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Betsy DeVos, two others spent big on Nebraska legislative races
LINCOLN — Much of the $710,000 that a national school choice group sent to Nebraska to spend on legislative races in 2022 came from the family of former President Donald Trump’s Education secretary and the owner of the National Football League’s Cleveland Browns. Former Secretary Betsy DeVos, together with her husband, Richard, and Browns owner […]
McDonnell in crosshairs of fellow Dems on abortion, trans debates
OMAHA — The Douglas County Democratic Party this week soundly rejected the leadership bid by a Democratic state senator who could cast the decisive vote to effectively ban elective abortions in Nebraska. The county party’s steering group voted 17-3 Wednesday against a push by State Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha to join the central committee […]
Bonding bill would finish Nebraska expressways faster, supporters say
LINCOLN — A highway funding bill with Gov. Jim Pillen’s backing could help Nebraska finish a four-lane expressway system that the state has spent four decades building. But the proposal to borrow money by issuing bonds to fund highway and major road construction would end Nebraska’s decades-old, pay-as-you-go approach to major road construction. Legislative Bill […]
Bill would create two state teams to help fight Nebraska wildfires, but at whose cost?
LINCOLN — A legislative bill would create two state wildfire response teams to help the hundreds of local volunteer and paid firefighters who fight Nebraska’s rising number of grassland, ag land and forest fires. But the bill’s hearing Thursday was dogged by questions over whether the state should hire its own wildfire response teams or […]
Nebraska bill would ban access to USF funds for cell providers with Huawei equipment
LINCOLN — A Nebraska state senator is proposing a novel way to shoot down potential surveillance by the Chinese state. His legislative bill would use the power of the purse to encourage cell phone service providers to ditch equipment from Chinese communications firms. Legislative Bill 63, proposed by State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, would […]
Civic Nebraska says state’s 2022 general election was ‘safe’ and ‘secure’
OMAHA — A voting rights group that monitors Nebraska’s elections identified a handful of issues during the state’s 2022 general election but deemed the election “safe and secure.” The report from Civic Nebraska cited the observations of 43 volunteers who observed 140 polling sites last year. The group operated an election problems hotline and contacted […]
Frustrated parents seek middle step in treatment of Nebraska youths in juvenile justice
OMAHA — Nebraska’s juvenile court judges would have a new option for struggling teenagers who need mental health treatment, short of sending them to a detention facility, under a pilot proposal being considered by the Legislature. And parents of wayward teens would have an advocate to help them navigate the state’s juvenile justice system, under […]
Marijuana bill palooza in the Unicameral leads with medical push
LINCOLN — Nebraskans who want to legalize medical marijuana testified Thursday for the latest bill by State Sen. Anna Wishart pressing the Legislature to act. Wishart, advocating for Legislative Bill 588, acknowledged the growing public impatience with a process that has stalled previous medical marijuana bills in the Legislature under pressure from former Gov. Pete […]
Noerrlinger named special prosecutor in alleged Nebraska GOP break-in
LINCOLN — A former Otoe and Jefferson County prosecutor, who is now a criminal defense attorney based in Lincoln, has been appointed as a special prosecutor to review a police investigation into last summer’s alleged break-in at the Nebraska Republican Party. Lancaster County District Court Judge Andrew Jacobsen appointed Tim Noerrlinger to the role after […]
Year-round daylight saving time has a chance this year in Nebraska
LINCOLN — After years of trying, the Nebraska Legislature appears poised to pass a first step toward ending the twice-a-year tyranny of changing the clock. State Sen. Tom Briese of Albion again proposed keeping Nebraska on daylight saving time, if Congress and a third neighboring state join Nebraska in passing such a law. Legislative Bill […]
Herbster says he’s thinking about 2024 Senate race, other political options
OMAHA — Multi-state agribusinessman Charles Herbster might want another go at politics after losing the 2022 Republican primary for Nebraska governor to eventual Gov. Jim Pillen. Herbster, in a statement, confirmed that he is considering a 2024 Senate bid against appointed U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb. “I have had a lot of people both within […]
Bacon, already attacked by Trump, now under fire from Lincoln Project
OMAHA — During Nebraska’s raucous 2022 GOP primary election, former President Donald Trump sought a Republican challenger to U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who represents Nebraska’s most evenly divided congressional district. Now Bacon is being targeted by the Lincoln Project, an outside group that attacked Trump and his allies during the 2020 election cycle. The […]