FORMER STATE SEN. LYNNE WALZ DETAILS STATEWIDE LISTENING TOUR FOR LIKELY 2026 GOVERNOR BID

LINCOLN — Former State Sen. Lynne Walz announced a statewide listening tour as she mulls a Democratic bid for governor in 2026.  The 10 town halls will happen over four days next week, starting Dec. 10 with one in Scottsbluff, and the goal for the former state lawmaker is to hear what people want leaders to focus on.

“I’m hitting the road to get out into communities … so I can hear directly from Nebraskans about the issues they’re struggling with and talk about how we can move forward together,” Walz said in a statement. Last week, she launched an exploratory committee, saying the state’s political system and economy are “broken.” If Walz runs, as expected, she would face the winner of the Republican gubernatorial primary. 

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NEBRASKA SUPREME COURT HEARS APPEAL IN MEDICAL CANNABIS, ELECTION NOTARY CASE

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court appeared skeptical Wednesday about a case alleging fraud in and seeking invalidation of last year’s medical cannabis petition campaign, which voters widely supported. Former State Sen. John Kuehn of Heartwell, a longtime opponent of medical marijuana, continues to allege widespread “fraud” in the 2024 medical cannabis petitions. 

His lawsuit argues a district judge incorrectly ruled last November that the measures had enough signatures to reach the ballot despite allegations from Kuehn and two top state officials, largely based on questions about notaries. Kuehn sued Secretary of State Bob Evnen and the ballot sponsors, but Evnen and Attorney General Mike Hilgers largely joined forces with Kuehn. Together, they argued that at least enough signatures would lose a “presumption of validity” to force the trial into a second phase involving greater scrutiny of signatures.

“Notaries are, in effect, walking stamps of approval,” Zach Pohlman, state deputy solicitor general, said Wednesday. “They are professional truth tellers. And so when they lie, that presumption of truth … gets pierced, and they become just like every other witness.

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NEBRASKA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CUTS 22 FROM FULL-TIME STAFF IN 2 MONTHS

LINCOLN — After state officials initially denied rumors of downsizing, Nebraska’s Department of Economic Development now acknowledges that it has paid roughly 22 fewer full-time employees over the past two months. Similar workforce reductions have also impacted various other state agencies, prompting new concerns from some frontline workers that Gov. Jim Pillen and his administration are focusing on staff cuts to balance Nebraska’s budget.

The Governor’s Office initially claimed, in response to a reporter’s questions, that DED had seen “0 layoffs/reductions in force” through September and October, when the Examiner first asked in early November. The state changed its tune after payroll records obtained by the Examiner from the Department of Administrative Services in recent weeks indicated 112 full-time employees on DED’s payroll in September, then 101 in October and 93 in November. Justin Pinkerman, a spokesperson for the Department of Economic Development clarified this week that DED was down to just over 90 filled full-time positions by the end of November.

Governor’s Office spokeswoman Laura Strimple amended her statement to say all of the reductions in full-time staff from September to November had been voluntary. And the department, via Pinkerman, now says the downsizing is part of a winding down of pandemic-era programs.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS AIR FRUSTRATIONS WITH UP TO $360M AT RISK IN FEDERAL BROADBAND FUNDS

LINCOLN — Changes to Nebraska’s federally funded broadband expansion plans that Gov. Jim Pillen celebrated as a victory faced questions and criticism from state lawmakers and others concerned it will hinder internet quality.

The Nebraska Legislature’s Transportation and Telecommunications Committee heard an update Thursday from the Nebraska Broadband Office on the status of broadband expansion in Nebraska.

The update came a day after Pillen announced that just $44.5 million of the $405 million Nebraska was awarded through the federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program would be used to connect unserved Nebraskans. Pillen said an additional $21 million in pledged private investments would support reaching the remaining 2% of Nebraska households and other properties still waiting to gain access to a broadband connection.

