UNL REMOVES INTERIM TAG, NAMES BUTTON CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER

LINCOLN - The University of Nebraska-Lincoln named Mark Button as executive vice chancellor on Monday, elevating him from the interim position he has served in since January. Button, who previously served as the dean of UNL’s College of Arts and Sciences, was named interim chief academic officer following the departure of Katherine Ankerson last year. 

“Mark Button is a proven leader who is helping us effectively navigate our current challenges while ensuring we maintain institutional momentum,” UNL Chancellor Rodney Bennett said in a press release. 

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NEBRASKA OFFICIAL'S DEAL WITH KENYA DRAWS ONLINE BACKLASH — AND DISTANCE FROM GOV. PILLEN

Nebraska's secretary of state signed a rogue memo with Kenya's government earlier this month promoting economic partnership and cultural exchange between the Cornhusker State and the African country in a move that drew online criticism and, eventually, condemnation from Nebraska's governor.

Secretary of State Bob Evnen signed a memo of understanding Sept. 2 with a Kenyan diplomat agreeing to promote student and teacher exchanges, encourage the "lawful mobility of students and apprentices," and promote temporary migration for employment and job training, among other things.

The memo — which Evnen's office did not publicize domestically, though it made headlines in Kenya — makes no mention of any specific industry. But in a TikTok video posted by the Kenyan diplomat, Evnen pointed to commercial truck drivers who he said were being partially trained in Kenya before finishing training in Nebraska.

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WHITE HOUSE WAITS ON REDISTRICTING TALKS WITH NEBRASKANS FOR NOW

LINCOLN — Thirteen Nebraska state lawmakers visited Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. But they didn’t get an Indiana-like pitch to redistrict a red state, as reporters waited. 

Instead, the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs hosted lawmakers from Nebraska and Iowa to “hear firsthand” how President Donald Trump and his team are implementing his approach and how to “advance it at the state and local level.” While that was the official reason, national and local news outlets reported in recent days that Trump’s team might use the meeting to discuss mid-decade redistricting with Nebraska lawmakers.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKER, PASSENGER RAIL ADVOCATES HOST TOWN HALL IN NORTH PLATTE

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Railroads built Nebraska and helped usher in some of the state’s earliest economic benefits, ProRail Nebraska leader Bob Kuzelka told a group gathered Tuesday night at the town’s public library.

“And now they can do it again,” he said, advocating for expanded passenger rail in the state to increase transportation options and grow tourism and commercial development along rail routes. “At every stop, lots of people get on, people get off.”

Kuzelka was among a trio of speakers on the third leg of a five-stop town hall tour organized by State Sen. Margo Juarez of Omaha and ProRail to educate Nebraskans on the possibilities and benefits of passenger rail options, gauge interest and broaden support. ProRail is associated with the Rail Passenger Association and seeks improved passenger rail and other forms of surface public transportation serving Nebraska. The feedback the group and Juarez seek is for a legislative interim study also evaluating existing passenger rail infrastructure in Nebraska. Juarez and other advocates say they recognize the cost and that resistance by some, including state officials, signals a tough road ahead for expanded passenger rail options. 

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FUNDING RESTORED TO NEBRASKA DRUG DISPOSAL PROGRAM AFTER MIDSUMMER CUTS

LINCOLN — State officials will continue to fund Nebraska’s statewide drug disposal program, reversing a midsummer decision not to renew a contract despite legislative funding having been set aside for that purpose.

Lawmakers approved an annual $289,416 appropriation for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to continue contracting for such a program to properly dispose of prescription drugs. It’s the same process that’s been in place for a program the state has at least partially funded since 2015. 

But state officials, as of July 1, refused to renew the contract until this week, effectively freezing the funds. The state restored funding after the Nebraska Examiner asked DHHS about the cut last week and sought more information from the agency and the Governor’s Office, including why the state cut came without legislative approval and whether DHHS had made any other similar administrative cuts.  

