By Joe Duggan / OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

A few bystanders stood on the fringe of a State Capitol news conference last week to hear about a lawsuit that aims to alleviate alcohol problems caused by beer sales in the unincorporated village of Whiteclay, Neb.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the Oglala Sioux Tribe by Omaha lawyer Tom White, goes after the global brewers, the Nebraska distributors and the Whiteclay stores that sell beer to a population truly devastated by alcohol. (more…)

By Peter Harriman, (Sioux Falls, S.D.) Argus Leader

The Oglala Sioux Tribe is suing some of the world’s largest beer brewers, saying they knowingly have contributed to devastating alcohol-related problems on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. (more…)

By GRANT SCHULTE, ASSOCIATED PRESS

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – An American Indian tribe sued some of the world’s largest beer makers Thursday, claiming they knowingly contributed to devastating alcohol-related problems on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota said it is demanding $500 million in damages for the cost of health care, social services and child rehabilitation caused by chronic alcoholism on the reservation, which encompasses some of the nation’s most impoverished counties. (more…)

By Grant Schulte / ASSOCIATED PRESS / NATIVE AMERICAN TIMES

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Advocates fighting alcohol problems in Omaha and the tiny Panhandle town of Whiteclay believe a bill in the Legislature would help curb public drunkenness in both areas, but lobbyists for the alcoholic beverage industry said Tuesday that the proposal was too broad. (more…)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Nebraska lawmakers are once again looking at the alcohol problems in the Panhandle town of Whiteclay.

Nebraska Liquor Control Commission director Hobert Rupe encouraged lawmakers Friday to look at the “alcohol impact zones” in places like Washington and Tennessee. (more…)

By Paul Hammel / OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

LINCOLN — A state agency has announced a $14,900 grant to help entrepreneurs and young people in Whiteclay.

The northwest Nebraska border town is notorious for its four liquor stores that annually sell 3.2 million cans of beer, mostly to the residents of the officially dry Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. (more…)

LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR

The Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs has awarded a $14,900 grant to expand business in Whiteclay.

The money comes from state funds set aside in a legislative bill passed in spring 2010, and the program is meant to address economic development, health care and law enforcement needs in Whiteclay, where four beer stores sell nearly 4 million cans of beer a year. Most of that beer is sold to residents of the nearby dry Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. (more…)

By JoAnne Young / LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR

Judi gaiashkibos says $15,000 isn’t a lot of money to be asking to help out the people who live near the Nebraska-South Dakota border town of Whiteclay.

“$15,000 is just such a small amount of money it’s almost embarrassing,” gaiashkibos said. “But I also think it’s hopeful and promising, and so you have to start somewhere.” (more…)

Published Sunday January 2, 2011
By Henry J. Cordes
OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

The woman spent the whole afternoon drinking vodka and diet 7-Ups at an Omaha bar before getting behind the wheel of her pickup.

Later testing with a blood-alcohol level at almost double the legal limit, she swayed across the center line on Highway 36 at least a half dozen times before slamming head-on into a car driven by Joe Cowan of Council Bluffs. (more…)

Published Friday, Dec. 24, 2010
By REX ALBERTS (Valentine, Neb.)
LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR (Letter to the Editor)

More and more alcohol will be consumed in Nebraska as approved by state government with later bar closing times and consumption allowed in state parks. This state government also faces a shortfall of nearly a billion dollars. (more…)