Nebraska

EXPLAINER: How the port strike could impact Nebraska economy, agriculture, healthcare

Published

1 year ago

October 2, 2024

EXPLAINER: How the port strike could impact Nebraska economy, agriculture, healthcare

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – Longshoremen on the east and Gulf coasts went on strike at midnight Tuesday and it’s already causing headaches for Nebraska exports.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau told 6 News the widespread strike is impacting exports like beef, pork, corn and wheat, and President Mark McHargue said buyers and shippers of some products are giving them a discouraging outlook.

“They’re telling us for every day that this strike goes on, it’s going to push product back a week,” he said. “So, I mean, very quickly you get into, say, a five-day strike — you’re looking at a five-week delay.”

He said it could also put a damper on imports for equipment parts during the beginning of harvest season.

“Our hope is that it’s only a few days,” McHargue said. “(It) would obviously be the least disruptive. This drags on for a couple of weeks, and we have a whole different situation.”

If this strike does last that long, he said products will spoil, leading to losses for investors. You’ll also see prices soar at the grocery store.

By how much?

UNL supply chain management and business analytics professor Dr. Scott Swenseth didn’t want to speculate.

“Even from a historical standpoint, seeing this impact on top of what’s already been a very inflationary period, I don’t know if we’ve experienced — at least in recent times — anything that we could use as a comparison there,” Swenseth said.

As for non-agricultural goods, Swenseth said price hikes would depends on the organization.

“Larger organizations that have seen this coming would have had the ability, potentially, to speed up some of their earlier shipments and may have received some of the things that will help them get through for a while,” he said. “Smaller and mid-sized companies that didn’t have the ability to get it in early or reroute it like some of the larger companies could, may see that impact sooner.”

When it comes transporting these goods, Swenseth told 6 News we’ll probably see shipping delays lasting longer than the strikes themselves.

“They’re going to handle that in different ways, and depending on the size of the company and what they have the ability to reroute. If you have an independent or real small trucking companies that are operating without being part of that larger organization—the independent drivers—if they don’t have a load, they don’t have a load.”

Which means they wouldn’t get paid.

Swenseth said even without the dockworkers strike, Hurricane Helene’s impact on the area is already significant.

The storm struck a Baxter International plant in Marion, N.C., which is a major supplier for intravenous products.

Both Nebraska Medicine and CHI Health said they’re not experiencing any shortages at this time.

CHI said it’s looking to other manufacturers while that Baxter facility gets back online.

Nebraska Medicine said it maintains a four-to-six-week supply of critical medications. It’s expecting to see an impact from the Baxter plant’s closure and is putting plans in place, like conserving IV fluids, and making sure it’s prioritizing patients with the highest needs.

6 News also reached out to Methodist Hospital, which said it’s still working on an answer for this.

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Nebraska

What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday

Published

5 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday

Iowa coach Ben McCollum met with the media following his team’s 77-71 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Sweet 16. The Cornhuskers led by three at the half but Iowa was able to outscore Nebraska 34-25 in the second half.

Pryce Sandfort led all scorers with 25 points while shooting 8 of 13 from the field and 6 of 10 from the 3-point line. Bennett Stirtz led the Hawkeyes with 20 points and played for all 40 minutes.

Iowa shot 52% (27-52) from the floor, 43% (13-30) from beyond the arc and 83% (10-12) from the free throw line. Nebraska struggled shooting 41% (24-58) from the field, 34% (13-38) from the 3-point line and 91% (10-11) from the charity stripe.

The Hawkeyes’ head coach acknowledged that his team had a poor start but a great finish and said that his team will need to play better to advance beyond the Elite Eight.

Yeah, I think to start we weren’t fantastic to start. They had an elite game plan to start. They played with elite pace. They adjusted their defense quite a bit. I think a lot of people will talk about the rivalry. I was around it when I was in Iowa, you know, and grew up in Iowa and understand the rivalry and whatnot. It’s nice to have — I guess if you would a call it rival that runs such a class program.
I think Coach Hoiberg, they have got great kids. They completely turned everything around from the previous season, and they have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about or anything. I have the utmost respect for them, all their players, and especially Coach Hoiberg. Heck of a season. I know it’s no consolation, but we still want to beat ’em every time and they want to beat us every time.
But from and internal perspective, there’s not a lot of bad blood there. It’s actually a lot of respect. I was really pleased with our second-half performance. I thought we actually decided we were going to try — not try. They had a lot to do with it, but kind of. Yeah, they’re smiling over there because they saw me break my marker.
And I thought our kids did a good job of executing offensively in both halves. We spent a lot of time trying to make sure that we could score, and you saw the result of that. We didn’t defend. But we were able to score, so we were able to stay in the game long enough and then get enough stops and had some big possessions down the stretch. Really good program win for everybody, coaches, managers, everybody included.

Iowa advances to the Elite Eight with the victory. Nebraska’s season ends with a record of 28-7.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday

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Nebraska

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen appoints Antonio Gomez to Racing and Gaming Commission

Published

17 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen appoints Antonio Gomez to Racing and Gaming Commission

LINCOLN, Neb — Gov. Jim Pillen has appointed Antonio Gomez of Jackson to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, adding a longtime Siouxland business leader and public servant to the panel.

Commission members serve four-year terms and are subject to approval by the Nebraska Legislature.

Gomez launched Gomez Pallets in South Sioux City in 1983. He has since retired from daily operations, but last year the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce recognized him with the W. Edwards Deming Business Leadership and Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.

Gomez previously served on the Nebraska Commission on Latino Americans from 1981 to 2002. He also served as a Dakota County commissioner for 12 years and was on the Foundation Board for Northeast Community College.

Gomez’s appointment is effective April 1.

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CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16

The Nebraska Cornhuskers will face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. This is the Huskers’ first Sweet 16 in program history, while Iowa is playing in its first Sweet 16 since 1999.

Nebraska defeated Vanderbilt 74-72 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Iowa advanced after beating the defending national champion, the Florida Gators, 73-72.

CBS Sports reporter Isaac Trotter broke down Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup. Trotter started by looking at the two previous matchups in this series.

These teams have played twice. Iowa won at home in a 57-52 rockfight. Nebraska returned the favor by winning at home, 84-75 in overtime, in another to-the-death brawl.

It’s no secret that Nebraska’s defense caused significant problems for the Iowa offense in the second game, and if the Hawkeyes are going to win the rubber match, Trotter believes that turnovers will be the key.

There are no secrets in the rubber match. Nebraska’s no-middle defense has given Iowa real problems both times. The Hawkeyes turned it over 20% of the time in Game 1 and 26% of the time in Game 2. That can’t happen in the third encounter.

CBS Sports believes that Iowa has the best player on the floor in Bennett Stirtz, but Trotter also believes that Nebraska’s defense is just too much in the end for Iowa.

Iowa has the best player on the floor, Bennett Stirtz, and can hurt Nebraska on the glass, but the Huskers get the nod because of this pick-and-roll defense. You have to be able to guard ball screens effectively to shut down Iowa, and Nebraska has been an elite pick-and-roll defense, rating in the 99th percentile nationally, per Synergy.

In the end, Trotter selected Nebraska as his pick. Should the Huskers advance to the Elite Eight, Nebraska would play the winner of the Illinois-Houston game. Nebraska-Iowa play in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT on TBS.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16

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