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The Nebraska Legislature upheld Gov. Jim Pillen's veto of a bill aimed at cracking down on bedbugs in Omaha Housing Authority buildings.

Nebraska has seen a steady increase in calls to 9-8-8, a number that connects people to counselors that can provide crisis support for mental health concerns, substance abuse disorders, loneliness and more. In fiscal year 2023, there were about 19,000 calls to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline from Nebraskans. In 2024, just over 23,000 Nebraskans called in. There have been around 20,000 calls in the current fiscal year, representing a 14% increase in monthly calls compared to last year.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has a new position focused on connecting justice-involved young people to educational opportunities. It’s meant to be proactive and offer support the whole way through.

The Legislature’s General Affairs Committee heard testimony from Lorelle Mueting and Dr. Monica Oldenburg, who were both selected by the governor from a pool of applicants. Mueting serves as a prevention program director at Heartland Family Service, while Oldenburg is an anesthesiologist who previously practiced in Colorado. Both have a history of opposition to medical marijuana legalization.

Creighton baseball is playing in the Big East Tournament this weekend and that means head baseball coach Ed Servais only has a few games left. Servais is set to retire after leading the program for 22 years.

This Mental Health Awareness month, the Lincoln Police Department is celebrating a successful start to its co-responder program -- a team-up with mental health professionals that could decrease the use of jails and emergency medical services. Lincoln announced plans for the co-responder program in September, with a partnership between LPD and CenterPointe, a mental health and substance abuse care clinic that conducts street outreach and crisis response. It began in early March.

The Nebraska Legislature Thursday revived a proposal for a lower minimum wage for young workers, but final approval may have to wait 'til next year.

State senators considered a package of education bills Wednesday afternoon. By the end of the day’s debate, only the underlying bill, LB306, remained. The legislation initially contained six different bills after an amendment, AM1335, from the Legislature’s Education Committee combined them. The section of the bill from Sen. Loren Lippincott, originally LB550, which would excuse students from public schools to attend religion classes, was among the most controversial. It would require school districts to adopt policies allowing students to miss up to one class period per week for an off-site course in religious instruction.

The U.S. House is putting final touches on its budget reconciliation bill, also known as President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." It includes sweeping changes to Medicaid funding, energy and tax policies. Nebraska Public Media's Kassidy Arena caught up with District 2 House Representative Don Bacon on the budget bill, which he says he'll support.

Senators gave first-round approval Wednesday to a proposed restructuring of how the Legislature watches over state agencies.

Medical marijuana will not be regulated by the Nebraska Legislature this year after a bill failed to overcome a filibuster Tuesday evening. Nebraska voters overwhelmingly approved two ballot initiatives legalizing and regulating medical marijuana last fall. However, the drug remains inaccessible in the state. The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission is tasked with drafting regulations and the group is unlikely to begin licensing dispensaries until October at the earliest.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln students and visitors will see changes to the dining options at the student union through the next year. Nearly all of the restaurants will be changed, moved or closed. University Communications said in a news release that the changes “will phase out third-party franchises and introduce campus-managed dining concepts designed to enhance food quality, improve service and increase the value of student meal plans.”

Each spring, Midwesterners head to the woods to find morel mushrooms. But some in the region are developing methods to reliably farm the delicacy.

A proposal to raise tobacco taxes, tax pop and energy drinks, and tax 18 services provoked pushback Monday in the Legislature.

Currently, Nebraska law prohibits anyone with three or more drug-related felony charges or any drug distribution charge from accessing federal SNAP benefits. A bill from Sen. Victor Rountree would have removed those restrictions, as long as the beneficiaries had completed their sentences and participated in a substance abuse treatment program. The bill passed last week, but Gov. Jim Pillen vetoed it, leading to a vote to override Monday.

Lincoln is now home to more than 300 thousand people after gaining an estimated 38 hundred new residents between July 1st of 2023 and 2024. Omaha also gained around 2500 residents over that time, reversing several years of flat or negative growth. Among the ten largest cities in the state, none are growing as fast proportionally as Columbus, however. While many smaller cities across the state have struggled to keep up with the demand for housing, Columbus mayor Jim Bulkley says his city is expected to have 600 new housing units completed within the next two years.

Gov. Jim Pillen announced Friday he intends to provide administrative support and resources to the Medical Cannabis Commission. “With support from the Policy Research Office, the Department of Administrative Services, and other agencies, as necessary, the Medical Cannabis Commission is fully enabled to meet and carry out its responsibilities under the Patient Protection Act and the Regulation Act to meet its milestone dates of July 1 and October 1,” a press release from the Governor’s Office said. The commission was created upon the passage of Initiative 438 by Nebraska voters in November 2024.

What started as a county-level program to fill a child care need has expanded to a region–wide effort in central Nebraska. The program connects mentors, called champions, with those wanting to be licensed for guidance through the process.

People without legal status are a key part of the dairy industry's workforce. Some producers hope their economic contribution will protect farms from ICE raids and may open the conversation around policy reform.

The Nebraska Legislature gave final approval Thursday to the state budget for the next two years, despite criticism that it is unsustainable.