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    PAPILLION, Nebraska — Last summer, Republicans seeking fealty to former President Donald Trump took over leadership of their state party from a team loyal to then-Gov. Pete Ricketts.   The new leadership crew combined Republicans upset with Ricketts after a contentious primary election for governor and some who disliked his direction of the state party. A […]

    The post County GOP fight is latest front in Nebraska GOP war between populists, traditionalists appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

      A federal judge in Tallahassee, Florida, has blocked a state ban on administration of gender-affirming therapies, including puberty blockers, hormone therapies or surgery for any patient under the age of 18. The order also addresses legislation recently signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (SB 254) that codifies Florida state Board of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine rules […]

      The post U.S. judge blocks Florida’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

        LINCOLN — Rodney Bennett, the priority candidate for chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is no stranger to controversy related to diversity, equity and inclusion. On Oct. 28, 2015, the former president of the University of Southern Mississippi ordered the state flag to be taken down on USM campuses. At the time, the flag contained the […]

        The post UNL chancellor candidate addresses diversity, equity, inclusion at Tuesday forum appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

          WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee on Tuesday passed several bills that are a rebuke of not only the Biden administration’s policies on immigration, child nutrition and health care, but also regulations from the Obama era. The committee passed a resolution that condemns the use of public schools to shelter undocumented people, […]

          The post U.S. House committee approves bills on whole milk, condemns sheltering migrants in schools  appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

            LINCOLN — To chants of “sign the petition,” a coalition of public education supporters launched an effort Tuesday to place a referendum before voters on a newly passed school choice law. The group, called “Support Our Schools Nebraska,” is seeking to gather at least 90,000 signatures of registered voters in the next 90 days to […]

            The post Public schools supporters launch drive to put school choice bill on ballot appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

              LINCOLN — The Nebraska Farm Bureau and the FBI’s Omaha Field Office are partnering to encourage farmers and ranchers to be aware of agriculture threats with a rise in technology. At the Nebraska Innovation Campus, part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Gene Kowel said four main threats face the agriculture […]

              The post Nebraska Farm Bureau, FBI partner for Agriculture Threats Symposium appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

                LINCOLN — Nebraska’s new top economic developer, K.C. Belitz, said Monday that he’ll be focusing on how to attract people — as much as businesses — to his home state, which has tens of thousands of open jobs. Belitz, a former longtime head of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, said economic developers today must […]

                The post New economic development head a lifelong Nebraskan with quarter-century of promoting rural areas appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

                LINCOLN — During his first few years as an undergraduate student, Rodney Bennett, the now-priority candidate for chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, struggled. As a young student at Middle Tennessee State University, Bennett began studying in the fall of 1984 and received a variety of grades in his first few years, including failing grades in […]

                The post UNL chancellor candidate previews research, economic development vision for Nebraska appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

                Norfolk Southern has become the first major North American freight railroad with deals to provide sick time to all of its workers. But other railroads are making progress, with nearly 65% of all rail workers securing the basic benefit. All of the major freight railroads have said they're committed to resolving this key issue that nearly led to a strike last year. But most of those railroads are still negotiating with a number of their unions. Last fall, the railroads refused to add paid sick time but they relented this year after intense pressure from the public and key lawmakers. Union Pacific also announced a deal Monday to give 5,600 engineers sick time.

                The Biden administration is handing out more than $570 million in grants to help eliminate railroad crossings in 32 states just as the industry is increasingly relying on longer and longer trains to cut costs. The grants announced Monday will help eliminate more than three dozen crossings that delay traffic and sometimes keep first responders from where help is desperately needed. There have been examples of ambulance delays resulting in a death and homes burning down while firefighters wait at a blocked crossing. In addition, roughly 2,000 collisions are reported at railroad crossings every year. Nearly 250 deaths were recorded last year in those car-train crashes.

