Nebraska
Principles of good tax policy • Nebraska Examiner
Gov. Jim Pillen is embarking on a policy campaign to sell a new plan meant to lower property taxes. He’s hitting the road making his pitch to voters and state senators in communities around the state.
If you have planned a summer vacation, you know that a great trip does not happen on its own — it takes vision, planning and strong execution. The same is true for state tax policy. Before embarking on a restructuring of Nebraska’s tax system, it’s important to set goals and map out the path to our ideal destination.
We can all agree we want to arrive at a destination where Nebraska has a tax system that allows individuals and businesses to thrive, for our state to compete with our peers, and a system that is fair and equitable for all. How we get there, and what principles we follow, are the primary questions at hand. Achieving meaningful tax reform requires more than a big goal; it must be built upon sound tax policies that will endure for generations to come.
Prior to 2023, Nebraska consistently ranked high among peer states for income tax rates and property tax burdens. Unfortunately, budgets were tight during that time, which limited fiscally responsible means for reducing these taxes. Regardless, our state leaders knew Nebraska had to perform better if it was to successfully compete with peer states for business and job growth and personal prosperity.
Finally, in 2023, Nebraska had its shot. Due to a revenue surplus, in part because ofthe COVID crisis, Nebraska was able to slash its income tax rates to 3.99% over five years and also eliminate community colleges’ ability to levy property tax. These changes significantly enhanced our state’s tax code; however, they did not happen overnight, and they did not happen by accident. Despite this reform, Nebraska still has the seventh highest property tax rate in the country. As we look forward now, we need to consider what goes into good tax policy, and how Nebraska can ensure we get the best outcome for our state.
Budgetary restraint
Foundational to any good tax policy is budgetary restraint. Although Nebraska was able to accomplish significant reforms due to excess revenue, only budgetary restraint can provide sustainable tax relief. That is, future tax reforms should not rely on a tax shift, but instead focus on capping local spending growth and promoting budget restraint.
Simplicity
Good tax policy is also rooted in simplicity. A tax code that is easy to understand and comply with reduces administrative costs and economic distortions. Nebraska’s recent reforms aimed to simplify the tax code by reducing the number of brackets and lowering rates. Eliminating the community college property tax simplified the overall property tax system. Future reforms should continue this trend towards simplicity, making the tax system as straightforward as possible while ensuring that elected officials are accountable to the taxpayer.
Transparency
Transparency is another critical principle of foundational tax reform. A transparent tax system ensures that taxpayers understand how their money is being used and can hold government officials accountable. Transparency also means keeping accountability at the level of government most accessible to the taxpayer. This means local decisions should stay in the hands of local elected officials, not bureaucrats in Lincoln. Nebraska should continue to prioritize transparency, building trust with taxpayers and ensuring that public funds are managed responsibly.
Economic growth
Lastly, economic growth should be a guiding objective. Tax policies that promote investment, job creation and economic expansion benefit all Nebraskans. By keeping tax rates competitive and reducing burdensome regulations, Nebraska can attract new businesses and retain existing ones, driving economic prosperity. Legislators should reject ideas that raise taxes on business inputs and instead focus on policies that spur economic growth throughout our state.
The principles of budgetary restraint, simplicity, transparency and economic growth form the bedrock of sound tax policy. As Nebraska looks to further improve its tax system, these principles will guide us toward a fairer, more prosperous future for all. In the next part of this series, we will explore specific policy solutions to achieve property tax reform, building on this strong and principled foundation.
In conclusion, it is wise to have a clear understanding of the objective before embarking on the journey. For Nebraska, the objective should be statewide population and job growth, business creation and personal prosperity, partnered with state and local spending controls and fiscal policies that help sustain Nebraska’s performance, even through economic turbulence.
Nebraska
York lottery player wins $3,125 in Nebraska Pick 4 drawing
LINCOLN, Neb. (KSNB) – One lucky player who bought a Nebraska Pick 4 ticket for the Wednesday, Dec. 10, drawing is holding a ticket worth $3,125.
The ticket was sold at Pump & Pantry No. 16 at 109 Lincoln Avenue in York. The winning numbers from Wednesday’s Nebraska Pick 4 drawing were 02, 00, 01, 05.
