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In the final days before one of the most consequential elections in American history, even the undead are making the case for one of Americans’ most important responsibilities.

Case in point: The skeletons in the front yard of Connie Hain’s southwest Lincoln home with a message for passers-by: Vote.

Hain, a real estate agent who about three years ago began creating skeleton Halloween displays, decided her skeletons might be a good reminder of how important it is to vote — messaging in full swing now from both sides of a politically divided country.

“I just think we have that right and too many people don’t take advantage of it because they think their vote won’t matter, but it will,� she said. “It’s their chance to voice their choice.�

Hain said she began doing skeleton displays about three years ago, inspired in part by displays she’d seen on social media.

“I thought ‘I can do that,’ and maybe better,� she said. “There are some good ones out there. I just try to switch it up.�

She has two adult skeletons, two kids, five dogs and a couple of cats (she has yet to convince her husband that one of those big 12-foot skeletons is a good idea).

She’s arranged her collection to depict everything from an apothecary (skeletons selling potions), to a breast cancer awareness display, a dance studio (her granddaughter’s idea) and a shout-out to their recycling company (undead dogs digging in a bin of recyclables).

With the election so close, she and her husband were talking about how important it is to vote, and the skeletons in the front yard came up. Her husband suggested the voting display — and built her a voting booth.

The display shows one skeleton in the voting booth with a “vote here� sign, one person waiting and a couple of undead kids standing around.

The display doesn’t advocate for any candidate, political party or for any one of the six ballot initiatives Nebraskans will be voting for Nov. 5. Hain is not politically active, she said, but does feel strongly about making sure she votes in every election.

“It’s just a right you have, and you gotta do it.�

Her display includes a sign listing Nebraska’s requirements for voting: that you must be 18, must be a resident and have a valid ID.

Also, you can’t be dead (sorry, skeletons).

So, to reiterate, if you're not dead, vote.

State of our union

Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird told an audience at the “State of Our Union� event last week that preemption laws from the state that limit local control are the biggest issue facing Nebraska mayors.

Mayors across the country are dealing with it, she said, on issues ranging from common-sense gun laws to regulating Airbnbs and VRBOs, which affect the cost of housing.

She's had some experience: Gaylor Baird and Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert issued executive orders prohibiting guns on most city-owned properties after the Legislature passed LB77, which allows people to carry concealed handguns without a permit.

She also mentioned the property tax debate that monopolized much of the regular Legislative session and prompted an extraordinary special session.

The special session ended with the passage of a property tax relief bill that capped the property tax-asking authority by municipal and county governments by the rate of inflation or 0% in times of deflation.

Of note: Lincoln and Lancaster County were the only local governments that lifted their opposition to LB34 because of the public safety exemptions, a change to a more favorable index to determine inflation and because other spending lids were removed.

Gaylor Baird joined Norfolk Mayor Josh Moenning at the event hosted by The Atlantic in partnership with Flatwater Free Press. They answered questions on a variety of topics including climate change, revitalizing their downtowns, building trust with law enforcement — including Gaylor Baird’s response to a series of discrimination lawsuits filed by current and former officers.

She said political polarization at the national level has not trickled down to local governments as much because of what they do.

“We live in our communities, we are accountable directly to our friends, neighbors and folks who call our communities home," she said. "And so I think that in many cases, partisan politics, there’s not as much place for that.�

No mention of the last mayoral election that included record campaign spending on both sides, including the influx of more than $2 million by two Republican families, who have upped spending in other local campaigns.

Sports and booze

Memorial Stadium won’t be the only sports venue that will be selling beer.

The City Council last week approved a liquor license for Speedway Village Fieldhouse, but not without first asking some questions about the youth sports events hosted there.

“We want to make sure when we’re mixing alcohol and children that we have a clear delineation of responsibilities and a clear system that works to keep those two separate,� said Councilman Tom Beckius.

Councilwoman Sändra Washington asked what the referees thought of selling alcohol, given the “enthusiasm� of adults who watch youth sports.

Manager Sara Martin told the council that the fieldhouse, which hosts a variety of adult sports leagues, is getting the license and no liquor will leave the building -- where there are 10 outside soccer fields.

She said when kids are present they’ll manage the alcohol “in the best and most responsible way possible,� including pricing alcohol in a way that doesn’t encourage overdrinking, or using wristbands.

The fieldhouse, a nonprofit, has existed for four years, she said, and it's building a better way for amateur sports to exist in Lincoln – and a liquor license is part of that.

She said the fieldhouse generated an estimated $7 million in revenue for the city when it hosted the USA National Roller Skating Championship.

“We can’t do that without a liquor license,� she said. During the summer, they got a special designated liquor license, but doing that on a regular basis isn’t sustainable, she said.

“Really what we know is soccer doesn’t pay for soccer and kids are not playing because they’re outpriced,� Martin said.

“So we have to figure out from the business end how to fix that. And this is a piece of that. If we can use our liquor license during adult events and that profit is rolled back into investment for kids to increase access and facility development, I think that’s a pretty good use of that.�

In the end, the council unanimously agreed.