(Picture credit Sola Media)

Former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse said his cancer has receded significantly since he announced that he was diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer in December 2025.

“I'm down 99%, in five months, of how much cancer is in my blood,” Sasse said in a clip from an interview released by Sola Media on Friday. The former Nebraska senator said when it comes to his health, he has “two small bads and one giant good.”

Sasse said one of the “bads” was that he was “bleeding out of my head a lot” as a “byproduct of not being able to grow skin” because of the cancer treatment he is on.

“I don’t actually lose all my hair the same way a lot of chemo patients would, but the root of all my hair follicles thinks that I’m losing them. So there’s an inflammatory response. So I bleed a lot in my whiskers, and I bleed a lot out of scabs on my scalp,” he said.

The other small issue he was having, he said, was “a little bit of growing” of spots on his lungs, which is one of the five systems his doctors are monitoring for cancer growth. Sasse called the growth “not ideal,” but said it was a “small” bad compared to the news of his tumors shrinking 80% and the amount of cancer in his blood system being down 99%.

“I’m in bad enough shape that this is probably not going to mean that I live through this, but obviously at six and half months after a 90-day diagnosis — incredibly blessed to get bonus days, weeks, months,” he added. “A lot to be grateful for.”

When Sasse announced his diagnosis in December, doctors gave him three to four months to live. Since that time, the former senator has been giving interviews reflecting on life and how to “redeem the time,” as well as launching a podcast titled “Not Dead Yet,” where he conducts a weekly guest interview.

— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.

America 250 is a series by The Plains Sentinel celebrating our country’s 250th anniversary by highlighting the people, places, events, and ideas that have defined the Midwest and America.

A shadow hangs over America’s 250^th anniversary. While Americans no doubt have much to celebrate, it is difficult to shake the feeling that we find ourselves in, or on the brink of, some kind of political crisis. Our institutions appear increasingly dysfunctional, leading some citizens to apathy, while others turn reactionary.

Among this latter group are Americans on the right who are increasingly critical of the American Founding. These critics tend to point to the moral chaos of our day and blame it on the Founders for their supposed lack of concern for morality and virtue. While we certainly find ourselves in need of greater virtue today, to blame our present crisis on the Founders is neither fair nor accurate. Not only does this position reveal a misunderstanding of the Founding—it betrays a lack of political and moral responsibility on behalf of its critics.

Some members of the American right have increasingly adopted a common and long-established view that the Founders were insufficiently concerned with virtue, or that, despite their concern for it, they failed to sufficiently attend to its cultivation. A particularly influential proponent of this view is Patrick Deneen, a political theory Professor at Notre Dame, who argued in his bestselling 2018 book, “Why Liberalism Failed,” that our present moral crisis has arisen—not because the political philosophy of the Founders has failed—but precisely because it has succeeded. The problems of our day, he argues, can be traced to “the corrosive social and civic effects of self-interest—a disease that arises from the cure of overcoming the ancient reliance on virtue.”

Deneen’s critique of the Founding rests on a timeless understanding of the relationship between politics and morality, particularly with respect to republics. Classical wisdom holds that a republic requires virtuous citizens who readily devote themselves to its preservation, and thus, good founders establish laws and institutions that aim to mold these kinds of citizens. Central to this understanding of republican citizenship is a willingness to set aside one’s own self-interest and sacrifice on behalf of the public good.

Our Founders are said to have rejected this maxim, having instead placed their faith in self-interest and ambition, which they sought to cleverly channel to good ends by way of shrewd institutional arrangements.

Criticisms along these lines have been emerging from the academy for decades. Some are more careful than Deneen and note that the Founders did express concern for virtue, but nonetheless fault them for having failed to make arrangements for its sustainment and cultivation. In either case, the argument leads to the same conclusion: the Founders set us on an inevitable course toward moral chaos, and we ought to blame them for doing so.

While left-wing academic criticisms of the Founding have long exercised influence on popular opinion, it is only recently that right-wing criticisms of this nature have begun to find currency. Both are deeply corrosive, but here I want to focus on the latter.

The effect of this increasingly popular line of attack is to produce irreverence and disdain for both the Founders and the institutions they established, especially among young conservatives. The tendency to blame our current problems on the Founding serves, intentionally or not, as a wedge to open the door to far more concerning opinions and proposals which increasingly abound.

John Howting, an editor at Chronicles Magazine, which purports to commit itself to “defending the traditions and history of America and the West,” reduced the Constitution in a recent editorial to “an old list of laws and political compromises” unworthy of preservation. Curtis Yarvin, the preeminent American monarchist, who once characterized the American revolution as a moment in which “evil triumphed over good,” enjoys increasing popularity. He has ascended from a pseudonymous blog to participating in roundtable discussions—alongside Deneen—on America and her future with the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a pillar of the conservative movement which describes itself as committed to “teaching undergraduates the principles and virtues that make America free and prosperous.”

I do not fault ISI for “platforming” or “legitimizing” thinkers like Yarvin. In fact, I am inclined to think that citizens and scholars who have the capability to refute Yarvin and other “postliberals,” and yet avoid engaging with them, are in part to blame for their rise. Rather than ignore or foolishly attempt to “cancel” them, conservatives would do well to take inspiration from the words of Thomas Jefferson, who in July of 1793, implored Madison to publicly refute Hamilton’s interpretation of executive power, sparking the famous Pacificus-Helvidius debates: “For god’s sake, my dear Sir, take up your pen, select the most striking heresies, and cut him to pieces in the face of the public.”

What concerns me is that positions like this are increasingly well-received on the right. A first step, I believe, is to confront this initial wedge, which presents the Founders as blameworthy.

This line of criticism is as old as the Founding itself. While the most extreme variations of these arguments tend to emerge today from “postliberal” camps, one might just as soon characterize them as the reemergence of a kind of Anti-Federalist sentiment. In their complaints, they echo the American Brutus, who, in opposing the Constitution, insisted that our “civil institutions [ought to] hold chiefly in view, the attainment of virtue.”

Contrary to this common criticism, many Federalists in fact readily agreed with Brutus on this point. Take as evidence the proposal advanced by our first Secretary of War—Henry Knox, at the request of President Washington—in his 1790 “Plan for the general arrangement of the militia of the United States.” Under Knox’s plan, citizens would have undergone mandatory religious education and received lectures on republican theory alongside their military training.

Those who neglected to serve would have been barred from voting or running for office until a later age than their peers, which was to be determined by Congress. In his own words, Knox aimed at establishing a “dignified national fabric erected on the solid foundation of virtue.” In his view, this program would have ensured that Americans could rely on the “virtues and knowledge of the people” to defend against the “introduction of tyranny.”

Today’s postliberal critics may be surprised to find such an apparently illiberal—yet thoroughly republican—proposal from Federalists as prominent as Knox, and even Washington himself.

Of course, Knox’s vision for a national effort to inculcate virtue through the militia never materialized, nor did the countless attempts to found a national university made by other Founding Fathers on both sides of our earliest party divisions, including Washington, James Madison, Benjamin Rush, and Thomas Jefferson.

While one may fairly note the Founders failed to establish a national institution for moral and civic education, we cannot accuse them of neglecting to try. These proposals failed in large part due to broader political divisions concerning a shared national vision for moral and political education, and relatedly, contentious disputes over the boundary of federal and state authority, and the proper objects of each.

While one might then be tempted to blame the division at the Founding that precluded these efforts, today’s critics ought to first recognize the Founders’ profound achievement in managing to preserve and strengthen our Union against such intense political division in the first place. Moreover, if the division between men like Brutus and Knox lay not in whether institutions ought to aim at cultivating virtue, but primarily in whether those institutions ought to be established at the national level or that of the states, one might fairly ask why the states themselves did not make a more serious effort to emulate these Federalist proposals.

But the fact remains that the Founders did not establish national institutions for moral education, and that we appear increasingly in need of a renewed moral education today.

A defense of the Founding aimed at these critics will prove unpersuasive to them if it declines to recognize the severity of our current moral crisis. John Adams famously said that “our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people,” and would thus be “wholly inadequate” to govern an immoral and irreligious people.

If Adams was right, then a cursory glance at the moral landscape of contemporary America provokes acute concern. Judged in light of traditional American moral opinions, such as the importance of religion and the family, the dangers of greed and excessive self-interest, and the importance of voluntary political association, civic engagement, and service, life in America today may well give cause for alarm.

Compared with much of American history, Americans today are less religious, less likely to marry, and less likely to be raised in a two-parent household. American commerce appears increasingly avaricious and speculative—whether one looks to apparent increases in leverage and speculation among institutional investors, the explosion of zero-day options trading among retail investors, or the meteoric rise of online sports betting.

Related to both trends, Americans are more likely than ever to engage in pornography as a commercial pursuit. We are less likely to serve in the military, join clubs and associations to serve our communities, or speak to our neighbors. In many ways, political engagement has declined precipitously. A notable exception is the increase in voter participation in national presidential elections, which itself may well reflect an increasingly unrepublican faith in the executive as our preferred receptacle for political longings.

In short, we have come a long way from our Puritan roots, and our commitment to ordered liberty increasingly appears closer to an excessive embrace of license.

For those who understand republican government as integrally reliant on moral virtue, all this offers ready explanation for the dysfunction of our political institutions today. But it is not clear that today’s vice discounts the virtues of our Fathers, or that it calls for the abandonment of our institutions.

Ironically, we might find a useful defense of our institutions in the arguments of another Anti-Federalist who opposed their establishment. During the ratification debates, a Pennsylvanian under the name Candidus criticized his fellow citizens for being “too apt” to blame their institutions for their problems, and asked them rather to consider: “may not our manners be the source of our national evils?”

While Candidus was misguided in his estimation of the Articles of the Confederation, his words offer a needed correction to many Americans today. What do we rightly aim to celebrate this 250^th anniversary, if not our great fortune in having inherited the institutions established by the Founders, of which we owe so much for our still exceptional liberty, prosperity, and power?

We would do well to heed Candidus’ criticism and think twice before attributing our moral and political problems to the Founders and the institutions they established. Yet doing so would involve something both difficult and distinctly American—taking responsibility. It will always be tempting to blame the Founders for present political problems, just as it is tempting for an adult with bad habits to blame his or her parents and upbringing.

Both share the opportunity to liberate oneself from taking responsibility for their own discontent, but doing so is neither useful nor praiseworthy. If we wish to ensure that our descendants will continue to have a republic worth celebrating, a better reaction to today’s circumstances would be to begin with gratitude for all that we have inherited, and to reflect both on how it is we began to lose our virtue, and what choices might begin to lead us back to it.

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Adopting this view, one might begin to see issues with the narrative today’s critics advance. For one, if the Founders set us on an inevitable course to the manners and morals of today, how is it that Americans retained an exceptional moral seriousness for so many generations?

Many of us American men need only look back to our grandfathers to see a generation of Americans who displayed considerable virtue. They lined up in droves to fight on behalf of their country, took chivalry seriously, engaged in their communities, and in general, were of superior manners to American men today. Where did these men come from if their regime was rotten to its core? My own grandfather, who taught me a great deal, grew up in Alliance, Nebraska, and so it is only fitting I defend him and his fathers in The Plains Sentinel. Were he here today, he might offer us a distinctly American opinion: that improving one’s own life entails making better choices, and that begins with taking responsibility.

Yet improving the political choices we make is more complicated. It requires institutions that are structured to effectively mediate disputes between citizens. Thankfully, if there is anything we have received from our Founders, it is institutions built to do just that. Before we blame our institutions and their architects for our problems, we ought to begin by considering whether we are failing to sufficiently engage with those institutions. This consideration will likely reveal that we lack sufficient understanding of how our institutions work.

Fortunately, the Founders provide a remedy to our ignorance in the trove of writings and disputes they left us. Therein lies the profound danger of today’s postliberal criticisms of the Founding—that in convincing us to blame the Founders, they would turn us away from them. While casting blame might offer immediate satisfaction, in the long run it will tend to enervate us politically, as it will steer us away from seriously engaging, and perhaps even emulating, the prudence and virtue we descend from.

