Government & Politics
Voices raised, digs exchanged as debate begins on bill restricting trans health care for minors
Editor’s note: This report has been updated with discussion of a proposed compromise. LINCOLN — Voices rose and personal digs were exchanged Tuesday as the Nebraska Legislature opened debate on the controversial issue of banning minors from obtaining some gender-affirming procedures. And there was an offer of a compromise, but bill sponsors are unsure if […]
Nebraska Gov. Pillen urges awareness, advocacy for those with developmental disabilities
LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen joined the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and people with developmental disabilities on Tuesday to proclaim March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Pillen said it’s “really, really important” to keep alive the designation that President Ronald Reagan began in 1987, in order to help with advocacy and support for […]
Nebraska Girl Scouts seek Gov. Pillen’s support in designating official state tartan
LINCOLN — Four Girl Scouts in Senior Honor Troop 42146 are getting involved in Nebraska politics with one request: for Gov. Jim Pillen to designate an official state tartan. A tartan is a woolen cloth woven in a plaid pattern. Tartans are culturally important for Scottish and Irish families but are also worn worldwide. Originally in […]
Fortenberry attorneys accuse trial judge of mistakenly allowing prosecution
LINCOLN — Attorneys for former U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry repeated arguments Monday that he was improperly tried in California for making false statements to federal agents and that his statements shouldn’t have prompted criminal charges. Defense attorneys said that the trial judge, U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld, mistakenly allowed the trial to proceed in a […]
Dueling GOP bills to implement voter ID could hit rural areas hardest
LINCOLN — Legislative proposals to carry out Nebraska’s new constitutional requirement that voters show photo ID would make voting tougher on the 20% of voters who return ballots by mail or county election drop boxes. One of the voter ID bills with the best chance to pass this year would require early ballots returned by […]
‘Interoperability’ still an issue for volunteer firefighters across Nebraska
LINCOLN — When a wind-blown wildfire broke out in rural Lancaster County in October, dozens of volunteer firefighters from the region rushed to the scene. Flames raced across farm fields, consuming outbuildings and rural homes in its path, and blackening a state wildlife area. But there was a problem: Several of the volunteer fire departments […]
Pence, in Iowa, characterizes potential Trump prosecution as ‘politically motivated’
Former Vice President Mike Pence, in Des Moines on Saturday, said “no one is above the law,” but he also characterized a potential indictment against former President Donald Trump as “politically motivated” and “troubling.” “Well, here we go again. Another politically charged prosecution of the former president of the United States,” Pence said. Pence spoke […]
Unused gallery on fifth floor of Nebraska Capitol eyed as a visitors center and museum
LINCOLN — High inside the Rotunda of the Nebraska State Capitol is an unused gallery where you can get a bird’s eye view of the beautiful artwork in the dome and mural-lined hallways of the building. Current and former state senators joined Thursday in touting a $3.9 million project to turn the currently vacant, fifth-floor […]
Defamation lawsuit against Boebert heading to a Colorado courtroom, Muckrakers president says
A North Carolina political activist is preparing to file a lawsuit against U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Silt in federal court in Colorado, the activist told Colorado Newsline. David Wheeler, president of the American Muckrakers PAC, sued Boebert in a North Carolina state court last year for defamation and malicious prosecution. In January, the judge […]
Nebraska lawmakers file ‘minority statement’ ahead of debate on trans health care bill
LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers on Friday filed a minority statement — a never-before-used tactic — to oppose legislation that would restrict what gender-affirming care minors could receive in the state. State Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh and Jen Day, both of Omaha, issued the statement ahead of debate on Legislative Bill 574 on Tuesday. Dubbed the “Let Them Grow Act,” […]
South Omaha merchants get another shot at unclaimed ‘turnback tax’ grants
OMAHA — Entrepreneurs in South Omaha are getting another shot at applying for about $36,000 in grant money left in limbo after nobody asked for those state “turnback tax” funds last year. Applicants have until early afternoon on April 6 to submit paperwork. Recipients are to be notified later that month. Speculating on why the […]
Regulators end week like they started — tamping down fears, rescuing a bank
Financial regulators, policymakers, and bank executives spent the week trying to abate fears that a banking crisis will spread across the U.S. financial system. On Friday, President Joe Biden released a statement calling on Congress to take action to make it easier for regulators to hold senior bank executives accountable for their mismanagement. “It should […]