Nebraska

3 years of the Nebraska Examiner: Looking back for inspiration and ahead to growth, with your help • Nebraska Examiner

Published

12 months ago

January 25, 2025

3 years of the Nebraska Examiner: Looking back for inspiration and ahead to growth, with your help • Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — Three years ago today, our little online news experiment started because local reporting giants Paul Hammel and Cindy Gonzalez and retired editing great Cate Folsom got the itch to try something new.

I initially thought they were crazy when they told me what they were doing. You’re doing what? Working with States Newsroom to start a nonprofit news outlet in Nebraska? How will people know where to find you? How will you get paid?

Sure, I took the call from Cindy, inquiring about who else they should hire. She was my cubicle neighbor when newspaper economics forced me back into the reporting ranks after years of editing and opinion writing, much of it under Cate.

Starting with experience

I had worked with all three of them for more than a decade at the Omaha World-Herald. Paul was the first reporter to humble me as a young buck, covering the proposed low-level nuclear waste storage facility in Boyd County. When he walked in, it was over.

Sources who had made time to talk to a young kid then working for the Lincoln Journal Star stopped talking to me and walked over to chat with the reporter they knew from decades of telling great stories. He did the same for us, sometimes writing five or more in a day.

Cindy was the same covering business. She was the first choice for getting a story right and telling it well. She is why the Examiner started with a bang, breaking the story that major insurance company Mutual of Omaha was moving its headquarters downtown, to the site of Omaha’s main library, as part of a series of major new investments in the urban core.

What you need to know about her is that she was the first woman and the first woman of color to cover the City Hall beat at Nebraska’s largest newspaper. She fits Nebraska’s pioneering spirit better than most.

I helped, too, as a guy who had covered City Hall, county government, crime, courts, prisons and politics. But what I will always remember is how the founders of this place got me to leave a job I loved in television news.

The original four

Cindy and Paul called me on FaceTime from a table at Billy’s Restaurant, the Lincoln staple for people with business at the Capitol. The Examiner’s offices are right above the eatery.

Paul said, as he always does, “Hey big man. We’ve got three drinks ordered and only two people sitting here.” Cate had already called and discussed the possibility of me leaving Omaha’s KMTV and joining them that January of 2022.

Jazari Kual

They sealed it with that little nudge. This place – the Nebraska Examiner – rose on a foundation of people who like each other and love the news. The originals built its reputation on fast and accurate coverage, plus scoops.

I still remember something Cate said before www.nebraskaexaminer.com went live, about the fear of starting from scratch and wondering if anybody would read it. Now we are a first stop for people who want to know what’s happening in state government and politics.

Cate retired this December, and she left me some big shoes to fill. She was the best editor most of us have had, and as the new editor of the Examiner I feel responsible for making sure the work we produce continues to do our talking.

Paul is semi-retired. We love when he still writes for us. Our first intern, Jazari Kual, is doing independent multimedia work in Lincoln and Omaha.

And now we have a new generation of Examiners stepping up.

A new generation

Zach Wendling graduated from intern to legislative expert by showing us his depth of knowledge. He knows more about the Legislature and its processes than many will ever learn. He has worked with every senator in the past few years, and we hope he never stops.

Juan Salinas II, our soon-to-be political reporter, arrives late next month from Texas to carry on our tradition of cutting through the spin to tell you what’s really happening in Nebraska politics and why it matters to you.

States Newsroom connects us, our readers and partners who publish our work with reporters and outlets on the ground in all 50 states, in addition to a team of national reporters, plus a bureau in Washington, D.C.

We’re three years in, but this is still only the beginning — if our readers and donors continue to support our work. We are working to grow our staff and do more reporting of substance. We hope you’ll help us do that by making a donation.

It’s a long way from a wild idea at Billy’s to our own little Politico on the Platte. Look how far we’ve come. Imagine the good trouble we might get into over the next few.

