Nebraska
Gov. Pillen’s property tax tour across Nebraska didn’t lead to feedback for many lawmakers • Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen’s pressure campaign in 26 communities in May and June didn’t lead to an influx of calls or emails to Nebraska lawmakers, as he might have hoped.
Between May 3 and June 28, Pillen hosted events from Scottsbluff and Chadron in the west to Auburn and South Sioux City in the east. Each event was held in a different county, with Pillen holding town halls in counties that are home to a total of 38% of the state’s population, based on the 1.96 million residents in the 2020 census.
The 26 counties accounted for about 36% of total property values statewide and 36% of all $5.3 billion in property taxes collected last year.
At a more granular level, Pillen directly visited communities where almost 407,000 people live, according to population estimates from the Nebraska Department of Revenue for 2023 municipalities. Omaha had almost 492,000 residents in 2023.
‘With business leaders in Omaha and Lincoln nonstop’
Lancaster and Douglas Counties, which include Lincoln and Omaha respectively, accounted for about 46% of the state’s population based on the latest census report. They accounted for 33.4% of all property valuations and 40.5% of the total property taxes in 2023.
Pillen indicated this week he might have purposefully left those cities off his tour schedule.
“I think I spend 65 [percent] to 70 percent of my time in Lincoln and Omaha,” Pillen told reporters at a Wednesday event. “I’m with business leaders in Omaha and Lincoln nonstop.”
Pillen would need support from at least 33 of the state’s 49 lawmakers for his property tax reform goals, requiring at least some lawmakers from Lincoln or Omaha.
Of his town halls, 20 were held in Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District and six in the 1st Congressional District. No town halls were hosted in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes Saunders and Douglas Counties plus the western part of Sarpy County.
Ten senators represent parts of Lancaster County, in the 1st District, and 16 represent parts of Douglas County. The legislative districts for seven lawmakers in Lancaster and 14 lawmakers in Douglas are totally within the counties.
Should Pillen expand his tour list to Lincoln and Omaha, he would have toured counties where about 84% of the state’s residents live ahead of an expected special session. The total property valuations for the 28 counties is 69.4%, and the total amount of property taxes is 76.5%.
‘It just doesn’t make any sense’
At many of his town halls, Pillen urged those in attendance to call or email as many lawmakers as they could so their voices could “drown out the lobbying groups.” If they didn’t, in a more expletive-ridden speech, he said they shouldn’t complain next year.
But those calls and emails didn’t come, according to multiple senators who had town halls in their legislative districts.
Multiple lawmakers, including Omaha State Sens. Justin Wayne and Terrell McKinney, told the Nebraska Examiner they have concerns about no town halls being held in Lincoln or Omaha.
“Property taxes aren’t just high in western Nebraska,” McKinney said. “The people in Omaha and Lincoln are dealing with it, too, and just to not engage with those populations, it just doesn’t make any sense.”
Wayne said Pillen’s lack of engagement makes it seem as though Wayne’s constituents don’t matter.
State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln said that property taxes remain a top issue for his voters and that he’s connecting with as many constituents as he can.
Ballard said his district, which includes Davey, Malcolm, Raymond, Waverly and northwest Lincoln, would likely welcome “any opportunity for getting more community involvement, because this has the potential to be one of the biggest policy discussions in generations.”
Concern for renters
State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln, who missed much of the spring regular legislative session as she battled a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, said it is “really disturbing” to think Pillen won’t host or doesn’t feel comfortable hosting town halls “where he will get honest feedback.”
A former Lincoln City Council member and Lancaster County commissioner, Raybould said property tax increases over time don’t tell the whole story, such as when the state was “slowly choking off” state aid to public education, municipalities and counties.
“That’s a message I don’t think [Pillen] is conveying to people who are hardworking Nebraskans who watch every penny that they make, and when they see these valuations jump up, they think that somebody is making out like a bandit on spending their money,” Raybould said.
State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston, who has been working with Pillen and a group of 16 other lawmakers on property tax reforms this summer, said he has concerns for his district and other urban areas where more people live in apartments.
Riepe said renters might not get a direct tax advantage from any plans and asked how much power a renter might have to say to a landlord, “I know you got some relief. Do I get some?”
“They say, ‘Well, the landlord will lower their rent,’” Riepe said. “That remains to be seen.”
Ag senators continue to voice opposition
A similar caution on how tax changes will affect renters has been made from some farmers serving in the Legislature. They are concerned that a Pillen suggestion to add sales taxes to certain agricultural inputs — the raw materials used in ag production — would raise overall taxes without providing other spending cuts.
Among those opponents is State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams, who said he’s visited with many people since Pillen hosted a town hall in his district, in Beatrice. He said he has gotten some feedback that people want action but doesn’t know if that’s because of the town hall.
Added State Sen. Barry DeKay of Niobrara: “Taxing the inputs is going to be the death of some or maybe a lot of young farmers, especially the ones that don’t have land.”
State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar said Pillen’s suggestion on taxing ag inputs is “universally opposed” after she got a few dozen emails from farmers.
