Latest news with #Niceley
Hamilton Spectator
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Former Tennessee state Sen. Frank Niceley dies of suspected heart attack
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former state Sen. Frank Niceley, a farmer and longtime conservative lawmaker known for his colorful comments on Tennessee's Capitol Hill, died Thursday. He was 78. Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Coffey confirmed that Niceley was found on a tractor on his family farm in Strawberry Plains on Thursday and later died at the hospital. Coffey said the cause of death is a suspected heart attack. The Republican was first elected to a state House seat in 1988. He served two, two-year terms, then was out of the Legislature until he won a return to the House in 2004. In 2012, Niceley won a seat in the Senate, where he remained until he lost a Republican primary election in 2024 to now-Sen. Jessie Seal. The most recent boundaries of Niceley's district covered Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Jefferson, Sevier and Union counties. Niceley spoke 'in a way that makes you laugh, learn, and then Google a few things afterward,' as a resolution passed this year described it. Republican Senate Speaker Randy McNally said on social media that Niceley was the 'unofficial historian' of the Senate and a 'Tennessee original in every possible sense.' 'Fiercely independent, deeply rooted in his community, and unwavering in his convictions, he brought a farmer's wisdom and a statesman's heart to public service,' McNally said. Niceley's meandering stories and commentary sometimes created controversy. He sparked national criticism in 2022 after seemingly praising Adolf Hitler on the Senate floor as an example for people who are homeless while discussing a bill that toughened penalties for camping on public property. The year before, Niceley commented that with the movement of companies from northern cities to the South, 'I think I can tell my grandson the war between the states is still going on and we're winning.' Niceley was in tune with fellow Republicans on many major topics, but he also had an independent streak and his own priorities. He successfully pushed legislation to allow industrial hemp growing. He opposed making cockfighting a felony offense. He criticized the addition of toll lanes on highways through public-private partnerships. And he was against the statewide expansion of a school voucher program. The voucher stance prompted outside political spending against him in his 2024 primary loss. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
San Francisco Chronicle
8 hours ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Former Tennessee state Sen. Frank Niceley dies of suspected heart attack
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former state Sen. Frank Niceley, a farmer and longtime conservative lawmaker known for his colorful comments on Tennessee's Capitol Hill, died Thursday. He was 78. Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Coffey confirmed that Niceley was found on a tractor on his family farm in Strawberry Plains on Thursday and later died at the hospital. Coffey said the cause of death is a suspected heart attack. The Republican was first elected to a state House seat in 1988. He served two, two-year terms, then was out of the Legislature until he won a return to the House in 2004. In 2012, Niceley won a seat in the Senate, where he remained until he lost a Republican primary election in 2024 to now-Sen. Jessie Seal. The most recent boundaries of Niceley's district covered Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Jefferson, Sevier and Union counties. Niceley spoke 'in a way that makes you laugh, learn, and then Google a few things afterward,' as a resolution passed this year described it. Republican Senate Speaker Randy McNally said on social media that Niceley was the 'unofficial historian' of the Senate and a 'Tennessee original in every possible sense.' 'Fiercely independent, deeply rooted in his community, and unwavering in his convictions, he brought a farmer's wisdom and a statesman's heart to public service,' McNally said. Niceley's meandering stories and commentary sometimes created controversy. He sparked national criticism in 2022 after seemingly praising Adolf Hitler on the Senate floor as an example for people who are homeless while discussing a bill that toughened penalties for camping on public property. The year before, Niceley commented that with the movement of companies from northern cities to the South, 'I think I can tell my grandson the war between the states is still going on and we're winning.' Niceley was in tune with fellow Republicans on many major topics, but he also had an independent streak and his own priorities. He successfully pushed legislation to allow industrial hemp growing. He opposed making cockfighting a felony offense. He criticized the addition of toll lanes on highways through public-private partnerships. And he was against the statewide expansion of a school voucher program.
Boston Globe
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Former Tennessee state Senator Frank Niceley dies of suspected heart attack
In 2012, Niceley won a seat in the Senate, where he remained until he lost a Republican primary election in 2024 to now-Sen. Jessie Seal. The most recent boundaries of Niceley's district covered Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Jefferson, Sevier and Union counties. Advertisement Niceley spoke 'in a way that makes you laugh, learn, and then Google a few things afterward,' as a resolution passed this year described it. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Republican Senate Speaker Randy McNally said on social media that Niceley was the 'unofficial historian' of the Senate and a 'Tennessee original in every possible sense.' 'Fiercely independent, deeply rooted in his community, and unwavering in his convictions, he brought a farmer's wisdom and a statesman's heart to public service,' McNally said. Niceley's meandering stories and commentary sometimes created controversy. He sparked national criticism in 2022 after seemingly praising Adolf Hitler on the Senate floor as an example for people who are homeless while discussing a bill that toughened penalties for camping on public property. Advertisement The year before, Niceley commented that with the movement of companies from northern cities to the South, 'I think I can tell my grandson the war between the states is still going on and we're winning.' Niceley was in tune with fellow Republicans on many major topics, but he also had an independent streak and his own priorities. He successfully pushed legislation to allow industrial hemp growing. He opposed making cockfighting a felony offense. He criticized the addition of The voucher stance prompted outside political spending against him in his 2024 primary loss.
Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Former Tennessee state Sen. Frank Niceley dies of suspected heart attack
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former state Sen. Frank Niceley, a farmer and longtime conservative lawmaker known for his colorful comments on Tennessee's Capitol Hill, died Thursday. He was 78. Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Coffey confirmed that Niceley was found on a tractor on his family farm in Strawberry Plains on Thursday and later died at the hospital. Coffey said the cause of death is a suspected heart attack. The Republican was first elected to a state House seat in 1988. He served two, two-year terms, then was out of the Legislature until he won a return to the House in 2004. In 2012, Niceley won a seat in the Senate, where he remained until he lost a Republican primary election in 2024 to now-Sen. Jessie Seal. The most recent boundaries of Niceley's district covered Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Jefferson, Sevier and Union counties. Niceley spoke 'in a way that makes you laugh, learn, and then Google a few things afterward,' as a resolution passed this year described it. Republican Senate Speaker Randy McNally said on social media that Niceley was the 'unofficial historian' of the Senate and a 'Tennessee original in every possible sense.' 'Fiercely independent, deeply rooted in his community, and unwavering in his convictions, he brought a farmer's wisdom and a statesman's heart to public service,' McNally said. Niceley's meandering stories and commentary sometimes created controversy. He sparked national criticism in 2022 after seemingly praising Adolf Hitler on the Senate floor as an example for people who are homeless while discussing a bill that toughened penalties for camping on public property. The year before, Niceley commented that with the movement of companies from northern cities to the South, 'I think I can tell my grandson the war between the states is still going on and we're winning.' Niceley was in tune with fellow Republicans on many major topics, but he also had an independent streak and his own priorities. He successfully pushed legislation to allow industrial hemp growing. He opposed making cockfighting a felony offense. He criticized the addition of toll lanes on highways through public-private partnerships. And he was against the statewide expansion of a school voucher program. The voucher stance prompted outside political spending against him in his 2024 primary loss.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Warning: Indiana lawmakers want to make weather control illegal
Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation in the House and Senate that would make efforts to control the weather in Indiana illegal. House Bill 1335 and Senate Bill 364 both prohibit anyone from 'discharging a chemical or apparatus in the atmosphere' that would affect sunlight, temperature or weather. Both bills have been assigned to committees, but neither has received a hearing and none are on the schedules for this week. Sen. Scott Alexander, R-Muncie, filed the Senate bill. He said he received letters from Hoosiers in his district about the issue and decided to bring the legislation forward to prompt conversations around weather modification. 'They're concerned about the atmosphere and whether or not this is real or fake, I guess,' Alexander told IndyStar. 'So … for consideration purposes, I was kind of on the fence, and I decided to go ahead and file it and see what good communication brings.' Rep. Lorissa Sweet, R-Somerset, wrote the House bill. She did not respond to IndyStar's requests for comment. Both bills attempt to make weather modification a misdemeanor offense with maximum penalties of up to one year in jail and up to $5,000 in fines. Alexander said his constituents were worried that pollutants are being put into the air and may be dangerous to their health. 'I dug in trying to find out some information and just really didn't find a lot,' Alexander said. 'There's plenty of stuff on the internet about it, but I think credible information is what I was looking and asking for.' Geoengineering — a term used to describe attempts to cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight back into space using particles or cloud cover — is the spring board for similar legislation across the U.S. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration since 2020 has researched the potential for this kind of technology but has not implemented any programming other than observational and modeling projects, although small groups of independent researchers have conducted their own experiments. Alexander said his bill is modeled after a 2024 Tennessee law banning geoengineering in the state. Tennessee lawmakers brought their bill forward following a 2023 White House report suggesting the U.S. identify potential research areas around the topic. As Tennessee state lawmakers discussed the bill, Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, said too many people don't look up toward the sky and see geoengineering. 'If you look up one day it's clear, the next day it looks like the angels have been playing tic-tac-toe,' Niceley said. 'I've got pictures on my phone of Xs over my house.' Niceley said the only problem with the Tennessee bill was there weren't penalties for pilots caught dumping chemicals into the atmosphere. Florida's state senate currently is considering a similar bill that would prohibit actions 'intended to affect the temperature, the weather, or the intensity of sunlight within the atmosphere of this state.' Arizona is considering a prohibition on geoengineering, and offenders could face a class 4 felony with civil penalties of no less than $500,000 per violation. The Arizona bill defines geoengineering as anything related to weather modification, aerosol injection, cloud seeding and solar radiation modification. Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at Follow him on BlueSky @ IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana bills banning weather control appear stuck on the ground
