OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Legalizing online sports betting has met with resistance in the Nebraska Legislature for years.

Tax Relief Nebraska, a group backed by Nebraska casinos and online sports betting groups, took the issue to the people of the state through a petition drive.

Those petitions are now in, and casino officials say they expect to have enough signatures to make the November ballot — but also expect pushback through Election Day.

The case for online betting

Currently, legal sports bets cannot be placed on a phone in Nebraska. Casino operators say people who choose to wager are finding other ways to do it.

“They’re just doing it illegally through a virtual private network, or they’re driving over to the first exit between Iowa and Nebraska, placing a bet and then driving back to their home,” said Lynne McNally of Warhorse Casino.

Nebraska casino operators say the state has already collected millions of dollars in state taxes and property tax relief from casino gambling, and that online sports betting would add to that total.

A majority of Nebraskans voted for casino gambling to enter the state in 2020, and casino operators expect similar support if the online betting petition makes the November ballot.

“As you know, we got 65% on the constitutional amendment and actually got nearly 70% on the tax portion of the statute when the casinos were legalized in 2020. I think that we’ll be in that area, if not maybe a little higher than that,” McNally said.

“There’s always going to be a sector of the public that doesn’t want to gamble. They don’t want to go to our facilities and that’s just fine. I guess I have an objection with trying to tell other people what to do,” McNally said.

The opposition

The Nebraska Family Alliance stands against online gambling and plans to campaign against the initiative across the state. The nonprofit group issued a statement that reads in part: “Online sports betting has been a massive public policy failure that benefits national sportsbooks at the expense of kids, student-athletes, families and businesses. While they have more money, they don’t have the truth.”

Pat Loontjer, director of Gambling with the Good Life, has opposed expanded gambling in Nebraska for 30 years.

“They’re telling the same lie — property tax relief. Well in Nebraska you say property tax relief and everybody says where do I sign,” Loontjer said.

Loontjer also raised concerns about the impact on young people.

“Sports betting on the phone is the most addictive thing for young people, young men especially. You’ve got kids that are going to lose their scholarships, lose their future,” Loontjer said.

What comes next

If enough signatures are verified and the issue is placed on the November ballot, Warhorse Casino officials say Nebraskans could be able to make sports bets on their phones by spring of next year.

MEDORA, N.D. — Thousands of people from across North Dakota and around the country gathered in Medora on Wednesday, July 1, for President Donald Trump’s visit celebrating America’s upcoming 250th anniversary and the dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

Under hot summer skies, the normally quiet western North Dakota town transformed into a tightly-secured venue filled with patriotic displays, music and enthusiastic crowds. Attendees lined the route waving American flags and holding signs reading “We Love USA” and “We Love Trump” as Trump arrived aboard the BNSF Freedom 250 train, a ceremonial tribute to the state’s railroad heritage and the Freedom 250 celebration.

Many in the crowd wore red, white and blue clothing, “Make America Great Again” hats and other patriotic attire. Security was highly visible throughout the event, with law enforcement officers, emergency responders and medical personnel stationed across the venue. Snipers were positioned on nearby buttes and along the rail corridor while ambulances and emergency crews, including Billings County Ambulance and Ringdahl EMS, remained on standby.

Trump was accompanied by his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.; Donald Trump Jr.’s partner, Bettina Anderson; and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Following his arrival, he was escorted by a mounted Rough Rider reenactment group as he made his way from the train to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

Inside the packed Burning Hills Amphitheater, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum introduced the president before Trump walked onto the stage to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.”

Dorvall Bedford / The Dickinson Press

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During remarks lasting more than an hour, Trump spoke about Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy, American values, law enforcement, the Panama Canal and challenges facing the nation. He also announced $750,000 in support for the presidential library and joked with the audience after technical issues with the teleprompters prompted him to speak without prepared remarks.

Trump concluded his speech by thanking North Dakotans, describing the state as beautiful and ending with his signature dance to “YMCA.”

For many attendees, however, the day was about more than the speech itself. They described the event as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness a presidential visit to one of North Dakota’s most recognizable destinations.