Shane Leary is a PhD Candidate in American Politics at Baylor University. His dissertation examines the Founders’ debates over militias and standing armies.

(Picture credit Lynne Walz Twitter)

In a notable display of bipartisanship, former Nebraska State Senator Mark Kolterman, a Republican who represented District 24, walked alongside Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lynne Walz in the Seward Fourth of July Parade last week.

Kolterman, who served in the Unicameral from 2015 to 2023, confirmed the appearance, citing his six years of collaboration with Walz on legislation and his concerns about the current direction of state government—particularly spending and a looming budget deficit.

“I served with Lynne for six years in the Legislature and worked on quite a bit of legislation with her and thought she did a good job,” Kolterman said in an interview on Thursday with The Plains Sentinel. “I’m a little bit concerned about what’s going on with our state government and the spending and how they’re doing things. And she asked me if I’d walk with her in the Seward parade, and I told her yes.”

When asked whether the parade appearance constituted an endorsement or a show of friendship, Kolterman replied, “Both.”

Fiscal Concerns Drive Support

One of Kolterman’s primary concerns was the sharp turnaround in the state’s financial picture since he left office.

“When I left the legislature four years ago, we were $1.5 billion in the black with the rainy day fund, and now we’re—what, looking $750 million in the face as they go into the legislature this coming session,” he said.

He described the shift as largely “self-inflicted” and called for a more measured approach to taxes and education funding. While an avid proponent of property and income tax relief, Kolterman argued that major changes should be paused until the education funding formula is overhauled.

“It doesn’t happen overnight,” he said. “As you look at the short term, I think it’s time to just kind of put things on pause and hold. And before we implement all these income tax breaks—not get rid of them, but put them on hold for a year or two—and figure out the education formula and how we’re going to fund education, and then go from there. It has to be a balanced approach.”

Kolterman recalled supporting earlier bipartisan efforts on education funding, including work by Walz and Former State Senator Brett Lindstrom.

“When I was serving in the legislature, Lynn Walz and Brett Lindstrom had a really good bill to help rewrite the education formula. It didn’t go anywhere, but I thought they had a good idea. And I supported it. I helped promote it,” he said.

Call for Bipartisanship

Kolterman said that growing partisanship in the Legislature has become an obstacle to getting things done and contrasted it with the more collaborative environment he experienced.

“The legislature is supposed to be bipartisan, and there doesn’t seem to be anybody that’s willing to reach across the aisle and talk to each other, which we did have when I was in the legislature,” he said.

His message to fellow Republicans questioning his support for Walz was direct: “Reach across the line. Reach across the aisle, talk to your colleagues. You know, the legislature has functioned very well for many, many years, and the more partisan it gets, the more dysfunctional it gets. I believe we need to continue to work on relationships in the legislature and working together to get things done. That’s how we do things in Nebraska.”

Legislative Role vs. Top-Down Approach

Kolterman also emphasized that the legislature—not the governor—should set the state’s budget and policy tone. He praised the working relationship between former State Sen. John Stinner and the Ricketts administration as a model of cooperation.

Kolterman, who remains a Republican, stressed he was not interested in criticizing the current administration but in highlighting principles that worked during his time in office.

“It’s not about Pillen,” he said. “The legislature is supposed to be the one setting the budget and the tone of the state. That’s what the legislative branch is all about. The legislative branch is supposed to make the laws and set the budget and the governor is supposed to carry out those laws and meet the budget obligations. I think that they have to work hand in glove.”

He also praised Walz’s campaign style for its focus on listening to Nebraskans across the state.

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“I think it’s proven already that she’s around the state listening to people. She’s been all over the state,” Kolterman said. “That’s what it’s all about—listening to the people and then acting. And surrounding yourself with good people.”

Kolterman’s support underscores Walz’s effort to campaign as a “purple” candidate willing to work across the political aisle. It also highlights how essential such a strategy is likely to be for a Democrat seeking to become the first statewide winner from the party in nearly two decades.

— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.

(Photo credit Matt Johnson)

LINCOLN — A group of current and former female Republican state senators is calling on Independent U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn to “come clean” regarding his connections to Graham Platner, a former U.S. Senate nominee in Maine. The letter, which was sent on Thursday, comes as Platner announced he was suspending his campaign following a rape accusation from a former girlfriend.

“Mr. Osborn, we are calling on you to do two things: 1) Fire your campaign consultants Morris Katz and Daniel Moraff immediately,” the letter states. “2) Come clean about how you personally profited from Graham Platner’s campaign via your wife’s company Dark Forest LLC.”

The letter was signed by 13 current and former female Nebraska state senators, including: current State Senators Christy Armendariz, Jana Hughes, Carolyn Bosn, Kathleen Kauth, Tanya Storer, Teresa Ibach, Rita Sanders as well as former State Senators Julie Slama, Theresa Thibodeau, Lydia Brasch, Joni Albrecht, Suzanne Geist, and Lou Ann Linehan.

Osborn responded to the letter stating that he had “never recruited or supported Graham Platner and neither has my wife, full stop. I’m glad that he dropped out. Our politics have nothing in common, and clearly neither do our values. I will always do what I can to make sure women are respected by those seeking and holding power.”

A spokesperson for the Osborn campaign said that Moraff had “stepped away from the Osborn campaign in June to focus on Maine” and that his wife “has never been an owner, partner or employee of Dark Forest, and was only ever paid as an independent contractor for recruitment work.”

“We have spent our public service careers working to strengthen protections for survivors, to ensure women are protected and heard, and to hold accountable those who would silence them. We cannot reconcile that work with staying silent now,” the group added in the letter.

Osborn’s campaign has come under scrutiny this week over its ties to Platner’s campaign. A video released on Tuesday by conservative media site, Townhall, shows a former Osborn campaign staffer saying that Osborn himself recruited Platner to run for Senate in Maine.

“This is not really out there publicly, but he recruited Graham Platner,” a woman says in the video. “Dan, after the last election, he started a program to recruit working class candidates to run.”

Osborn admitted in a statement that the woman in the video was indeed a former staffer, but denied what she said was true.

“What she said is false, and she was not speaking on behalf of me or our campaign,” Osborn said Tuesday. “I have never recruited or supported Graham Platner, full stop. Our politics have nothing in common, and clearly neither do our values.”

Osborn’s campaign, though, has several other connections to Platner’s run. In video obtained by The Plains Sentinel from an August Platner town hall, the candidate told the audience that he and Osborn were part of a “larger network.”

Both candidates were recruited by Daniel Moraff and Leanne Fan, both of whom had previously worked for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders during his re-election campaign. They have also shared other consultants including Morris Katz, the brains behind Osborn’s media ads during his 2024 run against U.S. Senator Deb Fischer, and Joe Calvello, who now works as press secretary for Mamdani.

Platner announced Wednesday he was dropping his bid for U.S. Senate.

— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.

(Picture credit Austin Ahlman)

Independent candidate Austin Ahlman confirmed to The Plains Sentinel that he has collected enough signatures necessary to make the ballot this fall in his bid to take on incumbent Congressman Mike Flood and Democratic challenger Chris Backemeyer in Nebraska’s 1st congressional district.

Ahlman told The Plains Sentinel he would continue to collect signatures until he has a “healthy buffer,” but the campaign crossed the 2,000 signature threshold in the past week. Ahlman said he expects to submit signatures to the secretary of state’s office “close to the end of the month.”

“I imagine both parties are pretty keen on keeping us off the ballot, so we can’t take anything for granted,” he added.

Ahlman, who is from Norfolk, worked in Washington D.C. as a journalist who covered big tech for the Open Markets Institute. He has since relocated back to Norfolk after his father received a cancer diagnosis.

Ahlman has credited his political beginnings to the closing of the Norfolk Tyson Foods plant in 2006. He likens the current state of American politics to that of the Gilded Age in the late 1800s. As he explained in his first town hall on June 11, that is exactly why he believes his campaign is viable.

His run has caused a stir with the Democratic party, which claims he is playing spoiler as progressives in the state seek to unseat Flood. Ahlman told The Plains Sentinel that he has not had any contact with Backemeyer since he launched his campaign and said Backemeyer “seems pretty dug in” on staying in the race.

When asked about the risk of splitting the anti-Flood ticket with Backemeyer, he appealed to the prior success of Dan Osborn in 2024.

“Osborn won this district in 2024,” he said. “I think that the message that I have as an independent brings a lot more people in than they ever will.”

He listed his major priorities as anti-monopolization, fighting against AI data center usage within the state, and ending United States involvement in foreign conflicts. Ahlman, who is gay, also expressed an aversion to culture war issues.

“You’re not going to hear me go on culture war rants, because I fundamentally believe that most of these things are just like invented in the lab somewhere to make sure that we’re focused on everybody except for the elites that are picking our pockets,” he said.

He’s backed conservatives on gun rights and decried mandatory surveillance systems in newly manufactured cars, as well as called outgoing GOP Congressman Thomas Massie “one of the best” in Congress. He’s also endorsed liberal positions such as campaign finance reform, increasing taxes on the rich, and expanding Medicare and Social Security.

Cook Political lists the district 1 seat still in the “Solid R” category. Dual May polls by Zenith Research showed Flood leading both Backemeyer and Ahlman in head-to-head races by 7 and 8 points respectively. Tavern Research’s May 21 three-way poll showed Ahlman receiving 9% to Backemeyer’s 33% and Flood’s 41%.

Whether Ahlman’s independent run will appeal to voters will be seen this November.

— Lewis Thune is a writing fellow with The Plains Sentinel.

— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.

(Picture credit Matt Johnson)

Governor Jim Pillen announced Wednesday that he would be directing state agencies to further cut spending in response to lower revenue from tax cuts the Legislature had previously passed. Pillen issued a memo to all the cabinet heads of boards, commissions, and agencies directing them to “double” their efforts in restraining spending.

“I am pleased with the progress we’ve made, but I am not satisfied,” Pillen said in a statement. “We must do better. We must run government like a business and embrace the innovation and change that is necessary to shrink the size of government. Bloated businesses don’t survive for long, and it’s our duty to make sure our State adapts and changes to stay competitive and resilient.”

The memo directs cabinet heads to have “restraint in travel, hiring, membership dues, implementing technology upgrades, and purchasing equipment.”

Additionally, agencies, commissions, and boards are expected to submit plans to cut spending, report monthly budgets, and put a freeze on hiring or the creation of new positions.

Pillen’s office said the cuts were made necessary because Nebraska taxpayers were getting more money back on their income tax returns.

“In fiscal year (FY) 2026, the State paid out $307 million more in refunds than was anticipated. That represents cash directed back into the pockets of Nebraskans, but efforts must continue to close the gap in state revenue,” the governor’s office stated.

In 2023, the Nebraska Legislature passed and Pillen championed income tax cuts that will take the state’s top rates down to 3.99% in 2027. Republicans have said the cut will help grow the state and keep it competitive with its neighbors while Democrats have blamed the cuts for the state’s budget deficit in recent years.

Last year, Pillen asked agencies to look to cut their budgets by 10%. The governor said the cuts were part of his broader goal to shrink the size of government.

— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.

(Photo credit Joyce Vondrasek)

Joyce Vondrasek, a thirty-five-year-old Democratic Socialist, has already run for the Nebraska Legislature in District 9 in Omaha once. With the wave of recent primary and general election victories by candidates sharing his political views across the country, he’s feeling inspired and hoping that he’ll have the wind at his back in his next try.

The Plains Sentinel interviewed Vondrasek last week to discuss his vision for what a Democratic Socialist agenda would look like in Nebraska.

Plains Sentinel: Do the Democratic Socialist victories in New York and Colorado inspire you?

