By Joan von Kampen | Editor-in-Chief
“We are already in a situation where things are looking bad. And if you have partisan actors on the forecasting board who are encouraging the adoption of a forecast that makes it easier to keep certain policies in place, I think that that's really problematic.” - Sen. George Dungan, a member of the Legislature’s Revenue Committee, about Gov. Jim Pillen’s replacement of three members of the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board.
Then-state Sens. Lou Ann Linehan, who represented a west Omaha area legislative district, and Tom Briese of Albion flank Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen as he signs into law the 2023 tax cut bills they each sponsored. (Photo courtesy of the Governor's Office)
GOVERNMENT
By Andrew Wegley and Sara Gentzler, Flatwater Free Press
In an unprecedented move, Gov. Jim Pillen has reshaped the state board that predicts Nebraska’s tax revenues for budget writers, replacing three members with appointees that include two former Republican allies in the Legislature.
Pillen appointed former state Sens. Lou Ann Linehan and Tom Briese to the nine-person Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board. He also appointed Tim Wilson, an Omaha accountant. The board’s chairman was notified of the shakeup in an email last week obtained by the Flatwater Free Press.
A campsite is seen in Anchorage, Alaska, last year. The Trump administration has proposed a major shift in homelessness grants. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
D.C. BUREAU
By Robbie Sequeira
In its latest effort to overhaul federal homelessness funding, the Trump administration is proposing to provide more money to localities that prioritize treatment-first policies such as sober living, more cooperation with law enforcement and more temporary and transitional housing.
It’s a reversal from a decade-long federal approach known as Housing First that sought to permanently house people experiencing homelessness without requiring sobriety or participation in treatment programs as a condition.
COMMENTARY
By Walter Gilliam
This past tax season, under the federal Educator Expense Deduction, a kindergarten teacher could deduct up to $300 in classroom supplies and an unlimited amount if she itemized.
Her preschool colleague could not. Same school. Same supplies. Same age range. One teacher has the option to save some money on her taxes, and the other doesn’t.
Thankfully, momentum is building in Congress to right this imbalance and finally recognize early educators in the federal tax code.
Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts Mike Foley testifies before the Legislature's Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. Feb. 5, 2026. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
ICYMI
State auditor finds big 'blunders' by Lancaster County treasurer, who takes 'blanket' responsibility
By Cindy Gonzalez
A newly released state audit alleges nearly $1 billion in accounting “blunders” and a “gross mishandling” of local tax revenues by the Lancaster County Treasurer’s Office.
The 37-page report from Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley details what he called “systematic issues” and accounting errors in the public office that has custody and control of roughly $200 million on a daily basis.
Kevin Warsh, now chair of the Federal Reserve, testifies during his Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 21, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
ECONOMY
By Ashley Murray
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates Wednesday for the first time in three years as inflation continues to dog the economy, largely driven by soaring gas and fuel oil prices while the war in Iran drags on.
The central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee voted 12-0 to increase its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, reaching the new range from 3.75% to 4% and making the cost of borrowing more expensive for Americans.
The committee released an upbeat statement touting economic growth at “a solid pace.”
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