Nebraska

Data centers take center stage at North Omaha townhall

Published

1 hour ago

June 12, 2026

Data centers take center stage at North Omaha townhall

The future of data centers in Nebraska took center stage at a North Omaha town hall Thursday evening.

The event was hosted by State Sens. Terrell McKinney and Ashlei Spivey, who alongside Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh sponsored a bill in the Nebraska Legislature that looked to help regulate data centers.

Parts of their bill were adopted and passed in LB1010, which requires reports on annual power usage, water usage and ownership.

“Having this passed in a package showed a lot of bipartisan work,” Spivey told a crowd of attendees at Nelson Mandela Elementary School.

The proposed regulations were shaped in part by Bold Nebraska, an advocacy group focused on eminent domain and clean energy. Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and founder of Bold Nebraska, said before the bill passed there were “zero laws on the books” to address a boom in data centers.

“If one is coming into the community, we wanted to make sure that there were some basic transparency things in place,” Kleeb said.

Political discussions around data centers heated up in recent months following reporting by the Flatwater Free Press that showed Google is considering a data center in Nebraska that could require more than three times the amount of power the entire city of Lincoln uses at peak demand in the summer.

The Nebraska Legislature recently passed another bill, LB1261, that allows private developers to build and own power plants to serve a large industrial customer, including data centers. That bill was proposed by the governor’s office and celebrated by Gov. Jim Pillen.

“Our state is once again taking a bold and strategic step – one that will create an environment that attracts business and multibillion dollar investment, while legally preserving Nebraska’s unique and consumer-friendly public power model,” Pillen said at the time.

At Thursday’s town hall, McKinney called LB1261 “the bogeyman bill.”

“It’s a bill that the governor pushed through the legislature to allow for data centers to create their own power,” McKinney said. “It’s a bill that I stood on the floor and said this is going to harm our communities.”

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Nebraska

Hundreds lose power across southeast Nebraska after Thursday morning storm

Published

11 hours ago

June 11, 2026

Press Room

Hundreds lose power across southeast Nebraska after Thursday morning storm

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Hundreds of people are without power in southeast Nebraska after a severe storm passed through Thursday morning.

The Lincoln Electric System outage map showed 115 customers without power across the city at 11:36 a.m.

Norris Public Power District’s outage map also shows 45 customers affected by the storm. As of 11:36 a.m., there were nine active outages.

According to the Nebraska Public Power District outage map, 657 customers were affected by the storm. Most of the affected customers were near Plattsmouth in southeast Nebraska. As of 11:37 a.m., 27 customers remain without power.

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Nebraska

Mandatory evacuation orders for area near Crawford, Fort Robinson

Published

22 hours ago

June 11, 2026

Press Room

Mandatory evacuation orders for area near Crawford, Fort Robinson

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered near Crawford, including Fort Robinson State Park, as the South Fork Fire continues to spread in western Nebraska.

According to the City of Crawford, evacuations are currently underway for an area north of Crawford that includes the area south of Dodd Road, west of Dodd Road, and FF Street.

Fort Robinson has also been evacuated.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission said Fort Robinson State Park and Peterson Wildlife Management Area have been temporarily closed due to the fire.

The fire has burned approximately 9,000 acres and is currently 0% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Nebraska Game and Parks said the park and the WMA will remain closed until further notice to support firefighting operations and protect public safety.

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Nebraska

Nebraska State Runner-up and Futures Finalist Matt Brailita (2026) to Swim for Johns Hopkins

Published

1 day ago

June 10, 2026

Press Room

Nebraska State Runner-up and Futures Finalist Matt Brailita (2026) to Swim for Johns Hopkins

Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

Omaha, Nebraska native Matt Brailita is headed to Baltimore in the fall. He announced his commitment to Johns Hopkins University earlier this spring, writing on social media:

“I am very excited to announce my commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at Johns Hopkins University ! I’m extremely grateful for everything my family, friends, and teammates have done to support me every step of the way. A special thanks to Coach Tom and Coach Andy for always pushing me beyond what I believed in. Also a huge thanks to Coach Scott and Coach Chris for giving me this opportunity of a lifetime. GO BLUE JAYS!”

Brailita swam for Omaha’s Millard North High School under coach Andy Cunningham. He wrapped up his senior season with a pair of runner-up finishes at the 2026 NSAA Championships, earning lifetime-best times in both the 200 IM (1:50.84) and 100 breast (56.01). He also notched a PB in the 50 free (20.76) while leading off Millard North’s 200 free relay in prelims. He anchored the same relay in finals, splitting 20.01. Brailita leaves Millard North High School as a 10-time State medalist and a multiple-event team record-holder. He was 2026 Metro Conference champion in the 100 fly and as a member of 2 relays, and he was nominated for Metro Omaha World Herald Swimming Athlete Scholar.

Brailita swims year-round with Greater Omaha Aquatic Leopardsharks under coach Tom Beck. In addition to IM and breast, he excels in fly and free. In March, he competed at Columbia Sectionals, where he finaled in the 50 free (15th), 100 breast (11th), 50 fly (8th), 100 fly (10th), and swam prelims in the 50 breast (8th) and 200 IM (10th). He left the meet with new PBs in the 100 free (46.30), 50 breast (26.25), 50 fly (22.51), and 100 fly (49.86).

Last summer, Brailita hit LCM lifetime bests in the 50 breast (30.81), 100 breast (1:06.84), 200 breast (2:29.93), and 200 IM (2:11.12) at Madison Futures, making finals in the IM. He opened the 2026 long-course season with a pair of PBs (24.83 in the 50 free and 27.09 in the 50 fly) at the GOAL Sprint Cup in April.

Brailita will join the Blue Jays’ class of 2030 with Alistair Guth, Finn Nelson, Lukas Funderburk, Matthew Ko, Nicolas Aldana Huelga, Samuel Zhang, and William Thurk. His best times would have scored in the ‘A’ finals of the 200 IM, 100/200 breast, and 50/200 free, and the ‘B’ finals of the 100 free and 100 fly at the 2026 Centennial Conference Championships.

Best SCY times :

200 IM – 1:50.84
100 breast – 56.01
200 breast – 2:06.83
50 free – 20.76
50 free relay split – 20.01
100 fly – 49.86
200 free – 1:41.83
100 free – 46.30

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