Joyce Vondrasek: Yes, absolutely. Especially in these safe blue districts, you know, and these places where Democrats have majorities, we need to have the conversations about what kind of person we are sending to the government. Are we sending a status quo candidate, or are we sending a candidate who’s going to challenge the Republicans, but also the Democratic Party establishment to be better in the state of Nebraska.

Right now, we have a situation where Dan Osborn is running for Senate because the Democratic Party has been completely unable to field a candidate for statewide office for almost my entire life. The last Democrat I remember winning was Ben Nelson defeating Pete Ricketts, I think, in 2006, maybe. We haven’t won anything close to that in so long. And if Dan Osborn wins, the Democratic Party in Nebraska is going to have to take a serious look in the mirror and ask themselves, like, we’ve been doing the same thing for 40 years and hasn’t been working. Are we going to change or not? And as far as I can tell, the answer is still no. They don’t want to change.

Plains Sentinel: What do you think about New York’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani?

Vondrasek: I love him. I have a problem where I’m very cynical, and sometimes I get angry about things. I’m a very angry person. I’m a gay man. There’s lots to be angry about in the state of Nebraska for gay people right now. So I use him as an example. I try to sort of emulate his positivity. I try to stop before I say something. I think, how do I stay positive? I know what Mamdani would do because that’s how he won stuff. My intention is to start going out to public events and things and sort of hold up a sign that says, “Tell me what you think about the street car” or “Do you support the idea of a train between Omaha and Lincoln?” and sort of do man on the street, things like that? Like, he started his campaign with.

Plains Sentinel: Does Omaha or even your part of Omaha need rent control?

Vondrasek: I think rent control is one of those solutions that is a good Band-Aid. I do support rent control. I would support it, but I don’t think I would be the person to introduce a rent control bill in the state of Nebraska. We need a social public housing program where the government has entered the housing market, owns units and uses those units as leverage to affect the rents of the rest of the market to lower rents of the rest of the market. I think that’s the most effective way to secure housing for people and to secure lower rents for people in the short and long term.

Plains Sentinel: Nebraska has a budget deficit this year. What would you do? What are your ideas for how we close that?

Vondrasek: So my understanding is that Nebraska didn’t have a budget deficit very recently and that the Republican Party passed just a few pieces of legislation that have truly upended the state’s budget in a very short amount of time.

So again, I think we’re looking at a situation on a national level, but also here on a local level where Republicans are perfectly fine wrecking the economy even when they’re in a super majority status and they control the economy for 30, 40 years, and then they’ll still just point to liberal Democrats and be like the, the way they wanted to do things didn’t work. And so they’re really just incompetent or purposely sabotaging the status quo. Like I said, that Democratic socialist agreement where people have the money to participate as consumers, they’re attacking and undermining that at all costs. And it looks in different ways, like undermining public education on purpose because you want people to be so stupid that they can’t fight back against politicians.

I truly believe the Republican agenda is anti-democratic. They are trying to undermine every part of civil society to leave capitalists and rich oligarchs like Pete Ricketts in control of our government.

Plains Sentinel: Medicare for All?

Vondrasek: Yes. 100%. It should start on the local level. Like we need to be advocating for a public option in Nebraska. If Mitt Romney can pass Romneycare in Massachusetts way back in 2006, I think we can try something like that in the state of Nebraska. And Democrats absolutely should be using that as a wedge against Republicans. If Republicans are going to use transgender kids as a wedge in politics, why shouldn’t we use public health care as a wedge in politics on the state level?

Plains Sentinel: So Republicans have already started to say people like you aren’t just socialists, you’re straight-up communists. What do you say to that? What’s the difference between a democratic socialist and a communist? And why is it important?

Vondrasek: So a Democrat socialist is a person who, in theory, believes a future socialist economy is achievable through slow Democratic reforms over time. Slow changes of peaceful revolution, if you will. A communist is a person who believes that the capitalists probably aren’t going to let us have a peaceful revolution and things are going to have to get feisty. And I am a socialist. I ran openly as a socialist. I believe in the words of John F. Kennedy, who said, if you refuse to let a peaceful Revolution happen, you’re going to get a violent Revolution.

And as far as I can tell so far, the capitalist class in this country is working very hard to make sure that people like Mamdani and the political movement that is behind us do not succeed. We’ve seen that come repeatedly from the Democratic Party 2016 and 2020, 2024, and they’re losing their grip on the party now. Things are really starting to change in this country, and it’s getting interesting. A peaceful revolution is looking possible in this moment. And so I’m happy to keep running for public office and advocating and organizing in the community.

Plains Sentinel: What do you think of Omaha’s street car?

Vondrasek: Omaha needs public transit for the entire city, and we need politicians who are going to build public transit and make plans for public transit that are going to serve the entire city, not just be a cute little thing for Mutual of Omaha and the real estate developers.

Plains Sentinel: Does Omaha need subways or what’s your vision?

Vondrasek: I think there are places in Omaha that call for almost every different type of train that might be available to us. I think east of 72nd Street on Dodge, I think subways might be called for because it’s very hilly and it would be obstructive to create an above ground over the road sort of situation. And I think it’s just easier to do it underground. I think that’s much more feasible than people realize it might be for Omaha. Although, of course, it would be expensive. And I also think that train corridors like Highway 75 and 72nd Street, 144th Street, like they were recommended in a 2010 beltway study. Much more feasible than people think and we need to pursue those options soon. Also on other corridors like Maple and L Street are good candidates for light rail.

Plains Sentinel: How would you pay for that?

Vondrasek: So I think that that’s why I’m part of why I’m running for state senate. There have been efforts in the past to create new tax brackets to essentially raise taxes on richer Nebraskans. Nebraska has what I would call stupid tax system where the same person who makes $150,000, faces the same tax brackets as Warren Buffett. Buffett himself has talked about that. Nebraska’s income tax structure is kind of regressive, frankly, and it lets rich people off of a lot of tax liability. We could change that just a little bit. You know, we don’t have to go back to the 1950s and 60s where Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, had the income tax in the 90s and the 80 percentile ranges. We can just raise taxes by one or two or, gosh, five percent and then really accomplish a lot of really cool things and build new infrastructure and accomplish things with public transit that we need to be doing for a climate change agenda.

Plains Sentinel: Since we’re talking about the sage of Omaha. What do you think of California’s wealth tax?

Vondrasek: I’m not as familiar with California’s wealth tax, although I think I just heard Gavin Newsom say he now supports creating a national wealth tax.

Plains Sentinel: Lots of places have repealed it. California has it on the ballot for this fall. The idea is to put a small tax on your net assets.

Vondrasek: There’s a strong argument to be made for the redistribution of wealth in this country, you know, by force with electoral measures like this. I think that we’ve experienced 50 years of wealth being siphoned away from working class people in the form of wages and benefits. I absolutely would support efforts to do sort of small one-time efforts or long-term things like that to redistribute wealth in the United States. Absolutely.

Plains Sentinel: Is the $15 minimum wage enough to get that started in Nebraska? Or what do you think the minimum wage should be?

Vondrasek: I do not think the $15 minimum wage is enough. I earn $21.50 at my job at Omaha’s bike share nonprofit, and I still live paycheck to paycheck. I am not really able to save money in any meaningful way. I do think that when we see that line graph that everyone knows about where the productivity keeps going up, but then wages flatline somewhere around the 1970s or 80s, that missing triangle of wages, that’s the money we’re talking about that needs to be redistributed back to the working class.

People in my generation, we are being shortchanged. The minimum wage needs to be raised significantly. Twenty-five or 30 is a good place to start. That might sound radical to people. I just saw an argument about the teen unemployment rate. Has now “skyrocketed” in Nebraska because of the people who are insisting on raising wages in Lincoln and Omaha opposed to the way that the legislature has undermined the minimum wage bill. And I think that there’s always going to be blowback when you raise a wage like that. It’s always going to be a short-term hit where businesses do have to pay their employees more and they’re going to feel the effect in their bank account.

The very next cycle two weeks, four weeks, six weeks, all of those employees have more money. All those workers have more money. They go out and spend it and they stimulate the economy. That’s what the raising the minimum wage does. You’ve really gotten away from the basic sort of democratic socialist principle for the American economy of we’re going to pay workers enough to consume things in the economy and participate in the economy as consumers.

Plains Sentinel: When that’s your starting place. How can you appeal broadly in a state that’s as red as Nebraska?

Vondrasek: Well. Frankly, I’m just trying to appeal to the voters in Legislative District 9. I’m perfectly happy to have a message that might scare people in a more conservative district. But I did grow up here in this “safe” blue district. There is a change happening in the Democratic Party and there’s change happening in voters who consider themselves safe blue voters. And we’re going to start demanding more. We’re going to raise the bar. Socialists would like to offer this district the choice of someone who’s going to push a little bit harder and who’s going to make their priority to actually build something like a commuter train.

Plains Sentinel: Your position on abortion?

Vondrasek: I am so pro-abortion it hurts. Abortion is good. It is a social good when women are allowed to get abortions whenever they need them.

Plains Sentinel: What’s the most important thing that Americans should remember on the 250th anniversary of the 4th of July?

Vondrasek: That things can change and that we should change them? Our Founding Fathers thought that we would write a new Constitution within 25 years of the original one being written.

And we have not done that. We’ve only made a few amendments and we haven’t made many amendments recently. And I think that we should strongly consider that it would be good to create some national unity in around writing a completely new Constitution. And completely revamping our democracy using other countries as examples moving forward.

Plains Sentinel: What countries would you look at?

Vondrasek: Any country that’s a parliament, I think we should abolish the Senate. I think the entire executive branch should be subsumed into legislative branch and we should have a prime minister who is immediately recallable by our elected representatives. I think the United States’ political story is a story of the expansion of way too much executive power. That is a part of what allows the United States government to act like a hegemonic bully on the world stage.

And if we could create a political movements to sublimate the executive power to that of the legislative branch, I think that would go a long way to improving our relations in the world and also just our economy and everything else in general.

Plains Sentinel: Would you keep the First Amendment?

Vondrasek: Absolutely. Yeah, I, I would be in jail right now without the First Amendment. My chalk activities around town. I would have literally been arrested for exercising my First Amendment rights. Absolutely. For sure.

(Interviewer and interviewee fist bump)

Plains Sentinel: What do you think about tariffs? Should Nebraska workers compete with workers who get slave wages and have no environmental protection?

Vondrasek: The way that Donald Trump has employed tariffs has been a farce. Anybody who’s read Herbert Hoover’s Wikipedia page should understand that tariffs have a specific place in our modern economy. They really should not be weaponized in the way they have been. There is a job of our federal government to negotiate some of those things. There’s also a job for state government to protect Nebraska workers in some level. There’s an argument for some tariffs at a reasonable scale.

Plains Sentinel: Nebraska has recently lost meat packing jobs by the hundreds and cereal plant jobs by the hundreds. How would your approach be to economic development in Nebraska and building jobs and, and bringing economic opportunity here?

Vondrasek: So there’s already a Kawasaki plant in Lincoln where they build passenger train cars and then ship them all over the world to be put into use for different places. I would build a commuter train between Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, and I would start there and I would use that as an example to argue for an expansion of commuter trains between Lincoln and Omaha and other cities in the state like it used to be, building a modern passenger train Network instead of investing in Interstate Highway expansion.

I think that will create jobs, build the trains. And then as we move forward, Transit is required for a climate change economy moving forward. It’s an integral part of the plans that we need to reduce car traffic, reduce pollution, Etc. And high-speed rail, intercity trains, subways, and light rails within cities. Nebraska could be a place where a lot of factories build trains and then ship those to other states to build new train infrastructure that we’re going to build in the United States.

Plains Sentinel: California spent more than a hundred billion dollars and has gotten almost nowhere. That’s a super majority Democratic state. What would you do different? What are they doing wrong? What’s the lesson?

Vondrasek: Big point about a super majority Democratic state, even within the Democratic Party in California, there are detractors who do not support public transit in the ways that they should.