The Pillen administration plan has received initial approval for its approach, but approval of the actual spending requires an additional step of federal approval, a Pillen spokeswoman said Wednesday night. “This is a tremendous victory for Nebraska,” Pillen said in a statement. “Reliable broadband is essential for daily life, from schoolwork and healthcare to running a business or managing a farm. With this approval, rural Nebraskans who have been left waiting will finally have access to the same online opportunities and services as everyone else.”

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STATE ED BOARD MEMBER SAYS OVERPAID DISTRICTS ‘STOLE’ MONEY AFTER OVERPAYMENT MISTAKES

LINCOLN - The Nebraska Board of Education had a lively debate Friday morning about a school aid miscalculation error that came to light last month, with one commissioner accusing the districts that benefited from the overpayments of essentially stealing the money.

On. Nov. 17, Omaha Public Schools posted a message on its website saying it had received a $30.5 million overpayment. In the weeks since, the Grand Island Public School district said it received a $3 million overpayment, and Southern School District in Wymore received about $482,000 in overpayments. The school districts will now receive less funding in the future to make up for the extra funding.

In the board meeting Friday, Education Commissioner Brian Maher said many Nebraska schools have been impacted by the miscalculations in aid provided under Nebraska’s Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act, or TEEOSA.

“Many other school districts will end up with more funding due to the reallocation of funds,” Maher said. “But the exact impacts people would like to know – how much money goes here or how much money goes there, due to this error – are not known, since the recalculation of TEEOSA also includes many other factors that are also updated.”

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LIPPINCOTT: IS IT TIME TO DUMP THE FILIBUSTER IN NEBRASKA UNICAMERAL AND U.S. SENATE?

The filibuster became part of the Nebraska Legislature’s procedures in 1937, when the one-house Unicameral first convened.

Nebraska’s filibuster operates through unlimited debate, which can be ended only by a cloture motion requiring a two-thirds majority (currently 33 of 49 senators) to cease debate and force a vote. This supermajority requirement for cloture — which allows minority obstruction — stems from the Unicameral’s design, which aims to promote thorough discussion and protect minority views in a nonpartisan system.

The formal cloture rule, which allows a vote to end debate after time limits have expired, has existed since the rules were adopted in 1937. Refinements, like automatic cloture votes after eight hours on the general file, were added in 1990 and clarified in 1994. 

Prior to 1937, Nebraska’s bicameral Legislature lacked a comparable supermajority cloture mechanism, relying more on majority rules. The filibuster’s prominence has grown over time and become a key tool for compromise in the nonpartisan Unicameral, akin to the U.S. Senate but unique among states.

Nebraska closely mimics U.S. Senate rules, so perhaps we should examine the kerfuffle happening in D.C. Unfortunately, our Unicameral is following the same obstructionist path.

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SENATOR JANA HUGHES WEEKLY COLUMN

Student outcomes are a crucial component of any educational policy discussion. Tracking student progress, primarily through standardized testing, has often been used to predict student educational outcomes. Nebraska has used a standardized system of state-wide testing of students for many years. Most recently, the Nebraska Department of Education implemented the Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS).

NSCAS assesses student performance in English language arts (reading comprehension and writing), mathematics, and science in grades 3, 5, 8, and high school. To assess students during their junior year in high school, NSCAS utilizes the American College Testing (ACT) exam. Each state has its own specific state-wide assessment tests; students in all 50 states take the ACT each year. So, how do Nebraska students' ACT scores compare to those of students in other states?

Most people are unaware that Nebraska is one of the 13 states that requires all high school juniors to take the ACT as a statewide assessment test. Why is this significant? As a parent, as a school board member, and now as a state senator, I have often heard that Nebraska’s ACT scores are frequently below the national average. This is true. Nebraska’s average ACT score at the end of the 2024-2025 school year was 19.2, and the national average for the same time period was 19.4.

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WRONG MODEL FOR NEBRASKA - FORMER STATE SEN. TIM GRAGERT

NORFOLK - As a veteran and former state senator, I don’t disagree with the need to regulate pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) or the goal of reducing prescription drug costs for consumers — especially for veterans. But Arkansas’s new law, Act 624, is the wrong way to go about it. Nebraska legislators shouldn’t follow their lead for the upcoming session.

