TURNOVER AMONG ELECTION OFFICIALS REACHES NEW HIGH, REPORT FINDS

Election officials turned over at the highest rate in at least a quarter century during the last presidential election, according to new research from the Bipartisan Policy Center.

An analysis of shifts in election officials published Tuesday found nearly 41% of election officials administering the 2024 election were different than those in 2020. Turnover has accelerated over the past two decades, rising from about 28% in 2004 to 40.9% last year. The growing percentage of departing election officials comes after years of challenges. They navigated the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as well as harassment and false conspiracy theories surrounding stolen elections that persist today.

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STATE AUDITOR ALLEGES COUNTY OFFICIAL MISUSED MENARDS REBATES FOR TOY BOATS, WHOOPEE CUSHION

LINCOLN — The state auditor is calling out an elected official from northeast Nebraska for allegedly using Menards store rebates earned through county purchases for his own benefit.

Questionable buys ranged from a $1 prank whoopee cushion to a $94 load of lumber. According to an eight-page report issued Tuesday by Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley and addressed to the Wayne County Board of Commissioners, the auditor’s office had fielded concerns that Commissioner Dean Burbach had redeemed Menards rebates accumulated with county funds. 

Wayne County maintains a charge account with Menards to buy general supplies and other items. The store frequently offers 11% rebates on purchases. Information on the rebate is included on the original transaction receipt, and to redeem it, someone fills out a form and mails it along with the rebate section of the original transaction receipt to Menards.

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LINCOLN NEUROSURGEON, FORMER UNMC STUDENT REGENT RUNNING FOR NU BOARD OF REGENTS IN 2026

LINCOLN — A Lincoln neurosurgeon and former University of Nebraska Medical Center student regent announced his 2026 candidacy Friday for an open seat on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

Dr. Jeremy Hosein of Lincoln, 42, served as UNMC’s student representative in 2013 after having worked as a policy adviser for former Nebraska Govs. Mike Johanns and Dave Heineman. He also interned for former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and served in the 2018-19 class of White House fellows in the Trump-era White House Office of Legislative Affairs. During his fellowship, Hosein advised U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and worked on national policy, from drug pricing to international public health security.

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FORMER AIR FORCE ATTORNEY MULLING INDY BID AGAINST NEBRASKA U.S. REP. ADRIAN SMITH

LINCOLN — Lemoyne resident Mark Cohen has launched an exploratory committee to consider an independent bid for Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District against U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith in the 2026 midterms.

The state’s 3rd Congressional District includes central and western Nebraska and much of the state’s northeastern and southeastern edges. It’s one of the nation’s most conservative congressional districts by political party registration advantage and voting record.  

Smith, who was first elected to Congress in 2006, already faces a Republican primary challenger, former U.S. Border Patrol agent David Huebner.  Democrat Becky Stille is also running for the Democratic nomination.  

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GOVERNOR HIGHLIGHTS LB 530 CHANGES DURING SIGNING CEREMONY

OMAHA — Gov. Jim Pillen ceremonially signed a criminal justice package Monday that Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson and Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine celebrated as needed changes for public safety in Nebraska’s largest cities. 

State Sen. Carolyn Bosn, a former Lancaster County prosecutor who steered parts of Legislative Bill 530 to passage, touted its tougher penalties for fentanyl poisoning and law enforcement access to sealed records on gun crimes by juveniles. “This bill prioritized … the tools those kiddos need,” Bosn said. “This package of bills was designed to improve community safety, public safety, improve communication, having the right hand and the left hand work together.”

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INTERIM COMMITTEE HEARING WILL EXPLORE MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT CHANGES IMPACTING YOUNG NEBRASKANS WITH AUTISM

LINCOLN — A Sept. 5 hearing at the Nebraska Capitol will offer state lawmakers opportunity to listen to concerns and rationale about new Medicaid reimbursement rates the state has implemented for services to young people with autism.

Advocates for young Nebraskans with autism have expressed worry that access to services will suffer because the state on Aug. 1 implemented new reduced reimbursement rates for applied behavioral analysis services. Cuts range from 28% to as much as 79%, advocates have said. Also known as ABA, the therapy and support helps youths with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental and social communication delays function better in society.

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NEBRASKA COUNTIES SAY PROPERTY TAX INITIATIVES WON'T RESULT IN SAVINGS FOR SOME

Lincoln — The Nebraska Association of County Officials said the initiative petitions seeking to cut property taxes in half and limit future growth would lead to “significant degradation of essential public services” across the state.

At the same time, NACO said the proposed measures put forward by Advocates For All Nebraskans — the ballot committee behind the two petitions — would be “ineffective in some ways and harm in others” in how they sought to lower property tax burdens. The dual-pronged effort, which was announced at a press conference in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday, came in response to the Legislature’s inability to provide what backers called substantial property tax relief to Nebraskans, organizers said.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS SEEK LEGISLATIVE HEARING INTO NEBRASKA-ICE DETENTION CENTER PLANS

LINCOLN — Thirteen progressive state lawmakers called on the chair of the Nebraska Legislature’s Judiciary Committee to host a public hearing into a federal-state plan to morph a state prison into an immigration detention center.