Second point, California is doing something that has never been done before in the United States. It is literally brand new technology, brand new ideas that are being built and implemented, and therefore it is going to be more expensive to start doing and do things like that in a place where it’s never been done before. The solution is not to doubt what’s happening, but to continue on with the thing that we know is good and right to do. I advocate for high-speed rail transcontinental high speed rail in the United States.

Nebraska’s economy and population is the size it is today, because of the transcontinental railroad that was built through Omaha when it was first built. Had that railroad not been built through Omaha, we’d have the same population as North Dakota and Omaha would be smaller than Lincoln. If we allow high-speed trains across the country to go through Kansas City or to go north for some reason, we’re going to miss out on the economic development that will come with those things.

I want a huge new train station serving high-speed trains and commuter trains to other cities in downtown Omaha between our two historic train stations below.

Plains Sentinel: What do you think of Trump’s policy of taking ownership stakes in companies that need government help like AI computer chips and steel?

Vondrasek: That’s so funny because, like, normally I’m like a, there’s a nationalized button in front of me. I’m going to hit that button kind of guy, especially when it comes to train infrastructure. But I think that Donald Trump is doing something that’s more akin to open corruption. You know, he’s taking government stakes, he’s giving contracts to his buddies. It’s very clearly a grift. However, we can and should be making targeted investments in certain Industries.

I’m a huge proponent of social public housing, which would involve the federal and state governments entering the housing market and buying current units, but also building new housing units where multiple different class levels live together in communities, and everyone would pay a fixed rent that would remain low because the government was trying to compete at lower prices in general. That’s one way that the government could enter a market in a good way.

Plains Sentinel: Should Nebraska own part of Berkshire Hathaway?

Vondrasek: What part of Berkshire Hathaway? The railroads? I don’t know. I was more thinking five or ten percent or again. Has that been proposed?

Plains Sentinel: Just thinking of socialist things that could happen in Nebraska.

Vondrasek: You know, there is an argument to be made that Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are just sitting on this land and not really investing in modern electrifying, even their freight trains or anything like that. They’re just sort of reaping the profits as they come in from the oil and the coal. I don’t want to be the guy who’s like, we’re gonna take the land from Union Pacific to build this train. I want to approach Union Pacific and say, listen, if we build a train, it can benefit you also. Like, we want to build a modern electric commuter train.

Help us, you know, reinvest and rebuild your freight infrastructure along the same route and we’ll do it together. You know, it doesn’t have to be a lose- lose situation. I don’t think we need to invest in a private company like that. I don’t think that’s necessarily required.

Editor’s Note: This interview was edited for length, clarity, and style.

David Mastio is a Papillion resident and a former National Columnist for The Kansas City Star and Deputy Editorial Page Editor of USA TODAY.

(Picture credit Matt Johnson)

BELLEVUE — Congressman Mike Flood held another combative town hall Tuesday evening at Bellevue West High School. Like other recent town halls Flood has held, this one featured angry shouting from constituents and a circus-like atmosphere as political protesters arrived — some in costume — to make their voices heard.

Protests in Costume

One woman standing along the walkway out front wore an inflatable frog costume and held a sign reading, “Tolerating racism is racism.”

“Portland had, I believe, ICE folks come and take away citizens without due process,” the woman said. “And so their form of protest was to put on inflatable frog costumes and stand in front of the ICE agents and make a blockade for those folks that are allowed to be in our country and were taken illegally.”

A group of women wearing pink sashes reading “Pissed off Grammas” gathered to sing protest songs on the walkway outside the entrance. Organized by a woman named Marilyn Hooper in 2025, the group reportedly has over 90 members.

Around eight of them showed up to air their grievances, not just against Flood but, according to one member, against “all the representatives that are not listening to us and are not willing to listen to us — so it’s everybody.”

Moments later, the group approached the entrance, where Congressman Flood greeted them and invited them to submit questions.

“It’s part of the job, right?” Flood said. “I think you’ve got to stand on the town square. I believe in what I’m doing. I believe in listening to people and getting feedback.”

Housing Bill

Flood opened his remarks by touting his collaboration with Democrat Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5) to pass the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act through the House and Senate.

“It didn’t matter if you were the Democrat mayor of San Diego or the red city mayor in Ohio. There was a common set of issues that we could agree on,” Flood said of the effort.

While President Trump has stated he would not sign the bill before the SAVE America Act, it will become law if he does not veto it by Friday night at midnight (Eastern time).

The Plains Sentinel asked Flood about a new Federal Reserve working paper that linked the Biden-era surge in unauthorized immigration to roughly 30% of home price growth and 20% of rent increases in average U.S. metro areas.

“Listen, a lot of things happen when you have a porous, open border. It can put a lot of demand on the system,” Flood said. “We have, right now, a supply problem. When you have low supply and high demand, you have higher home prices. And they have gone astronomically high in the last couple of years. Adding more supply is the way to fix it. That’s what the bill does. I’m hoping that we can bring those prices down.”

Heated Questions

Multiple questions from the crowd involved medical marijuana, which Flood said he opposes even though Nebraskans approved it through the 2024 ballot initiative process.

“I may not agree with it, but that is their decision as a state of Nebraska,” Flood said. “And a lot of times, those things, when they go to the ballot box, I’m on the same side as the winning side, but this is not one of them. And I think that the people that voted for that have every right to expect a state to set up a system to carry out the will of the majority of the voters that changed the law.”

Other questions involved the Epstein files, prompting Flood to cite his vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act in 2025.

Another guest demanded evidence of election fraud. Flood stated that he never claimed the 2020 election was fraudulent, which quickly devolved into a shouting match over voter ID as the guest continued asking, “Where is the evidence?”

Leah Kuester, chair of the Sarpy County Democrats, introduced herself as a “dialysis social worker” and asked Flood about cuts to the SNAP program. Flood reiterated that the program had been temporarily increased during COVID and has since returned to pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

“We do not have unlimited money,” Flood said. “We want people who need those resources to get those resources. But the spending that was happening during COVID wasn’t warranted anymore after the pandemic ended.”

One man identifying himself as Carl from Lincoln said he has “never felt more unsafe” in the United States and asked what he should do about ICE agents he claimed were acting “outside the law.”

“We can’t even identify whether or not they’re actually federal agents because they drive around in civilian vehicles, they act outside the law,” he said. “How will we as citizens, if you will not uphold the law, defend ourselves? Do you uphold our right to use the Second Amendment to defend ourselves if you do not uphold the law?”

Flood responded that violent crime was down across the country, including in Washington, D.C. Carl shouted “Liar! F--king liar!” before storming out.

Shouting Matches

Like Flood’s previous town halls, the questions and answers were permeated with near-constant heckling. What became apparent, however, was that the detractors were placed on the fringe of the theater while Flood’s supporters gathered in the middle. This appeared to be an intentional amplification tactic — a known strategy used by organized groups at public meetings to make a relatively small number of vocal protesters seem like a much larger, more representative crowd.

Of all Flood’s responses, the loudest and strongest negative reaction came when he answered a guest who accused him of representing “rich donors and AIPAC.” Flood replied that the United States has no greater ally in the Middle East than Israel.

“I was there shortly after the animals from Hamas attacked the innocent civilians in the kibbutz in southern Israel,” Flood said as members of the fringe tried to shout him down and those in the middle applauded. “Ladies and gentlemen, they massacred babies. They burned them in ovens. They shot children in front of their parents. They raped women and children. What happened in Israel was horrific. If that had happened on our soil, we as Americans would rise up and eliminate that threat. And that’s exactly what the Israelis have done.”

During a press gaggle afterward, Flood addressed the rise of antisemitism.

“I think in younger people, on TikTok, there’s more anti-Jewish hate than I’ve ever seen in my lifetime,” Flood said. “I don’t want to say that the people here tonight had that. You could have an opinion about the actions of the Israeli government and not be anti-Semitic. But there is this part of America where Jews don’t feel safe anymore, and that’s not the America that I think any of us want to live in.”

Aftermath

One older gentleman named Frank became so fed up with the heckling that he stood and yelled back at the protesters. The Plains Sentinel spoke with him after the event.

“I like him [Flood]. I want to hear his views. And with these rude people, there’s no communicating with them,” he said. “There’s no middle ground. They don’t listen. All they do is scream. And it’s very, very frustrating to people who want to get things done and accomplished, especially in this state.”

Before the final question, Flood expressed optimism about bipartisanship in Congress despite the evening’s tone.

“You know, the bipartisan victories don’t end up on TV, because they don’t make anybody mad,” Flood said. “And if the TV’s not making you mad, they’re not gonna keep you watching. If you watch C-SPAN, you’ll see members of one party and the other in the well of the House shaking each other’s hands saying, ‘I appreciate you, it was good to work with you for the betterment of the country.’ But that doesn’t sell the newspaper or sell you on TV. It doesn’t sell anything on the radio.”

“Shut down Fox!” one guest yelled back.

— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.

(Picture credit Matt Johnson)

Dan Osborn, an Independent candidate for U.S. Senate, is facing questions about his connections to another U.S. Senate nominee following news of a rape allegation that broke this week.

On Monday, Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, faced another allegation that he had abused a past girlfriend. Politico reported that Platner had broken into the home of Jenny Racicot, a woman he was dating in 2021, and raped her.

Platner had previously been accused of emotional abuse by another past girlfriend in a New York Times piece last month.

Republicans have criticized Osborn for his past connections with Platner through a mutual pair of operatives. Osborn and Platner were both recruited by Daniel Moraff and Leanne Fan, both of whom had previously worked for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders during his re-election campaign.

On Tuesday, the Nebraska Republican Party highlighted the connection, posting a partial clip of an interview from June that Platner gave to The Lever, a left-wing news outlet founded by a former speechwriter for Sanders’ presidential campaign.

In the interview, Platner said Moraff pitched him on running for Senate in Maine by first bringing up Osborn’s 2024 run against Fischer. “We work with Dan Osborn, and we are in Maine looking for someone to run for U.S. Senate,” Platner said Moraff had told him in their initial conversation.

The connections between Osborn and Platner run deeper, though.

In a video from an August 2025 Platner town hall obtained by The Plains Sentinel, the U.S. Senate nominee told attendees that he and Osborn are both part of a larger network. Platner’s remarks were in response to an audience member asking him about candidates in other states with whom Platner could “create a common message” with.

“Currently there are multiple other candidates running in other races, Dan Osborn, running in Nebraska,” Platner responded. “He is an Independent, union factory worker. He lost the last election by a [small] margin. And he had no right to because he was a nobody just like me, who came out of nowhere with no money and no support. And they built an apparatus that gave the Republican incumbent a real run for her money.”

Platner also mentioned failed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Nathan Sage from Iowa. “There is a larger network I would say of people with similar beliefs throughout the country,” Platner said about himself, Osborn, and Sage.

Osborn Disavows Platner Connections

Osborn for his part has been quick to distance himself from Platner. In an appearance on NewsNation’s “On Balance with Leland Vittert” in May, Osborn recoiled when placed on screen with Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, and Platner.

“I’m not a Democrat, and I certainly don’t appreciate you putting my picture up with the New York guy and, I think, what is his name, Graham Platner. I’m my own person.”

Osborn, though, was not just recruited by the same people as Platner, but has also shared consultant ties.

Morris Katz, a political media consultant, was the brains behind the media campaign for Osborn’s near upset of U.S. Senator Deb Fischer, producing TV ads that GOP consultants have privately admitted were some of the best in the country for the 2024 cycle.

Katz, who has worked with the Platner campaign, told The New Yorker in an interview back in September that it only took a few minutes with Platner to know he was right to run for Senate. Katz has been using his firm, Fight Agency, to elevate candidates on the left, who are critical of the Democratic party for fighting for corporations over the working class.

Katz is not the only media consultant both candidates have shared.

