By Erin Bamer | Reporter
“I think the balance of equities is in the plaintiff’s favor at this point and, mostly, because it is in the public’s interest to make sure that those funds are spent lawfully” - Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong, in her ruling blocking funds diverted from the Nebraska Environmental Trust.
Members of the Nebraska Environmental Trust at a meeting in early 2026. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)
ENVIRONMENT & AGRICULTURE
By Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — A district court judge granted a temporary motion Monday blocking the transfer or spending of funds diverted from the Nebraska Environmental Trust in the past two legislative sessions while a lawsuit challenging the transfers plays out.
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, at center, and Gov. Jim Pillen, at right, announce a lawsuit against Colorado before the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to assert Nebraska’s water rights to the South Platte River that crosses state lines. At left is Jesse Bradley, director of the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment. July 16, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
ENVIRONMENT & AGRICULTURE
By Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Nebraska’s claims about whether Colorado has violated a century-old water compact or obstructed Nebraska’s plans for building a canal.
Baskets of ballots sit at a new ballot processing center in Thurston County, Washington, on Oct. 30, 2025. (Photo by Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard)
ELECTION 2026
By Juan Salinas II
LINCOLN — There is an effort underway in Nebraska to gather enough voters’ signatures to form a new political party in the state.
Dr. Jeffrey Gold, president of the University of Nebraska system, gives his first “State of the University” address in the Nebraska State Capitol. Sept. 4, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
EDUCATION
By Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — The Omaha Community Foundation is set to govern half the Nebraska Medicine nonprofit alongside the University of Nebraska this week.
Rendering of the future La Plaza de la Raza site at 24th and N Streets in South Omaha, a project boosted by a $25 million state grant administered by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. (Courtesy of RDG Planning and Design)
LABOR & GROWTH
By Cindy Gonzalez
OMAHA — Construction work is to start this week to transform a familiar parking lot along South Omaha’s historic business district into a multimillion-dollar “La Plaza de la Raza” park and tourism generator.
A patient receives care at a Creighton University dental clinic. The Omaha-based university’s dental school is one entity to receive a bite of Nebraska’s portion of the $50 billion the federal government plans to distribute among all states over five years to help offset harm to rural areas due to sweeping cuts to Medicaid. (Courtesy of Creighton University)
HEALTH
By Cindy Gonzalez
OMAHA — Omaha Creighton University’s dental school has been awarded a $4.6 million grant by the state to help expand access to oral healthcare for Nebraska’s rural and underserved communities.
Security stands outside Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters during a Congressional Hispanic Caucus rally on Feb. 3, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
D.C. BUREAU
By Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has nominated a former Oklahoma state trooper to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency tasked with carrying out the president’s mass deportation campaign.
Greg Lange of Bismarck, North Dakota, drops off his absentee ballot and his wife’s at the Bismarck Burleigh County Office Building on June 8, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
D.C. BUREAU
By Jonathan Shorman
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, a blow to the Trump administration and some Republican states that had urged the justices to require all ballots to arrive by the close of polls.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Blue cities push back against Nebraska’s red state government | Juan Salinas II
Nebraska Supreme Court rules voter data case moot | Juan Salinas II
COMMENTARY
OPINION: Hoping, imagining will not be enough | George Ayoub
OPINION: In defense of ‘those people’ | Julie Masters
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Mom of eight faces fears beyond deportation | Cindy Gonzalez
Why are there so many independent candidates in Nebraska? | Juan Salinas II
Class-action lawsuit alleges Hy-Vee failed to pay overtime | Clark Kauffman
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