The Arkansas law bans PBMs from owning or operating pharmacies in the state. On the surface, that might sound like a good idea — curbing corporate power and helping local pharmacies. In reality, it goes too far. If implemented, the law would eliminate vital services, increase drug prices, and make it harder — especially for rural residents and veterans — to get the medications they need. It’s a classic case of “be careful what you wish for.”

PBMs manage drug benefits, negotiate prices, and offer services such as home delivery. Millions of Americans — including tens of thousands of veterans — depend on them. By prohibiting PBMs from owning pharmacies, Arkansas is effectively forcing large, integrated providers out of the state. More than 100 pharmacy locations in Arkansas are at risk of closure, leaving numerous patients scrambling to find alternative options.

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FROM THE LEGISLATIVE DESK OF SEN. MIKE JACOBSON

Last Friday, the City of Lexington received the devastating news that Tyson Foods, the largest employer in the area, will close its plant on January 20, 2026. When a town of just over 10,000 people loses over 3,200 jobs, it is a significant development.

This, of course, is not the first time Lexington has experienced an impact like this. When the New Holland combine plant decided to close its doors at the same location, it required a lot of hard work. However, with the help of state incentives, local leaders successfully recruited IBP to buy and convert the plant into a beef packing facility. Along with the new plant came odor problems and the need to hire workers who were willing to work hard in difficult conditions. This was a difficult challenge for a community the size of Lexington (at the time) to deal with. Not only was housing a challenge, but the school system was ill-equipped to deal with the language and cultural barriers presented by new families moving to the community. Many long-time residents moved out of town, and some residents resisted the new employer.

Lexington demonstrated considerable resilience following the New Holland closure. I have always been impressed by the commitment of local leaders to face the new challenge head-on and convert problems into opportunities. Today, the Lexington Public School system is one of the top-performing school systems in the state. The town's growth has been phenomenal. Lexington was firing on all cylinders until the Tyson announcement.

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STATE'S PROPOSAL TO LET SOME INMATES OUT EARLY STIRS BIPARTISAN PUSHBACK — AND MEMORIES OF PAST SCANDAL

A decade ago, Nebraska’s corrections department allowed hundreds of inmates to leave prison early through a program that few — including judges, lawmakers and the public — knew existed. Corrections leaders eventually scrapped the early-release scheme shortly after probing lawmakers revealed it.

Now, as the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services continues to grapple with overcrowding and converts one prison into an immigration detention center, it is trying to create a similar program. It’s already prompting pushback, including from lawmakers in both political parties.

“What you’re saying is, ‘OK, we don’t really think the judges knew what they were doing, or this Legislature (knew what they were doing) when they said what factors to consider. We just think, internally, NDCS can make those ultimate determinations.’ And I, respectfully, disagree with that,” said state Sen. Carolyn Bosn, a former prosecutor who chairs the Judiciary Committee.

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UNDER NEBRASKA GOV. JIM PILLEN, STATE GOVERNMENT AND SPENDING KEEP GROWING

LINCOLN - In the first three years of his first term, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen has made tax cuts — and particularly property tax relief — his administration’s top priority.

At the Republican governor’s direction, lawmakers have poured $1.38 billion into funds that provide direct property tax cuts to Nebraskans, and another $319 million into an education fund created in 2023 to reduce the reliance on local taxpayers to fund the state’s K-12 schools.

Pillen has tried and failed to convince lawmakers to raise sales tax revenue to help pay for the property tax cuts while pledging to slash the state’s “bloated government” that he has promised to run “like a business.” “We’ve got to run government with less money,” Pillen said in January. “We have to cut the size of government.” 

However, under Pillen, Nebraska’s government and its budget have only grown, according to state fiscal documents and other public records. The state employs at least 1,100 more employees than it did at the end of former Gov. Pete Ricketts’ term — despite an executive order Pillen signed in 2024 that was said to eliminate nearly 1,000 state jobs and promised future cuts to vacant positions on a rolling basis.

