Nebraska
Nebraskan Tim Walz gives Republican ticket the business in La Vista • Nebraska Examiner
LA VISTA — Native Nebraskan Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor tapped this month as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, celebrated his first home-state rally Saturday by filling a suburban Sarpy County concert venue and its overflow amphitheater.
The rally emphasized his Nebraska roots, including his time as a teacher and coach in Alliance, Nebraska. His wife, Gwen, and one of his former geography students, Aubrianna Faustman, introduced him.
Walz was born in West Point, grew up in Valentine and graduated from high school in Butte. He got a warm reception from the largely Democratic audience.
Walz talks teaching
Hundreds of people lined up for hours around much of the La Vista City Centre entertainment district near 84th and Harrison Streets before the mid-afternoon event. More than 2,400 were inside the venue, with thousands more waiting and watching outside.
Walz taught in Nebraska, as did his wife, a native Minnesotan, before they moved to Mankato, Minnesota in 1996. He joked that he is caught between Husker football fandom and representing the Gophers.
The Walzes spent much of their talk discussing how the Harris-Walz team is prioritizing public education and economic opportunities for all children. He pushed back against GOP criticism of public education, drawing cheers.
“Wow. Well, hello, Nebraska,” he said, smiling and pointing to the crowd. “I have to admit it feels pretty good to be back home. Things got pretty exciting … over the last 10 days.”
Runza fight
Walz, 60, sharpened his elbows for former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance. Vance will visit Nebraska next week for a fundraiser and might also host a public event. Walz told the crowd not to be fooled by a Yale philosopher who’s backed by venture capital.
“You think J.D. Vance knows one damn thing about Nebraska?” Walz asked the laughing crowd. “You think he’s ever had a Runza. That guy would call it a Hot Pocket. You know it.”
A Runza, for the uninitiated, is a German-style meat and cabbage sandwich sold by a Nebraska-based hamburger chain of the same name. Walz’s caravan stopped at a Runza restaurant, at 77th and L Streets on his way out of town, someone in the caravan shared with the Examiner.
Walz also ducked outside the rally venue to greet and wave to the people who couldn’t get in.
Values from his roots
He spent much of his speech focused on the values he said he learned in north-central and western Nebraska, saying that he still doesn’t know the politics of a group of his friends from high school, but they are there for one another when needed.
Faustman, the former student who helped introduce him, said when Harris selected Walz as her running mate, she told her husband that she couldn’t wait for the rest of the country to get to know him, because he is “just a good decent human being.”
She and others who spoke, including Walz, contrasted the Harris-Walz stance on reproductive freedom with the views held by Trump and Vance. Faustman and Walz spoke about their families’ challenges with needing fertility treatments and how they didn’t want to see political restrictions on IVF.
Walz worked out the latest version of his stump speech, in which he called Republicans “weird” for sticking their noses into people’s private exam rooms and libraries and bedrooms. He criticized them for trying to overturn elections.
“Yes, it’s weird,” Walz said. “But it’s much worse than that. It’s dangerous.”
Military criticisms
Walz appeared to address some of the GOP criticism he has faced about when he ended his his 24-year career in the Nebraska and Minnesota National Guard. His unit deployed to Iraq shortly after he retired in 2005 to run for Congress. Many who served with him have defended his retirement.
He said he signed up for the Guard after high school graduation and loved his time in service. He called serving a “privilege” and said “the Guard gave me a lot,” including a purpose, as well as the ability to use the GI Bill to attend Chadron State College.
Vance and others have criticized Walz, the highest-ranking enlisted man to serve in Congress. Vance served in the Marine Corps and was deployed as a combat correspondent, or military journalist. He has accused Walz of misrepresenting his own time in the service, which Walz denies.
Presidential stakes in Omaha
Walz’s visit Saturday to La Vista, which sits on the border of the 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts in the Omaha area — on the second weekend after joining the Harris campaign — hints at the importance of the 2nd District to the broader presidential race.
A single swing-district vote matters in Republican-heavy Nebraska. Nebraska and Maine are unique nationally in awarding a single Electoral College vote to the winner of the presidential popular vote in each congressional district.
