Profiles
It’s an open book – as well it should be. We’re talking about the design concept behind Omaha’s new Central Library – and at the heart of its very mission.
To provide a welcoming space for all people...
A fresh morning drizzle on Saturday either lended to or came from the heavy fog, priced by downtown Omaha’s few skyscrapers. The view from Cummings Street was thankfully unobstructed as I drove to...
It was a hard sell.
I was loitering around in that dark Omaha alleyway, one of those ones that still have those red bricks that bring more character than the unfilled potholes on old concrete. Next...
Omaha has many religious places of worship, but only one Temple of Beauty. Windowless walls of pink Georgia-marble reach high into the air as if to both catch as much sunlight as possible while also...
Walking into a New York City pharmacy, Scott LeRette had no idea how life was about to change for him and his family.
LeRette, author of "The Unbreakable Boy," mentioned to the pharmacist he was an...
Today’s News
Voters check in to cast ballots in the New Hampshire presidential primary at a polling site in Derry, N.H., Jan. 23, 2024. (David Goldman / AP Photo)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have made it a priority this year to require people to prove citizenship before they can register to vote. Turning that...
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (center) greets State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil on the final day of the 2025 legislative session, June 2, 2025. (Zach Wendling / Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, in his end of session speech to state lawmakers, called the state budget “historically conservative.”
Pillen portrayed the session as “positive,” highlighting the...
A train transports freight on a common carrier line near Price, Utah, July 13, 2023. (Rick Bowmer / AP Photo)
Getting federal approval for permits to build bridges, wind farms, highways and other major infrastructure projects has long been a complicated and time-consuming process. Despite growing calls from...
LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers ended the 2025 legislative session Monday, celebrating a balanced budget achieved over a major projected deficit and the passage of more than 200 bills.
Speaker John Arch...
(Shutterstock)
Throughout the world and across nearly all cultures, those who are poor and in need are seen as, dare I say… sacred? Certainly, it is frowned upon for a rich man to point at those less fortunate and...
This Week's News
Voters check in to cast ballots in the New Hampshire presidential primary at a polling site in Derry, N.H., Jan. 23, 2024. (David Goldman / AP Photo)
06/06/2025 - 12:00am
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have made it a priority this year to require people to prove citizenship before they can register to vote. Turning that aspiration into reality has proved difficult.
Trump’s...
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (center) greets State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil on the final day of the 2025 legislative session, June 2, 2025. (Zach Wendling / Nebraska Examiner)
06/06/2025 - 12:00am
LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, in his end of session speech to state lawmakers, called the state budget “historically conservative.”
Pillen portrayed the session as “positive,” highlighting the passage of some of his priorities this session,...
A train transports freight on a common carrier line near Price, Utah, July 13, 2023. (Rick Bowmer / AP Photo)
06/06/2025 - 12:00am
Getting federal approval for permits to build bridges, wind farms, highways and other major infrastructure projects has long been a complicated and time-consuming process. Despite growing calls from both parties for Congress and federal agencies to...
06/06/2025 - 12:00am
LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers ended the 2025 legislative session Monday, celebrating a balanced budget achieved over a major projected deficit and the passage of more than 200 bills.
Speaker John Arch of La Vista, marking the end to the 89-day...
(Shutterstock)
06/06/2025 - 12:00am
Throughout the world and across nearly all cultures, those who are poor and in need are seen as, dare I say… sacred? Certainly, it is frowned upon for a rich man to point at those less fortunate and laugh and mock such a person's life. Adjacent to...
06/06/2025 - 12:00am
Not only is he an accomplished attorney, dedicating decades of pro-bono work in the civic, charitable and medical sectors, but an award-winning author and historian. Lawrence (Larry) Dwyer’s published works include “Standing Bear’s Quest For Freedom...
Workers install a restroom at the Welk Homestead State Historic Site near Strasburg, North Dakota, on Friday, May 23, 2025. (Photo by Rob Hanna via AP)
06/05/2025 - 12:00am
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Lawrence Welk didn't have a flush toilet where he grew up, but visitors to his childhood home in rural North Dakota now do.
