On Oct. 17th, 2000, Gina Bos was last seen leaving a pub in downtown Lincoln. She has been missing ever since. Her sister, Jannel Rap, advocated for the day to be turned into a state holiday. The Unicameral passed legislation last year to make that happen. Law enforcement officers and family members read off names of missing persons in Nebraska, including some who haven’t been seen since the 1970s.

Students who are chronically absent, which is missing 10% or more of school, see lower test scores and are less likely to attend college, according to new data from the Nebraska Statewide Workforce and Educational Reporting System. State education department officials hope to reduce the chronic absenteeism rate by half in the next five years.

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.

Colorado officials are rejecting Nebraska's complaints involving the South Platte River and the proposed Perkins County Canal.

Both Republicans and Democrats are pointing to each other in the “blame game” for shutting down the federal government. Nebraska Public Media’s Dale Johnson caught up with Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, and asked what Democrats must emphasize to get more Americans on their side.

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.

Total alcohol sales in Memorial Stadium topped $2.07 million through the first four Nebraska football home games. That’s according to data sent to Nebraska Public Media News from Husker Athletics.

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.

Faculty, staff, students and community members discussed issues with the budget reduction process during hearings at the start of October. The Academic Planning Committee wrapped up hearings on Friday and will pass along their recommendation to the chancellor by Oct. 24.