Nebraska

Nebraska needs immigrants • Nebraska Examiner

Published

11 months ago

January 23, 2025

Nebraska needs immigrants • Nebraska Examiner

Nebraska emerged from the pandemic in 2022 with the worst workforce shortage in the U.S.

Businesses and governments statewide had more than 80,000 job openings and only 32 people looking for work for every 100 of those openings, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Unfortunately, according to the same dataset, Nebraska and Utah currently have the lowest available worker ratio to job openings in the U.S. Only 56 Nebraskans are looking for work for every 100 job openings, while the national average is 84 people looking for work for every 100 openings.

This is not a short-term problem. In 2022, there were 2,000 fewer Nebraska students enrolled in kindergarten than in the 12th grade, according to Nebraska Public Schools data.

A possible solution

Business and trade association leaders say: “Immigrants are the solution!”

Omaha Together One Community (OTOC) leaders conducted more than 100 meetings over the past three years with Nebraska agricultural, health-care, labor, education, hospitality, philanthropic, faith, construction, immigrant, legal, banking, and community leaders to learn more about our workforce needs.

We learned that an owner of a dairy farm had been awake for almost 48 hours milking his cows because his short-term immigrant staff had to leave Nebraska when their work visas expired. We heard of immigrants with work visas who can come to the U.S. with their families, but their spouses and working-age children are not allowed to work.

We learned of Nebraskans who travel 90 miles each way to see an elderly grandmother because their local long-term care facility is closed due to an inability to hire adequate staff.

We also heard of community leaders who were concerned that their schools and churches were at risk of closing. They no longer had pharmacies, hardware stores and car repair shops. They were at risk of losing their grocery stores and coffee
shops. They said loud and clear: “We don’t need immigrant workers! We need immigrant families!”

A new alliance

As result of these meetings, a statewide non-partisan alliance has formed. The Nebraska Alliance for Thriving Communities includes leaders from across the state. This 70-member Alliance agrees on a common-sense set of immigration priorities to enrich our communities and address Nebraska’s
workforce shortage.

According to a recent study funded by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce Foundation, “There is universal and widespread business support for immigration reform as a means to address the workforce gap in Nebraska. Participants clearly understood that the demand generated from the state’s current economic growth trajectory will exceed the state’s projected workforce supply. Nebraska’s decreasing birth rate coupled with a high labor force participation rate will require a talent influx in order to meet the needs of the state’s strong projected economic growth. There was universal consensus that immigration is critical to the state’s ability to continue to grow and prosper.”

Omaha Together One Community agrees! Nebraska needs more immigrants, not less!

Kathleen Grant is a leader of Omaha Together One Community Omaha Together One Community, a 30-year-old organization of 30 church congregations and community organizations that trains leaders to work across barriers for the common good.

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Nebraska

Nebraska Court of Appeals upholds conviction of Grand Island man in sexual assault case

Published

5 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Nebraska Court of Appeals upholds conviction of Grand Island man in sexual assault case

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — The Nebraska Court of Appeals has affirmed the conviction and sentencing of a Grand Island man charged with sexually assaulting a minor.

Cory Gilmore was sentenced in June to 36 to 48 years in prison on two counts of first-degree sexual assault. Court records said he was initially charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child, first-degree sexual assault and third-degree sexual assault of a child, but pleaded no contest to the two sexual assault counts as part of a plea deal.

According to an arrest affidavit, a report of a possible sexual assault came into the child abuse hotline that Gilmore sexually assaulted a minor girl when he was intoxicated.

A Grand Island police officer later interviewed the girl – who is younger than 19 years old – who said she was sexually assaulted by Gilmore from early 2021 to December 2023.

In his appeal, Gilmore claimed the District Court abused its discretion by imposing an excessive sentence. He also claimed his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to take the deposition of the alleged victim and failing to move to withdraw Gilmore’s plea before sentencing.

In its ruling, the Court of Appeals denied Gilmore’s claim of ineffective trial counsel. In his appeal, Gilmore said that at sentencing, he notified his counsel that he wished to withdraw his no-contest plea as he didn’t want to plead guilty or to say he did something he didn’t do.

The Court of Appeals said that at no point did Gilmore inform the District Court that he wished to withdraw his plea and that the District Court asked him if he made his plea “knowingly and voluntarily.”