The bandleader’s childhood family home marks the latest step in the State Historical Society of North...
In this March 15, 2018 image, sandhill cranes dance near Gibbon, Neb. Huge numbers of sandhill cranes stop in the Platte River basin for rest and food before resuming their migration north. (Nati Harnik / AP Photo)
06/05/2025 - 12:00am
Each spring, some of Nebraska’s most anticipated visitors descend on the Platte River in droves, both by land and by air: the sandhill cranes and the people who come to look at them.
Hundreds of thousands of cranes embark on a long journey from...
06/05/2025 - 12:00am
OMAHA — Once one of the world’s largest potato chip factories, an Omaha plant that most recently was used to store truck tires has found its creative self.
The old Kitty Clover building, as locals know it, has undergone a multimillion dollar...
06/05/2025 - 12:00am
One of the most striking patterns in the aftermath of many urban fires is how much unburned green vegetation remains amid the wreckage of burned neighborhoods.
In some cases, a row of shrubs may be all that separates a surviving house from one that...
(Shutterstock)
06/05/2025 - 12:00am
American Parents Deserve Better Family-Friendly Policies
Every family should have access to high-quality maternal health care, paid parental leave and affordable child care.
By Erica Phillips
This story first appeared at The 74, a nonprofit news...
06/05/2025 - 12:00am
OMAHA — Two decrepit buildings with an alley between them.
That’s how developer Jay Lund recalls the defunct midtown Omaha steel plant some four years ago when his team began contemplating a conversion project that partnered with the neighboring...
(Shutterstock)
06/04/2025 - 12:00am
This story was originally reported by Nadra Nittle and Mariel Padilla of The 19th. Meet Nadra and Mariel and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy.
When the U.S. Naval Academy stripped 381 books tied to diversity, equity and...
Nebraska’s “Old Wolf Oak” tree, a burr oak that is more than 380 years old, has died after a long drought. (Courtesy of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission)
06/04/2025 - 12:00am
LINCOLN — One of Nebraska’s oldest trees has died, and officials are blaming drought conditions.
The “Old Wolf Oak,” a burr oak with a 9.8-foot circumference located along a hiking trail at Ponca State Park, was estimated to be more than 380 years...
(Shutterstock)
06/04/2025 - 12:00am
How much do you engage with others when you’re out in public? Lots of people don’t actually engage with others much at all. Think of commuters on public transportation staring down at their phones with earbuds firmly in place.
As a professor of...
Nebraska’s congressional delegation is shown in Washington. From left: U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb. Feb. 5, 2025. (Courtesy of Nebraska Governor’s Office)
06/04/2025 - 12:00am
Welcome to another “What If?” press conference, questions for Nebraska’s congressional delegation in Washington. Since our last session, the White House has tried to shutter the U.S. Department of Education, our tariff “policy” resembles a yo-yo,...
06/04/2025 - 12:00am
It wouldn’t make much sense to prohibit people from shooting a threatened woodpecker while allowing its forest to be cut down, or to bar killing endangered salmon while allowing a dam to dry out their habitat.
But that’s exactly what the Trump...
06/04/2025 - 12:00am
The people waiting their turn to rappel down the 17-story Highline Apartments building had strict instructions: Don’t come up to the roof until we come get you.
Most of the group, assembled there for a fundraiser, seemed content to hang back in the...
President Donald Trump, from left, speaks as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, listen during an event in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein / AP Photo)
06/03/2025 - 12:00am
Republicans in the U.S. Senate are sparring over their version of the multitrillion-dollar budget and immigration bill the House of Representatives passed on May 22, 2025.
Some GOP senators are insisting on shrinking the budget deficit, which the...
The Boeing logo is displayed at the company's factory, Sept. 24, 2024, in Renton, Wash. (Lindsey Wasson / AP Photo)
06/03/2025 - 12:00am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has formally moved to dismiss a criminal fraud charge against Boeing and has asked a judge to cancel an upcoming trial connected to two plane crashes that killed 346 people off the coast of Indonesia and...
