By Erin Bamer | Reporter
Under state law, regulations for medical cannabis in Nebraska will take effect five days after the governor signed off on them Wednesday.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signs official paperwork to certify Nebraska’s May primary election. June 8, 2026. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
HEALTH
By Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — Nebraska’s medical cannabis regulations will become a permanent fixture of the state regulatory code Monday, five days after Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen gave final approval.
An official groundbreaking Tuesday for a nearly 155,000-square-foot distribution center heralded further expansion by the Nebraska grown Scooter’s Coffee network. (Courtesy of Scooter’s)
LABOR & GROWTH
By Cindy Gonzalez
OMAHA — Nebraska-based Scooter’s Coffee continues its fast growth by launching a third distribution center in the Omaha area, where the operation nearing 1,000 nationwide stores was born.
Boxes with party labels at the Lancaster County Election Commission office on April, 24. 2026. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)
ELECTION 2026
By Juan Salinas II
LINCOLN — A party that wants to put Americans and Nebraskans first is collecting signatures to secure a ballot line ahead of the November election.
Officials celebrated the launch of Maryland’s legal sports betting market at MGM National Harbor in December 2021 in Oxon Hill, Md. As many states legalize sports betting, officials are increasingly eyeing a certain type of wager known as a prop bet for increased regulation. (Photo by Shannon Finney/Getty Images for MGM National Harbor)
ELECTION 2026
By Erin Bamer
LINCOLN — The question of whether online sports betting should be legal in Nebraska will likely come before voters this November.
A metal gangway leads to the floating pumphouse used to harvest water for Public Wholesale Water Supply District 20 outside Sedan, Kan. A new analysis found agricultural states including Kansas have seen drinking water systems record thousands of instances of elevated nitrate, a potentially dangerous byproduct of farming. (Photo by Kevin Hardy/Stateline)
COMMENTARY
By Jonathan Leo
Many Nebraska families depend on private wells and small community systems for drinking, cooking, bathing and raising healthy kids. But for too many of us, that water is poisoned — loaded with nitrates from industrial hog farms’ animal waste.
People cool off with their dogs at the dog-friendly section of Montrose Beach on June 30, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. High humidity and temperatures in the 90s with heat indices above 100 degrees are expected to remain in the city for the next several days. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
D.C. BUREAU
By Sam Gauntt
WASHINGTON — As outdoor celebrations and events marking the nation’s 250th anniversary and the World Cup reach their peak, local officials across the country are urging caution amid a heat wave blanketing many East Coast and Midwestern states.
A volunteer uses nitrate test strips to test nitrate concentrations in the Des Moines River. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
ENVIRONMENT & AGRICULTURE
By Cami Koons
The environmental group Food & Water Watch is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to supply requested information about a nitrate assessment.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, speaks at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., in December. CMS last month released guidance on how states should implement new Medicaid work requirements. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
By Shalina Chatlani
State Medicaid agencies are concerned that many sick and disabled enrollees will lose their coverage because the Trump administration is narrowing the definition of who is “medically frail” enough to get an exemption from new work requirements.
There were few crowds as attendees explored different exhibits at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on June 30, 2026. (Photo by Sam Gauntt/States Newsroom)
D.C. BUREAU
By Sam Gauntt
WASHINGTON — The Great American State Fair on the National Mall has all the trappings of a classic state fair: food vendors, merchandise, a Ferris wheel and scores of activities.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Nebraska AG Hilgers approves medical cannabis regs | Zach Wendling
Omaha Airport Business Park project gets its first tenant | Cindy Gonzalez
COMMENTARY
OPINION: Hoping, imagining will not be enough | George Ayoub
EDITOR'S CHOICE
A new political party could be in the works in Nebraska | Juan Salinas II
Mom of eight faces fears beyond deportation | Cindy Gonzalez
US Supreme Court takes Perkins County Canal case | Zach Wendling
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