By Erin Bamer | Reporter
“His love of Nebraska and the people in Nebraska, what he’s done for Nebraska, is just absolutely second to none … That we’re able to recognize him is a really, really special day.” - Gov. Jim Pillen, on Husker coach Tom Osborne.
Former Husker football coach Tom Osborne, center, speaks at a February 2023 event with Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, just behind Osborne, at which Pillen designated the month as “Nebraska Mentoring Month.” (Courtesy of Nebraska Governor’s Office)
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
By Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — Husker legend and former Congressman Tom Osborne is officially the next member of the Nebraska Hall of Fame after a commission gave unanimous approval Wednesday at Gov. Jim Pillen’s urging.
The Nebraska State Capitol. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
By Erin Bamer
LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers will likely have to contend with two separate budget deficits when they reconvene for the 2027 legislative session, with the combined shortfall currently set over $1 billion.
Norfolk Mayor Shane Clausen at the podium, flanked by Gov. Jim Pillen. From left to right are Mayors Linda Taylor of McCook, John Fagot of Lexington, John Ewing Jr. of Omaha and Maureen Larsen, director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. (Photo by Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)
LABOR & GROWTH
By Cindy Gonzalez
LINCOLN — A handful of Nebraska mayors — including one who has watched his town’s biggest employer flee — stood with Gov. Jim Pillen on Wednesday to announce the governor’s 28 picks for tax incentive-eligible opportunity zones.
Former State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont hosts her ninth listening session in Lincoln as part of her 2026 exploratory bid for governor. She plans to finalize a decision whether to run in early 2026. Dec. 13, 2025. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
ELECTION 2026
By Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — Former State Sen. Lynne Walz, Nebraska’s Democratic nominee for governor, unveiled her platform and day-one commitments Wednesday should she unseat Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, while sidestepping specifics at times about what they would look like.
Investigators work near the Houston location of a fatal ICE shooting July 7. Statistics released July 20 show a record number of immigration arrests in June and an even higher rate in early July. (Photo by Jon Shapley/The Texas Tribune)
IMMIGRATION
By Tim Henderson
Immigration arrests reached 1,593 per day in early July in a new push to detain and deport immigrants that has led to deaths in traffic stops. There were more than 43,000 arrests in June, the highest recorded by the Trump administration, according to statistics released Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reflecting new bookings into detention facilities.
A vote on a budget resolution in the U.S. House on July 22, 2026, sets up a confrontation between GOP lawmakers in Congress over exactly how much funding to provide for the war in Iran. Shown is the damaged B1 bridge, a day after it was destroyed by an airstrike, on April 3, 2026 west of Tehran in Karaj, Iran. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
D.C. BUREAU
By Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — Republicans in the U.S. House on Wednesday approved their outline for the third party-line budget measure of the second Trump administration, though they won’t be able to begin work on that package until they reach agreement with their Senate colleagues on a plan forward.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Cindy Burbank will not appear on US Senate ballot | Juan Salinas II
Eye-popper traffic stunt raises awareness of child sex trafficking | Cindy Gonzalez
COMMENTARY
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Douglas County sees spike in cyclospora infections | Cindy Gonzalez
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