Challenge is an encouraging sign for our state and our nation. Understanding economics in general –and personal finance in particular—is important for you as individuals and for the future of our state and nation. Solving today’s serious budget issues in Nebraska and in Washington requires citizens who understand economics and personal responsibility as well as courageous leaders who will offer innovative solutions and make tough choices.”

State Treasurer Don Stenberg is pictured with winning students from Johnson-Brock High School. From left, Kayla Fischer, Amanda Dunekacke, Kayla Alberts, and David Shaffer, with their teacher, Sylvia Smith.

In another message to young people, Treasurer Stenberg congratulated 12 winners in the 2011 Nebraska College Savings Program essay contest. A record 1,051 entries were received in this year’s competition sponsored by the State Treasurer’s Office and the Omaha Storm Chasers. Seventh and eighth graders from across the country wrote about “Why I Want to Go to College.” You will find the names of the winners in a news release included in this newsletter.

One of the first-place winners, Elisabeth Werries of Chapin, IL, drew her inspiration from the sky. “I want to float in the sky like a cloud and see what else is out there in the world,” Elisabeth wrote, describing why she wants to go to college. “I want to see what the sky looks down on every day because I know there is more out there than my small town and I can’t wait to experience it all.”

Treasurer Stenberg thanked students for participating and urged this year’s seventh graders to enter again next year and encourage their friends, classmates, and younger siblings to do the same. If you know of a budding author who aspires to go to college, please check our website early next year for details about the 2012 contest. Winners receive contributions to their Nebraska College Savings plans or money to start a plan if they don’t already have one.

We welcome young people and their parents and teachers to our office in Suite 2005 of the State Capitol. We hear the children’s voices singing in the Rotunda as school groups make their annual spring trips to the center of state government. We also hear the children’s laughter as they eat their sack lunches in one of the Capitol courtyards outside our windows. In the children’s laughter and song and in their carefully crafted essays about college, we find hope for tomorrow.

Fourth graders from High Plains Community School in Polk with their teacher, Dianne L’Heureux, enjoy lunch in the northwest courtyard of the State Capitol outside the windows of the Treasurer’s Office. The children are participating in the AG Sack Lunch Program, an effort of the Nebraska Pork Producers and the Nebraska Soybean Board to increase awareness of the role Nebraska plays in feeding the world. More than 4,000 schoolchildren are expected to have participated in the first year of the lunch program, which ends June 7.

• May 11, 2011
• Lincoln, NE

Twelve winners have been chosen out of a record 1,051 entries in the 2011 College Savings Program essay contest sponsored by the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office and the Omaha Storm Chasers baseball team.

Seventh and eighth grade students from Nebraska and across the United States were invited to submit essays addressing the theme, “Why I Want to Go to College.” The essays were judged by faculty and students in the College of Education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha with final selections made by State Treasurer Don Stenberg.

• May 3, 2011
• Lincoln, NE

Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg has signed on to an agreement to recover for Nebraskans approximately $1 million in unclaimed insurance proceeds currently held by insurer John Hancock.

“This agreement reflects our continuing commitment to recover unclaimed property and return it to the Nebraskans to whom it rightfully belongs,” Stenberg said.

The agreement grew out of an audit of John Hancock by Nebraska and 34 other states and the District of Columbia.

• May 2, 2011
• Lincoln, NE

Seminars for employers making child support payments on behalf of their employees will be offered across Nebraska from May through October by the Nebraska Child Support Payment Center, a division of the State Treasurer’s Office, State Treasurer Don Stenberg announced today.

“We emphasize the use of electronic payments by the employers. This eliminates printing and handling paper checks and postal costs. It is also a savings to the Nebraska taxpayers,” Stenberg said.

Human resource managers and payroll managers of Nebraska businesses are invited to attend the seminars to learn about changes in laws and practices relating to the withholding of court-ordered child support payments for employees. The seminars are designed for payroll managers, as well as business owners, accountants, controllers, and bookkeepers.

• April 28, 2011
• Lincoln, NE

The innovative use of prepaid debit cards by the Nebraska Child Support Payment Center, a division of the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office, was highlighted in Washington, D.C., this week at a panel discussion hosted by the Hudson Institute, a nonpartisan policy research organization.

“Using technology to reduce costs to the taxpayer continues to be a high priority for all of the divisions of the State Treasurer’s Office. We are proud of the national recognition we received for these efforts,” State Treasurer Don Stenberg said. “The prepaid cards have been an excellent way to cut state program expenses and streamline government operations while still delivering services to constituents,” he said.

“If the federal government is going somewhere with trying to get people who get paper checks to move to other payment modalities, Nebraska is already there,” said Hanns Kuttner, the Hudson Institute’s visiting fellow.

Troy Reiners, director of Nebraska Child Support Payment Center, in center of photo.

• March 31, 2011
• Lincoln, NE

Putting their best feet forward are five Treasurer’s Office employees who took part in Walk This Way, a program to encourage state employees to participate in wellness activities. Walkers who met the 450,000-step goal were recognized March 30 and invited to join Gov. Dave Heineman in a group photo in the State Capitol Rotunda.

Treasurer’s Office employees, photographed here, were among those faithful walkers who exceeded the state’s goal. Troy Reiners, director of the Child Support Payment Center, walked 3 million steps. Others who exceeded the state goal are Staci Bolton, 1.8 million steps; Kelly Porath, 1.8 million steps; Betty Gilg, who stopped counting after 651,912 steps; and Matt Scheinost, who stopped counting after 665,453 steps.

From left, Troy Reiners, Stacie Bolton, Kelly Porath, Betty Gilg, Matt Scheinost.

• April 14, 2011
• Lincoln, NE

A second group of employees in the State Treasurer’s Office stepped up to the challenge of Walk This Way, a fitness program that encourages state employees to increase their physical activity.

Four employees in the Nebraska Child Support Payment Center completed the Walk This Way program and exceeded the goal of logging 450,000 steps by March 31. Of those participating in the challenge throughout state government, 3,884 people met or exceeded the goal, which is more than twice the number who achieved the goal in 2010.

From left, Jamison Hawk, Sarah Muller, Jeremy Kaiser, Jen Johnson.