Winning Nebraska Lottery tickets expire 180 days after the drawing. Tickets with total prize amounts of $501 to $19,999 must be claimed by mail or at a regional lottery claim center. Additional information about claiming prizes can be found at nelottery.com or by calling 800-587-5200.
Nebraska Pick 4 is a daily lotto game from the Nebraska Lottery. Players select four numbers, each from a separate set of digits from 0 through 9, for a chance to win up to $6,000. Players choose one of six bet types to set their play style and potential prizes. The odds of winning the $3,125 prize in Nebraska Pick 4 are 1 in 10,000.
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Copyright 2025 KSNB. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Emmett Johnson leaves Nebraska with sterling legacy, All-America status
LINCOLN, Neb. — One month ago, on the heels of a breakthrough performance by Emmett Johnson against UCLA, Nebraska launched a Heisman Trophy push for the junior running back.
Johnson enjoyed the limelight. Fans flocked to see him during an appearance in downtown Lincoln and at the high school championship games inside Memorial Stadium. He traveled home to Minneapolis during the Huskers’ bye week and visited his high school, Academy of Holy Angels. He had stopped in previously, but this trip was different.
“It was like a celebrity came to the school,” Holy Angels coach Jim Gunderson said.
In the final two games of the regular season with Nebraska, Johnson rushed for 320 yards, but the Huskers lost them in ugly fashion against Penn State and Iowa to cap a 7-5 regular season. As fast as the Heisman campaign began, it was over — but worthwhile, nonetheless.
Johnson ran this season in part so that running backs at Nebraska who follow him can fly. He leaves Nebraska with a sterling legacy.
On Wednesday, Johnson became the first Nebraska player to receive first-team All-America mentions since linebacker Lavonte David in 2011 — and the fourth running back in the past 70 years, matching Mike Rozier (1982 and ’83), Jarvis Redwine (1980) and Jeff Kinney (1971). His final year ranks among the top five in school history by a running back. Stack it alongside Rozier’s 1983 Heisman season, Lawrence Phillips in 1994, Ahman Green in 1997 and Ameer Abdullah in 2013.
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule and his staff aim to use Johnson’s success to help bring backs to Lincoln who can finish what he started.
“It’s very much not in vogue anymore not to wait your turn,” Rhule said. “Sometimes, it’s like, ‘I’ll just go here and do this, just go there.’ But guys like Emmett had chances. And they stayed. And he deserves everything that he’s getting.”
Johnson was named the Big Ten running back of the year, a first at Nebraska. Last Friday, he declared for the 2026 NFL Draft, foregoing his final season of eligibility and the Dec. 31 Las Vegas Bowl.
High praise for the B1G’s top back@Emmett21Johnson pic.twitter.com/g7EhpUE2EP
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) December 11, 2025
What separated Johnson this year?
• His 1,130 yards in Big Ten play were the most by a Power 4 back in conference play. He stands alone with 1995 Heisman winner Eddie George as the only Big Ten players to total 1,100 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards in one season of league play.
• Johnson led the nation by accounting for 40.8 percent of his team’s total yards.
• He was the fourth FBS player since 2017 to average 120 yards rushing and 30 yards receiving.
• His 1,821 yards from scrimmage and 1,451 rushing ranked second and third, respectively, in the FBS.
In form true to his roots, Johnson proved wrong skeptics who believed he could not handle 20 carries per game in Big Ten play.
Does everyone realize how freaking good Emmett Johnson is for @HuskerFootball ? Dude is a straight balla. Quick, decisive, tough, great as a receiver. One of the most underrated RB’s in the Country!
— David Pollack (@davidpollack47) November 28, 2025
“He has always had that chip to prove people wrong and be great,” Gunderson said. “This is how he envisioned it going, and he wasn’t going to be denied.”
Four years ago, on a Sunday in mid-December, less than a week before the signing period opened, Johnson accepted a Nebraska scholarship offer. Ron Brown extended it.
A month earlier, Scott Frost, the Nebraska coach from 2018 to 2022, fired four offensive assistants. Brown, with 24 years of experience as a Nebraska assistant under three head coaches, was elevated late in that season from offensive analyst to running backs coach. He reviewed tape of Johnson, who scored 42 touchdowns and rushed for 2,500 yards at Holy Angels in 2021.
