NEBRASKA GOV. JIM PILLEN RESPONDS TO BACKLASH OVER SAYING ‘LIBTARDS’

LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s office has addressed his recent tele-town hall comments that triggered criticism from disability advocates and families. 

Last week, reporters tried to ask Pillen about his use of the term “libtards” three times during the tele-town hall, but a spokesperson stepped in before the governor could answer. 

Pillen, through a statement on Wednesday, said that he has always supported “Nebraska’s developmentally disabled community.” The governor’s spokesperson pointed to him clearing the “long-stalled DD waitlist, speeding service access to Nebraska families who had waited for years, and substantially increased special education funding for our schools.”

“He is a fierce advocate for the inherent dignity and value of all people,” said Laura Strimple, Pillen’s communications director. 

Strimple said the governor didn’t direct his comment to the developmentally disabled community or their families, “nor did the thought ever cross his mind.”

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NEBRASKA PROPOSES REQUIRING KIDS TO TAKE STATE-MANDATED READING TEST TO MOVE ON FROM THIRD GRADE

LINCOLN — Nebraska is looking to require students to retake third grade if they fail a state-mandated reading test — with some exceptions. 

The proposal is from the Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, carried by State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil, chair of the Legislature’s Education Committee. Legislative Bill 1050 would require schools to help students who fail to meet the new benchmarks with an “intensive acceleration class” featuring a smaller student-teacher ratio to focus on improving students’ reading level. 

Students could be held back once between third and fourth grade, determined by three reading assessments during the school year. The new requirements would begin fall of 2027. 

Nebraska students in kindergarten through second grade would also take three reading assessments three times during the school year to determine whether they were at the correct reading level. Students receiving special education services or accommodations would be exempt under the proposal. The proposal is a part of the governor’s focus on education for this session.

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NEBRASKA POPULATION RISES SLIGHTLY, AS INTERNATIONAL GROWTH REVERSES

LINCOLN — While Nebraska’s overall population increased slightly to an estimated 2,018,006 in the latest Census report, the key component driving state growth in past years plummeted: immigration.

Data released Tuesday reveals a 0.6% annual population bump, or about 12,500 more residents overall from July 2024 through June 2025. The information also shows the three main components of population change.

Of the three, international migration was most glaring. More foreign-born newcomers still came to Nebraska than left, but the net growth of 6,599 was half the amount reported the previous year.

Josie Schafer of the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the state’s liaison to the Census Bureau, attributes the reversal to federal immigration policies versus any shift in how the data is tracked.

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FORMER SEN. MCKEON CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO $2.5 MILLION NO-BID CONTRACT

LINCOLN - Former state Sen. Dan McKeon said Wednesday he has asked Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers to investigate a $2.5 million no-bid contract that was awarded to an associate of Gov. Jim Pillen.

State Auditor Mike Foley earlier this month raised questions about the contract awarded to Global Sustainability Developers LLC, which is owned by Julie Bushell, a lobbyist and consultant. Bushell has gone on economic development trips with Pillen.

Favoritism, an absence of competitive bidding and other procurement irregularities leave many questions unanswered, McKeon said in a prepared statement circulated Wednesday among Nebraska news outlets. McKeon also asked Foley to dig more deeply into the contract.

“This request is about transparency, accountability and maintaining public confidence in how taxpayer dollars are spent,” McKeon said in his statement. 

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DED, PILLEN BACK IN FOLEY’S CROSSHAIRS OVER JUSTIFICATION FOR EMERGENCY NO-BID CONTRACT

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) and Gov. Jim Pillen’s administration are under renewed scrutiny from State Auditor Mike Foley over a $2.5 million emergency no-bid contract awarded in 2024 to a firm recommended by Pillen and run by a lobbyist he knew. The administration has argued the expedited contract was necessary because the Legislature’s timeline left too little time for a competitive bidding process and that without the emergency designation the state couldn’t meet a deadline to report bioeconomy progress to lawmakers. 

