By Erin Bamer | Reporter
“Nothing in our investigation makes us believe any political entity is working or affiliated with this … These are people out doing crimes. Period.” - Lancaster County Sheriff Chief Deputy Ben Houchin, announcing the arrests of five out-of-state individuals for suspected fraud linked to three Lincoln-focused petitions.
Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon, left, and Lancaster County Sheriff Chief Deputy Ben Houchin announce criminal charges and arrests of five out-of-state individuals who helped circulate petitions for three petitions in Nebraska’s capital city at a news briefing Aug. 7, 2026, in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
ELECTION 2026
By Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — Lancaster County officials announced Friday the arrest of five out-of-state individuals who helped circulate petitions for three Lincoln-focused petitions this summer.
Boxes with party labels at the Lancaster County Election Commission office on April, 24. 2026. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
By Juan Salinas II
LINCOLN — Nebraska will likely have two new political parties as efforts by two groups met the petition signature threshold, the state Secretary of State’s Office announced Friday.
Nebraska State Board of Education member Kirk Penner of Aurora. Jan. 9, 2026. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
EDUCATION
By Erin Bamer
LINCOLN — Nebraska’s State Board of Education delayed a vote on approving a nonpublic girls school in North Omaha over concerns about references to “abolitionist framework” that were at one point posted on the school’s website.
Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong listens as evidence is presented on the first day of the civil trial to determine the validity of the medical marijuana ballot measures at the Lancaster County Courthouse on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in Lincoln. (Kenneth Ferriera-Pool/Lincoln Journal Star)
ELECTION 2026
By Juan Salinas II
LINCOLN — A Lancaster County district judge declined to grant William Forbes a temporary injunction to force the Nebraska Democratic Party to replace U.S. Senate nominee Cindy Burbank after she dropped out of the race.
President Donald Trump delivers remarks on Sept. 11, 2025, in the courtyard of the Pentagon to mark the 24th anniversary of 9/11. Trump has proposed a massive Pentagon spending increase for fiscal 2027. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
D.C. BUREAU
By Sam Gauntt
WASHINGTON — Congress is considering a hike of hundreds of billions in dollars in defense spending, which would represent a surge in military funding not seen since World War II.
McKenna Melby of the North Dakota State College of Science speaks with a job fair attendee in Fargo, North Dakota, on July 28, 2026. Melby was recruiting potential students for the certified nursing assistant program.(Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)
LABOR & GROWTH
By Tim Henderson
U.S. employers shed 23,000 jobs in July, and the employment count for earlier months was revised downward by 103,000 jobs as labor shortages begin to weigh on hiring, according to new statistics released Friday by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
COMMENTARY
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Omaha, Carlentini youth ‘crossed an ocean’ with art project | Cindy Gonzalez
National Democrats put NE-01 in ‘districts in play’ program | Juan Salinas II
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