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Pillen tosses new liquor regulations after indictment of former director
LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen on Friday rejected proposed regulatory changes he said had been pushed by a former director of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission who faces federal charges alleging public corruption involving two Lincoln strip clubs. Pillen, in posts Friday morning on social media sites Facebook and X, said he would not allow […]
Ex-Liquor Commission director, strip club co-owner each plead not guilty
LINCOLN — The former director of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission and a co-owner of two Lincoln strip clubs both pleaded not guilty this week in a public corruption case alleging the director took money, lap dances and sexual favors at the clubs while working for the state board overseeing liquor licenses. Former Liquor Commission […]
Ex-Nebraska Liquor Commission director charged with taking cash, sexual favors in strip club probe
LINCOLN — The former executive director of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission faces seven felony charges, including some that allege he deprived Nebraskans of his honest work as a public official by letting two Lincoln strip clubs give him cash, lap dances, sexual favors and free drinks. He visited often enough that employees tallied the […]
Bird flu seen in central Nebraska dairy cattle
LINCOLN — Bovine bird flu is now a thing in Nebraska, according to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. The Nebraska and U.S. Departments of Agriculture in recent days identified a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a dairy cattle herd in central Nebraska. The Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, working with the National Veterinary […]
Six-decade Omaha election worker celebrated
OMAHA — Poll worker George Reed has staffed Nebraska’s elections so long that he was manning the polls in 1964 when a Democrat last won all of the state’s Electoral College votes. That 1964 victory by Lyndon Johnson was Reed’s second presidential election as a Douglas County poll worker, a 65-year record state and local […]
Nebraska Guard members helping ICE volunteered, will be sent across state
Editor’s note: The Nebraska Governor’s Office on Tuesday specified where the Nebraska National Guard members will be serving. The story has been updated. OMAHA — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen says the Nebraska National Guard’s new role in assisting federal immigration authorities will be administrative and not law enforcement. His office followed up Tuesday to say […]
Pillen, Kleine highlight LB 530 changes, defend detaining teens as young as 11
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 […]
County treasurers must correct mistaken payments made to schools, Nebraska Supreme Court rules
OMAHA — County treasurers must correctly calculate and distribute the payments made by public utilities in lieu of paying property taxes. They also must correct any mistakes they make, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled on Friday. Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr., who was the treasurer at the time in Douglas County, overpaid the Omaha Public […]
Nebraska DHHS made Medicaid payments for 13 dead people in March
LINCOLN — The Nebraska State Auditor’s Office saw dead people in Nebraska’s Medicaid payments to managed care organizations as part of an audit, so it dug deeper and found 13. The Auditor’s Office reviewed all regular monthly payments made in March to managed care groups by Nebraska’s Medicaid program under the Nebraska Department of Health […]
Nebraska’s Bacon says Trump must view Putin clearly at summit, avoid becoming ‘Chamberlain 2’
OMAHA — President Donald Trump will have a moment in Friday’s Alaska summit to show the world he sees Russian President Vladimir Putin for who he is and not how Trump might want him to be, Nebraska Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon says. Putin is the expansionist leader of an American adversary who wants to […]
Storm displaces 387 inmates as Nebraska prison loses roof from two housing units
LINCOLN — Straight-line winds of 80-90 mph tore the roof off of parts of two housing units Saturday at the aging Nebraska State Penitentiary, displacing 387 inmates, the state announced. Damage estimates and first steps toward temporary repairs were still taking place Monday, though more information was expected from the Department of Correctional Services. Video […]
Nebraska farmers, ranchers talk to Trump ag secretary about tough times
ITHACA, Nebraska — President Donald Trump’s ag secretary visited Nebraska after a Saturday storm and faced questions from farmers about some dark skies facing agriculture, including a few clouds some said the administration stirred. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins heard about tariffs and trade in a closed-press roundtable at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Eastern Nebraska Research, […]