Aaron Sanderford is the new editor of the Nebraska Examiner. He was most recently the Examiner’s political reporter.

YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.

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Nebraska

Nebraska Football Offers In-State Legacy Offensive Lineman

Published

5 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Nebraska Football Offers In-State Legacy Offensive Lineman

New Husker offensive line coach Geep Wade has stayed busy in his first few weeks on the recruiting trail for Nebraska football.

Nebraska extended a scholarship offer Saturday to in-state offensive lineman Barrett Kitrell. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Class of 2027 interior lineman from Ashland confirmed the offer on social media. Iowa offered him earlier in the week, and he has other Division I offers from South Dakota State, Kansas and Iowa State.

Kitrell has visited a number of schools through his junior season, stopping at South Dakota State, Wyoming, Iowa State, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.

God is so good! After a great conversation with coach @GeepWade I am blessed to receive my 6th D1 offer from Nebraska! @HuskerFootball @AGBluejayFball pic.twitter.com/h3ciXeG727
— Barrett Kitrell (@BarrettK54) January 10, 2026

Kitrell has family ties to Nebraska football across two generations. His father, Barry, was a fullback for the Huskers from 1984-88. His brother Bo was a Husker fullback and tight end 2014 to 2018.

In addition, Barrett’s brother Blake was a Tulsa wide receiver, while brothers Brett and Bryce played at Ohio, having been recruited by Frank Solich.

Barrett Kitrell is a three-sport athlete for Ashland-Greenwood, competing in football, basketball, and track and field for the Bluejays. He has seen varsity action in all three seasons of his football career, playing in 33 games. The Bluejays have won a playoff game each of the past three seasons, advancing to the Class C1 semifinals this past year.

Kitrell becomes the third offensive line prospect offered by Wade and the Huskers this week, joining Grinnell, Iowa, prospect Will Slagle and 2028 prospect Wyatt VanBoening from Mundelein, Illinois. VanBoening also is the son of a former Husker, Simon VanBoening, a linebacker on the Huskers’ 1997 roster.

Nebraska offensive line coach Geep Wade | Nebraska Athletics

The Huskers are aiming for a massive overhaul of their offensive line, starting with replacing Donovan Raiola as the position coach. Wade, who came to Nebraska from Georgia Tech, has been retooling his line in early 2026 with transfer portal additions, bringing in Iowa State’s Brendan Black and South Carolina’s Tree Babalade. Nebraska has seen three linemen choose to exit via the portal: Brian Tapu, Houston Kaahaaina-Torres and Jason Maciejczak.

Kitrell could add athleticism to the offensive line, as he finished second in the Class B discus as a sophomore with a personal-best throw of 172’2 while finishing fourth in the shot put. Kitrell averaged four points and four rebounds per game for the Ashland-Greenwood basketball program as the Bluejays claimed the Class C1 championship in 2025.

Kitrell becomes the 16th interior offensive line offer for Nebraska’s 2027 class. The class is headlined by four-star quarterback Trae Taylor and in-state rising stars Tory Pittman III and Matt Erickson.

IU dominated but then ‘it was just turnovers’ to blow 16-point lead vs Nebraska

Published

17 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

IU dominated but then ‘it was just turnovers’ to blow 16-point lead vs Nebraska

Indiana men’s basketball lost to Nebraska 83-77 after leading by as many as 16 points.
Coach Darian DeVries cited a bad stretch, including key fouls on Tucker DeVries and turnovers, as the turning point.
The Hoosiers have three more opportunities for a Quad 1 win in their upcoming games.

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana men’s basketball coach Darian DeVries thought his team played well for about 28 minutes Saturday afternoon.

In those 28 minutes, IU built up as much as a 16-point lead against undefeated Nebraska. The Hoosiers went on a 12-2 run to end the first half, then extended that lead early in the second half.

Then, the defense started crumbling. Tucker DeVries picked up two fouls in the course of 21 seconds, forcing him to the bench. The Hoosiers started turning the ball over.