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MARK COHEN RUNS NONPARTISAN BID FOR U.S. HOUSE IN NEBRASKA’S 3RD DISTRICT

LINCOLN — Mark Cohen, a former Air Force attorney and karate instructor, is running a nonpartisan bid in Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District against U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith in the 2026 midterms.

The state’s rural, sprawling 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 and voting history. 

Cohen’s bid comes after launching an exploratory committee in August. Smith already faces a Republican primary challenger in former U.S. Border Patrol agent David Huebner. Democrat Becky Stille, an agricultural lab tech, is running for the Democratic nomination.  

Cohen, from Lemoyne near Lake McConaughy, said in a statement,  “Nebraskans are fed up with a two-party system that forces us to choose between extremists.” 

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NEW DETAILS EMERGE IN STRIP CLUB, NEBRASKA LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION PROBE

Lincoln - A superseding indictment was unsealed Monday, adding charges against Dan Thomas and Shane Zywiec related to a public corruption investigation involving strip clubs in Lincoln and the longtime director of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. It replaces the original indictment, adding five pages of detailed allegations.

Dan Thomas, owner of The Night Before Lounge, faces two counts: honest services fraud, or an attempt to unlawfully influence official acts, and conspiracy to commit it. Thomas was picked up by the FBI and booked at a jail in Maricopa County, Arizona, at 10 p.m. Thursday, according to jail records

Shane Zywiec stands accused of aiding and abetting a Hobbs Act extortion. He also is believed to have been arrested, prior to the unsealing. Neither has made their first court appearances yet. 
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STATE HUNTS WAY FORWARD AFTER NEBRASKA GOT ‘BUTTS KICKED’ BY TYSON PLANT CLOSURE

LINCOLN — Nebraska “got our butts kicked” by the Tyson Foods decision to close a Lexington beef plant employing about 3,200 people, Gov. Jim Pillen said Monday. But he sees a possible Hail Mary pass to resurrect the industrial property. Pillen, in an interview with the Nebraska Examiner on the agribusiness closure, said he learned officially of Tyson’s decision Friday at noon, just a few hours before the Arkansas-based multinational corporation made the news public.

He said his team had been seeking a meeting with company officials amid the struggles faced by the cattle industry, including cutters and other meat processors facing lower cattle supplies and higher retail prices for beef. 

The governor said he was told a key contributor to Tyson’s decision involved the age and inefficiencies of the Lexington factory, which was built decades ago to manufacture combines and other farm machinery. 

The “good news,” Pillen said, is that Tyson officials are exploring other options for the Lexington property, including repurposing it into a specialty, “value-added” agricultural operation akin to Tyson’s Omaha plant that produces millions of pounds of raw and cooked bacon.

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FORMER STATE SEN. LYNNE WALZ STEPS TOWARD RUN FOR NEBRASKA GOVERNOR

FREMONT, Neb. — Former State Sen. Lynne Walz on Monday launched an exploratory committee to run for Nebraska governor in 2026, seeking to uplift Nebraskans’ concerns instead of their partisanship.

Walz, in an announcement interview with the Nebraska Examiner, said the state’s political system and economy are “broken.” She said she wants to hear from Nebraskans about their lives and work to find solutions together before formally launching a formal gubernatorial bid. Such arrangements let potential candidates raise money and gauge public support.

“This campaign is going to be a campaign for the people, and it’s my job, as far as I’m concerned, to go out and really listen to the people,” Walz said.

Walz said politicians, no matter their political stripes, are “no longer interested in fighting for the average person,” so she said it’s important to elect “average people” who know the real world. She’s a former fourth and fifth-grade teacher, local church leader, and mother of three who has worked various jobs to make ends meet, from sorting seed corn to working in a local deli.

Walz plans to travel the state in early December and hold listening sessions with taxpayers. She said she would incorporate those ideas into her campaign for governor, a decision she expects to finalize in early 2026. Non-incumbents must file by March 2.

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LARGE MEATPACKER TYSON FOODS TO CLOSE LEXINGTON PLANT IN WESTERN NEBRASKA

Tyson Foods announced Friday that it plans to close its Lexington plant as part of "network changes designed to right size its beef business and position it for long-term success."