Foley now says the argument falls apart because DED failed to file the required report by the June 30, 2025 deadline, instead submitting it days later, undermining the claim that time pressure justified bypassing competitive bidding. According to people familiar with the process, the report wasn’t even drafted until Foley requested it, after the state had already ended the contract with the governor’s preferred contractor. Pillen and his office continue to defend the contract and timeline, saying they acted within the law and that the consultant helped secure federal funding for Nebrask

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COURT HEARS LAWSUIT SEEKING TO STOP NEBRASKA FROM RELEASING VOTER DATA TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

LINCOLN — A lawsuit is underway in Lancaster County District Court challenging Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s plan to turn over detailed voter registration data to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Common Cause Nebraska, a public-advocacy nonprofit, argues that the federal request — which seeks sensitive information including names, birth dates, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers — violates state privacy laws, and has asked the court for an injunction to stop the release scheduled for Feb. 12. The state has responded by asking the judge to dismiss the case, and no ruling on the injunction was made at the hearing as the judge took the arguments under advisement. 

Attorneys for both sides debated whether federal authorities must comply with Nebraska law to access the records and whether the federal government should be joined as a necessary party in the case. The DOJ has made similar data requests to numerous other states as part of efforts to verify voter registration rolls, and some states have resisted on privacy grounds. Meanwhile, the dispute has drawn broader political attention and concerns about data privacy, with critics questioning the safety of consolidating detailed voter information at the federal level. 

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FORMER STATE SEN. BRETT LINDSTROM OUT OF NEBRASKA’S 2ND DISTRICT GOP RACE

OMAHA — Former Nebraska State Sen. Brett Lindstrom announced he is withdrawing from the Republican primary race for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District seat, saying he no longer wants to deal with the divisiveness of modern politics and feels the current environment doesn’t foster reasonable debate. Lindstrom, who previously ran for governor and served in the Legislature, emphasized that his choice was about stepping back from campaigning rather than a lack of confidence in his chances of winning the nomination. 

His exit leaves Omaha City Councilman Brinker Harding as the likely GOP nominee and shifts focus to the competitive primary field, including multiple Democrats vying for the open seat after five-term GOP Rep. Don Bacon announced he wouldn’t seek reelection. Lindstrom said he plans to remain engaged in politics in other ways, such as supporting future leaders behind the scenes. 

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EFFORT TO REPEAL NEBRASKA IN-STATE COLLEGE TUITION RATES FOR CERTAIN IMMIGRANT STUDENTS FACES FOES

LINCOLN — Legislators in Nebraska held a lengthy public hearing on two bills (LB 1061 and LB 870) that would repeal parts of a longstanding state law allowing certain undocumented immigrant students who grew up and graduated in Nebraska to qualify for in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities. At the hearing, far more people spoke in opposition than in support, with opponents arguing that ending the in-state tuition benefit would harm students who were brought to the U.S. as children and have deep ties to the state, while supporters of the repeal said taxpayer subsidies for out-of-state tuition are unfair. 

Critics of the repeal also highlighted concerns about access to higher education and the impact on Nebraska’s workforce and communities if students face significantly higher tuition costs. Proponents of maintaining the current policy stressed that it helped provide opportunities for students who contribute to the state economically and socially, and urged lawmakers to preserve the existing in-state tuition provision rather than roll it back.

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NEBRASKA UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS SPIKE TO 5-YEAR HIGH

LINCOLN - Unemployment claims in Nebraska jumped sharply last week to their highest level in about five years, with 3,043 initial filings for the week ending Jan. 24, more than three times the total from the previous week and the biggest increase of any state. The surge is largely tied to the closure of the Tyson Foods beef processing plant in Lexington, which employed over 3,000 people and recently shut down, leading many workers to seek unemployment benefits. 

The spike occurred against a backdrop of already elevated unemployment, as Nebraska’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate has been at around 3% in recent months, and there were notably more unemployed residents in December compared to a year earlier. The Tyson plant closing appears to have a significant impact on the state’s labor market, even as broader employment indicators had been relatively stable. 

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OPINION: 'NEBRASKA HAS NO BUDGET CRISIS' - FORMER SENATOR JOHN STINNER

"As a former state senator and chair of the Appropriations Committee, I am perplexed by the continuous discussion regarding our state’s “budget crisis.”