This combo of images shows (top row from left) Mondelez's products Nutter Butter, Chips Ahoy! and Oreo cookies; (bottom row from left) shows Aldi’s products, Peanut Butter Creme, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Original Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Vanilla Filing, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Glenview, Ill. (Nam Y. Huh / AP Photo)
06/03/2025 - 12:00am
Snack food maker Mondelez International is suing the Aldi supermarket chain, alleging the packaging for Aldi's store-brand cookies and crackers “blatantly copies” Mondelez products like Chips Ahoy, Wheat Thins and Oreos.
In a federal lawsuit filed...
How Nebraska corn is used, according to a study commissioned by the Nebraska Corn Board. Distiller grains are a byproduct of ethanol production then fed to livestock, but aren’t considered a part of the 17% of Nebraska corn that goes directly to livestock feed. “Exports” include corn exported both to other states and other countries. “Carryout” is the amount of corn left over at the end of a marketing year. “Residual & other” includes the small percentage of Nebraska corn grown for human consumption. (Courtesy of Flatwater Free Press)
06/03/2025 - 12:00am
If you’re a Nebraskan who didn’t grow up on a farm, you may think that the corn grown in the state is the same corn you buy on the cob or that’s found in a can at your local supermarket.
Not really: Only a small portion of Nebraska’s corn ends up...
06/03/2025 - 12:00am
At Odie B’s, a sandwich shop in Denver, recovery from drug and alcohol use is part of daily operations.
“Seventy percent of our staff is active in recovery,” Cliff Blauvelt, co-owner of Odie B’s, said in a video testimonial. “We try to provide a...
Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., speaks at the Strolling Thunder rally on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, May 20, 2025 in Washington. Families from all 50 States took part in Strolling Thunder an ongoing effort by ZERO TO THREE's "Think Babies" initiative to press lawmakers to enact policies that build economic security and healthy developments for all babies. (Kevin Wolf / AP Content Services for Zero To Three)
06/03/2025 - 12:00am
What Babies Need from Congress Right Now
Boteach: Babies can’t speak for themselves, so families and early childhood advocates are demanding that Congress to invest in our youngest kids.
By Melissa Boteach
This story first appeared at The 74, a...
State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln (center) talks with State Sens. Paul Strommen of Sidney and Kathleen Kauth of the Millard area on May 28, 2025. Raybould sponsored a measure to slow voter-approved minimum wage increases while Strommen sponsored a measure to weaken voter-approved paid sick leave. Kauth chairs the Legislature’s Business and Labor Committee. (Zach Wendling / Nebraska Examiner)
06/03/2025 - 12:00am
LINCOLN — A majority of Nebraska Democrats and one Republican in the officially nonpartisan Legislature on Wednesday blocked merging a proposal that would have slowed the state’s voter-approved minimum wage increases with a bill set to weaken voter-...
State Sen. Robert Dover of Norfolk holds a stack of binders containing the budgetary work spearheaded by the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee, March 12, 2024. (Zach Wendling / Nebraska Examiner)
06/02/2025 - 12:00am
LINCOLN — Nebraskans now know the first ballot measure or constitutional amendment voters will consider in 2026: whether state lawmakers can serve up to three consecutive four-year terms, instead of two.
The change comes with the 39-10 approval...
The Hidden Power Of Cultural Exchanges In Countering Propaganda And Fostering International Goodwill
06/02/2025 - 12:00am
At a time when China is believed to spend about US$8 billion annually sending its ideas and culture around the world, President Donald Trump has proposed to cut by 93% the part of the State Department that does the same thing for the United States....
Elon Musk looks on as President Donald Trump meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (Evan Vucci / AP Photo)
06/02/2025 - 12:00am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk is leaving his government role as a top adviser to President Donald Trump after spearheading efforts to reduce and overhaul the federal bureaucracy.
His departure, announced Wednesday evening, marks the end of a turbulent...
06/02/2025 - 12:00am
LINCOLN — A legislative proposal that would ban most consumable hemp and other THC products in Nebraska advanced Tuesday without amendments as opponents blocked changes.
Throughout a four-hour debate on Legislative Bill 316, from State Sen. Kathleen...