Slama said two people contacted her after the town halls in Auburn and Nebraska City in support of Pillen. One of them walked back the support after finding out the “plan” would raise taxes and not cut spending, she said.
“Moreover, four people reached out after the town hall to oppose different parts of Pillen’s tax increase and tactics he used at the event,” Slama said.
Those tactics included what Slama described as “potshots” directed at her, where Pillen suggested that the southeast Nebraska senator — the chair of the Legislature’s Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee — needed to “understand balancing a checkbook and what it takes.”
Slama said she’s also heard concerns that if the state took over K-12 funding, it would immediately lead to further rural school district consolidations, “crippling our communities.”
Most senators reported ‘hardly any’ feedback
State Sens. Ray Aguilar of Grand Island, Joni Albrecht of Thurston, Carol Blood of Bellevue, Rob Clements of Elmwood, Steve Erdman of Bayard, Teresa Ibach of Sumner and Lynne Walz of Fremont all said they had “hardly any” or no feedback from the town halls in their districts.
“Nobody has told us to support Pillen’s special session,” Blood said in a text.
Over time, such as from Pillen’s earliest town halls in Bellevue and Grand Island to his latest in McCook and Lexington, the governor has drastically shifted his proposals toward property taxes, not sharing more concrete ideas until about halfway through.
State Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward said her feedback has been “all over the board,” ranging from one constituent worried about losing local control if K-12 funding shifts to the state to another worried about the fairness in how tax rates and valuations are currently set.
Erdman said people are fired up, but not because of Pillen’s town halls.
“They stop by my house,” Erdman said. “All of our taxes are too high.”
State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, the Legislature’s Revenue Committee chair, has not had a town hall in her district but said she has been to town halls in more populated areas. She said that they generally became more like campaign rallies and that advocates of different viewpoints tried to get as many people as they could to attend.
“I’m all for town hall meetings, don’t get me wrong, but they won’t be like the ones in small towns,” Linehan said, cautioning that a different format might be necessary.
‘No longer a rural-urban issue’
DeKay and State Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte, who said he got limited feedback after Pillen’s visit there, said their constituents are looking for an answer that will help the entire state.
“I think at this stage of the game, this is no longer a rural-urban issue,” Jacobson said.
Jacobson, who is also part of the governor’s task force, said some people have tried to argue that people in Lincoln or Omaha would pay more under tax changes being discussed, but he said that’s not true.
DeKay said lawmakers need to work with their “compadres across the aisle” but also with one another. In his view, everyone should pay a little, instead of a few paying a lot.
“It doesn’t matter what party you’re affiliated with, property tax is going to be playing a part of everybody’s life,” DeKay said. “We’ve got to try to figure out what’s going to work for everybody.”
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – In a couple weeks, a statewide volunteer group will begin a media blitz to get the word out on how senior citizens in Nebraska can save money on their property taxes.
Officials with Volunteers Assisting Seniors say they’ve planned an awareness campaign, using billboards, radio, and newspapers, alerting senior citizens to the possibility of tax savings if they apply for the state’s homestead exemption program.
The Minne Lusa Neighborhood is an historic part of Omaha, and like other neighborhoods in the metro, property taxes are on the rise.
Barb Peters and her husband have applied for the homestead exemption for a few years now, and it’s saving them money.
“This time, when I paid my taxes, I probably paid $1,700 less than I would have if I paid the full amount,” said Barb. “Even in our Minne Lusa neighborhood, the taxes have started going up because real estate values are going up, so that increases taxes and when you’re retired, it’s hard to budget that. The budget only goes so far.”
But there are many senior homeowners who are unaware of the homestead exemption, or they know about it and don’t apply because they don’t think they’d qualify.
“A couple making $62,000 might still qualify for up to 10 percent of property tax relief,” said Toni Roberts, the Executive Director of Volunteers Assisting Seniors.
Toni says the program works, and they have helped many older homeowners save money.
“Through that program, last year we were able to help over 900 people,” Toni said. “900 people made appointments and 800 people were submitted an application for assistance. We helped primarily senior homeowners in Douglas County save approximately $1.75 million in property tax relief.”
Toni says it only takes a few minutes for seniors to find out if they qualify. Barb thinks the time investment is well worth it.
“There could be people who would get a bigger discount than I did because again, it’s income driven,” said Barb.
Volunteers Assisting Seniors will even help homeowners fill out the paperwork. The organization plans a series of community meetings across the Omaha metro to explain the homestead exemption. Those meetings begin April 15.
For more information, visit their website or call 402-444-6671.
Copyright 2025 WOWT. All rights reserved.
LINCOLN, Neb. — Possessions in the final minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime decided seven games last season for Nebraska. The Huskers lost five. They beat Rutgers with defense and gained three first downs to run out the clock in the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College.
Eighteen Nebraska drives began after the end of the third quarter with a margin on the scoreboard of eight points or less. It got positive outcomes on three. Eight possessions ended in punts, four with turnovers and one apiece on a missed field goal, on downs and the end of regulation.