Let’s be clear. The situation in Nebraska right now is not a budget crisis. In my six years in the Legislature as chair of the Appropriations Committee, my colleagues and I navigated several historic budget crises. That’s not the situation we find ourselves in as a state today...

Fast forward to 2026. The pandemic is over. Nearly all of the individuals involved in the process of crafting LB 1107 have been term-limited and no longer serve in the Legislature. The Legislature has slowly chipped away at the package in the six years since, making the current landscape almost unrecognizable when compared to those original intentions. The guardrails are gone. The state has gone from feast to famine, blowing through a $1.9 billion surplus in 2023 to a $472 million deficit in 2026..."

Senator John Stinner is the previous Chair of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee.

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NEW BILL WOULD REQUIRE NEBRASKA K-12 SCHOOLS TO TEACH ANTI-COMMUNIST LESSONS

LINCOLN — A new bill would require Nebraska’s K-12 schools to teach lessons about the ills of communism. Legislative Bill 1024 from State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenville would require each Nebraska school district, starting next school year, to make time to teach the history of communism — worldwide and in the U.S. 

The proposed curriculum would range from covering what the bill describes as “the increasing threat of communism in the United States and its allies through the 20th century” to “mass killings that have occurred under communist regimes.” 

Similar state laws have passed in Florida and Texas. Florida Republican U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar has a federal bill that passed the U.S. House that would require the creation of a civics education program to teach high schoolers nationwide about “the dangers of communism.” 

“There’s a lot of students, especially in college, and kids that are out of the K-12 school system, who seem to support socialism and even communism nowadays,” Murman said. “I think we just have to be diligent that the risks and dangers, bad things that happen under communism, are taught in our schools.”

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FAMILIES URGE LAWMAKERS, DHHS TO STOP MEDICAID WAIVER CAPS FOR NEBRASKANS WITH DISABILITIES, ELDERLY

LINCOLN — Derek Caster, a 30-year-old Nebraskan with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, worries that proposed changes to how the State of Nebraska administers a Medicaid waiver for the aging and those with disabilities could be the difference between life and death.

At issue is a 238-page proposal from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services seeking to cap the number of hours for which live-in, often-family caregivers can be reimbursed under Medicaid for providing in-home care such as to Caster or others. The proposal would also place an annual cost limit on reimbursable care based on a DHHS estimate of nursing home costs statewide.

Caster, other waiver recipients, caregivers and advocates for the elderly and people with disabilities have been among many rallying at the Nebraska State Capitol and urging lawmakers to support them. “If we get a drop in our quality of care, I know for a fact I would be dead,” Caster said at a Capitol rally last week.

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NEBRASKA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR VOUCHES FOR MERGER WITH STATE TOURISM COMMISSION

LINCOLN — Nebraska’s new Economic Development Director Maureen Larsen expressed support for consolidating the department with the Nebraska Tourism Commission at her confirmation hearing Tuesday.

Gov. Jim Pillen named Larsen the permanent Department of Economic Development director in November. She had served as interim director since July following former director K.C. Belitz’ resignation. Prior to her appointment, Larsen served as Pillen’s general counsel and deputy director of his Policy Research Office.

Larsen, speaking before the Nebraska Legislature’s Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee, spoke on the possibility of a merger when she was asked about the state’s lagging tourism revenues. She noted that while national tourism levels had grown modestly over the last year, Nebraska remained relatively flat.

Larsen argued that consolidating the agencies would mean tourism initiatives would have a larger budget and more marketing resources to pull from, and DED has the capacity to utilize grant funding for tourism efforts. She noted that prior to 2012, the two agencies were one in the same.

“If you’re trying to recruit businesses, if you’re trying to recruit that talent to keep people in Nebraska, tourism is a giant component of that,” Larsen said.

Committee Chair State Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte, who introduced an interim study Tuesday to examine the potential impacts of merging the agencies, asked Larsen if she knew why the agencies split in 2012. Larsen, though she wasn’t in state government at the time, said it was her understanding that lawmakers didn’t believe DED was doing an effective job of handling tourism.

