Daily Minute | The latest Lincoln-area news for June 8

Good morning, Lincoln. Here are this morning’s top headlines. 

A statue of Nebraska’s Willa Cather was unveiled Wednesday in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Cather became the state’s second representative in the hall, where her bronze statue stands just a few feet away from that of Ponca Chief Standing Bear in the Capitol space that was the first chamber of the House of Representatives.

The ceremony included a performance of Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag” by the Omaha Conservatory of Music String Quartet and readings from Cather’s novel “My Antonia,” along with short speeches by Gov. Jim Pillen, Representative Adrian Smith and Sen. Deb Fischer, all of whom cited Cather’s writings as representative of Nebraska.

Barely a week after Nebraska’s Legislature repealed the state’s motorcycle helmet mandate, local law enforcement agencies are already reporting an uptick in helmetless riders.

But the state’s helmet mandate, which has been in place since 1989, won’t expire until Jan. 1.

“From now until then, you still need to wear a helmet,” Chief Deputy Sheriff Ben Houchin said.

Until the new year, helmetless riders risk a $50 fine — though Houchin said the sheriff’s office hasn’t ticketed any riders for violating the helmet mandate in the eight days since LB138 passed.

And, Nebraska named six individuals to this year’s Athletics Hall of Fame class Wednesday, including one of the most iconic college football quarterbacks of all-time in Huskers legend Tommie Frazier.

The three-time national championship game MVP led NU to three straight undefeated seasons from 1993-95 and is regarded as one of the 10 Greatest College Football Players of the 20th Century.

The other inductees announced were Lori Endicott, Emily Parsons, Tolly Thompson, Brittany Timko and retired men’s and women’s track and field head coach Gary Pepin.

That’s it for Thursday, June 8. Stay in the know with Lincoln’s longest-standing news source at JournalStar.com., we’ll see you back here tomorrow.