By Erin Bamer | Reporter
“Inevitably some will seek to abuse a public benefits program, whether at the federal, state or local level, but we have seen across decades that the vast majority simply need a helping hand while they gain stability and work toward self-sustainability.” - a Douglas County Board statement, in response to a report from State Auditor Mike Foley criticizing the county’s general assistance program for low-income residents.
The Omaha-Douglas County Civic Center is the headquarters of city and county government. (Courtesy of Douglas County GIS)
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
By Cindy Gonzalez
OMAHA — The Douglas County Board on Thursday announced that it sees no allegations of criminal wrongdoing in a state auditor’s probe of a county program that serves the poor, despite the sheriff’s call for a law enforcement investigation.
State Sen. Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse. Jan. 8, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
By Erin Bamer
LINCOLN — Following the departure of term-limited state Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood, Sen. Robert Hallstrom of Syracuse is set to take over the fight to repeal Nebraska’s inheritance tax in the Legislature.
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 15, 2026. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
D.C. BUREAU
By Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators departed Capitol Hill on Wednesday night for their campaign break, leaving numerous policy disputes unresolved.
The chamber won’t return until Nov. 9 for the five-week lame-duck session, when party leaders will have to decide which bills they want to negotiate during what could be the final days of unified Republican control.
The Nebraska Supreme Court hears oral arguments on Sept. 30, 2026. (Screenshot of Nebraska Public Media livestream by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
ICYMI
By Zach Wendling
Nebraska’s highest court heard arguments Wednesday in a Republican National Committee challenge seeking to overturn a state law allowing certain overseas voters to vote.
North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer is holding up Trump administration nominees over a rule affecting the state’s Prairie Pothole Region, seen here in Stutsman County, North Dakota. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)
D.C. BUREAU
By Shauneen Miranda
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Keith Sonderling as secretary of Labor on Wednesday, marking one of the few Trump administration picks to get through the upper chamber recently after a North Dakota senator put a hold on “any and all” nominees.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Trump is coming to Nebraska to campaign for Ricketts | Juan Salinas II
COMMENTARY
Time has come to ask for ‘proof’ | George Ayoub
EDITOR'S CHOICE
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