And Indiana’s upset bid fell apart, as the Hoosiers dropped an 83-77 decision to the Cornhuskers (16-0, 5-0 Big Ten).

“It’s disappointing, for sure,” Darian DeVries said. “We played well for a good 25, 27, 28 minutes, whatever, and then just had a bad stretch in there, and the game flipped. That’s why the turnovers are a big piece of that. We had, (a 16-point lead) and Tucker picked up his third and fourth foul on back-to-back possessions. Then they went on a 10-0 run right after that. That was a big turning point in the game, I thought, when he picked those two up.”

It seemed like the coaching staff (and fans) didn’t agree with those fouls, either.

Tucker DeVries’ third foul came as he fell on the ground while trying to defend Berke Buyuktuncel’s shot. Buyuktuncel continued to attempt a shot after the fall, and he got tangled in DeVries’ legs, falling himself, and officials called a foul on DeVries. Both Tucker and Darian DeVries, along with the crowd of 13,000 fans, didn’t agree with that foul.

Tucker DeVries’ fourth foul, which forced him to the bench for eight minutes, came just 21 seconds after his third. On the Hoosiers’ next offensive possession, DeVries attempted to shoulder his defender to get more space, and got called for the offensive foul and the turnover.

Indiana (12-4, 3-2) turned the ball over on four of its next five possessions, Darian DeVries said, and Nebraska capitalized for a 12-2 run to tie the game.

“I just think we didn’t have the type of possessions we needed after (Tucker DeVries) went out again, and most of them, it was just turnovers,” Darian DeVries said. “We didn’t get shots at the goal. I thought there might’ve been one or two in there where I think Lamar (Wilkerson) drove it hard and tried going through contact, and we didn’t get one there, but outside of that, we just didn’t get very good possessions. Our movement wasn’t as good.”

After Nebraska went on that run, all the momentum shifted to the Cornhuskers. In ways, the Hoosiers couldn’t get out of their own head, and the mistakes kept coming.

“We’ve talked to them a lot about that next play mentality,” Darian DeVries said. “Win that next play, and not compound mistakes. I thought tonight, again, for a stretch there was a period where we let one mistake turn into two. Then, instead of digging in and really making sure we get a quality possession the next time, we compounded it with another turnover. It led to back-to-back-to-back. All of a sudden your lead is gone, and momentum is real. It shifted pretty quickly there.”

This game, especially taking into account the 16-point lead Indiana once had, was a crucial opportunity for the Hoosiers to get their first Quad 1 win of the season.

But the Hoosiers, sitting at No. 30 in the NET rankings, still have three straight Quad 1 opportunities coming up in two road tilts at Michigan State and Michigan and a home game against Iowa in the next two weeks.

Those games, much like Nebraska, will be tall tasks. But, DeVries said, if the Hoosiers can execute for a full game like they did in those 28 minutes on Saturday, they’ll have a chance at them.

“When they’re executing the way that they did the first 25 minutes, it looks really good,” DeVries said. “And they’re doing a great job, and they’re defending and getting movement and things.”

Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.

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Nebraska

$3,125 Nebraska Pick 4 winning ticket sold in York

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

,125 Nebraska Pick 4 winning ticket sold in York

LINCOLN, Neb. (KSNB) – One lucky player who bought a Nebraska Pick 4 ticket for the Thursday drawing is holding a ticket worth $3,125.

The ticket was sold at Pump & Pantry #16, 109 Lincoln Avenue, in York. The winning numbers from Thursday’s Nebraska Pick 4 draw were 09, 06, 01, 02.

Winning Nebraska Lottery Lotto 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 the Nebraska Lottery website, 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 0 through 9, for a chance to win up to $6,000. Players decide what type of play style and potential prizes to play for by choosing from one of six bet types. The odds of winning the $3,125 prize in Nebraska Pick 4 are 1 in 10,000.

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