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STATE SEN. KAUTH TAKES STEPS TOWARD IMPEACHING NU REGENT, PILLEN WEIGHS IN

OMAHA — A Nebraska state senator is taking the first steps toward pursuing impeachment proceedings against a University of Nebraska regent charged with driving drunk in a crash that caused serious injuries.

State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha confirmed Examiner reporting that she is exploring what the Nebraska Legislature needs to do to consider articles of impeachment against NU Regent Elizabeth O’Connor of Omaha.

Kauth confirmed Saturday that she has discussed her plans with the Governor’s Office and top legislative leadership. "This is such a grotesque abuse of public trust that it needs to be addressed,” Kauth told the Nebraska Examiner on Saturday.

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GOVERNOR SIGNS REVISED EMERGENCY REGULATIONS SUBMITTED BY NEBRASKA MEDICAL CANNABIS COMMISSION

Gov. Jim Pillen announced he has approved the adoption of the emergency regulations recently submitted by the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission. Pillen said he signed the regulations on Tuesday.

The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission held an emergency meeting on Monday to set limits on the number of plants that cultivators will be allowed to grow. This came after Pillen rejected the proposed changes to the emergency regulations approved back in July. The commission said that Pillen took issue with its last proposal for allowing too much plant growth but that he didn’t give a specific number on how much should be allowed.

Pillen’s office asked the commission to consider such a limitation to ensure that an excess of cannabis production would not lead to an unregulated and unintended black-market supply.

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STATE SEN. RICK HOLDROFT OF BELLEVUE TO SEEK REELECTION TO NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE

State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue announced earlier this week that he will seek a second term representing District 36 in the Nebraska Legislature. "In the Legislature, I’ve helped deliver historic property tax relief and continue working to find solutions to lower burdensome taxes. We’ve backed the blue, increased the penalties for dangerous criminals who threaten our children and worked to keep Nebraska families safe," Holdcroft, a Republican, said in his campaign announcement.

He said he's "championed conservative legislation" regarding abortion, science standards in schools, removing taxes on certain utilities and restricting school sports participation by sex — as Holdcroft put it, "ban men from girls' sports."

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OPS PROPOSES 2% LEVY INCREASE FOR SCHOOL STAFFING AND TO ADDRESS FUNDING UNCERTAINTIES

Omaha Public Schools officials have proposed a 2% levy increase for the district’s 2025-26 budget to fund continued investments in staff and a larger contingency in light of funding uncertainties.

The proposed budget presented at a hearing Monday night includes a $38 million general fund increase and a levy increase of 2.2 cents, from $1.107 to $1.13 per $100 of assessed property value.

The new levy would cost a homeowner of a $200,000 home about $2,260 per year. The proposed budget includes a property tax request of $409 million, a $28 million — or 7.26% — increase from the 2024-25 budget. The proposed levy increase follows five years of levy decreases, including a decrease of nearly 11 cents between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 budgets.

For the full article, click HERE. 

NATE OSTDIEK ANNOUNCED HIS BID FOR THE NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2025

In a release Tuesday morning, 22-year-old Nate Ostdiek, a registered Democrat, shared his campaign as a political newcomer. His bid is for Legislative District 6, which covers central Omaha. The seat is held by Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, who will be term-limited in the upcoming 2026 election. 

Ostdiek shared in the announcement that he is an Omaha native who attended Westside High School. He is currently a masters student at the University of Nebraska - Omaha. “The median age of a Nebraska State Senator is 62. The median age of a Nebraskan is 37. This 25 year age gap reflects poorly on the legislature’s ability to represent the people of Nebraska,” said Ostdiek in the release. 

For the full article, click HERE. 

BUSINESS LEADERS SOUND ALARM AS OMAHA JOB GROWTH BADLY TRAILS REGIONAL PEERS

Look around Omaha, and you can see many signs of seeming prosperity. People are flocking by the millions to the city’s signature riverfront parks. Mutual of Omaha’s new headquarters tower alters the city’s skyline as it steadily rises over downtown. Earlier this year, the population of the eight-county metro area eclipsed the 1 million mark. 

