Nebraska

Community Benefits Agreement Reached for Nebraska Pipeline Project – Farm Policy News

Published

2 years ago

April 15, 2024

Community Benefits Agreement Reached for Nebraska Pipeline Project – Farm Policy News

The Iowa Capital Dispatch’s Paul Hammel reported last week that “the developer of a carbon-dioxide pipeline (across Nebraska) and an environmental group have struck a ‘one-of-a-kind’ agreement to ensure ‘community benefits’ from the pipeline as well as support for the project.”

“Kansas-based Tallgrass, which is converting a 392-mile-long natural gas pipeline to transport CO2, announced the agreement Tuesday with Bold Alliance, whose subsidiary, Bold Nebraska, was a leading opponent of the Keystone XL crude-oil pipeline,” Hammel reported. “…Under the ‘community benefits agreement,’ Bold will not oppose the project in exchange for Tallgrass’ commitment to spend $600,000 to train and equip first responders on the pipeline route and to donate $500,000 to nonprofits in the counties on the route.”

“In addition, landowners on new pipeline laterals will have the option to receive yearly royalty checks, based on the volume of carbon dioxide being shipped, rather than a lump-sum payment for right of way upfront,” Hammel reported. “And they will have the option of having Tallgrass remove the pipe and reclaim the land if the pipeline is later decommissioned.”

Proposed Tallgrass pipeline map. Courtesy of Trailblazer Pipeline Co.

Community Agreement is First of its Kind

Hammel reported that Tallgrass spokesman Steven Davidson “said it’s the first agreement of its kind that he’s aware of involving a pipeline project.”

And while “such community benefit agreements are legally binding” and “non-compliance could result in a lawsuit seeking enforcement of the provision,” Hammel reported, “lawsuits over eminent domain could still happen, and (Bold Alliance founder Jane) Kleeb said the agreement doesn’t change Bold’s opposition to the use of eminent domain for pipelines that blaze new routes.”

However, Tallgrass segment president Kyle “Quackenbush said that using a court order to obtain land is the company’s ‘last resort.’ Already, he said, Tallgrass has worked ‘hundreds of reroutes’ after finding landowners who didn’t want a pipeline across their land,” according to Hammel’s reporting.

As of last week, “eleven farm groups also signed the 10-page, 10-year agreement as supporters, including the Nebraska Farm Bureau, the Nebraska Farmers Union, and Renewable Fuels Nebraska.”

Why Some Farmers are Opposing Pipelines

The community benefits agreement was reached in an effort for pipeline developer Tallgrass to avoid much of the opposition from farmers, landowners and state regulators that have plagued other carbon pipeline proposals in the Midwest over the last several months.

For example, the proposed pipeline across the Midwest by Summit Carbon Solutions’ has faced “regulator pushback and vocal opposition from farmers who don’t want to be anywhere near a project they claim tramples on landowner rights,” Bloomberg’s Kim Chipman reported. That has caused Summit to go “back to the drawing board to revise the pipeline’s path 6,300 times. The project’s expected start has been delayed until early 2026, two years later than initial projections, with the estimated cost nearly doubling to about $8 billion.”

While Summit’s proposal and others like it could be key for helping corn farmers be able to use their crops in things like ethanol and sustainable aviation fuel, Chipman reported, “some corn farmers who are usually quite supportive of the ethanol industry aren’t convinced the company’s solution is the right one, especially after its initial approach toward landowners was viewed by some as too adversarial, or even bullying. Tensions have been especially high in South Dakota, which rejected Summit’s plan last year on the grounds it didn’t comply with county distance rules.”

“Summit Carbon’s top rival, the now defunct Navigator pipeline backed by BlackRock Inc., failed last year after grappling with similar opposition,” Chipman wrote.

Hammel reported that Kleeb said that now “the question is, what will other pipeline companies now do? This sets a pretty high bar.”

“The agreement, Kleeb said, ‘sets a standard’ for future energy infrastructure projects of all kinds, including renewable energy.”

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Nebraska

Nebraska Football Offers In-State Legacy Offensive Lineman

Published

1 hour 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

13 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.”

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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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