In a press release, the company said it will end operations at its Lexington beef facility and convert its Amarillo, Texas, beef facility to a single, full-capacity shift. "To meet customer demand, production will be increased at other company beef facilities, optimizing volumes across our network," the release says.

The release continues, "Tyson Foods recognizes the impact these decisions have on team members and the communities where we operate. The company is committed to supporting our team members through this transition, including helping them apply for open positions at other facilities and providing relocation benefits.

TWO MORE INDICTED IN NEBRASKA LIQUOR COMMISSION, STRIP CLUB SCANDAL

Two more people now face federal indictments in connection to a public corruption investigation that came to light in September with the arrests of the former director of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission and a man with ties to two Lincoln strip clubs. In court records, the newly charged suspects were identified only as Sealed Defendant #3 and Sealed Defendant #4 as of Friday morning.

But one is believed to be Daniel Thomas, owner of The Night Before Lounge, who was picked up by the FBI and booked at a jail in Maricopa County, Arizona, at 10 p.m. Thursday, according to jail records. The other isn't yet known, nor are the charges until they're unsealed, a move that hadn't happened as of late afternoon Friday.

But what is known is that it's connected to the same investigation that led to the September arrests of Hobert "Hobie" Rupe and Brent Zywiec, who pleaded not guilty at their first court appearance Sept. 25. 

The new defendants are charged in the same case where Rupe, the former Liquor Control Commission director, is accused of using his government position to work against rival clubs in exchange for money, free private dances and sexual acts at two Lincoln strip clubs and looking the other way to law violations. 

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NEW $140M UNION OMAHA SOCCER STADIUM, MIXED-USE VILLAGE COULD HINGE ON PAUSED STATE SPORTS INCENTIVE

OMAHA — Union Omaha soccer and the City of Omaha are planning to build a 6,500-seat sports stadium to anchor a new 20-acre mixed-use entertainment and housing district in downtown Omaha, Nebraska’s biggest city.

The campus — proposed to rise on a largely unused area north of Cuming Street, near where the College World Series is played — comes after an earlier downtown site fell through for the state’s first and only professional soccer club.  

As planned, the City of Omaha would own the estimated $140 million open-air stadium on the tract of land east of the Millwork Commons area, and is in the process of buying the land from Union Pacific Railroad.

Financial and other details are contingent on various city and state approvals. The first step is securing the property, said Deputy City Attorney Jennifer Taylor. A land purchase agreement is on the City Council agenda for Tuesday. But the progress of the project also could hinge on the city and soccer club’s ability to access a bottlenecked state incentive for sports complexes that requires approval from Gov. Jim Pillen.

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NEBRASKA GOV. JIM PILLEN SAYS $30M OVERPAYMENT TO OPS SHOWS FAILURE OF STATE AID FORMULA

OMAHA - Gov. Jim Pillen says the Nebraska Department of Education's $30.5 million overpayment to the Omaha Public Schools for the 2025-26 school year shows the current state aid formula is a "failure." 

OPS officials announced Monday that they had been notified by the Nebraska Department of Education that an error causing the district's poverty allowance to be overstated resulted in the overpayment of state aid under the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act.

Pillen issued a statement Thursday stating the error is "another example of how the TEEOSA formula continues to fail Nebraskans."

"Time and time again, I have said that we must do away with this complex formula that nobody understands and have the state fund schools while providing property tax relief," Pillen said. His statement noted the Department of Education is governed by an elected board rather than directly accountable to the governor. 

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WHAT HAPPENS TO NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE IF OMAHA LAWMAKER JOHN CAVANAUGH GOES TO CONGRESS?

OMAHA - State Sen. John Cavanaugh, who is seeking the Democratic nomination in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, said he would not resign from the Legislature unless he is elected to Congress in November of 2026. 

Then, the governor would be able to pick Cavanaugh's successor in the Legislature to serve the final two years of his term. Since 1999, the state's governor has been a Republican. Cavanaugh and the chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party are confident that the party can absorb the potential blow of losing a seat in the Legislature in 2027 and 2028 legislative session.

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