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MY TRUST WAS ‘VIOLATED’: NU PRESIDENT FAULTS UNL BUDGET PROCESS BUT SAYS CUTS STAND

LINCOLN - University of Nebraska President Jeff Gold told faculty and staff he had been misled during last fall’s budget-cutting process that resulted in the elimination of four academic programs and dozens of jobs at the system’s flagship campus. Speaking at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Thursday, Gold said he shared in the disappointment and frustration many expressed at the shortcomings of the metrics used to justify approximately $6.7 million in budget cuts.

“I trusted people who said they were accurately communicating that there were metrics that were validated and agreed upon,” Gold said. “I trusted people that said there was formal input on multiple levels of appropriate shared governance.”

Gold said his trust in that process had been “violated,” adding what had been described about the process both to him and members of the NU Board of Regents in meetings last fall “were not accurate.”

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LAWMAKERS SEEK OVERSIGHT AS NU, CLARKSON MOVE TO CONTROL NEBRASKA MEDICINE

LINCOLN - Senator Sorrentino introduced legislation Tuesday that would require the Legislature to review the University of Nebraska Board of Regents’ proposed takeover of Nebraska Medicine, a major health care provider in the state. Under LB1125, sponsored by Sen. Tony Sorrentino of Elkhorn, any contract initiated by the University of Nebraska (NU) to acquire a controlling or sole interest in a hospital or health care facility valued at more than $100 million would be subject to legislative approval. If lawmakers are not in session when such a deal arises, the Legislature’s nine-member Executive Board would convene to consider it. Last week, the regents unanimously approved an $800 million plan for NU to become the sole owner of Nebraska Medicine after its partner Clarkson Regional Health Services indicated it would withdraw from the partnership.

Amid that backdrop, the University of Nebraska and Clarkson Regional Health Services have moved to replace nearly all members of the Nebraska Medicine Board of Directors as the organizations advance the $800 million purchase and transition to sole ownership. The restructuring replaces much of the existing board — including the CEO and previous chair — with new members drawn from NU and Clarkson leadership, a step officials say is necessary to protect the nonprofit’s stability and mission as governance changes. NU and Clarkson filed amended articles of incorporation with the Nebraska Secretary of State to formalize the changes, and the four new voting members include NU President Dr. Jeffrey Gold and Clarkson’s CEO Dr. Bill Lydiatt, among others. 

The board overhaul comes amid escalating legal and political tensions. The former Nebraska Medicine board had filed a lawsuit attempting to block the NU-Clarkson deal and expressed concerns about being excluded from negotiations, asserting they were fulfilling their fiduciary duties by questioning the transaction. Some state lawmakers have described the board changes as drastic, likening them to a “nuclear option,” and there is growing discussion in the Legislature — including proposals like Sorrentino’s bill — about strengthening legislative oversight of large hospital acquisition deals in Nebraska. 

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BIPARTISAN GROUP OF NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS INTRODUCE BILLS TO STRENGTHEN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROTECTIONS

LINCOLN — Among the more than 500 new bills introduced in Nebraska’s 2026 legislative session were at least nine that seek to improve the state’s responses to domestic violence allegations. The Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence celebrated the introduction of these bills at a press conference in the Capitol rotunda Wednesday. Thirteen state senators, including introducers and supporters, attended, many wearing purple to signify support for domestic violence awareness.

Christon MacTaggart, the nonprofit’s executive director, said addressing domestic violence is a larger task than one bill can accomplish. She spoke on the need to fill existing gaps in services that have let some victims fall through the cracks.The bills highlighted Wednesday would address a range of different areas related to domestic violence services. Some would increase penalties for domestic violence related charges, others are looking to improve reports of domestic abuse, and a few are focused on enforcement of existing laws.

“We know that domestic violence thrives in silence, and also in the gaps in how we respond,” MacTaggart said. “The legislation highlighted today will hopefully respond to the realities of what those victims are experiencing and address these gaps.” Amy Cirian, domestic abuse death review team coordinator for the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, said there were 30 domestic abuse-related victim deaths in 2025 alone. From July 2022 to July 2025, seven children were killed as a result of a domestic homicide, and 49 children lost a parent to a domestic homicide.

Cirian said the cases are not only devastating to communities and children, they also strain some of Nebraska’s systems meant to respond to victims.