Democrats are trying to win a second-straight stray Electoral College vote in the 2nd District. Former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, won the vote in 2008, followed by Republican Mitt Romney in 2012, Trump in 2016 and Democratic President Joe Biden n 2020.
Gov. Jim Pillen and Republicans in the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature, with urging from Trump and his campaign, have been trying to get state lawmakers to shift the Republican-leaning state to winner-take-all yet this year.
Thus far they lack the votes to change the process this close to an election. A top Maine state lawmaker has said Maine would act if Nebraska games the system to favor a single candidate. One electoral vote could matter in a close race.
Energy campaign
The question this fall in NE-02 is whether Democrats can harness the energy of a resurgent campaign in the wake of Biden dropping out, or whether Trump will regain momentum in the districts.
Nebraska Democrats have celebrated Walz being Harris’ running mate by amplifying his ties to rural Nebraska, his ability to make progressive policies more approachable and the importance of adding a Midwestern voice to the ticket.
Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said the goal of the rally was to motivate and sign up volunteers to knock on voters’ doors, make calls and text them and make sure to “defeat Donald Trump once and for all.”
Republicans weigh in
The Nebraska Republican Party had no immediate comment. A spokeswoman said they were in the middle of a state central committee meeting and would reply soon.
“Tim Walz and Kamala Harris do not represent the commonsense, Midwestern values of those in the Cornhusker State,” said Liz Huston, a regional spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign. She said Nebraskans will re-elect Trump.
“Just like Harris, Walz is dangerously liberal and a champion for the Harris-Biden agenda that has burdened Nebraska families with high prices, higher taxes, and made communities less safe,” Huston said in a statement to the Examiner.
The fight for Congress
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Preston Love Jr., who has spent years organizing voters in North Omaha, said that the presidential race would be close in the 2nd District but that Harris would win and that she is “up to this fight.”
Democratic State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha, who is running a repeat race against Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon in the 2nd District, drew some of the event’s loudest chants when he stepped on stage. He said he would fight for Nebraskans’ economic and reproductive freedom.
Vargas, who represents South Omaha in the Legislature, said his immigrant parents had provided him and his siblings with “the American dream” by securing union jobs that paid wages significant enough to let their children be the first in their family to attend college.
Like Walz, Vargas emphasized his time teaching, which he said helped show him the importance of public service. He previously served on the Omaha Public Schools board and is term-limited from running again for the Legislature.
“I believe Nebraskans deserve someone in Washington who puts people over politics,” Vargas said. “I will work every day for working families. I will fight to protect reproductive freedom and to … keep our communities … safe from gun violence.”
House rematch
Bacon, in a campaign statement, criticized Vargas for endorsing Harris and Walz, which he called “the most left-wing ticket in U.S. history.” Bacon, who has endorsed Trump three times, said Nebraskans don’t want Harris or her policies.
“Tim Walz and Tony Vargas are both tax and spend, defund the police, and open borders liberals,” Bacon said. “I’ll keep working as the most effective and bipartisan Republican in Congress.”
Vargas said he was excited to spend the next 85 days working, organizing and talking to flip the 2nd District House seat, to help Democrats regain control of the House and to help Harris and Walz win the White House.
“I’m so excited, because I get to join these two next year in Washington, D.C.,” Vargas said.
Other highlights
Other attendees included former U.S. Sen. and Nebraska Gov. Ben Nelson, a Walz friend; Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, the state’s highest-profile elected Democrat; and national gun control activist David Hogg, in town for another event.
Omaha singer Jayde Dorsey, 12, drew some of the day’s highest praise from Walz and members of the crowd for her renditions of “A Change is Gonna Come” and “Rise Up.” Walz said he could see her singing at their inauguration.
As at many other rallies held during the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside and worked to draw attention to their cause. One person tried to disrupt Walz’s speech.
Political activist MajieAhna Winfrey from North Omaha drew thunderous applause with her statement about the stakes of the November election.
“The path to the White House runs through Nebraska,” she said. “Let’s go win this thing.”
They say all roads lead home, and for Daniel Kaelin, that remains true as he returns to Lincoln after a year away from the program in 2025.