                LINCOLN — Nebraska state senators headed home last week after a particularly brutal and bitter 2023 session. But one lawmaker isn’t packing up his office — he has packed his bag for a return trip to the war front in Ukraine. Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, a decorated military veteran nearing his 65th birthday, has […]

                The post As Nebraska state senators head home, one heads to the battlefield in Ukraine appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

                Des Moines — Presidential candidates worked to balance promoting their ability to unify the country while highlighting their fight against the “woke” left while speaking to Iowans gathered Saturday for U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s “Roast and Ride” fundraiser at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife, Casey, took their children to […]

                The post GOP candidates compete for Iowans’ support at Sen. Joni Ernst’s ‘Roast and Ride’ appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

                LINCOLN — The partially finished, multimillion-dollar dwelling being built by Lincoln businessman Aaron Marshbanks was sold Friday, the latest effort to recover any assets remaining from what’s been described one of the largest bank frauds in state history. City Bank & Trust of Lincoln, which had loaned Marshbanks $2.5 million to build the 4,800-square-foot home […]

                The post Bank purchases half-finished luxury home/acreage of deceased businessman who defrauded banks appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

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                Nebraska has the country's only single-chamber, nonpartisan legislature, and state leaders have long held up the unique system as an example of efficiency that rises above hyperpartisan politics. But this year's acrimonious session may have changed that. The session began with conservatives still stinging from 2022 losses on bills to ban most abortions and to loosen gun regulations so they packed legislative committees, angering progressives. That anger came to a head when a bill by a freshman conservative lawmaker to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors led a group of left-leaning lawmakers to filibuster nearly every bill up for debate — even ones they supported.

                A pilot has died in the crash of a single-engine plane near Kearney in central Nebraska. The Federal Aviation Administration says the pilot of the single-engine Vans RV7 was the only person on board. The pilot’s name was not immediately released. The Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office says the crash was reported by a citizen around 9:15 a.m. Friday. First responders found the wreckage about 12 miles east of Kearney in a field near the Bassway Strip State Wildlife Management Area. The site is roughly 2 miles southeast of the Kearney airport. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

                DES MOINES — A carbon dioxide plume modeling software did not anticipate the threat a pipeline break in 2020 posed to a small Mississippi town, largely because it did not take land topography into account. That break near Satartia, Mississippi, resulted in emergency responders scrambling to save people from a “green gas” and “rotten egg […]

                The post Experts: Predicting CO2 pipeline rupture threats can be extremely costly appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

                Dev Shah is the champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The 14-year-old from Largo, Florida, had his spelling career interrupted by the pandemic, then didn't make it out of his regional bee last year. He was brimming with confidence in his final opportunity, asking precise questions about obscure Greek roots. His winning word was “psammophile,” and his root knowledge made it a layup. Dev takes home the winner's trophy and more than $50,000 in cash and prizes. Charlotte Walsh, a 14-year-old from Arlington, Virginia, was the runner-up.

                Nebraska lawmakers have wrapped up a particularly contentious session that saw nearly every bill before the body filibustered. The filibuster effort led by Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh and a handful of allies was a protest over a bill that began as a measure to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors, but it morphed to also included a 12-week abortion ban. The effort greatly slowed the work of the Legislature. It led to long days that saw debate routinely stretch into the evening hours and forced leaders to attach bills as amendments in order to get legislation passed.

                Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill Thursday to comply with a voter ID requirement mandated by voters in November. The vote came on the last day of the 2023 legislative session and despite a filibuster effort by conservative Sen. Julie Slama, who was the only lawmaker to vote against it. She had chaired the referendum effort that saw the voter ID question put on the ballot in November. The bill that passed allows a wide array of photo identification that voters present at the polls, and allows rare exceptions for voting without a photo ID. Slama says that flies in the face of what voters intended when they voted to require a photo ID to vote.

                A federal judge did not make an immediate decision on the fate of a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. A court hearing was held in Houston on Thursday. Attorneys representing the nine states suing to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and lawyers for the federal government and DACA recipients made their arguments to U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen. The judge, who in 2021 declared DACA illegal, didn't say when he would issue a ruling but said he would do so "as expeditiously as we can."

                LINCOLN — State senators ended a tumultuous 2023 session Thursday, giving a final OK to bills concerning voter identification, tax breaks for economic development and criminal justice reform. The 90-day session ended two days early and will be remembered for historic tax cuts, hard feelings aired during floor debate, and an almost session-long string of […]

                The post On final day of session, legislators give final OK for voter ID, tax break bills appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

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