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How voter ID in Nebraska will work: What voters need to know
LINCOLN — Nebraska voters passed a state constitutional amendment in 2022 requiring voters to verify their identities with a photo ID. This June, the Nebraska Legislature decided how the Secretary of State’s Office and 93 county election officials would implement that amendment, starting with the state’s 2024 primary election. The public education piece of that […]
Some Ricketts-Lankford language on passport customer service added to defense bill
OMAHA – Nebraskans who have waited longer this year for passports to travel abroad might soon have some relief. At minimum, they could get some answers online. Two bits of customer service language from new passport legislation by U.S. Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and James Lankford, R-Okla., got folded into a defense authorization bill the […]
Pillen touts school funding during petition fight over tax credit for private K-12 scholarships
LINCOLN — Officially, Gov. Jim Pillen said he held a news conference Wednesday to celebrate the state’s first investments toward a pledged $1 billion Education Future Fund. Unofficially, Pillen highlighted these new investments in public education during a battle over a petition effort to stop Nebraska’s new tax credit that was established for those funding […]
Critics question taxpayers’ footing the bill for Nebraska State Patrol border missions
LINCOLN — A second Nebraska governor who campaigned as a fiscal conservative has spent six figures in state tax dollars helping Texas patrol the Southern U.S. border and opting not to request reimbursement. The state’s tab has already pushed north of $600,000 for three Texas-requested deployments of Nebraska State Patrol troopers, one by Gov. Jim […]
Accusations fly in petition fight over tax credit for private school scholarships
OMAHA — Heated allegations were lodged Thursday by advocates for and against a petition drive seeking to overturn Nebraska’s new tax credit for donations funding private school scholarships. Public school advocates are crisscrossing the state seeking signatures for a petition that would let voters decide the fate of the K-12 scholarship law. They are often […]
Petition drive kicks off to put paid sick leave on Nebraska ballot
OMAHA — The 250,000 Nebraskans working full-time without paid sick days might soon have other choices than ignoring illness or sending sick kids to school to avoid missing a day’s pay. Local workers and advocates kicked off efforts Tuesday to gather signatures statewide for a ballot initiative that would require employers to provide a minimum […]
Sen. Pete Ricketts encouraging other states to copy Nebraska SNAP changes
OMAHA — U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., hosted two roundtables Monday highlighting legislation he is proposing that would offer other states a chance to mimic a Nebraska program offering skilled job training to people on food stamps. Ricketts pitched the value of Nebraska’s “SNAP Next Step” program at a gathering at Heartland Workforce Solutions, a […]
Fundraising ramps up for Nebraska’s 2024 U.S. Senate, House races
OMAHA — The next general election is more than a year away, but all five of Nebraska’s congressional incumbents and at least one challenger are raising campaign cash like it’s 2024. Combined they raised more than $2.5 million in the second quarter. Money could matter more in 2024 because the price of advertising could be […]
Nebraska state tax receipts hit the mark projected by forecasting board
LINCOLN — State tax receipts finished the fiscal year in the black, barely beating the projections of a state advisory board and sending an extra $3 million to Nebraska’s rainy day fund. General fund receipts for the 2022-23 fiscal year came in at $6.37 billion, within 0.05% of what the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board […]
Democrat Paul Theobald decides not to challenge Sen. Pete Ricketts; Republican Herbster still mulling his options
OMAHA — A Nebraska Democrat who considered a 2024 bid for the seat held by appointed U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., announced Friday that he has decided not to run. Paul Theobald, a former dean of education and counseling at Wayne State College, filed paperwork in June signaling an intent to raise money for a […]
Nebraska Rep. Mike Flood’s first year in Congress: national security, federal spending
BELLEVUE — During the final days of his first year in Congress, U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., landed in the middle of a global fight over an island government’s independent existence. The former state senator from Norfolk said he expected to face complex new issues when he left Lincoln. The scope of the federal government […]
Major GOP donor Tom Peed hosts House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Lincoln at dinner
LINCOLN — U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made a trip this week to Nebraska for steak, not Bacon or a Flood. McCarthy dined Monday with Nebraska conservative donor Tom Peed, who owns Sandhills Global, at the Casa Bovina steakhouse, which Peed’s son Shane owns in northeast Lincoln. A handful of protesters showed up. Though McCarthy’s […]