The former four-star Belleview West (NE) star heads into his sophomore season in his second stint as a Husker, ready to compete for an impactful role. Though he’ll likely be on the outside looking in, in terms of earning the starting job, after gaining starting experience at his previous school, he won’t go down without a fight.
Now, after roughly a week and a half of spring football practices in the books, Kaelin met with the media Wednesday. During his time at the mic, the Nebraska native touched on a variety of topics, including his decision to come home, an ego-less quarterback room in Lincoln, and much more.
It didn’t take long for the will-be sophomore to get asked about his decision to return to Nebraska. After explaining the values he got out of his time away, Kaelin described it as something he’s as excited about as he is thankful for.
“It’s been really good,” said Kaelin. “Nebraska’s my home, and there are so many people on this team that I have a good relationship with. So, the transition has been really smooth. I’ve been enjoying being back, for sure”.
Leaving after the end of the 2024 season, Kaelin’s path towards competing for a starting job appeared to be full of obstacles. But a little over a year after he transferred to Virginia, the situation has changed dramatically. Back in the scarlet and cream, a year older and with more experience, the soon-to-be third-year player is enjoying his return, to say the least.
In his time as a Cavalier, the then-redshirt freshman saw action in seven games. Despite a sparing role, he still managed to throw for the first 339 yards of his career, while also scoring his first collegiate touchdown. Kaelin also proved to be a threat on the ground, with 12 carries for 72 yards.
In total, he amassed 400 all-purpose yards at Virginia and comes to Nebraska more battle-tested than before. Here, the 6-foot-3, 218-pounder will look to grow even more, but was asked to reflect on what he gained during his stay on the East Coast.
“It was my first time being away from home,” he said. “I think that year- doing things on my own- was probably big for me becoming an adult. I think I learned a lot about myself that way”.
Between personal development and his time on the field, Kaelin’s lone season at Virginia was not for nothing. Instead, a more mature version of the young quarterback is what the Huskers are getting back amongst their ranks. He also provides them with the third quarterback to have started a Power Four game in their career.
After discussing what he gained in his time away, Kaelin was then asked to explain how he landed back in Lincoln ahead of the 2026 season. To somewhat of a surprise, the Nebraska native suggested it wasn’t initially planned. Rather, the opportunity presented itself, and both sides agreed.
“I didn’t really even expect to be leaving the last school I was at,” Kaelin said. “Things kind of happened pretty quickly. When I got in the portal, I was able to get in touch with Coach Rhule, and when I knew that this was a possibility, it just made a lot of sense for me. It is really comfortable for me coming back home and being around people that I know”.
Using his past relationships with coaches and players such as Carter Nelson and Bode Soukup, the former in-state signal-caller is what you’d call back home. Confident, comfortable, and with a lot more to prove, he’ll look to make an impact on the field for the first time as a Husker this fall.
Kaelin was then asked to shed light on the dynamic within the quarterbacks’ room, and his response sounded similar to that of quarterback coach Glenn Thomas earlier in the day. Instead of pushing each other away due to competition, the position group is looking to help each other grow. In fact, Kaelin suggested it may be the most unified position group he’s ever been a part of, and something he views as a positive change.
“There’s egos,” he said. There’s money involved. I think that can create some tension or problems sometimes. There haven’t been any type of issues like that with the room that we have right now; it’s been great.”
While some suggest that his comment may be a back-handed dig at former signal-callers within the room, it’s clear that the Huskers no longer have an issue with competition in 2026. Instead, the group is pushing eachother to improve. And when spring ball and fall camp come to a close, the best man for the job will emerge with the others’ full support.
A big change since Kaelin was on campus in 2024 is NU’s retooled wide receiver room. After welcoming in a new position coach, the Huskers have been able to recruit, retain, and add several high-level players to the unit. When asked to offer his thoughts on the room, the will-be sophomore didn’t hold back his early praise.
“A big thing that we’ve noticed so far is we have guys that make plays,” Kaelin said. “We’ve been challenging them to- when the ball is in the air, it has got to be theirs. We don’t want 50/50 balls. They’ve got to go make plays. And so far, they’ve definitely been doing that. It’s been really impressive to watch”.