The Wednesday letter to State Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln calls on Bosn to use her authority to call a hearing on the planned repurposing of the Nebraska Work Ethic Camp in McCook. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a state-federal plan Aug. 19 to convert the nearly 200-bed dormitory-style, rehabilitative-focused prison facility into a 300-bed ICE detention facility over the next 45 days.

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NEBRASKA ALCOHOL REGULATOR HONORED WITH NATIONAL LEADERSHIP AWARD

Chicago, IL – The Center for Alcohol Policy is pleased to announce it has awarded two veteran alcohol regulators with its 2025 Leadership in Alcohol Regulation Award.

LeAnna Prange, Deputy Director of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission (NLCC)

Thomas Kirby, Chief Operating Officer, Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Authority (Virginia ABC)

Throughout her career, LeAnna Prange has demonstrated an unwavering passion for elevating the field of alcohol regulation. Her generosity in knowledge-sharing has fostered a spirit of collaboration across the regulatory landscape.

LeAnna led the NLCC in its groundbreaking Centralized Alcohol Management Program (CAMP) project, translating complex regulatory goals into actionable, measurable outcomes. This project transformed and modernized the way the NLCC processes liquor license applications, handles complaints, conducts inspections, performs audits, and collects regulatory reports and excise tax payments.

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NEBRASKA EDUCATION COMMISSIONER BRIAN MAHER DROPS OUT OF NU REGENTS RACE

Nebraska Commissioner of Education Brian Maher ended his campaign for the District 1 seat on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents on Thursday. The announcement comes a little more than a month after Maher, a lifelong educator and alumnus of NU, entered the race for the District 1 seat on July 10.

Maher said he was ending his campaign for family and professional obligations. “After careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that now is not the right time for me to pursue an elected office,” Maher said in a statement. “As a result, I will not pursue a seat on the Board of Regents in the 2026 election.

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WEATHER SERVICE IS HIRING BACK HUNDREDS AFTER NEBRASKA U.S. REP. MIKE FLOOD HIGHLIGHTED NEED

LINCOLN – The National Weather Service announced this month that it would hire back 450 meteorologists, hydrologists, and radar technicians after making sweeping cuts earlier in the year. 

The announcement came as the agency tries to recoup losses from the Department of Government Efficiency’s effort to reshape the federal bureaucracy. While the Weather Service faced staffing issues long before President Donald Trump’s second term, recent cuts required “urgent action,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Nebraska U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., touted the news as “a message that they’re focused on strengthening the NWS for years to come.”

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‘ALL SYSTEMS GO’: MEDICINE NOW FLOWS IN NEBRASKA-IOWA PRESCRIPTION DRUG DONATION PROGRAM

LINCOLN — Donated medicine collected by Iowa’s SafeNetRx nonprofit is finally flowing back across its border with Nebraska in the nation’s first multi-state prescription drug donation program, years in the making.

SafeNetRx CEO Jon Rosmann confirmed the Nebraska-Iowa partnership has been operational since July 1. The initial two-year contract between the nonprofit and Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, at $475,000 per year, follows Nebraska laws passed in 2024 and 2025 that allow unexpired, pharmacist-inspected medicine to flow back to Nebraska patients. The program serves patients at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. For a family of four, that would be an annual household income up to $64,300.

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WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT NEBRASKA-ICE PLAN TO RETOOL MCCOOK WORK ETHIC CAMP

LINCOLN — State lawmakers are “learning on the go” about Nebraska’s plan to transform its McCook-based Work Ethic Camp from a rehabilitative center to a migrant detention facility over the next couple of months.

Among major still-unanswered questions: What will the immediate impacts be of shoehorning more inmates from the McCook center into other placements in an already overcrowded prison system?Confirmed information from Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Rob Jeffreys includes comments Tuesday to reporters that his department would continue to ensure safety and provide care to anyone housed in state facilities. The repurposed Work Ethic Camp would still be state-owned and operated — “because homeland security starts at home.” 

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CELL PHONES ARE NOW BANNED IN NEBRASKA SCHOOLS: MOST STUDENTS WON'T NOTICE A CHANGE

D.J. Weddle didn’t think twice about Nebraska's new law requiring school districts to restrict cell phone use during the school day. It doesn't affect the district he oversees because West Point Public Schools has had one in place for over 22 years. “I appreciate the Legislature realizing that this is an issue, but I think you would be hard pressed in today's age to find any school that doesn’t have some type of cell phone policy,” the superintendent said. 

Weddle, according to reporting done by a University of Nebraska-Lincoln data journalism class, is half right. For more than 90 percent of public school students in Nebraska, nothing will change come the start of school in August in spite of Gov. Jim Pillen signing LB 140 into law this May. Phones were already banned from class. 

