Nebraska
Budget, childcare, tax reform among top legislative priorities for Nebraska senators in 2026
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) — State senators Wednesday worked with the state and city chambers of commerce to hit on a couple of their upcoming legislative priorities now that the next session is only 77 days away.
With Nebraska’s first quarter GDP down more than 6% this year and a budget shortfall in the millions looming over their shoulder, those days will lead to what one senator called “a lot of difficult decisions.”
The handful of state senators reiterated similar policy priorities for the next session: housing, childcare cost and availability and tax challenges.
Sen. George Dungan addressed the elephant in the room, saying the budget will take up “a lot of oxygen of this short session.”
Nebraska is facing a budget deficit of $95 million.
Senators expressed that the session will be about more than just funding affordable housing projects, addressing zoning laws and reforming educational tax policy.
“We’re looking at home insurance premiums. I talked to my peers in this state, and we’re at the point now where we are paying more in insurance premiums and property taxes than we are in principal interest,” Sen. Beau Ballard said.
Sen. Carolyn Bosn said public safety and social media protections for children are high on her list.
“There’s some legislation that needs to be modified, accommodated,” Bosn said. “I know that individuals who oppose that legislation had good reasons for doing it, but wanting to work with them in ways that we can still provide social media protections for kids, keeping kids safe while not stepping on the toes of some of those businesses.”
Sen. Jason Prokop plans to continue working on LB304, a childcare subsidy bill.
Dungan, Conrad and Prokop also hit on the need to support Nebraska’s higher education landscape.
“It is critical, critical, critical that we appropriately fund and support the University of Nebraska,” Prokop said. “It is an economic engine for our state. It is educating our young people. These are the future business leaders. We’ve got to support the university in every way that we can.”
Sen. Eliot Bostar added he’d like to address growing the state but that there is opposition from those who he believes fear change.
“There are a lot of people out there and a lot of interests out there that fundamentally do not want the state to grow,” Bostar said. “And that is something we run into specifically often as we’re trying to pursue policies that I think folks would instinctively identify as common sense.”
Sen. Danielle Conrad — who is entering her 12th year at the Unicameral — highlighted how the landscape has changed but their goals haven’t.
“But now more than ever, we need an experienced and independent, robust checks and balances in the people’s house, in the legislature, to make sure that personal liberty and economic prosperity is guarded against government overreach from the other branches of government and the federal government,” Conrad said.
The Unicameral is set to gavel in for the 2026 session on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.
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It was the perfect culmination to an incredible career for one Nebraska high school football standout.
Jett Thomalla led Millard South High School to the Class A Nebraska high school football state championship with a one-sided 49-0 victory over Papillion-LaVista South in the finals.
The Patriots, who were the No. 4 seed due to receiving a forfeit loss during the regular season, earned wins in the playoffs by 42, 45 and 41 points to get them into the championship.
Thomalla, an Alabama commit, was flawless in leading seven first half touchdown drives to put Millard South up at the half by what the final score would eventually be.
In the first quarter, the Patriots scored four touchdowns, adding three more in the second quarter behind Thomalla.
Thomalla was 15 of 21 passing for 288 yards and seven touchdowns, though he did throw an interception. Amarion Jackson, an Iowa State commit who missed time this season, had six receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
Owen Zech, another senior like Thomalla and Jackson, caught four passes for 129 yards and three touchdowns. Both Gabe Prucha and Isaac Jensen, also seniors, caught a touchdown pass.
Prucha added a team-high 83 yards rushing.
Thomalla finished his final season of high school football by completing 193 of 266 passes fro 3,484 yards with 58 touchdowns and five interceptions. He had seven passing touchdowns in each of the last two games, throwing for at least two in every contest this season.
Five times Thomalla went over 300 yards, including a season-high 463 in a 62-21 playoff win over No. 1 seed Omaha Westside.
During his career, Thomalla played in 40 games, completing 648 of 974 for 10,253 yards. He threw 134 touchdowns against just 19 interceptions, adding 252 yards rushing and six more scores.
Over the past three seasons, Millard South went 33-4 with one of those defeats being a forfeit loss. They won the last two state championships, besting Omaha Westside in the finals last year, 27-10.
In other championship action on Tuesday, Wahoo bested Sidney, 20-6, and Bishop Neumann topped Grand Island Catholic, 37-15.
On Monday, Sandy Creek downed Crofton, 66-26, Waverly got by Gretna East, 42-27, and Wynot bested St. Mary’s in a scorefest, 71-60.
Nebraska football is one game away from finding out its bowl destination.
After getting to and winning the Pinstripe Bowl last year, Matt Rhule has the Huskers headed for a bowl game in back-to-back years for the first time since 2016. NU has also guaranteed a winning season in back-to-back years for the first time since the Bo Pelini era.
But November remains a difficult portion of the schedule for the Big Red. In the Rhule era, Nebraska went 0-4 in the month in 2023, 1-3 last year, and is 1-2 this year.
Ahead of a matchup with similarly ranked 7-4 Iowa on Black Friday, here are the latest bowl projections for Nebraska.
Las Vegas Bowl vs. Utah
Nebraska has never played in the Las Vegas Bowl, but it would be fitting to open the season there for Big Ten Media Days and then end the season in the same place for a bowl game.