Not only are the Big Red’s pass catchers bigger, deeper, and faster than before, but it’s beginning to pay off for the offense this spring. There’s still plenty of time for the quarterbacks and wideouts to develop chemistry, but early reports suggest the relationship has started well.
For Kaelin, it was positive to see the metaphorical boy return as a man. Not only has he gained experience and found success on the field, but he’s also come back with a deeper understanding of what it takes to lead a team. By all accounts, it appears his teammates have taken a liking to him, so don’t be surprised if he sees the field in some role this upcoming fall.
Again, he’s far from guaranteed the starting job here in Lincoln and will have to beat out two players with more experience than he has. Still, it is more than likely that he will take his first snaps as a Husker at some point in 2026. Were he to take meaningful reps, the third-year sophomore has already been tested before, and that gives Nebraska reason for optimism about the room.
Overall, he sounded as if he was preparing to be more than ready when his opportunity comes. Returning home did not come without a price, but don’t expect Kaelin to remain silent his second time around. The Huskers are looking for a player who can reliably make plays, and it’s hard to argue that there would be another player in his position group who cares more about the program than he does.
Still, he’ll have to prove his skill is worthy of deserving that chance. Spring should tell a lot about where he stands.
Nebraska
In a first for Nebraska, federal judge awards attorney’s fees to immigrant who was detained without bond hearing
For the first time, a federal judge in Nebraska has awarded court costs and attorney’s fees to an immigrant who prevailed in a lawsuit challenging his detention without bond.
Senior U.S. District Court Judge John Gerrard, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued the ruling on Tuesday and awarded $1,535.23 to Edgar Eduardo Cadillo Salazar. Gerrard had previously ruled that Salazar’s detention at the Cass County Jail without bond was unconstitutional and ordered the government to provide him with a bond hearing or release him from custody.
Under the federal Equal Access to Justice Act, individuals and businesses that prevail in civil lawsuits against the federal government can file a motion to hold the government liable for attorney’s fees and court costs. Judges can order the government to cover those costs unless they find that the government’s position was “substantially justified,” or if “special circumstances make an award unjust.”
Before last summer, when the Department of Homeland Security revised its longstanding interpretation of statute, only immigrants who were encountered at the border or other ports of entry were subject to mandatory detention. Immigrants encountered after residing in the U.S. were typically subject to discretionary detention and eligible for a bond hearing.
The new interpretation has led to detention without bond for tens of thousands of immigrants who would have previously been eligible to bond out – and it’s led to an endless stream of wrongful detention lawsuits in Nebraska and around the country. A Reuters investigation found that federal courts have ruled against the mandatory detention policy more than 4,400 times.
In Gerrard’s order granting Salazar’s request for attorney’s fees, he said the government’s position that all undocumented immigrants are ineligible for bond hearings was not substantially justified.
“This ‘new understanding’ of a decades-old statute has resulted in the government detaining hundreds of thousands of nonviolent individuals, often without due process or other constitutional protections,” Gerrard wrote. “It has also sparked thousands of lawsuits where courts have ordered release of those wrongfully detained, for which neither immigration courts nor the Department of Justice have seemed prepared.”
He continued: “The government has not provided any justification, let alone a substantial one, for its radical departure from the historical treatment of noncitizens who entered the United States without inspection. Its arguments rely purely on statutory interpretation; the government apparently expects it can transform an entire area of administrative law because it unilaterally decided that, for thirty years, everyone was wrong about what a statute meant.”
Salazar was later denied bond by an immigration judge and remains in custody, according to his attorney, Alexander Smith.
Two similar motions were denied last month by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bazis, an appointee of former President Joe Biden. In both cases, Bazis had ruled in favor of the detained immigrants, and they were later released on bond per her orders. But in her opinions denying attorney’s fees under the EAJA, she found that the government’s position on mandatory detention was “substantially justified.”
“The Court cannot say that the Federal Respondents’ pre-litigation decision to treat [the respondent] as being subject to mandatory detention, while not ultimately correct in this Court’s view, lacked a reasonable basis in law or fact,” Bazis wrote in a footnote of her opinions.