And Brown wondered why no big school had snatched up Johnson.
“I was perplexed,” Brown said. “Because when I saw Emmett play, I thought, ‘This guy is special.’”
Brown had recruited Abdullah from high school in Alabama to Nebraska in 2011. And Brown coached Abdullah in his back-to-back 1,600-yard seasons as a junior and senior before an NFL career that continues this year in its 11th season. In Johnson, Brown saw some of Abdullah’s vision, change of direction, endurance and ability to recover.
Brown quizzed Gunderson, the Holy Angels coach, about Johnson.
“I probably threw 100 questions at him,” Brown said, “looking for something that might be a little bit off, something that I had missed.”
Nothing.
“Coach Brown could just see the intangibles,” Gunderson said, “the stuff that isn’t measured. He saw the potential and the kind of kid who was going to work and who believed in himself.”
Johnson started six games as a redshirt freshman in 2023. He started five in 2024 and found his rhythm in the Nebraska offense when Dana Holgorsen arrived as coordinator last season. In December 2024, Johnson considered entering the transfer portal.
Holgorsen’s commitment helped get him to stay.
“ I think he just wanted to know that somebody had a plan for him,” Gunderson said.
The plan was never to leave Nebraska early. Johnson simply wanted the chance to receive a heavy workload.
He got 32 offensive touches against Cincinnati in the 2025 opener, 24 against Michigan, 23 against Maryland and 29 against Northwestern. In November, after quarterback Dylan Raiola was injured, Johnson stacked three games with 31 opportunities apiece and a 27-touch effort against Penn State.
“This dude really did what he said he was going to do,” Nebraska tight end Luke Lindenmeyer said.
His reliability never came into question.
“I’m so proud of Emmett, man,” senior cornerback Ceyair Wright said. “I think his success is a product of who he is as a person, how he treats people and the work that he puts in.”
Emmett Johnson shouldered a heavy load late in the season, garnering 27-plus touches in each of his final five games for Nebraska. (Harry How / Getty Images)
His humility and care for others rate as Johnson’s most admirable trait. Johnson said he wanted to share credit with his teammates for the accomplishments of this season. He rushed for 177 yards in the first half against Iowa and 217 for the game. But he stressed in the aftermath that he felt badly for older teammates who played their final games in Lincoln on Black Friday.
Turns out, he was among them. Johnson takes pride, he said, in building a new reputation for Nebraska running backs — more than a decade after Abdullah departed, three decades after Green and 42 years after Rozier’s Heisman.
“It matters a lot,” Johnson said, “because Nebraska is a special place. I want to be able to have recruits look at this place and know it’s special. It is special. I’m blessed to be the one doing that and helping. It’s bigger than just football.
“There are a lot of great humans here. That’s what I want to help push.”
Nebraska
Nebraska lands commitment from DL Jayden Travers adding to early Top 5 recruiting class
Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy 2027 defensive lineman Jayden Travers announced his commitment to Nebraska on Wednesday evening during the broadcast of the Overtime National Championship game.
The Panthers are playing Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon.
The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Travers becomes commit No. 7 for Matt Rhule and the Huskers in the 2027 class, adding to a haul the Rivals Industry already ranked No. 5 nationally early in the cycle.
Nebraska offered Travers in May and he got a chance to visit Lincoln during the fall. He spoke about his decision prior to kickoff with Rivals.
“The culture there is amazing for football,” Travers said. “The coaching. They really care about your well-being. I like the defensive front they run. It’s somewhere I can play and develop at.”
The Rivals Industry tabs Travers as the nation’s No. 56 defensive lineman.
“He is from an extremely tough neighborhood in Baltimore and he has worked his butt of to be in this position for change. very dedicated to the sport and natural leader,” St. Frances head coach Messay Hailemariam said.
Hailemariam likes the decision for Travers as well.
“He felt great about the coaches and his chance at being developed for Sundays,” Hailemariam said before talking about what stands out about about him as a player. “Extremely strong and can use his hands extremely well.”
Other offers for Travers included Michigan, Miami, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Syracuse.
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