This is far and away the most popular pick for the Big Red, with five predictors saying Nebraska will be heading back to Sin City.
Nebraska and Utah have played four times in history, but not once since the George H. W. Bush administration. The Huskers are 4-0 in the series that goes back to 1968.
The Utes are on the doorstep of the College Football Playoff, sitting at No. 13 with a 9-2 record.
Las Vegas Bowl vs. Arizona State
Another former Pac-12 team here, the Sun Devils are 8-3 and No. 20 in the latest rankings after making the College Football Playoff last season. Former Husker Jeff Sims is now their starting quarterback after Sam Leavitt’s season-ending injury.
Nebraska owns a 6-2 all-time record against Arizona State. ASU famously upset the Huskers in 1996 to stop a potential run to a third straight national title.
Music City Bowl vs. LSU
Nebraska’s only Music City Bowl appearance was a 2016 loss to Tennessee. This time, though, could feature a fourth opponent for the Big Red that does not have its original head coach at the helm.
LSU fired Brian Kelly earlier this season. The Tigers are currently 7-4 and headed to No. 8 Oklahoma to close out the year.
Music City Bowl vs. Missouri
A different but more familiar SEC opponent could be waiting for the Big Red in Nashville.
Nebraska holds an all-time lead over Missouri, 65-36-3, though the two teams have not played since 2010, when the Huskers went to the Big Ten and the Tigers were heading into their last year with the Big 12 before departing for the SEC. NU won the last two matchups in the series, but that falls far short of the 24 straight the Big Red took from 1979-2002.
Pinstripe Bowl vs. Miami (FL)
A return trip to New York might not be what the Huskers want, but a chance at a historical bowl rival could get the juices flowing all the same.
Nebraska and Miami are level all-time against each other, splitting the 12 meetings. The two have met in a New York bowl game before, with the Huskers winning 36-34 in the 1962 Gotham Bowl.
In the other five bowl matchups (four Orange and one Rose), the Hurricanes hold a 4-1 advantage. Thrice has the winner of a bowl game between these two teams been named the national champion.
Miami is another team on the doorstep of the College Football Playoff. The Hurricanes are 9-2 and No. 12 in the latest rankings.
Nebraska is currently tied for eighth in the Big Ten standings at 4-4. The league’s bowl ties are listed below, but keep in mind that College Football Playoff teams are removed from these. Meaning, Indiana and Ohio State are not likely to fill any of these spots.
- Citrus (formerly Capital One) vs. SEC
- ReliaQuest (formerly Outback) vs. SEC
- Las Vegas vs. Former Pac-12 Teams
- Music City vs. SEC
- Pinstripe vs. ACC
- Rate (formerly Cactus, Insight, Copper) vs. Big 12
- GameAbove Sports (formerly Quick Lane, Motor City) vs. MAC
There is a likelihood that a pre-2024 Big Ten team faces a newly added opponent from the Pac-12. Just like Indiana and Ohio State, Oregon is likely destined for the CFP. That means teams like Washington and USC (UCLA won’t make a bowl) could face a Big Ten opponent in Las Vegas.
Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.
Nebraska Football 2025 ScheduleEmpty heading
Home games are bolded. All times central.
Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
Nebraska women’s basketball is still undefeated early in the 2025-26 campaign.
The Huskers topped the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastadons in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida, on Monday, 80-57. NU is now 6-0 while PFW is 3-3.
But the 23-point difference is not an indication of how close this game was for much of the evening.
6-0 👏 pic.twitter.com/O9cJG8JRKI
— Nebraska Women’s Basketball (@HuskerWBB) November 25, 2025
Nebraska was held scoreless for the final four minutes of the first quarter, as Purdue Fort Wayne closed the game to just two points. The fortunes reversed late in the second quarter, with Nebraska going on an 11-0 run over the final 3:12 to take a 38-26 lead into halftime.
The Mastodons shot 46.2% in the third quarter and forced the Huskers into five turnovers, gaining ground to trail 54-44 after three frames.
That momentum continued into the fourth quarter, with a 5-2 run to cut the deficit to seven points. Then Logan Nissley made her presence known.
In a span of 1:19, Nissley hit a trio of three-pointers. The Husker junior scored all 11 of her points in the fourth quarter, where Nebraska doubled up Purdue Fort Wayne 26-13 to run away with the result.
Amiah Hargrove joined Nissley in scoring 11 points off the bench, with Eliza Maupin pouring in 13 points as another substitute. Britt Prince scored a game-high 18 points, adding seven assists, three rebounds, two steals, and a blocked shot.
Nebraska shot 56.9% for the game, including 8-of-18 on three-pointers. Purdue Fort Wayne made 38.9% of their shots, going 8-of-27 from downtown.
Both teams had double-digit turnovers, with NU notching 14 to PFW’s 18. Those turned into 26 Husker points and 18 Mastodon points.
Nebraska advances to the championship of the Emerald Coast Classic on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. CST. The Huskers will take on the winner of Northwestern State and Virginia, with the game streaming on FloHoops.
Box score
Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.
Nebraska Women’s Basketball 2025-26 Schedule
Home games are bolded. All times central.
Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
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