Nebraska

Breaking down Initiative 434, aimed at putting Nebraska’s 12-week abortion ban into constitution

Published

1 year ago

October 31, 2024

Breaking down Initiative 434, aimed at putting Nebraska’s 12-week abortion ban into constitution

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – This Election Day, Nebraskans will have the opportunity to weigh in on two historic and conflicting ballot measures regarding abortion access in the state.

VOTER’S GUIDE: 2024 Nebraska General Election

Initiative 434 aims to put the existing 12-week abortion ban into the state’s constitution, while Initiative 439 is trying expand abortion access up to the point of fetal viability. This is the first time that Nebraska is having two competing ballot measures.

“There’s nothing about these that can be reconciled. So whichever one of these gets the most votes is likely to become the initiative that gets adopted into the Nebraska constitution,” Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen said in April.

The Nebraska Legislature passed a 12-week abortion ban in 2023, and Initiative 434 would enshrine that into the state’s constitution but allow for abortion when necessitated by a medical emergency or when the pregnancy stems from sexual assault or incest.

Protect Women and Children is campaigning for Initiative 434.

“Initiative 434 protects laws that require parental consent before a girl under 18 can get an abortion, allowing parents to be their for our daughters. This is just common sense,” Rebecca Schwend, who supports 434, said.

Hannah Dumais, a field organizer campaigning for the conflicting Initiative 439, said the current ban is hurting women across the state.

“I personally was a woman who ended up miscarrying at 16.5 weeks and I started to miscarry, and I was sent home and had to wait until I was hemorrhaging and almost dead before I had to come back. And so I know the type of impact that it has on women from a personal standpoint,” Dumais said.

Advocates of 434 look to this as a moral necessity.

“Abortion is the intentional killing of an innocent child. That is not healthcare. How can it be called healthcare when the procedure ends in death,” Kate Leising who supports 434 said.

The initiatives will be the last thing you see on your ballot, and 434 is the first of six to vote on.

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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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