On June 3, the New York Post reported that Joe Calvello—who now works as press secretary for Mamdani—received more than $50,000 for “communications consulting” from Platner’s campaign between October 1, 2025, and January 9, 2026, through his Wyoming-based LLC, Common Pheasant Consulting. Calvello served as Platner’s senior adviser and helped orchestrate the high-profile campaign rollout in August 2025.

According to the FEC, Calvello has also worked with the Osborn campaign, receiving $8,000 through both his official campaign committee and his associated PAC, the Working Class Heroes Fund. This PAC has recruited independent candidates to run for office, including Nate Powell in Washington’s 5th Congressional District, Mike Thurow in Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District, and Bill Hill for Alaska’s at-large U.S. House seat.

The Plains Sentinel asked Osborn about the connection to the PAC and how it factored into his role as an Independent candidate.

“They’re going to try to tie me to somebody in New York, and they’re going to try to tie me to whoever. But the bottom line is, I want to heed the words of Abraham Lincoln: government by and for the people. I don’t work for the corporations and the one percent like my opponent does.”

Former Employee: ‘He Recruited Graham Platner’

Townhall, a conservative media site, released a video on Tuesday that claims to show an Osborn campaign employee saying that the Nebraska candidate recruited Platner.

“This is not really out there publicly, but he recruited Graham Platner,” a woman says in the video. “Dan, after the last election, he started a program to recruit working class candidates to run.”

The woman in the video said the candidates were recruited through Working Class Heroes Fund, which is a PAC that supports Osborn’s campaign.

In a statement to The Plains Sentinel, Osborn acknowledged the woman was a “former” staffer but said her statements were “false.”

“The woman in the video is a former staffer for our campaign. What she said is false, and she was not speaking on behalf of me or our campaign,” Osborn said. “I have never recruited or supported Graham Platner, full stop. Our politics have nothing in common, and clearly neither do our values. I haven’t spent five minutes thinking about the Maine Senate race and neither have most Nebraskans, but I do know that Graham Platner should not be a US Senator.”

Platner Taking Time to Reflect

Platner announced on Monday ahead of the news of the rape allegation that he would be “taking time to reflect on the best path forward.” The Maine candidate called the rape accusation against him “serious and false.” He is expected to drop out of the race ahead of the state’s July 13 deadline and the Democratic party would then have two weeks to pick a replacement.

Already, potential candidates have lined up to try and pursue Platner’s spot if he does end his campaign.

The Platner campaign has been scandal plagued throughout both his primary run and now as the general election cycle starts heating up. The candidate came under fire for having a Totenkopf tattoo, a Nazi-symbol that was used by Hitler’s SS officers.

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Platner denied that he knew what the symbol meant when he got the tattoo and later said he was “very inebriated” when he got it. The candidate also received scrutiny over deleted Reddit posts that CNN uncovered where he described himself as a “communist” and downplayed sexual assault.

“In today’s current climate, when every whisper of a misplaced hand brings down a feature length film, anyone who actually thinks the military is purposefully covering up rape to save the career of some god damn [captain], is clearly both an idiot and junior enough in rank or life experience to think it matters,” he said in a post from 2013.

As Platner’s controversies have piled up, the recruitment efforts of Moraff and Fan have come under scrutiny. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last month, the pair admitted their vetting process, for which they paid “a whole chunk of money,” did not turn up many of the controversies facing the candidate.

Moraff also said in the interview that he believed the Reddit posts should not have stopped Platner from becoming a U.S. senator. “I think if what the voters wanted were people who were grown in vats and had never done or said anything that they might regret their entire lives, we’d have a very different country,” he said. “Part of our thesis here is that people do not want their candidates grown in vats. They want people who are real human beings.”

The New York Post reported on Tuesday that Platner was being advised by Katz that he should not drop out unless he gets assurances that his replacement will share his left-wing agenda.

— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.

— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.

(Picture credit Lewis Thune)

WILBER — Days after Seward County passed an AI data center moratorium and Gage County recommended the same, the Saline County Board of Commissioners took up an agenda item Tuesday to recommend a similar moratorium within their county.

The item came as the county’s zoning administrator, Lyle Weber, appeared before the board to present the bids he’d received for the county’s comprehensive plan and zoning regulations. He engaged with the board on the topic of a potential moratorium.

“This was added two weeks ago; we asked to put this on the agenda — to request Planning and Zoning to do a moratorium,” said chair of the board Stephanie Krivohlavek, introducing the item.

There appeared to be vocal support for the moratorium from members of the board.

“I like Brian’s attitude,” said commissioner Roy Rohrig, indicating potential support for a moratorium from commissioner Brian Pribyl. “Let’s look at a moratorium until we get the updated regulations that Lyle’s working on right now.”

But the ultimate question before the board, as Weber soon made clear, was whether the recommendation was even necessary. Phil Hardenburger, commissioner from Crete, was quick to premise whether the commissioners needed to act at this stage or further down the road:

“The question, I think is: does that question originate with Planning and Zoning or does it originate here?”

Weber confirmed that the Planning and Zoning Board had already decided to take up the issue, and further developments would start with the Planning and Zoning Board regardless of any recommendation from the commissioners on Tuesday.

“It’s on my agenda already for the next two weeks, whether that’s the recommendation you guys would advocate for or not.”

The Board of Commissioners opted not to issue any recommendations, but with evident support from two of five commissioners and the Planning and Zoning Board set to decide on the matter, Saline County becomes the latest Nebraska county to move towards an AI data center moratorium.

— Lewis Thune is a writing fellow with The Plains Sentinel.

(Picture credits Alan J. Bartels/An ornate box turtle on a Nebraska road. Even on less-traveled roads, these slow-moving reptiles are at risk of being struck by vehicles. Others are picked up and taken far from their home range. Due to a natural diet that is impossible to replicate, ornate box turtles subjected to captivity often develop health issues. They do not make good pets.)

Along with chorus frogs and wild turkeys calling, yuccas erupting with showy stalks of blooms, and battalions of nightcrawlers squirming in the streets after a good soaker of a rain, it is the time of year again when drivers are seeing turtles on Nebraska roads.

What causes a turtle to hit the road? They may be looking for mates, migrating between food sources, or in the case of juveniles – establishing their own territories. But many of the turtles crossing roads in late spring and early summer are females plodding toward nest sites.

Nine species of turtle are native to Nebraska. Eight of those varieties spend most of their lives in streams, wetlands, lakes, water-filled ditches – and in the case of common snapping turtles and western painted turtles – even in the local sewer pond. When conditions are just right, adult female turtles leave the safety of their aquatic world and strike out on an overland trek led by only instinct and the natural urge to reproduce. If a turtle’s natural migration route leads it across a road, tragedy can strike. Some portions of Nebraska’s busiest roadways are littered with the fragmented remains of road-killed turtles.

The ornate box turtle is Nebraska’s only native terrestrial species of chelonian (turtles and tortoises). They once thrived statewide across Nebraska with the exception of our state’s extreme northwest corner. Unable to adapt to living alongside the plow; or where cities, roads, and other developments have sprung up, the ornate box turtle’s range in Nebraska has been significantly reduced, and now they are most common in the Sandhills. Adult male box turtles have red eyes. Females have greenish-brown eyes. In late spring, those girls deposit 2-8 oval eggs in the ground. If not discovered by raccoons and other nest raiders, healthy eggs hatch about two months later. Being Nebraska’s official state reptile does not prevent some drivers from intentionally striking these helpless animals on roadways – I have seen it happen on more than one occasion.

(An ornate box turtle in its natural habitat in Loup County, Nebraska.)

As their common name implies, ornate box turtles are beautiful animals. Unfortunately, some travelers cannot resist the urge to stop their vehicle and take one or more of these beauties home. Usually, this is a death sentence for the animal. Box turtles have a varied diet that is impossible to completely replicate in captivity. Even when they feed vigorously on table scraps offered by their captors, the health of these turtles will slowly decline. At that point, the sick animals are often released in a backyard or on the edge of town.

That unethical action poses the risk of introducing disease to wild turtle populations. And if the turtle is released (or when a turtle escapes), it will follow its instincts, trying to return to its home range. In the case of a box turtle picked up and then moved, for example, by a visiting fisherman from Omaha who picks one up for his child on his way home – hundreds of miles from the turtle’s natural home, that turtle – in its lifetime – cannot possibly make it back to where it came from. And it will face a litany of predators, traffic, and other hazards as it tries in desperation to do so. A similar fate awaits turtles of other species that are haphazardly relocated from their small home range. Some studies show that box turtles live their entire lives within a home range of only a few acres, even less.

There are legal limits and permit requirements to possess some of Nebraska’s turtle species. And it is illegal to release any native Nebraska reptile more than 100 yards from where it was captured.

Several dozen communities in Nebraska host turtle races in the spring, summer, or fall. Unfortunately, some of these animals are picked up on roads, or caught while fishing, and cruelly kept for weeks or months until the local turtle race. By that time their health can be suffering. On top of that is the stress of being handled, placed on hot pavement (in many cases) for the race, and put in close quarters with many other turtles – many of which could also be sick. After one race I saw a losing turtles simply released in a village park. At another, after the race was over and the local baseball diamond where the race was held emptied of people entirely, a cardboard box with a Blandings turtle in it was abandoned in the extreme summer heat of a July 4^th afternoon – which could mean quick death for a cold blooded reptile.

(Many Nebraska communities host turtle races as part of annual celebrations. Unfortunately, this can lead to health declines in the animals and the spread of disease to wild populations. Nebraska's legal protections and possession requirements are almost never enforced at these events. The animals in the photo are western painted turtles.)

The common snapping turtle is the largest and heaviest of Nebraska’s native turtles. Commonly growing to 30 pounds or even larger, hitting this behemoth could do serious damage to a vehicle or even cause it to leave the roadway.

Snapping turtles are not aggressive. But with a natural fear of humans, they lash out with an impressive display of clashing jaws and slashing claws in self-defense when approached. I’ve personally encountered several common snappers in excess of 70 pounds. And turtle lovers everywhere were saddened in April 2026 when the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission announced that Big Snap Daddy, a giant common snapping turtle living at Schramm Education Center Aquarium near Gretna, was euthanized due to illness. Weighing in at an impressive 102 pounds the month before his death, the behemoth, estimated to be 100 years old, had long held the record as the largest known common snapping turtle in the world.

Not all of Nebraska’s turtles put on such a defensive display. The total opposite of those scratching and biting snappers, the Blanding’s turtle prefers pulling into its protective shell box turtle-style with a loud hiss rather than biting. The range of this semi-aquatic species extends from Nebraska to Canada and eastern states and also includes wetlands, rivers, and associated uplands. Because of the mosaic of streams, wetlands, and associated uplands, and the fact that the area is mostly intact due to the relatively low impact of cattle ranching, the Nebraska Sandhills is the strongest of strongholds for this protected species.

(The Blanding’s turtle is a semi-aquatic turtle that is legally protected throughout its range. The Nebraska Sandhills is a stronghold for the species. Blanding’s turtles can live well past the century mark.)

These are long-lived animals. One Blanding’s turtle that was captured as an adult in Minnesota, and then marked and released, was recaptured 77 years later! Since that animal was an adult when first captured, it’s a safe bet that Blandings turtles can live well over 100 years. And possibly older than the oldest humpback whales, Nile crocodiles, or Galapagos tortoises. Humankind hasn’t been studying them long enough yet to know for sure.

I once saw a man driving an extended cab Ford pickup on US Highway 83 south of Valentine intentionally steer onto the shoulder to strike one of these animals.

(A gull feeds on a roadkill Blanding's turtle in Rock County.)

In addition to ornate box turtles, common snapping turtles, and Blanding’s turtles, late spring is also nesting season for the remainder of Nebraska’s native turtles species. These include red-eared sliders in the extreme southeast part of Nebraska, map turtles in the Missouri and lower Platte Basins, spiny and also smooth soft-shelled turtles in streams across most of the state, yellow mud turtles in parts of the Sandhills and the Republican River Valley, and the western painted turtle, which can occur statewide in Nebraska wherever there is water.