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'ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL' IS A BIG PROBLEM FOR NEBRASKA'S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

I was born and raised in Omaha and got my start in health care when I was just 16, working as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Methodist Hospital.

Back then, I didn’t fully grasp how special Nebraska’s health care system was. Our state is built on people looking out for one another.  Whether it’s a big hospital in Omaha or a small clinic in a town of 200, we’ve always believed that everyone deserves good, reliable care — no matter where they live.

That belief is now under serious threat. The newly passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act has a name that sounds cheerful — yet its effects on Nebraska’s health care system are anything but. Over the next decade, this bill will cut about $6.5 billion in federal Medicaid funding to our state.

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PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP HELPS EXPAND INTERNET ACCESS INTO RURAL SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA

A partnership between service providers Diode and Diller Telephone Company and county governments in Jefferson and Gage Counties has helped dozens of people in rural Southeast Nebraska gain access to more reliable internet.

JEFFERSON COUNTY - A partnership between service providers and county governments has helped dozens of people in rural Southeast Nebraska gain access to more reliable internet, even as funding for future projects and technologies like this grows increasingly uncertain. 

Alongside elected officials from the local and state levels, this month Diode Communications and Diller Telephone Company, Southeast Nebraska-based internet service providers, celebrated the culmination of a project that has expanded access to fiber internet to nearly a hundred people in rural Jefferson County via a public-private partnership that was made possible through funding from the Nebraska Bridge Program. 

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AUTISM SERVICES EXPAND WEST OF OMAHA TO ADDRESS RESOURCE GAP AND MEDICAID CUTS

Nebraskans on Medicaid recently faced a rate cut for the autism services including applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy. On top of that, the state lacks access to the clinics that provide these services, especially areas outside of the state’s largest cities. The new rates decrease ABA services by as much as 48%.

One mother of a son with autism said the cut is devastating for families like hers. “As parents who are coming into this with a new autism diagnosis, there's not going to be services available. That's really scary,” Taisa Brumagen previously told Nebraska Public Media News. “We're just going to be left to figure it out on our own. I did that for six years before my son's diagnosis, and it's a very alone place to feel as a parent.”

That’s why one clinic is opening a location that can serve rural areas on the outskirts of Omaha as well as accept current Medicaid rates. Lacey Smithers, the clinical director at Accel Therapies, is leading the team in opening a new location in West Omaha on Wednesday.

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SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUELS CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS NEW USE FOR NEBRASKA'S CORN AND SOYBEANS

As Nebraska’s row crop production continues to grow, farmers are looking for new markets for their corn and soybeans. Jet fuel made from biomass could be the answer they are looking for.

At Friday’s Sustainable Aviation Fuels Conference in Ashland, political and business leaders alike said the state is well-positioned to become a major player in the burgeoning industry. Jacki Fee, a biofuels specialist with Cargill, explained why.

“Nebraska is uniquely advantaged, not only with the rail infrastructure, but also we have blending terminals, and we have pipelines, and we have just infrastructure in general that is going to be very supportive of having a new fuel market come into the state,” she said.

Jan tenBensel, who chairs the Nebraska Ethanol Board, said he’s working to market the state’s biofuels potential to the aviation industry.

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NEBRASKA'S EDUCATION FUTURE FUND ON TRACK TO DEPLETION WITHIN FIVE YEARS

LINCOLN — A fund marketed as a sustainable source of state aid to Nebraska’s K-12 schools is on track to be completely depleted within five years of its creation.

The Education Future Fund (EFF) was designed in 2023 to lower property taxes while supporting school districts by providing resources that weren’t covered under Nebraska’s existing school funding formula. It launched with an initial investment of $1 billion and a commitment from state lawmakers to add another $250 million each year thereafter to keep it stable.

At the time, Gov. Jim Pillen said he hoped to build the fund to approximately $2.5 billion by 2029-30, but the state is spending money faster than it can grow. After that first $1 billion investment, expenses out of the fund have far exceeded revenue transfers into it by more than $150 million each year.

The Education Future Fund is now baked into Nebraska’s current school funding formula. Among other things, EFF offers per-pupil funding primarily to non-equalized school districts and assumes a higher level of state funding for special education.

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NEBRASKA STATE TREASURER SHARES GOALS OF NEW SCHOOL FINANCING REVIEW COMMISSION

OMAHA — In July, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen announced appointments to the newly created School Financing Review Commission. State Treasurer Tom Briese is one of the commission's five at-large members and joined FirstNews to speak about the board's purpose and goals.

"The goal of the commission is to provide recommendations to the legislature to improve upon and modernize our school funding formula in Nebraska," said Briese.

The treasurer says the root of Nebraska's property tax crisis is the state's failure to properly fund K-12 education.

"For far too long, the state has dumped off the burden of K-12 funding to the property taxpayers," said Briese. "I think the goal of this commission should be to think big; let's solve this problem."

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