But those appearances may be masking what some Omaha business leaders see as a quietly building economic crisis: Employment in the Omaha metro has been growing at a sluggish pace, badly trailing its regional peers. In the past five years, Omaha’s annual average job growth rate has been a fraction of 1%. Metro Des Moines is booming in comparison, with a growth rate more than three times Omaha’s, according to a World-Herald analysis of federal employment data.

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NEBRASKA VOLUNTEERED TO BE HOME TO TRUMP'S LATEST ICE DETENTION CENTER, LAWMAKERS SAY

LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen's administration volunteered last month to turn over a state prison to the federal government to serve as America's latest immigration detention center, state officials told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing Thursday.

State officials proactively reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and offered Nebraska as a potential home to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement jail after President Donald Trump signaled support for more ICE detention facilities following the ill-fated July opening of the so-called "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Florida Everglades.

That's according to two Democratic lawmakers who attended Thursday's closed-door briefing with Nebraska's lieutenant governor and at least three other members of Pillen's cabinet, including Rob Jeffreys, the director of Nebraska's prison system.

"That's my understanding," said Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington, the vice chair of the Legislature's Judiciary Committee, which was briefed Thursday afternoon on the so-called "Cornhusker Clink" following days of back-and-forth between Democrats and Republicans over whether Pillen's plan to turn the McCook prison over to ICE should be the subject of a public hearing.

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RICKETTS WANTS TO BEEF UP FEDERAL PROGRAM THAT GROWS SMALL RURAL BUSINESSES

OMAHA — A federal program to help boost small rural businesses would be extended and enhanced under a bipartisan bill to be introduced Thursday by U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and a Democratic colleague from Minnesota.

The Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program — created in the 2008 Farm Bill and overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — provides low-interest loans to eligible development organizations. Those funds fuel revolving loans that provide help to qualified rural microenterprises.

Currently, the program relies on annual appropriations. The Senate proposal pushed by Ricketts and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., would extend the program for five years so it no longer would require annual approval, a Ricketts spokesman said.

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SWAPPED OUT: NEW NEBRASKA MEDICAL CANNABIS REGS ADVANCE TO FINAL APPROVAL, DRAW PUBLIC IRE

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission on Tuesday advanced stricter regulations than the board adopted earlier this summer, leaving some advocates feeling more concerned.

All five commissioners voted to amend the emergency regulations that have been in effect since June 29 but were set to expire by the end of September. The new regulations, which would still allow the commission to begin licensing registered medical cannabis establishments by a voter-mandated Oct. 1 deadline, is contingent upon Gov. Jim Pillen’s approval. He approved the first rules in June. Tuesday was the commission’s fourth meeting since June, the first that all commissioners attended.

The revised regulations would, for the first time, set extensive testing and security requirements and establish a “Recommending Health Care Practitioner Directory” for in-state physicians to recommend medical cannabis. If approved, the rules would remain in effect for up to 90 days.

For the full article, click HERE.

NEBRASKA DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY SERVICE SUES DHHS FOR NEW TRAINING MANDATE

LINCOLN — A developmental disability service provider is suing Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services over a 2024 order the provider claims was unconstitutional.

Integrated Life Choices (ILC) filed a complaint in Lancaster District Court Aug. 25 against DHHS and Developmental Disabilities Director Tony Green. The complaint claims the department violated the constitutional separation of powers by unilaterally mandating providers switch to a new emergency safety intervention program called The Mandt System.

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‘ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ PROJECTED TO COST NEBRASKA OVER $216 MILLION IN TAX REVENUE

LINCOLN — A report from Nebraska’s Department of Revenue projects that the federal budget reconciliation bill will cost state government more than $216 million over the next two years. 