Experts say when it is safe to do so, and only then, to always move a turtle off the road in the direction it was headed. Otherwise, instinct will lead them right back into harm’s way. Remember, these animals are not wandering aimlessly. Also, these are unpredictable wild animals capable of biting and scratching. And as an additional defense, most will pee on good Samaritans – so rescuers may want to hold them at arm’s length. But seriously, people should never risk their own safety attempting to move a turtle, or any animal, from the road.

Fossils discovered around the world indicate that turtles have existed since long before the time of the dinosaurs. Some turtle species have become extinct in recent decades, and habitat destruction is a challenge to turtles worldwide. One thing for sure is, none of these amazing animals deserves to meet an untimely end on the asphalt. When you are fortunate to see one of these ancient survivors plodding along slowly through our fast-paced world, please give turtles a brake!

— Alan J. Bartels is a US Army veteran who served with the 2^nd Armored Division during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. He is also the former editor of Nebraska Life magazine where he still pens a column. His latest book, Secret Nebraska Sandhills: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, was released in March 2026.

(Picture credit John Gage)

OMAHA — Although Pride Month has officially ended, the Omaha Central Library is welcoming a “Pride and Joy: Nebraska History” exhibit from the University of Nebraska Omaha, which will be prominently displayed in the library for the entirety of July and August.

The exhibit consists of nine banners recounting the history of LGBT advocacy in Omaha and across Nebraska, “to share evidence of community gatherings, activism, publications, organizations, and other important topics.”

The exhibit features entries on such groups as the Open Arms Trans Social Group, the Flatwater Bears, the Leather Engineers of Omaha, the Heartland Gay Rodeo, and Meat Packers.

It lists historical chapters including “Pre-Stonewall,” “Responding to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic,” and “Universities and Colleges.” Some banners display prominent newspaper clippings, such as a 1993 “Year of the Queer” headline.

(Photo credit UNO)

The display also celebrates the election of progressive Nebraska lawmakers, including State Senators Ernie Chambers, Megan Hunt, and John Fredrickson. Chambers is celebrated for being an “LGBTQIA2S+ ally.” The longtime Omaha state senator has been criticized in the past for making racially charged and misogynistic remarks.

The University of Nebraska Omaha confirmed to The Plains Sentinel that it had created the exhibit and said it had been traveling since August of 2025. In the exhibit, UNO also highlights its own LGBT bona fides, including its first transgender professor in 2005, the 1974 Homosexual Symposium, its Student Programming Organization’s 1976 and 1977 sponsorship of the Miss Love Contest, an Omaha drag pageant.

The banners were put up on July 1 and are being displayed on the main level adjacent to the kids’ indoor climbing structure.

Central Library, the 72^nd and Dodge branch of Omaha Public Library, told The Plains Sentinel that the exhibit was made available to them through their partnership with the University.

A UNO organizer in charge of the display said the banners were part of a collection by “Queer Omaha Archives,” which is an initiative of UNO launched in 2015 with the goal of “queering history.” The initiative has received funding from Humanities Nebraska, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and the Queer Omaha Archives Fund, which was founded by the University of Nebraska Foundation.

UNO said that it had received an external grant to create the exhibit. The title banner lists the supporting organization as Humanities Nebraska, with additional support from the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

The 20-person Board of Humanities Nebraska includes 5 gubernatorial appointees. The Plains Sentinel has reached out to Humanities Nebraska for comment.

Omaha State Senator Kathleen Kauth responded to the library’s decision to display the exhibit in a statement to The Plains Sentinel:

“I fully expect an equal amount of time and the same display space be given to groups who celebrate and support traditional, heterosexual marriage and family values.”

When asked by The Plains Sentinel if it would be open to partnering with a religious family organization or displaying religious messaging for a holiday such as Christmas, a spokesperson for Central Library responded:

“OPL partners with a broad range of community organizations, educational institutions and nonprofits, and offers displays year-round that reflect timely and relevant topics for our community.”

— Lewis Thune is a writing fellow with The Plains Sentinel.

(Picture credit Matt Johnson)

OMAHA — The United States celebrated 250 years of independence on Saturday. While the country remains divided across party lines, the Fourth of July typically gives all Americans a reason to pause and reflect on the freedoms its citizens still hold in common.

The Plains Sentinel approached several candidates and elected officials on Saturday and asked each the same question: What does it mean to you to be an American?

Ralston Independence Day Parade

Ralston hosts the largest Independence Day parade in Nebraska, now in its 66th year. For 30 of those years, Don Groesser has served as its mayor. He answered the question this way:

“Well, to me it’s about independence and being able to be free in a country where we have the ability to do what we want, raise our families, and participate in all the activities we need to participate in.”

Omaha Mayor John Ewing, who also marched in the Ralston parade, shared a similar sentiment.

“I think what it means is the American dream — that everybody has an opportunity to pursue liberty and happiness and live in a country where everyone can reach their fullest potential.”

Both candidates for the open seat in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District walked in the parade on Saturday and spoke with The Plains Sentinel.

Democrat Denise Powell said, “It means living up to the American dream. My parents are immigrants. They taught me to believe in that dream, and I still really believe in it. And I think everyone should be able to achieve it.”

Republican Brinker Harding sees America as a continual work in progress.

“Over the last 250 years, this great experiment continues to evolve, and we want to make sure that with that perpetual improvement, we leave it better for the next generation,” Harding said. “78% of parents in America who were polled think that their kids won’t have it any better than them, and that’s unacceptable to me. That’s not what America is about. It’s about that perpetual improvement — that we continue to work on making this country better and better.”

Ralston’s two candidates for state legislature — incumbent Republican Merv Riepe and Democratic challenger Cindy Knorr — also walked in the parade and shared their thoughts.

“I would probably say freedom, rights, and responsibility. I always like to tie when you have rights, you also have responsibilities,” Riepe said. “It’s a great country, not perfect, but great. It seems no matter what we face, we overcome it. So I’m proud of that.”

Cindy Knorr said, “I am very proud to be an American. It means a lot. It means freedom. It means joy. And right now it means resistance as well.”

Thoughts from Nebraska’s U.S. Senators

Both of Nebraska’s U.S. senators were in Omaha on Saturday. Senator Pete Ricketts offered a detailed answer on what it means to be an American, referring to the self-evident truths in the Declaration of Independence:

“Being American means being born in the greatest nation the world has ever seen. It’s because we were founded not only through a revolution, but on a revolutionary idea — that our rights come to us from God, not the government. And the government is established to protect those rights. Before the founding of our nation, it was not heard of. People thought they got their rights from their king. We changed that in a very radical way at the time, and it has created this wonderful nation.”

Sen. Deb Fischer shared similar thoughts on freedom but also commented on the reaction of international visitors who traveled here for the World Cup.

“You know what’s really fun is watching all the countries that have come for the soccer and to see their enthusiasm, their joy when they are exposed to what America is, because we’re a nation of people who love our country and work hard, have great opportunities and can be anything we want to be if we work hard.”

Down-Ballot Voices

Some down-ballot candidates gave their takes on what it means to be an American as well. Mark Martinez, Democratic candidate for Douglas County Sheriff, kept it brief:

“Hey, God blessed me to be in the greatest country on Earth. Pretty simple.”

Republican candidate for Secretary of State Scott Petersen had a similar reflection.

“To be an American is the greatest blessing in the world, especially in Nebraska, because we have opportunities galore. It’s freedom. When they created the Constitution, they gave us the power of freedom — the freedom to do great things and be great. And America in the last 250 years has done amazing things, and I think will do more amazing things going forward.”

Paid petitioners were out among the crowds on Saturday gathering signatures for a new “America First” party, both in Ralston and in Seward. The Plains Sentinel asked one in Seward the same question. He responded, “I’m pro-American, I’m pro-Christian values. This country was built on Christian values.”

A Nation Divided or Reunited?

Nebraskans celebrated the country’s 250th anniversary of independence with parades and fireworks, offering a moment of reflection and common ground on what it means to be an American. While political divisions still run deep today, candidates on both sides of the aisle reaffirmed that the ideals of freedom, independence, responsibility, and the pursuit of happiness can still resonate across party lines.

— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.

(Picture credit Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office)

The November general election ballot is getting closer to taking its final shape. Thursday marked the deadline for ballot petitions to submit signatures to make the ballot.

Three separate groups have announced that they have turned in signatures for their ballot initiatives, including: “Tax Relief Nebraska,” a pair of initiatives that would legalize and regulate sports betting in Nebraska; “Fairness for Girls,” a constitutional amendment that would ban biological males from competing in girls’ sports; and “Respect Nebraska Voters,” a constitutional amendment that would raise the threshold for lawmakers to change previously approved ballot initiatives.

All three initiatives still need signature verification, but each is expected to have enough signatures to make the November ballot, barring any potential legal disputes from opponents.

All three initiative groups have raised significant amounts of money. “Fairness for Girls” has raised over $3 million, “Tax Relief Nebraska” has raised over $7 million, and “Respect Nebraska Voters” has raised over $2 million.

Other initiative measures fell short of making the ballot, including proposals to cut property taxes, require hand-counted ballots for elections, and an initiative to make Nebraska a winner-take-all state.

A fourth measure is a constitutional amendment to modify term limits for state legislators which is set to get added to the ballot following a vote of the Legislature. Currently, state senators are limited to two consecutive terms, but the constitutional amendment, introduced by State Sen. Rob Dover, would change the constitution to allow senators to have three consecutive terms.

Dover told The Plains Sentinel that a bipartisan effort to support the passage of the amendment was currently underway, and that he was not aware of any organized effort to oppose the amendment. The measure made the ballot after a 39-10 vote in the Legislature.

Nebraskans passed the state’s original term limit amendment in 2000, by a margin of 56% to 44%.

Independent Candidates

Nebraskans are likely to see a couple major independent candidates on their ballot this November. U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn already turned in his signatures last month to make the ballot and run against incumbent Republican Senator Pete Ricketts.

For voters living in the First Congressional District, Independent candidate Austin Ahlman is inching closer to the signature threshold in his bid to take on incumbent Republican Congressman Mike Flood and Democratic challenger Chris Backemeyer.

Ahlman told The Plains Sentinel on Thursday that his campaign expects “to pass the 2k mark here this weekend,” adding that they “will shoot for a lot higher than that.” Ahlman’s Independent bid is required to obtain 2,000 valid signatures to make the ballot.

A third Independent bid could come in the gubernatorial race with former Republican State Sen. Brett Lindstrom. Lindstrom teased a potential run early this spring, but has remained silent publicly in the past month.

Political observers have told The Plains Sentinel his only chance at making a competitive race is if he gets Democratic challenger Lynne Walz to agree to drop out or the two create a joint ticket. Walz emphatically denied to The Plains Sentinel that she has been in talks with Lindstrom.

Party Fight

The latest potential wrinkle for the November ballot comes from two last minute attempts to try and form two new parties. Last week, Robin Richards, a failed legislative write-in candidate and registered Democrat, filed to form a new “Nebraska Working People Party,” which Democrats have accused of being a ploy by the Ricketts campaign to put another candidate on the ballot for the Senate race, while Republicans say its a result of “Democrats’ disarray.”

Petitioners for the group have been seen over the past week in multiple locations across Lincoln and Omaha, suggesting the group has some form of financial backing. The Plains Sentinel has been unable to reach Richards for comment on the story.

Following Richards’ filing, John Cartier, a longtime progressive activist, filed to form an “America First Party,” which he said was made with the goal to “give voters options.” Cartier did not respond to a question by The Plains Sentinel about whether his effort has financial backing.

On Saturday, The Plains Sentinel spotted multiple paid petitioners representing the “America First party” at Fourth of July parades in Seward and Omaha.

Both parties will need to collect “signatures totaling not less than one percent of the total votes cast for Governor at the most recent general election,” which is just under 7,000 signatures before July 15.

— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.

(Picture credit Respect Nebraska Voters)

“Respect Nebraska Voters,” a group seeking to pass a constitutional amendment to limit the Nebraska Legislature’s ability to modify ballot petitions, announced Thursday that it had gathered over 186,000 signatures in its effort to put its constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

The petition was launched in November of 2025 and sponsored by Executive Director of the Women’s Fund of Omaha Jo Giles, former District 43 State Senator Al Davis, and Dawn Essink of Omaha.

“Respect Nebraska Voters turned in more than 186,000 signatures, representing every county in Nebraska, in support of our ballot initiative,” the group said in a statement Thursday. “Thanks to the hard work of advocates and volunteers across our state, we’re confident that we’ve submitted more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot this November.”

The group held a rally at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln on Thursday to celebrate submitting the signatures.

Proponents say that attempts by the Nebraska Legislature, controlled by a Republican supermajority that has modified previously passed ballot initiatives, are the motivation behind the new initiative.

The Respect Nebraska Voters website points to initiatives for marijuana, paid sick leave, and the raising of the minimum wage as three initiatives they believe the Legislature has violated the will of the people on.

In the first case, the Legislature has been criticized for not taking action to add regulations onto the initial initiative and in the last case the Legislature was criticized for changing the initiative by lowering the growth rate of the minimum wage and creating a second youth wage.

University of Nebraska Regent Barbara Weitz, the largest individual donor to the campaign, indicated she supported the initiative because of her frustration with the direction of politics in the state and nationwide. As reported by the Plains Sentinel in February, Weitz donated $500,000 to Respect Nebraska Voters.

“My gift was entirely motivated by my discouragement with some politics,” Weitz said. “I had to make a statement to say, ‘Enough.’”

Two Subjects?

Questions have emerged regarding the initiative from both Republicans and Democrats. Some Republicans have questioned the measure’s constitutionality while a couple of Democratic state senators have questioned whether its the right approach for progressives to take.

Democratic State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh said in a Facebook post on Monday that she opposes the initiative because it would harm both Democrats and Republicans.

“If Respect Nebraska Voters gets on the ballot and is approved, it would make it harder to change any law passed by initiative petition - not just the laws we support, but all initiatives. The good, the bad, and the ugly,” she said. “That same higher threshold would also apply to legislation related to medical cannabis and to efforts to address problems in the current regulatory process - issues that, ideally, should not require legislative fixes in the first place.”

Constitutional worries stem from an additional provision in the petition, which would inhibit the Legislature from conditioning or restricting the ballot initiative process. Though this and its preceding provision both address the Legislature’s powers on initiatives, the two together in one single ballot initiative may be construed as two subjects – in violation of Article III, Section 2, of the Nebraska Constitution.

In a February 18 piece for The Plains Sentinel, former Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg argued that if it were challenged in the Nebraska Supreme Court, the initiative would be ruled unconstitutional.

He said that the initiative fails the current test for assessing whether subjects are one or multiple, which is outlined in the 2024 Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc. vs. Hilgers decision. The test says that if dual propositions have a “necessary and natural connection” with each other, they are of one “primary purpose,” and thus one general subject. Stenberg identifies two primary purposes, thus two subjects, in Respect Nebraska Voters’ petition.

“One purpose is to require the vote of 4/5 of the members of the Legislature to amend or repeal a law enacted by initiative. This is the amendment to Article III, Section 2 of the Nebraska Constitution. The other primary purpose is found in Article III, section 4, is to make it extremely difficult for the Legislature to change any law… concerning the operation of the initiative and referendum process,” he said.

Even if it did pass that test, Stenberg indicated that the 2020 decision State ex rel. McNally vs. Evnen shows it would be construed as “too broad a statement on the general subject,” and thus unconstitutional.

Pending signature verification, Respect Nebraska Voters’ petition will appear on the November ballot, where its fate will be decided by Nebraskans’ majority vote.

— Lewis Thune is a writing fellow with The Plains Sentinel.

(Picture credit Nebraska Treasurer’s Office)

On Independence Day, we will gather with friends and family to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. Let’s reflect on the extraordinary events of 1776 and those who pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to establish the greatest nation this world has known.

As we celebrate, let’s also consider another form of freedom: Personal financial independence.

Financial independence doesn’t mean being wealthy. It means having the ability to make choices for yourself and your family without being controlled by debt or money-related emergencies. It means building enough financial security to withstand life’s inevitable challenges and seize opportunities when they arise.

The Founders on Financial Independence

Total U.S. household debt now stands at a historic high of $18.8 trillion. According to national surveys, many Americans today struggle to cover an unexpected expense of just a few hundred dollars without using a credit card.

For too many families, consumer debt has become a modern-day King George.

We must remember that building financial independence is a very American thing to do. The Founders understood that freedom and financial responsibility are connected. They recognized that dependence on debt limits personal freedom, while saving and investing expand opportunities.

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Benjamin Franklin championed thrift and personal responsibility. Two decades before the Declaration of Independence was drafted, Franklin wrote: “Think what you do when you run in debt; you give to another power over your liberty.”

George Washington approached his finances with discipline and precision. He tracked expenses, managed assets, and understood the importance of long-term planning. He recognized that financial stewardship was essential to personal independence.

Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand – despite being one of the most brilliant minds of his generation – struggled with personal debt throughout much of his life. Jefferson’s experience reminds us that intelligence and talent alone do not guarantee financial success. Even remarkable individuals can suffer when they spend more than they earn.

Personal Finance Tools

This Independence Day, I want to highlight the programs my office oversees to help working Nebraskans build financial freedom.

• For future educational and vocational training opportunities: The NEST 529 Education Savings Plan helps parents, grandparents, and others save in tax-advantaged accounts to help the next generation pursue their dreams. Children with even modest savings set aside for their future are more likely to extend their education or training after high school.

• For Nebraska newborns: Our state’s Meadowlark Savings Pledge has provided a $50 seed contribution in a state-managed NEST 529 account to Nebraska newborns to help them start their education savings journey.

• For individuals with disabilities (and their families): The Enable Savings Plan provides an opportunity to save and invest for disability-related expenses using tax-advantaged options. More than 5,000 Enable accounts are helping strengthen these individuals’ financial independence.

• For first-time homebuyers: Earlier this year, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed legislation I requested to create the First-Time Homebuyer Savings Account program. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, eligible Nebraskans will be able to save toward the purchase of their first home while receiving valuable state tax benefits. Homeownership remains one of the best ways Nebraskans can build long-term wealth.

The Treasurer’s Office also provides no-cost financial literacy resources for educators, students, and adults, spotlighting key topics like budgeting, saving, investing, and credit — all of which can shape a lifetime of decisions. Access these resources by visiting the Financial Education section of treasurer.nebraska.gov.

America’s Founders secured our political independence 250 years ago. But when it comes to personal financial independence, that responsibility falls on us.

I encourage all Nebraskans to take steps toward greater financial freedom. Whether it’s creating a budget, building an emergency fund, reducing debt, saving for a child’s education, purchasing a first home, or preparing for retirement, small actions today can produce lasting results.

— Joey Spellerberg was sworn in as Nebraska’s 47th State Treasurer on Nov. 6, 2025. In this role, he serves as the state’s chief financial officer. The Treasurer’s Office administers the Nebraska Educational Savings Trust (NEST 529) and Enable Savings Plan; manages and returns unclaimed property; collects and disburses child support payments; and promotes financial literacy and transparency in state spending. Learn more at treasurer.nebraska.gov.

(Picture credit Governor Jim Pillen’s Office)

Flanked by Nebraska members of the Sons of the American Revolution and Daughters of the American Revolution, Governor Jim Pillen welcomed press to the Governor’s Hearing Room on Wednesday to recognize Nebraska’s celebration of America’s 250^th anniversary.

“Four years into doing press conferences, I feel the most secure I ever have,” Pillen joked, acknowledging the two men on either side of him clad in Revolutionary War uniforms. “I’m getting goosebumps just thinking how blessed we are that we get to be here at this time in the history of mankind.”

The governor began the morning by recounting his weekend trip to Washington, D.C., and the Nebraska state pavilion at the Great American State Fair.

“Our pavilion is second to none. We’ve got extraordinary history of our state, from being the only state with public power, to the only transcontinental railroad: Union Pacific, to Valmont center pivot irrigation,” he said. “Suzanne and I will be heading back this weekend. So we’re bragging about Nebraska and really, really having a lot of fun with doing it.”

Lincoln Quilts Headline Capitol Celebration

Featured prominently behind Pillen was a massive multi-patterned quilt of red, white, and blue, courtesy of the Lincoln Quilters Guild. After his introductory remarks, he turned to acknowledge it.

“Gee whiz, that’s the largest quilt I’ve ever seen,” Pillen said to Liane Connelly, the Quilters Guild president, standing behind him.

He then welcomed Connelly to the podium to introduce the piece, which will hang over the fireplace in the Governor’s Suite for the month of July.

“This started from an idea generated by Tammy Hensley,” Connelly said, crediting the Guild’s former president. “She did some research, created this pattern, and received approval from the Lincoln Quilters Guild board in early 2025.”

The quilt, she explained, consists of 250 individual blocks, the collective work of 73 different members of the Lincoln Quilters Guild. Sewn together, the final quilt is fit for king size bed.

“It was quite the sewing bee. This 250^th Star Quilt will be raffled this year, as we do each year, but this year, the proceeds are going to the Purple Heart Auxiliary.”

But Lincoln, home to the International Quilt Museum, has even more quilts to commemorate 250 years of American independence. After Connelly, Pillen welcomed Speaker of the Legislature John Arch and Kay Hoff with Quilts of Valor, which awards veterans custom-sewn quilts in partnership with quilters guilds across the country.

Arch announced that the Legislature would also be displaying commemorative quilts in the chamber throughout the month of July, courtesy of Quilts of Valor.

“With over 440,000 quilts awarded nationally, and I’m told approximately 800 annually here in Nebraska, it’s clear how deeply this simple, powerful gesture resonates with those who have been touched by war. These quilts are more than just fabric and thread, they are symbols of a grateful nation,” Arch said. “Senator Clements mentioned that his father had been given one, and how meaningful it was to him to receive that.”

Hoff thanked veterans profusely.

“As our nation celebrates 250 years, we remember that freedom has never been preserved by words alone, it has been defended by men and women who served, sacrificed, and carried burdens on behalf of all of us. We are grateful. You are honored,” she said.

‘Remembering America’

Pillen also recognized Kaewyn Robinson, an eleventh grader from of York, during the event.

“The United States Semi-Quincentennial Commission this year encouraged students in grades 3 through 12 to enter a contest sharing their perspective of what America means to them,” Pillen explained. “She came in second.”

Robinson presented the poem that won her second place, “Remembering America.”

We remember the ocean vast, but their faith deeper.

We remember the deep trust they had in God, their keeper.

We remember the winter fierce, but their hope stronger.

We remember the ones who helped them survive and conquer.

We remember the battle they fought to make us free.

We remember the ones who died to make it our reality.

We remember the first leaders who strived to be just.

We remember those famous words, “In God We Trust.”

We remember the fight for freedom they once again fought.

We remember the truest freedom is not easily bought.

We remember the Lord who made this land free.

We remember how He has given us prosperity.

We remember the good but also the bad.

We remember the joyful, and we remember the sad.

We remember so that we never forget our country’s past, our history.

Because remembering is what America means to me.

Last to speak was Major General Daryl Bohac, director of the Nebraska State Historical Society, to bring attention to celebrations taking place across the state in the month of July.

“They’re [Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution] going to be doing, on July 8^th at 4 pm here in Lincoln and Omaha, a reading of the Declaration of Independence. Why July 8^th? It was the first public reading in Philadelphia and New York. They’re going to recreate that event.”