The Court of Appeals also said in its order that at Gilmore’s sentencing hearing, the District Court looked at Gilmore’s risk to reoffend, his criminal history and the fact that he “showed no remorse for the trauma he has inflicted” in imposing its sentencing. The Court of Appeals said this was appropriate and that his sentencing was not excessive.

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Nebraska

Nebraska collects $200k in child support from gambling winnings

Published

17 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Nebraska collects 0k in child support from gambling winnings

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services has collected more than $200,000 from gambling winnings to go toward child support arrears just three months after implementing the program.

The Gambling Winnings Setoff for Outstanding Debt Act was approved through the passage of Legislative Bill 1317 and signed by Gov. Jim Pillen in 2024.

“This program ensures funds are being used to help support kids across Nebraska,” said Gov. Pillen. “Parents have an obligation to their children, and we’re guaranteeing their well-being by collecting these winnings.”

The collections began Sept. 2, 2025. The act requires gaming operators to withhold a portion of winnings from individuals who have an unpaid debt with the state and remit the funds to the Department of Revenue.

From there, the collected funds are distributed to various agencies, including DOR, Department of Labor, Department of Motor Vehicles, and DHHS.

Within the first 13 weeks, $529,091.47 was dispersed to these agencies, with DHHS receiving $215,852.98 for the Child Support Enforcement Program.

“By administering these dollars directly to families, the Child Support Enforcement Program is setting our state’s children up for success,” said Shannon Grotrian, director of the Office of Economic Assistance. “It’s making an immediate impact on their livelihoods and making sure they have what they need to grow and thrive.”

For more information on Nebraska’s Child Support Program, visit the DHHS website.

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Nebraska

Big Ten basketball power rankings: Look out for Nebraska

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Big Ten basketball power rankings: Look out for Nebraska

Another week of college basketball action saw significant movement in the Big Ten Conference. Out of nowhere, the Nebraska Cornhuskers are 11-0 to start the season and are quickly ascending the national rankings. They dominated the Wisconsin Badgers on Wednesday night, handing Greg Gard the most lopsided loss of his coaching career.

Along with Nebraska, Michigan, Purdue, Michigan State and UCLA are tied atop the conference standings at 2-0. That top group will likely remain consistent over the next few weeks before the Big Ten schedule intensifies in early January.

As we enter the final stretch of nonconference play, here is an updated snapshot of the full conference power rankings. Michigan remains the leader.

Updated Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings (Dec. 15)

Michigan Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten; No. 1 in KenPom) — No change
Purdue Boilermakers (10-1, 2-0 Big Ten; No. 6 in KenPom) — No change
Michigan State Spartans (9-1, 2-0 Big Ten; No. 12 in KenPom) — No change
Illinois Fighting Illini (8-3, 1-1 Big Ten; No. 14 in KenPom) — No change
Nebraska Cornhuskers (11-0, 2-0 Big Ten; No. 21 in KenPom) — Up 6
Iowa Hawkeyes (9-2, 1-1 Big Ten; No. 20 in KenPom) — No change
USC Trojans (10-1, 1-1 Big Ten; No. 38 in KenPom) — No change
Indiana Hoosiers (8-3, 1-1 Big Ten; No. 26 in KenPom) — Up 2
Wisconsin Badgers (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten; No. 37 in KenPom) — Down 4
Ohio State Buckeyes (8-2, 1-1 Big Ten; No. 39 in KenPom) — Down 1
UCLA Bruins (7-3, 2-0 Big Ten; No. 31 in KenPom) — Down 3
Washington Huskies (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten; No. 48 in KenPom) — No change
Northwestern Wildcats (6-4, 0-2 Big Ten; No. 58 in KenPom) — Up 1
Oregon Ducks (5-5, 0-2 Big Ten; No. 84 in KenPom) — Up 3
Maryland Terrapins (6-5, 0-2 Big Ten; No. 100 in KenPom) — No change
Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-5, 1-1 Big Ten; No. 108 in KenPom) — No change
Penn State Nittany Lions (8-3, 0-2 Big Ten; No. 107 in KenPom) — Down 4
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-6, 0-2 Big Ten; No. 147 in KenPom) — No change

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