Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts postponed a town hall meeting in Lexington last week to address the inmate assault on prison staff at the Lincoln Correctional Center. Ricketts says he first took time to meet with the staff that were assaulted.

The prison system is short staffed and Ricketts says those vacancies can be filled. He says changes need to be made in the union contract.

Ricketts says there have been steps taken to make improvements in the prison system. He says there was a $27 million appropriation at the Community Corrections Center in Lincoln for more bed space but there also needs to be changes in the overall culture on corrections in general. He says that includes more programs for inmates but that takes time.