Skip to main content

State News

LINCOLN — Seventeen years ago, Bill Roddy found a little piece of paradise along a quiet reservoir in southwest Nebraska. Roddy, then living in the Denver area, purchased a mobile home that was for sale on leased land that sits along Swanson Reservoir, a 5,000-acre fishing and recreation lake near Trenton. Soon, Roddy was a […]

The post Upset mobile home owners seek reprieve from federal agency’s order to move out appeared first on Nebraska Examiner. Read moreUpset mobile home owners seek reprieve from federal agency’s order to move out

ANKENY, Iowa — Former Vice President Mike Pence announced his candidacy for president Wednesday to a crowd at Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny, focusing on the differences between him and former President Donald Trump, who is also running again in 2024. While Pence praised the conservative successes he and Trump achieved in office, […]

The post Former VP Mike Pence launches 2024 bid, criticizes Trump’s Jan. 6 actions appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.

TOPEKA — Four organizations have joined in a bid for a slice of the state’s $3.9 billion KanCare contracts. InterHab, the Children’s Alliance, the Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas and CareSource Kansas announced their alliance Wednesday, collaborating under the name of CareSource HealthAlliance. KanCare is the state-run system for the federal Medicaid […]

The post New alliance emphasizes social determinants of health in bid for Kansas Medicaid contract appeared first on Kansas Reflector.

Former Vice President Mike Pence announced his candidacy for president to a crowd at Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny, focusing on the differences between him and former President Donald Trump, who is also running again in 2024. While Pence praised the conservative successes he and Trump achieved in office, he said he is […]

The post Former VP Mike Pence launches 2024 bid, criticizes Trump’s Jan. 6 actions appeared first on Kansas Reflector.

TOPEKA — Dave Ranney says few people disagree with his assertion that Gov. Laura Kelly should grant clemency to Sarah Gonzales-McLinn, who slit her rapist’s throat in 2014. But when he hears opposition, Ranney said during a speech Tuesday before the League of Women Voters of Topeka-Shawnee County, he asks this question: “Why don’t you […]

The post Advocate hopes Kansas governor grants clemency in murder of rapist, but holds back optimism appeared first on Kansas Reflector.

  • Updated

The Biden Administration and House Republicans recently reached a bi-partisan deal to raise the debt ceiling. To reach the compromise, and keep the United States from a catastrophic debt default, the White House agreed to a series of spending cuts to social safety net programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps. (Here […]

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.

  • Updated

The Biden Administration and House Republicans recently reached a bi-partisan deal to raise the debt ceiling. To reach the compromise, and keep the United States from a catastrophic debt default, the White House agreed to a series of spending cuts to social safety net programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps. (Here […]

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.

  • Updated

(The Center Square) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced Tuesday that she’s leading a coalition of 19 states challenging an Environmental Protection Agency decision regarding trucks, emissions and California.

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.

TOPEKA — Kansas abortion providers filed a lawsuit combating an “abortion reversal” law based on a debunked study, calling the state’s tightened abortion regulations increasingly “inaccurate” and a violation of bodily integrity.   The lawsuit was filed Tuesday with the Johnson County District Court by several plaintiffs, including Hodes & Nauser of the landmark 2019 abortion […]

The post Kansas abortion rights groups file lawsuit against junk science ‘abortion reversal’ law appeared first on Kansas Reflector.

  • Updated

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.

  • Updated

OSAWATOMIE — After a popular social media post provoked an inspection of the Osawatomie Pound, the city is considering cutting ties with Always and Furever Midwest Animal Sanctuary, a no-kill rescue that has managed the pound for four years, and returning to a regular euthanasia schedule. In May, Always and Furever shared a Facebook post […]

The post Osawatomie Pound may revert to killing animals if city declines aid appeared first on Kansas Reflector.

OVERLAND PARK — When Joe Eldred was a child, he was sexually abused by three Catholic priests while attending Nativity of Mary Catholic Church and the accompanying elementary school in Independence, Missouri. Eldred told his story in “Procession,” a documentary directed by Robert Greene that tells the story of six men who were abused by […]

The post ‘That’s when he raped me’: Survivors of clergy abuse screen documentary in Overland Park appeared first on Kansas Reflector.

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.

LAWRENCE — One might be inclined to wonder if Lawrence ecologist Courtney Masterson gets any sleep. Over the past five years, she has become the authority on all things prairie in northeast Kansas. She teaches classes at several colleges, including the University of Kansas. She works with local governments in community outreach and education and […]

The post Lawrence ecologist’s mission rooted in Kansas prairie restoration efforts appeared first on Kansas Reflector.

TOPEKA — Michael Bell was homeless when he was diagnosed with heart disease and breathing issues in 2018. In just a six-month stay at the Topeka Rescue Mission, he visited the hospital five times with pneumonia, congestive heart failure and sepsis. YWCA Northeast Kansas is bringing attention to people like Bell who struggle with disabilities […]

The post ‘Humanize everybody:’ YWCA racial justice campaign brings attention to disabilities appeared first on Kansas Reflector.