By Erin Bamer | Reporter
New projections made by Nebraska’s Economic Forecasting Advisory Board kept the state’s current projected budget deficit flat, but the deficit projected for the next biennial budget increased to roughly $1.2 billion. The 2027 session is slated to be the third consecutive legislative session to deal with a projected deficit.
Former State Treasurer Tom Briese, a former state senator who is also one of the newest members of the the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board, during a board meeting at the Nebraska State Capitol on Oct. 30, 2026, in Lincoln. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
GOVERNMENT
By Erin Bamer
LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers will likely enter the 2027 session looking to fill a projected budget deficit around $200 million, but a larger problem emerged for the next two-year budget after new economic forecasts dropped Friday.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen leads an inaugural public roundtable with members of his cabinet with Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly. April 20, 2026. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
By Zach Wendling
LINCOLN — The state Attorney General’s Office said the Nebraska Governor’s Office “was not implicated in any criminal wrongdoing” in relation to a $2.5 million bioeconomy no-bid contract the state auditor flagged earlier this year.
Sen. Pete Ricketts (left) and Dan Osborn (Right) are in a bitter Senate race. (Photos were taken by Zach Wendling and Juan Salinas II)
ELECTION 2026
By Juan Salinas II
LINCOLN — The U.S. Senate race between a former governor and a former labor union leader is one of the most expensive the state has seen in direct fundraising, according to an Examiner analysis of campaign finance reports.
An aerial view of wildfire damage in western Nebraska in mid-March 2026. (Photo courtesy of the Nebraska Governor’s Office)
COMMENTARY
By Laurel Van Ham, Rob Kahn
When the Platte and Missouri rivers surged in March 2019, they didn’t just spill over their banks — they washed out bridges, drowned livestock and submerged one-third of Offutt Air Force Base. Floodwaters covered part of the runway and wrecked high-tech flight simulators, triggering an estimated $650 million military rebuild at the time and leaving an estimated $1.3 billion in preliminary statewide losses in its wake.
Voters named Grand Island-based Nova-Tech’s animal health IV fluids as this year’s champ of the popular contest that highlights the state’s manufacturing industry. (Courtesy of Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
ICYMI
By Cindy Gonzalez
La VISTA — Animal health IV fluids made in Grand Island took home this year’s title of “Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska.”
State Sen. Rob Dover of Norfolk, center, talks with state Sens. Mike McDonnell, left, and Steve Erdman of Bayard. July 30, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
ELECTION 2026
By Erin Bamer
LINCOLN — A ballot measure to extend legislative term limits passed 39-10 in the Nebraska Legislature, but the state lawmaker who brought it is less confident the proposal has the momentum to succeed with voters.
A Lancaster County ballot drop box at Lancaster County Election Commission office on April 24, 2026. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)
ELECTION 2026
By Jessica Huseman, Votebeat
The Justice Department has sent yet another round of letters to state election officials warning them that they could face criminal prosecution for violating federal election laws, this time reminding them that they must preserve ballots, voter-registration records, and other election materials for 22 months after a federal election.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
COMMENTARY
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Here’s how many seconds of political ads Husker fans sat through this season | Daniel Wheaton, Midwest Newsroom
Nebraska's 1st Congressional District race could be one to watch | Juan Salinas II
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