News & Features | NET Radio

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.

The Trump administration is promising billions in a bailout for farmers. This harvest season the trade war with China has added to the farm economy's woes, as producers deal with lower crop prices and high costs.

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.

While the process to bring medical marijuana to Nebraska is moving in fits and starts, plans for recreational marijuana are moving quickly. The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, which legalized cannabis for both recreational and medical use in July, has announced plans to open a dispensary early next year.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music and the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film may have one director for the two schools under the university's budget cut proposal. The music director spoke with Nebraska Public Media about how this decision could hurt each program.

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.

The American Heartland has experienced a boom in wineries over the last three decades. But with U.S. wine sales trending down since 2019, some producers are feeling the effects more than others.

The Omaha Police Department's internal investigation regarding the traffic stop of boxer Terance “Bud” Crawford is nearing its end, according to police officials. OPD Chief Todd Schmaderer told reporters it was determined the officers involved in the traffic stop acted in accordance with department policy

The Omaha Police Department's internal investigation regarding the traffic stop of boxer Terance “Bud” Crawford is nearing its end, according to police officials. OPD Chief Todd Schmaderer told reporters it was determined the officers involved in the traffic stop acted in accordance with department policy

Nebraska county officials say things the Legislature requires them to do, but doesn't pay for, put pressure on property taxpayers.

Jane Goodall spent her life studying the behavior of primates – their relationships, their behaviors, their emotions. But they weren't the only animals she admired. For more than twenty years, the great sandhill crane migration drew the legendary primatologist to the center of Nebraska. Author and photographer Alan Bartels told Nebraska Public Media's Jackie Ourada about his friendship with Jane Goodall that began after a visit she made here.

Sen. John Cavanaugh said Thursday restrictions on medical cannabis could lead voters to approve recreational marijuana.

Scientists and seed companies are working on shrinking corn. The subtle difference in height has led to some big changes in how shorter corn can be planted and managed in the Corn Belt.

The first two hearings for programs up for elimination at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln began Wednesday. The Academic Planning Committee heard arguments for keeping the community and regional planning program and the landscape architecture program.

As $27.5 million in reductions loom over the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, students in programs proposed for elimination shared their concerns with how the loss of their programs would hurt the state. The potential cuts are in response to the state legislature allocating less funding than the university needed in its budget for the next two years.

The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission will not meet its Oct. 1 deadline to begin granting registrations for marijuana cultivators. During its meeting Tuesday, commission chair Dr. Monica Oldenburg said the commission's evaluation team was unable to provide recommendations for licensure after two of its members resigned. Earlier this week, Commissioners Bruce Bailey and Kim Lowe resigned from their positions on the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission at the request of Gov. Jim Pillen. That also meant losing their roles on the Medical Cannabis Commission, which includes the Liquor Control Commission members.

One of the familiar NPR hosts you wake up to on “Morning Edition” is A Martinez, who works out of Culver City, California. Martínez came to NPR four years ago from the world of sports talk radio. He told Nebraska Public Media's “Morning Edition” host Dale Johnson that he has come to appreciate the importance of nationwide public media, especially in rural states like Nebraska.

The modified Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act will go into effect as of Wednesday this week. The law requires businesses with between 11 and 19 employees to provide their employees with at least 40 hours of paid sick leave per year, and those with 20 or more employees will need to provide at least 56 hours of paid sick leave.

Advocates for All Nebraskans, a group that wants to lower property taxes in Nebraska, announced a new petition Monday asking the state to play a bigger role in funding public education. The latest proposed statutory amendment would establish a minimum base salary of $50,000 for all certified public-school teachers and asks the state to fulfill its constitutional obligation to fund K-12 education. Teachers with 12 or more years of experience would receive a minimum salary of $62,000. According to a 2025 report from the National Education Association, Nebraska's average teacher starting salary is $38,811, which ranks 49th among the 50 states.

Gov. Jim Pillen announced Monday that Nebraska will opt in to a federal tax credit for those donating to scholarship-granting organizations. Those scholarships can go to help students attending private schools or those in public schools needing extra resources like tutoring. The tax credit was passed under the “One Big Beautiful Bill” earlier this year.

The state of Nebraska, the city of Omaha and the community of North Omaha proudly took notice Saturday. People cheered, chanted and held up their cell phones hoping for a decent video of one of the greatest boxers of all time, Terence “Bud” Crawford, as he moved down a parade route in downtown Omaha.

The Cultural Centers of Lincoln Collaborative is one step closer to its new home. The building, located on a site at 21st and Vine streets, will connect four initiatives: the Good Neighbor Community Center, the Asian Community and Cultural Center, El Centro de las Américas and the Malone Center.

The Trump Administration asked states to find the lowest-cost option in the latest program to build broadband infrastructure in rural areas. That opens the door for more types of technology, which some worry could be less reliable in the long-term.