The issue of mandatory detention is currently under consideration by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Nebraska and other Midwest states. In oral arguments last month, the appellate court’s conservative judges appeared friendly to the mandatory detention policy.
The UCLA men’s basketball team made Senior Night one to savor Tuesday, dominating No. 9 Nebraska 72-52 at Pauley Pavilion for its 20th victory of the season and third over a top-10 ranked opponent.
The Bruins improved to 20-10 overall and 12-7 in the Big Ten with one regular season game remaining, Saturday at crosstown rival USC.
Trent Perry scored 20 points, Eric Dailey Jr. had 14 and three players — Tyler Bilodeau, Skyy Clark and Xavier Booker — each added eight points.
“Nebraska’s got a great team,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “This is the best we’ve played all year — they brought out the best in us. We went from our worst defensive effort to our best. They outhustle everyone they play, but not us. Tonight we were great, but I love the way they play. If we had their attitude we’d have their record.”
Eric Freeny had four points, five rebounds and three steals in 18 minutes for UCLA, which got 26 points in the paint and 17 second-chance points.
“Effort is what it takes to win in March,” Freeny said. “It was our last home game. Coach keeps on pushing me to be better everyday.”
Sam Hoiberg had 12 points to lead Nebraska, but Pryce Sandfort, who began the game leading the conference in three-pointers made per game, was held to nine points.
“Sandford has been unbelievable so to hold him to nine points is amazing,” Cronin said. “Brandon Williams was the unsung hero.”
Williams had six points and three rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
The Bruins were in control from the opening tip-off and never trailed the Cornhuskers (25-5, 14-5). UCLA improved to 10-3 in all-time against Nebraska and the win greatly strengthened its resume for the NCAA tournament as the Bruins also beat then-No. 4 Purdue 69-67 on Jan. 20 and then-No. 10 Illinois 95-94 in overtime on Feb. 21 on Donovan Dent’s layup with one second left.
“We have to take attitude we came with tonight, bottle it up and take it on the road,” Dailey Jr. said. “We’ve got so much left. The season’s not over… we’re only as good as our last game. It’s all about how you respond. I love the fight that we played with tonight.”
This is the fifth time in Cronin’s seven seasons that the Bruins have won 20 or more games. They are 17-1 at home (their only loss in overtime to Indiana on Jan. 31).
“Since I’ve been here we don’t lose much at home.” Cronin said.
UCLA went ahead by 15 points, 37-22, on Perry’s three-pointer with 2:41 left and led 37-24 at intermission. The Bruins shot 50% from the field in the first half (15 for 30) while Nebraska was only 31% (nine for 29).
The Bruins increased their advantage to 18 points on Dailey’s dunk less than five minutes into the second half and the visitors got no closer than nine the rest of the way.
Prior to pregame introductions the Bruins honored seniors Bilodeau, Dent and Clark; fifth-year player Jamar Brown; redshirt seniors Steven Jamerson II, Jack Seidler and Anthony Peoples Jr; and redshirt junior Evan Manjikian. In a media timeout, midway through the first half, former coach Jim Harrick (who led UCLA to its 11th national championship in 1995) was honored and got a loud ovation.
“I’m happy for our seniors, I didn’t want them to lose their last game at Pauley,” said Perry, who reversed a subpar performance at Minnesota, where he was 0-for-7 from the field with one rebound and one assist in 26 minutes. “I had to come out here tonight and bounce back for my team. I play for something bigger than myself and I’m fortunate to have the type of guys I do around me.”
UCLA guard Skyy Clark looks to pass while under pressure from Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg and forward Berke Buyuktuncel in the second half.
(William Liang / Associated Press)
Over the last four games, Dent has 46 assists and just two turnovers.
Bilodeau has scored in double figures in 26 of 28 games played, totaling 20 points or more nine times.
Dailey moved to within five points of reaching the 1,000-career point milestone.
UCLA has now made at least one three-pointer in 887 of 888 games dating to February 2000.
“We had one practice this week, that’s it,” Cronin said. “We watched film, had a heart-to-heart talk and a shoot around today but that’s it.”
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