This is part of a coordinated effort that began in Hawaii, he explained, to hold simultaneous readings all across the country. He continued on to plug the Nebraska History Museum and the city of Seward’s festivities.

“They are the focal point for the semi-quincentennial celebration events this year. Seward has claimed the sport of being the 4^th of July city for the state of Nebraska and for the United States small town category” he said.

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But additional festivities will take place in nearly every county in Nebraska.

“You can find out about those at the website, america250.nebraska.gov,” Bohac said. “It’s got over 224 events on that calendar just here in Nebraska, and over 78 counties right now are represented in the activities.”

As the event came to a close, Pillen took to the podium to unveil a framed replica of the Declaration of Independence and read his gubernatorial “Independence Day Proclamation,” which commemorated the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the subsequent signing of the Declaration of Independence.

He asked all those assembled to reflect on the meaning of freedom.

“If we could take a little time to critically think, what does freedom mean to each one of us? I think it’s important we have those conversations so that we fully have the gift of appreciation for how blessed we are,” he said. “Have an incredible 250^th celebration. Thank you all.”

— Lewis Thune is a writing fellow with The Plains Sentinel.

(Picture credit Secretary of State’s Office)

A new “America First Party” filed paperwork with the Nebraska Secretary of State just two weeks before the July 15 signature deadline. Behind the effort is John Cartier, a longtime progressive activist.

The filing, which occurred on Wednesday, marks the second attempt in less than a week for a new party attempting to make the November ballot. Cartier is a former director of the liberal nonprofit, Civic Nebraska, as well as a former campaign committee member for a pro-marijuana group.

Filings obtained from the Secretary of State’s office list the purpose of the party as providing “voters with a political organization committed to putting Americans and Nebraskans ahead of all others by cracking down on out-of-contol government spending and wasteful foreign aid, getting tough on illegal immigrants, standing up against abortion, and rigidly defending the Second Amendment.”

Cartier told The Plains Sentinel that he was forming the party because “people are angry and tired of the bulls—.” “The America First Party is here to give voters options,” he added.

Cartier has not responded to a request for comment about whether the effort has financial backing. He currently serves as attorney general of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and is the campaign treasurer for the Mike Marvin for U.S. Senate campaign, which the Senator Pete Ricketts campaign has accused of being a “plant” candidate.

The America First Party’s stance on abortion appears to conflict with comments Cartier has made in the past on the issue. During his run for school board in Lincoln, Cartier stated, “I think it is important to have some freedom to control when one has offspring, especially if you are a teenager who still needs to graduate high school.”

Both the Nebraska Democratic Party and the Republican Party issued statements in response to the filing.

“We had no idea this party was being formed. We are laser focused on the hundreds of Democrats running across the state up and down the ballot,” Democratic Chair Jane Kleeb said. “No matter how many parties get formed with billionaire backers we are organizing and mobilizing a coalition of voters to end the corrupt one-party Republican rule.”

GOP Chair Mary Jane Truemper accused Kleeb of being behind the formation of the new party.

“Rigging primaries wasn’t enough for Jane Kleeb. Now her Nebraska Democrats are behind a fraudulent ‘America First Party,’ filed by a progressive lawyer and Dan Osborn associate John Cartier, designed to trick conservative voters into splitting their vote.”

The filing from Cartier comes after registered Democrat and failed write-in candidate Robin Richards filed last week to start a “Nebraska Working People Party.” The Nebraska Democratic Party has accused Ricketts of being behind the effort while the Nebraska Republican Party has said they are urging people not to sign onto that party as well.

Petitioners for a new party are required to get “signatures totaling not less than one percent of the total votes cast for Governor at the most recent general election,” which is just under 7,000 signatures.

— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.

Editor’s Note: An early version of the story incorrectly identified Cartier as a currently registered Democrat. He re-registered from a Democrat to nonpartisan since last year.

Whether it’s traffic flowing through Dodge Street going 60+ in a 45 versus getting pulled over for a minor infraction on O Street, Omaha and Lincoln have different ways of handling traffic, and those differences show up in big ways statistically.

Omaha Police Department’s (OPD) Sergeant Devin Washington said the leading causes of crashes in the city are speeding, impaired driving, and failure to yield to other motor vehicles. In the 2024 data report – the latest available – the city experienced 59 fatal crashes and 177 crashes leading to serious injuries.

This contrasts with Lincoln, which only saw 12 driving fatalities in 2024. The city did see more crashes leading to death in 2025, with 19 fatalities. Factoring in the cities’ sizes, an Omahan is about twice as likely to be involved in a fatal accident as a Lincolnite.

One of the reasons for this can be chalked up to enforcement. The Lincoln Police Department (LPD) appears to be significantly more aggressive in enforcing traffic laws than the Omaha Police Department (OPD).

LPD issued nearly 26,000 traffic tickets in 2024 and accounted for 9% of all traffic stops statewide. In contrast, OPD only accounted for 4% of traffic stops statewide in 2024 and issued a fraction of the number of tickets as Lincoln police. LPD citations have continued to increase by 16% in 2025.

Garret Swanson, a spokesperson for the city of Lincoln, said the increase in citations could be attributed to the additional officers and a dedicated traffic unit, allowing for increased enforcement across the city, with officers now able to better address locations where violations are serious, rather than an increase in violations. Their officers also participate in grant-funded traffic enforcement projects supported by money from the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT).

To continue combating serious crashes, the City of Lincoln is implementing the Safe Streets Lincoln Vision Zero Action Plan that will use a systems-based approach to roadway safety utilized in communities across the country, Swanson said.

It sets a goal to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries on all locally maintained streets. The city said the largest contributor to preventable crashes is speed, and inattentive pedestrians and drivers.

OPD said it remains committed to trying to lower serious injury or fatal collisions as well, including selective enforcement, radar signs, social media, and community awareness.

“The Omaha Police Department will continue to enforce applicable city ordinances and state statutes to keep our community safe, specifically regarding speeding, impaired driving, and distracted driving,” Washington said.

Differences in Lincoln and Omaha traffic patterns can show up in subtle ways as well.

Omaha utilizes flashing lights with some of their traffic signals during lighter traffic times overnight. However, drivers won’t see the convenience of this at night in Lincoln.

While there isn’t exact data available to see whether there is a difference in crashes in the city that is utilizing these lights or not, the City of Lincoln said they do not place any traffic signals into overnight flashing operation due to safety and operational considerations.

Omaha’s Traffic Engineering Division wasn’t able to be reached for a response.

Nebraska’s Aggressive Driving

Unsafe driving isn’t just a city-to-city issue. A recent analysis done by Consumer Affairs of data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found Nebraska has jumped from 44 to 22 in the nation for road rage in just one year.

“Both states [Nebraska and North Dakota] saw enormous year-over-year increases in the rate of deaths and fatal crashes involving aggressive or careless driving,” the report found.

Initiatives for safer driving have been implemented across the state, in attempts to encourage safer driving, including a statute in 2024 making it illegal to turn right on a steady red arrow.

NDOT also runs a “Make It Click” campaign aimed at getting Nebraska drivers to wear their seatbelts. According to NHTSA, Nebraska ranks 46th in the nation when it comes to seat belt usage.

— Olivia White is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel. She previously was a staff writer for The Northside Sun.

(Picture credit Lewis Thune)

LINCOLN — After nearly four months collecting signatures, “Fairness for Girls” officially submitted its petition to Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen on Tuesday morning. The proposed amendment to the Nebraska Constitution would ban biological males from competing in girls’ sports.

“113 days ago, we launched Fairness for Girls,” said former State Senator Julie Slama. “Today, we’re proud to announce Fairness for Girls is turning in 211,000 signatures.”

The announcement took place in the Nebraska State Capitol rotunda. Flanking Slama was a host of supporters and sponsors, including multiple state senators, Senator Pete Ricketts, Nebraska State Treasurer Joey Spellerberg, and representatives from the Nebraska Family Alliance.

“With 211,000 signatures, we have broken Nebraska’s record for most signatures on a ballot initiative,” Slama said.

Nebraska law requires that for a petitioned constitutional amendment to appear on the general election ballot, it must receive signatures from 10% of all registered Nebraska voters, including 5% signatures from voters in 38 counties. With their record number, Fairness for Girls becomes the first initiative of the 2026 cycle to submit its signatures to Secretary Evnen.

“When girls are forced to compete against boys, they lose opportunities for scholarships, medals, and advancement,” said Elizabeth Nunnally of the Nebraska Family Alliance. “Fairness for Girls will establish safeguards for girls’ sports in the Nebraska Constitution once and for all.”

Also present was University of Nebraska Regent Rob Schafer of Beatrice. In addition to praising the ballot initiative, he applauded Tuesday morning’s West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Idaho v. Hecox Supreme Court decisions, which upheld the Constitutionality of state laws mandating sex-separate sports.

“Just hours ago, the United States Supreme Court upheld a state’s right to protect girls’ sports and ensure fairness and opportunity,” he said, “As a father of two daughters, I am proud to sponsor Fairness for Girls to ensure Nebraska stands for common sense.”

Ricketts echoed Schafer’s comments.

“It’s just common sense that you don’t want men competing against girls, that we want a level playing field for our daughters and granddaughters, ask Payton McNabb,” he said.

McNabb, a former volleyball athlete in the state of North Carolina, was knocked unconscious and left partially paralyzed after a male, transgender-identifying athlete spiked a ball into her head.

“Title IX was developed over 50 years ago to protect the opportunity these young women have by participating in sports,” Ricketts said. “And now what we’re seeing is politicians around the country trying to turn it on its head and make it so it’s working against the very women it was supposed to protect.”

Ricketts recalled the recent successes of women’s sports at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, including in volleyball, softball, and basketball.

“We have so much to protect here in Nebraska,” he said. “If we pass this ballot initiative, we can be the first state in the country to put these protections in our state Constitution.”

The last to speak were the petition’s top two volunteers within the state legislature, Senators Jana Hughes of Seward and Tanya Storer of Whitman. Ricketts commended Hughes for her time spent acquiring signatures even in the midst of her re-election campaign.

“We haven’t seen in the state some of the egregious situations that we’ve seen on the coast. Part of that is because we have common sense,” said Hughes. “I was happy to support this initiative.”

Storer reiterated the need for the initiative, even in light of the state’s existing law on the topic, 2023’s Stand with Women Act.

“This initiative permanently protects fairness in women’s athletics, and guarantees the common-sense protections established by LB89,” she said. “I will always stand up to protect our young girls.”

Pending signature verification, the Fairness for Girls amendment will appear on the November ballot, where its fate will be decided by majority vote. Fairness for Girls and its supporters remain confident in its chances.

“We’re grateful for everyone who made this initiative historic, and we are looking forward to earning the support of Nebraskans across the state this November,” Slama said.

GOP Sees Broad Appeal for Effort

The petition has been embraced publicly by several prominent Republicans this year, including Ricketts and Governor Jim Pillen, who both shared social media posts earlier this month after signing the petition.

In 2025, the “Stand With Women Act” (LB 89) was signed into law by Pillen, which enforces biological sex-based restrictions for K-12 and postsecondary school sports. The “Fairness for Girls” initiative would embed these protections in the state constitution, making them far more difficult for future legislatures to alter or rescind.

While many Republicans have publicly supported the effort, Democrats have been largely quiet.

A Republican political consultant, speaking on background, said the measure enjoys broad support—62–67% overall and nearly 60% in Nebraska’s Second Congressional District.

“Even Democrats have daughters who have spent their entire lives working really hard, and they don’t want to see them lose scholarships or opportunities—so that crosses that barrier as well,” the consultant said.

The push is also fueled by significant funding. The Fairness for Girls committee has received $3.1 million from the 501(c)(4) “Restore the Good Life Inc.” An opposition committee, “Fairness for All,” was registered earlier this month by Second House Collaborative and OutNebraska. The opposition has no financial contributions listed so far.

— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.

— Lewis Thune is a writing fellow with The Plains Sentinel.