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COMPETING STATEHOUSE VISIONS FOR VOTING IN NEBRASKA VIE FOR THE BALLOT

LINCOLN — Two proposals with competing visions for the future of voting in Nebraska show some differences between how the two major political parties approach voting regulations. Both state constitutional amendments were heard Thursday in the Nebraska Legislature’s Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. One, from a Democrat, would lower the voting age to 16 from 18. The other, from a Republican, would tweak the state constitution to say only U.S. citizens can vote in elections, which is already a requirement. 

Dona-Gene Barton, a political scientist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who studies political behavior, said the amendments offer a glimpse of how some Democrats and Republicans, at the state and federal level, view voting regulations. As an example, she pointed to recent bills in the GOP-led statehouse, which is officially nonpartisan. Voting-rights advocacy organization Civic Nebraska said the age-lowering proposal from Democrats “strengthens democracy” and questioned the GOP proposal’s new language on citizenship as unnecessary, saying it risks reinforcing “misinformation.” 

Republican Secretary of State Bob Evnen described the GOP proposal on citizenship as “important,” while the Government Committee’s GOP majority questioned the value of the Democratic proposal for lowering the state’s voting age.

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CHIEF JUSTICE HIGHLIGHTS SUCCESSES, SAVINGS OF NEBRASKA JUDICIAL BRANCH

LINCOLN — Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeffrey Funke on Thursday celebrated the judicial branch’s work to deliver justice to Nebraskans, often at lower costs than incarceration.

In his second annual “State of the Judiciary” speech, made annually before the Legislature, Funke highlighted how the state’s court-overseen problem-solving courts, probation system and more help keep wayward Nebraskans out of prison.

Funke said it costs about $5,000 each year to supervise a participant in one of 35 problem-solving courts, a portion of which participants pay, and about $3,500 each year to supervise an adult on probation.

By comparison, Funke said, incarceration costs state taxpayers about $50,000 each year.

“The work of the Judicial Branch is challenging and regularly involves issues which plague our society,” Funke said. “Support from both the executive and legislative branches is necessary to ensure that we continue to achieve our shared goals.”

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PILLEN SEEKS EXCEPTION TO MAKE TOM OSBORNE ONLY LIVING MEMBER OF NEBRASKA HALL OF FAME

LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen is looking to add a single exception in state law to put his old football coach in the Nebraska Hall of Fame early.

State Sen. Dan Lonowski of Hastings introduced Legislative Bill 1159 Tuesday on behalf of the governor. It would create a carveout allowing one living person to be included in the Nebraska Hall of Fame who meets several criteria that describes only former Huskers coach Tom Osborne.

The criteria include:

• The person must be a prior member of the U.S. House of Representatives;

• Be a former head coach of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln football team;

• Have served as athletics director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and

• Have attended Hastings High School

Under state law, members of the Nebraska Hall of Fame must have been dead for at least 35 years.

That means if LB 1159 passes, Osborne, 88, would make history as the first and only living member of the Hall of Fame.

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FORMER STATE SEN. LYNNE WALZ KICKS OFF 2026 DEMOCRATIC BID FOR GOVERNOR

FREMONT. — Former State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont confirmed Wednesday she will run as a Democratic candidate for Nebraska governor in 2026 after a statewide listening tour.

Walz launched an exploratory committee for governor in November and hinted she would enter the race if her concerns for the state matched those of Nebraskans. She hosted 10 listening sessions in December, from Scottsbluff to Omaha, as well as additional private events with local community leaders.

“What I found traveling across Nebraska is that we all have more in common than what divides us,” Walz told the Nebraska Examiner. “People really are ready for a change, and I think that, together, we can make a change.” Walz said she heard a common theme touring the state: “Government is no longer working for the people.” Those concerns include whether state officials uphold the public’s right to petition the government for ballot measures and respect the “will of the voters” or whether officials support “average” Nebraskans, help small business owners and hear the voices of everyday people.

She said the focus should be on daily issues, not divisive national issues or Washington, D.C.-style politics of “corruption or secret deals” that benefit the few. “Nebraska is full of possibilities, and we need a governor who will focus on creating and attracting good-paying jobs, supporting our public schools and lowering the cost of food, health care and day care,” Walz said Wednesday.

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