Humanities Desk

The Rural Mainstreet Index, a metric created by Creighton University professor Ernie Goss, is at its lowest level since May 2020. The index comes from a monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas across a ten-state region. Goss says a combination of tariffs and weak grain prices are hurting economic activity. However, Nebraska’s year-to-date exports on agricultural goods and livestock are up by nearly 50%, despite a sharp decline in trade with China. Goss says the state’s strong livestock industry could be to thank.

The fight over medical cannabis access continued in Nebraska Wednesday, as dozens of advocates spoke out against proposed regulations from the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission. More than 71% of voters in the state supported legalizing the use of up to five ounces of marijuana for medical purposes by qualified patients in the November 2024 election. The proposed regulations provide a pathway for patients to access that in theory, but many at Wednesday’s hearing said the restrictions amount to a de facto rejection of the voters’ intent.

Advocates for All Nebraskans, a nonprofit lead by former Nebraska Republican Party chair Eric Underwood, introduced its fourth and fifth petitions of the 2026 election cycle Tuesday. One of the proposed constitutional amendments would require all elections in the state to be conducted exclusively through paper ballots that are counted by hand. The other would give all five of the Nebraska’s electoral votes to the statewide winner instead of the current congressional district allocations. Lincoln radio host Doug Fitzgerald said the petition drives have national implications that cannot be overstated.

Omaha's AfroCon was this past Saturday. A convention that focuses on all things nerdy, it also centers creating and maintaining community within North Omaha.

Nebraska’s capital city may soon have a new requirement for the owners of cryptocurrency ATMs. Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird announced Thursday she will be proposing an ordinance that would require crypto or Bitcoin ATM owners to post a sign warning users of scam risks associated with the machine. According to data from the Lincoln Police Department, the number of local fraud cases involving cryptocurrency has more than doubled since its categorization began in 2021.

AfroCon is back in Omaha for its seventh year in a row this Saturday. Planned and put on by Omaha nonprofit, the House of Afros, Capes and Curls, the goal is to provide a place where people of color are openly welcomed and can feel comfortable to indulge in their ‘nerdy’ interests.

Nebraska’s largest casino operator is expanding its facilities once more, thanks in part to its refinancing of $300 million in startup loans. Since Nebraskans voted to legalize casino gambling at racetracks in 2020, WarHorse Gaming – a wing of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska’s economic development corporation, Ho Chunk Inc. – has taken full advantage. WarHorse currently operates casinos in Lincoln and Omaha, and a new location is being planned for South Sioux City. CEO Lance Morgan said the ability to refinance startup loans at a lower interest rate shows investor confidence and will help the operation continue to grow.

U.S. Rep. Mike Flood discusses the federal government shutdown, ACA tax credits, agriculture economic assistance and the Farm Bill.

The first two medical cannabis cultivator license applications have been approved in Nebraska. Nancy Laughlin-Wagner on behalf of Midwest Cultivators Group in Omaha and Patrick Thomas of Raymond will each receive an offer of licensure to grow and cultivate up to 1250 flowering marijuana plants for medical purposes. Their applications were among the four that were randomly selected to be scored by the members of the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission’s evaluation team, which includes all three commission members: Chair Monica Oldenburg, Lorelle Mueting and J. Michael Coffey.

If you turn on a faucet on the Santee Sioux reservation, the water that comes out looks normal enough. But there’s a good chance the sink it’s pouring into is discolored or corroded. Drink the water, and you’re putting yourself at risk of negatively impacting your memory, attention, or motor skills, particularly if you’re very young or very old. That’s because the water here has a dangerously high level of manganese, a naturally occurring mineral that can’t be boiled away. The tribe has issued a drinking water advisory to the reservation recommending tap water not be consumed due to manganese detected at more than ten times above the EPA Health Advisory level.