The department released the analysis as part of a state law that requires it to report to the Nebraska Legislature within 60 days of a change to the national Internal Revenue Code. Congress’ ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ that passed on July 4 was the subject of Tuesday’s report. 

DOR’s analysis spanned the next four fiscal years ending in 2029. It surmised that the expected losses in corporate and individual income tax revenue will cost Nebraska more than $406 million over those four years. Within the two years that make up the existing biennial budget, the losses would equal roughly $216 million. 

For the full article, click HERE.

CRETE BUSINESS OWNER, ATTORNEY WILL RUN FOR NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE

A businesswoman and attorney from Crete with experience in economic development will seek the District 32 seat in the Nebraska Legislature next year. Shay Smith, a registered nonpartisan and self-described "proud independent," announced her candidacy to replace the term-limited Sen. Tom Brandt on Wednesday.

"We all want a Nebraska where hardworking people can afford to support their families," Smith said. "As a small business owner, nonprofit leader, and community leader, I have worked tirelessly to redevelop main streets, revitalize public spaces, and bring economic investments to Southeast Nebraska. "I'm running to continue getting things done for our state in the Legislature," she added.

A native of Paxton, Smith attended Doane University in Crete and was the first in her family to graduate from college. She later earned a law degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, before returning to Saline County to start a law practice where she helps individuals and businesses file tax returns.

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NEBRASKA AG’S OFFICE ATTEMPTS TO REVIVE ITS PROSECUTION OF FORMER HISTORY AGENCY HEAD

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, in a 50-page brief filed Tuesday, argues that its felony prosecution of the former director of History Nebraska was wrongly dismissed by the Nebraska Court of Appeals.

Meanwhile, attorneys for Trevor Jones, who resigned the $164,800-a-year job in 2022, filed their own brief with the Nebraska Supreme Court maintaining that the AG’s office had errored in trying to appeal the discharge.

The competing court briefs are the latest chapter in an on-again, off-again prosecution of Jones. He was alleged to have committed theft by deception for redirecting $270,000 in funds provided by the private Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation to a competing foundation he had set up.

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JUSTICE LINDSEY MILLER-LERMAN, FIRST WOMAN TO SERVE ON NEBRASKA SUPREME COURT, TO RETIRE

LINCOLN — Nebraska Supreme Court Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman, the first woman to serve on the state’s high court and its longest-serving current member, announced her retirement effective Oct. 31. Miller-Lerman was appointed to the seven-member state Supreme Court in 1998 by former Gov. Ben Nelson, the state’s last Democrat to serve in that role. When Nebraska created a Court of Appeals in 1991, she was tapped to be one of its first judges.

“It has been a privilege to serve the citizens of Nebraska as an appellate judge since 1992,” Miller-Lerman, 78, said in a statement released by Gov. Jim Pillen’s office. Pillen, in a three-paragraph statement Tuesday announcing her retirement, thanked Miller-Lerman for her service.

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HEALTH INSURANCE WILL COST MORE FOR MILLIONS OF AMERICANS — ESPECIALLY RURAL RESIDENTS

A combination of Trump administration policies will make health care coverage more expensive for people who purchase plans from health insurance marketplaces — and rural residents will be hit the hardest, according to a new analysis.

Researchers from the Century Foundation say Trump administration policies — especially its refusal to ask Congress to extend Biden-era tax credits that are set to expire at the end of this year — will boost out-of-pocket premiums by 93% in the 32 states that allow the federal government to operate their Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces. New rules and tariffs will have a smaller impact. Rural county residents in those states will see an increase of 107%, while residents of urban counties will pay 89% more, according to the analysis by the Century Foundation, a left-leaning research nonprofit.

Insurers participating in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces are proposing a median premium increase of 18% for 2026 — the biggest jump since 2018 and 11 points more than the growth from 2024 to this year. That bump would come on top of the increase resulting from the expiration of the tax credits and the other policy changes.

For the full article, click HERE.