Nebraska Update

Each year, the Star City Hearse Club does their Halloween Hearse Tour. They are becoming a Halloween staple, but they want to do more.

For 39 years, Ken Siemek has been presence in living rooms in Lincoln and across the state of Nebraska as Chief Meteorologist for 10/11 television. After 44 years at 10/11, Siemek retired at the end of October. Nebraska Public Media's Dale Johnson sat down with his longtime broadcast friend to talk about humble beginnings and a remarkable career.

Nebraska lawmakers were given a spooky revenue projection on Halloween, but it didn’t come as surprise to fiscal committee leadership. The Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board revised its April state revenue projections downward by around $120 million dollars for FY2025-26, and $247 million for FY2026-27. That means the state’s budget shortfall – which was already at $95 million following the recent legislative session – has ballooned to more than $450 million over the current biennium. The revenue forecast is used as the basis for the Legislature’s constitutional obligation to balance the state budget. A state statute calls for an additional 3% reserve to be included.

The state's budget challenges may make holding the line on property taxes the short-term goal.

Next year will be a time of belt-tightening in the state capitol. That’s the sentiment from fiscal committee leadership ahead of the 60-day session that begins in January. Changes from the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act are estimated to cost the state more than $200 million in revenue over the next two years. That, combined with lower-than-expected state tax revenues over the summer, means the Legislature will likely make additional cuts to the biennial budget it passed in the spring. Revenue Committee Chair Brad von Gillern said some ways of raising revenue, such as reversing income tax cuts or rolling back business tax incentives, should be off the table.

Doane University and Nebraska Methodist College will partner on a new accelerated nursing pathway to help address health care shortages across the state. The official program begins in fall 2026, but leaders said the two institutions already share many students.

Local contractors say they have enough local labor to detassel Nebraska’s seed corn but they’re losing work to migrant workers on H-2A visas. A 2024 Nebraska law attempted to increase transparency in detasseling labor practices.

An American Association of University Professors report showed that the University of Nebraska is in “good financial health” amid ongoing budget cut discussions. The Lincoln campus chancellor will submit recommended cuts to the Board of Regents before its December meeting. The latest proposal included eliminating six programs.

Republicans have tried to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government funded at previous levels through late November, but it’s failed 13 times to receive the 60 votes needed in the Senate to pass. Democrats say they want to negotiate an extension of tax credits for people who receive health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Speaking with the press Wednesday, Ricketts said that won’t happen until after the government is reopened.

41 million Americans are expected to lose their SNAP benefits at the end of the month due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. Within Nebraska, SNAP benefits will be paused as of Wednesday, October 29.