Eli Waddington, one of the Rough Rider reenactors who led the mounted presidential procession, said participating in the event was among the greatest honors of his life.

“It’s a great honor, one of the greatest honors we’ve ever been presented with,” Waddington said. “We’re representing the men that have fought and died for this country over the years to make America what it is, and we’re bringing our president and his people to the top of the hill to dedicate the library to one of the best presidents that ever lived, Teddy Roosevelt.”

Dorvall Bedford / The Dickinson Press

Fellow Rough Rider reenactor Jayson Wayne Jones said months of planning, practices and security screenings preceded the event. Only 20 mounted riders were selected to escort the president.

“This is probably the largest honor I’ve ever been involved in,” Jones said. “There was a lot of back and forth, a lot of figuring out. We’ve gone through multiple practices and screenings.”

Among those attending were Dickinson High School seniors Ava Hauck, founder and CEO of the artificial intelligence biotechnology startup Clinivue, and Callie Bowden, the company’s marketing specialist. The pair documented the day’s events while taking in the historic occasion.

Bowden said the scale of the security and road closures was unlike anything she had previously experienced in Medora.

Dorvall Bedford / The Dickinson Press

“We’ve never had Medora blocked off before, so it’s really different,” she said.

Hauck said the visit brought rare national attention to western North Dakota.

“It’s just exciting because we don’t really get a lot of attention in North Dakota,” Hauck said. “It’s really good to see all the excitement brought to Medora.”

For Daniel Gannarelli, chief revenue officer of the Medora Foundation, the event represented a milestone not only for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library but also for the town itself.

“The last time a president was in Medora was when Teddy Roosevelt was here,” Gannarelli said. “To have a sitting president choose us during the Fourth of July week and the 250th anniversary of the country, when he could literally be anywhere in the world, is quite impressive.”

Dorvall Bedford / The Dickinson Press

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Gannarelli said he hopes future presidents from both political parties will continue to visit Medora, emphasizing the community’s desire to welcome people regardless of political affiliation.

“Where the American experiment is actually happening — left and right, all divides of the spectrum, all politically different people can come here to enjoy this,” he said. “I hope we have Obama. I hope we have Bush. Medora is for everyone.”

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Ohio is shaping up to be a top battleground state this year, and MS NOW’s election team now characterizes its Senate race as a Toss Up.

We are updating the race based primarily on multiple high-quality polls showing a very tight contest, as well as the candidates running and the broader political environment.

The contest is technically a special election to fill out the remainder of Vice President JD Vance’s term. Republican Jon Husted, who was appointed to the seat after Vance took office in 2025, is running to defend it for the first time.

The candidates and structural forces

While Ohio is still often thought of as a bellwether state, it has voted reliably Republican in recent presidential elections. The state has shifted to the right during President Donald Trump’s political rise, backing him in all three of his presidential campaigns.

Ohio’s last few Senate races, however, have been more competitive. Vance won by six points in 2022, while Republican Bernie Moreno beat Democrat Sherrod Brown by less than four points in 2024, narrowly ousting Brown from office after he served three terms in the Senate.

Brown’s showing two years ago is more impressive than it might seem at first blush. A relatively well-liked senator with working-class appeal, he was likely dragged down by his party’s brand. He came close to hanging onto his seat in an unfavorable environment for Democrats. That four-point loss meant he ran ahead of Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump by 11 points.

And 2026 looks to be a much better environment for Democrats.

Trump’s approval rating and the GOP’s favorability ratings are underwater amid an unpopular war and widespread economic dissatisfaction. Brown is running again, and polls indicate he has a real shot at flipping the seat.

The polls

No single poll should be viewed as definitive, but a clear pattern has emerged in recent weeks. A Fox News poll made waves four weeks ago, showing Brown with a lead outside the poll’s margin of sampling error. Since then, two more high-quality polls have shown a very competitive race: one commissioned by AARP and fielded by a bipartisan team of pollsters, and the other released this week by the New York Times and Siena College. Both show a three-point race, which is well within the margin of error, and they differ on which candidate is ahead. This is what polling in a true toss-up race looks like.