With federal government funding set to expire at the end of the day Tuesday, one Nebraska congressman isn't holding out hope of avoiding a shutdown. Rep. Mike Flood, a Republican who represents Nebraska's 1st Congressional District, said Sunday that compromise with the Democrats, at least in the short term, seems unlikely. “Sadly, at this time, I'm not hearing about anything that gives me hope that we're going to be able to get past this, basically because Senator Schumer in the Senate says he's not there, the Democrats don't want to do this,” Flood said.

Plans to convert the McCook Work Ethic Camp into an ICE detention facility are producing mixed reactions in this southwest Nebraska city.

Dozens of Pete Ricketts supporters made for standing room only inside the Mechanical Room, a speakeasy located in the basement of a brewery in downtown Beatrice, Wednesday evening. Nebraska's junior senator began his campaign speech highlighting his record of reducing taxes and improving public safety during his eight years as the state's governor. “We were able to cut the state income taxes for Nebraska families,” he said. “We were able to eliminate the state income tax on Social Security and also eliminate the state income tax on military retirement benefits.”

The University of Nebraska at Kearney has dropped the idea of selling alcohol at football games for the 2025 season. Originally, the school planned to sell alcohol at its first home game on Sept. 6, but an insurance issue with its concession vendor, Nightlife Concepts, put a halt on those plans.

It's been a rough year for Nebraska row crop producers, with low corn prices and China's refusal to buy soybeans leaving many producers in the red, despite relatively high yields. But speaking in York Wednesday, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs said there are big wins on the horizon for American agriculture. Lindberg attended a roundtable with ag producers on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, ahead of a joint review on the agreement scheduled for next summer. Lindberg says the review process includes three steps – looking to get a better deal, putting buyers and sellers in the same room and ensuring that foreign governments are living up to their commitments.

Omaha-based Union Pacific may soon become the first transcontinental railroad company in the United States, thanks to a proposed merger with Norfolk Southern. But the move has some rail employees worried about worker safety and a lack of government oversight. Nebraska Public Media's Brian Beach visited Union Pacific's Bailey Yard in North Platte to learn more.

Nebraska's newest casino and racetrack is out of the gates and contributing to the state budget.

The state auditor's office found several issues with ABA providers receiving the most money, including duplicate invoices, lack of documentation and employees not having proper credentials.

The 2026 general election may be more than a year away, but the U.S. Senate race in Nebraska is already heating up. Dan Osborn, the industrial mechanic and independent candidate who made national waves for his closer-than-expected race with Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024, is back on the campaign trail – this time against another Republican incumbent, Sen. Pete Ricketts. Osborn may have lost to Fischer by more than 6 percentage points, but in a state that hasn't elected a non-Republican to the Senate since 2006, the close margin elevated his profile and motivated supporters heading into the next election cycle. “It just started with an idea, and we turned it into getting 47% of the vote in Nebraska,” he said Monday of his 2024 campaign, interrupted by cheering and applause from the crowd.

The School Financing Review Commission will focus on recommending the right mix of state and local funding.

The Kearney Regional Medical Center – owned by Bryan Health – and Cancer Partners of Nebraska are coming together to open the Kearney Cancer Center, a 25,000-square-foot facility dedicated to cancer treatment. The center includes a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner to detect early signs of cancer, a linear accelerator for delivering radiation to treat tumors, and infusion bays with views of Yanney Park for chemotherapy patients. It will also offer on-site lab and diagnostic imaging, access to national clinical trials and certified mastectomy fitting.

Popcorn festivals and even "popcorn capitals of the world" dot the middle of the country. Yet this ubiquitous snack is grown on fewer than 1,000 farms in the U.S. today.

The Otoe-Missouria tribe called Southeast Nebraska home for over three hundred years but was displaced by the U-S in 1881, and forcibly moved to Red Rock, Oklahoma. Now there are efforts from the tribe to reconnect with their spiritual homeland through art.

On Saturday, the Nebraska football team hopes for its first win against a ranked opponent since 2016. Since then, the Huskers have lost 27 games in a row against competition ranked in the Associated Press' top 25, at the time of the game.

Supporters of online sports betting will try to put a constitutional amendment to legalize it on next year's Nebraska ballot.

Creighton University announced a $300 million project to upgrade and build athletic and recreation spaces on the eastern part of campus. It includes a student fitness center, sports performance facility and upgrades to current athletic buildings.

Memorial Stadium public address announcer Nate Rohr will be a lot busier this fall. He received a call from a friend with the Kansas City Chiefs, offering him the same role at Arrowhead Stadium. Nebraska Public Media's Aaron Bonderson spoke with Rohr about the balancing act of working both pro and college football games this fall.

The field of Democratic candidates in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional district just got bigger. James Leuschen, the former policy director for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, launched his campaign Thursday. “I'm running for Congress because I know firsthand what Nebraska families are up against,” he said. “Donald Trump's tax and tariff policies are sowing chaos and making life more expensive for families here. As a dad to three kids and son to an aging parent, I see how the cost of groceries, child care, elderly care, and housing continue to go up under Trump's policies, and relief is nowhere in sight.”