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Community members in South Omaha planned to meet with police last night, but many weren’t permitted to enter the room.

The largest decarbonized plastics plant in the world is coming to Falls City. Citroniq Chemicals will turn ethanol into a bio-based plastic material used in everything from automotive components to medical products. Nebraska Public Media’s Dale Johnson sat down with Lucas Froeschl, Executive Director of the Falls City Economic Development and Growth Enterprise, to find out how Falls City landed this project, considered to be “one of the largest investments in Nebraska history."

Judeg Susan Strong denied John Kuehn's motion to prevent Governor Jim Pillen from signing and acknowledging the results of the medical marijuana ballot initiatives. The second lawsuit seeks to void the two medical cannabis initiatives voted into the law by Nebraskans in 2024.

Lincoln Public School board members expect to have an interim superintendent named in January. The board president shared the update at the district’s Board of Education meeting Tuesday night.

The first graduates of a new program are hoping to help revive childcare in Omaha.

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen ceremonially signed legislation to aid Nebraska National Guard recruitment efforts Monday. He was joined by state senators Tom Brewer, Rita Sanders and Loren Lippincott. Adjutant general for the Nebraska National Guard, Craig Strong, thanked the legislature and encouraged them to continue to reach out to service members for new legislative ideas.

Former Nebraska regent and Omaha businessman Howard Hawks died at age 89 on Dec. 6. Hawks served 18 years as a board member for the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. He also co-founded one of the largest independent energy companies in the country, Tenaska.

Omaha's car-related pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities this year has over doubled according to the Nebraska Department of Transportation. The City of Omaha Vision Zero crash dashboard shows there were 6 fatalities reported in 2023, while as of October 2024, 14 fatalities were reported.

Wild rice grows in shallow waterways in the Great Lakes region and parts of Canada. It’s a plant that holds important ecological and cultural significance, but it’s been on the decline since the early 1900s.

A bust of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled at the state capitol building Friday. It was given by the Consulate General of India in Seattle and will be located in Governor Jim Pillen’s hearing room. Pillen also declared December 6 as “A Day of Remembrance for Mahatma Gandhi” throughout the state of Nebraska.

Creighton and Nebraska didn’t lose a set in the first and second round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament over the weekend.

The University of Nebraska’s economic impact on the state has grown from $5.8 billion to $6.4 billion in the past three years, Paul Umbach from consulting firm Tripp Umbach said at the Board of Regents meeting Friday.

A Nebraska congressman is sponsoring legislation intended to bolster protocols for the organization responsible for handling cases of abuse in sports.

The 76th annual Nebraska State Christmas tree lighting ceremony is Sunday and will be held at the capitol in Lincoln. The tree was donated by Pat and Terry Hastreiter. The couple said they heard about the search in the newspaper and thought to enter their four spruce trees for consideration.

Charles Hoffman, a spokesperson for the Air Force Global Strike Command, says the wing will allow the Air Force to improve nuclear communications, command and control. The 95th Wing is expected to add around 70 personnel to the base and be fully operational by January.

A wood building material can be used in high-rise structures, giving it the potential to replace materials that are bad for the climate, while also locking carbon into buildings for decades.

Thousands of insect species use vibrations to communicate. Now, in part because of the foundational research of a Midwestern biology professor, more researchers are exploring insect vibrational communication to ward against pests and understand climate change.

BMO employees and United Way of the Midlands volunteers assembled more than 200 homeless outreach kits for Giving Tuesday. New Visions Homeless Services will distribute the kits across the Omaha metro area. United Way of the Midlands spokesperson Carmen Steele says the process was rewarding and she is thankful for the work of the volunteers.

The Nebraska State Board of Canvassers met to certify the results of the 2024 general election Monday afternoon. Deputy Secretary of State for Elections Wayne Bena said nearly 70,000 ballots were hand counted after the election and only 7 had discrepancies between the hand count and machine count. Bena said the implementation of voter ID had a negligible effect on the election and fewer than 350 ballots were rejected due to the new requirement.

It’s been 79 years since the end of World War Two, where an estimated 15 million lives were lost. Some families got to bury their loved ones, but others were left with more questions than answers. A family in Syracuse recently had they're 80-year mystery answered and more.