“It’s been an emphasis,” said quarterback Dylan Raiola, who started every game for the Huskers in 2024. “We’re not going to lose any more of those.”
Raiola holds the key to bettering Nebraska’s late-game and third-down missteps. His maturation as a QB in this second offseason of his collegiate career looms large.
Three months in, Raiola’s progress is evident.
He’s slimmed down, an objective stated by Matt Rhule in each of the coach’s media sessions since the calendar turned to 2025. According to his teammates and coaches, Raiola has advanced in his leadership. And he’s working, at the outset of spring practice this week, to correct subtle deficiencies in his game and around him on offense that kept Nebraska from winning the moments that mattered most last year.
“He’s 19 years old,” Rhule said. “He’s a very, very focused young man. So he’s working at it. And I think he’ll be really good.”
Raiola, the former five-star signee out of Buford, Ga., was chosen last year as the starter in August. However, an expectation of greatness arrived with him at Nebraska in January of his first year on campus.
He threw for 2,819 yards on 67.1 percent passing. Both marks set freshman records at Nebraska and led true freshmen nationally. Raiola tossed 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
When Dana Holgorsen took over in November as offensive coordinator for the Huskers’ final four games, he said he noticed that Raiola seemed to spend time “in the shadows.”
Holgorsen, a head coach in the Big 12 for eight seasons (and 13 overall), said Raiola didn’t embrace the added responsibility of a leader because the young QB already faced so much pressure.
“He’s working on that right now,” Holgorsen said. “And I see a tremendous amount of growth with him, with his leadership skills. He’s a great teammate and he understands the importance of leading. And that’s rubbing off on a lot of the guys.”
Rhule emphasized leadership as a Raiola priority from the start of this year.
Dylan Raiola threw 13 TD passes and 11 interceptions in 2024. (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
“Before he can make it his team, he has to make it his offense,” Rhule said last month. “And before he can make it his offense, he has to make it his receiving corps.”
Rhule watched Raiola keep a quiet voice in the team setting last year in his bid to earn respect.
“Now he has to step up and lead,” Rhule said.
That means demanding that the receivers show up for offseason workouts arranged by Raiola.
“Year 1, it’s like, ‘I asked them. Five guys showed up.’” Rhule said. “Well, that’s not leadership. That’s trying to be a leader. Leadership is when you get everybody there.”
And this year?
“He’s been real serious about what he’s doing,” wide receiver Jacory Barney said.
Receiver Dane Key, a transfer from Kentucky vying for the WR1 spot, visited Raiola at the quarterback’s home in Georgia during the decision process.
“He’s growing up really quick,” running back Emmett Johnson said. “He’s learned a lot from last season. He’s seen what it takes to play in the Big Ten.”
Raiola’s completion rate in the fourth quarter dropped from 68.1 percent to 61.8. His yards per attempt fell from 7.7 in the first three quarters to 4.6 in the fourth.
On third down, Raiola completed 56.8 percent (54 of 95) of his throws, 14 points lower than on first and second down.
There’s room to improve.
Raiola started the process by watching film of the Huskers’ close defeats last year. Five losses came by a combined 29 points in a 7-6 season.
“As much as it hurts watching, you have to,” Raiola said.
He’d prefer to avoid tight outcomes. It’s not a reality in the Big Ten, though.
“That’s when you win games,” Raiola said. “That’s when you make money.”
Holgorsen is already deep into a process to revamp Nebraska’s two-minute offense. If up to Raiola, Holgorsen said, the Huskers would operate up-tempo at all times.
“But he also understands who his dad is and who his uncle is,” Holgorsen said, “and the importance of being physical and tough and being able to run the football.”
Raiola’s father, Dominic, of course, earned All-America honors as a center at Nebraska and played 14 years in the NFL. Dominic’s brother, Donovan Raiola, coaches the Huskers’ offensive line.
Dylan’s got the football DNA of an offensive lineman. He’s savvy like an O-lineman, too, Holgorsen said he’s learned since November. When the coach corners Raiola to discuss the nuance of a new play in the Huskers’ repertoire, the sophomore often cuts Holgorsen off to explain the play himself.
“I’ve never been with a quarterback,” Holgorsen said, “that is comfortable in the gun and can sit in the pocket and be a dropback passer — but also get under center and make run-game checks. He’s exceptional at it. And so we’re going to do it.
“He’s smart. He understands football.”
This offseason, Raiola also understands the importance of getting in the best shape of his playing career. Rhule introduced the topic publicly in February. On March 11, the coach said that Raiola knows he “won’t be a great quarterback at 240 pounds.”
Raiola, who is listed at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, went to work this winter. He added a boxing workout to his morning regimen. He ran a mile after lifting sessions and added more cardio sessions.
“If I’m being honest, it sucks,” Raiola said Thursday. “It’s a constant grind every day. You don’t see change right away. It doesn’t change in a day. It doesn’t change in a week.”
His dad played a big role in the change, the QB said. Raiola credited Nebraska’s strength and nutrition staff. Over spring break, Raiola said, his weight loss efforts broke through. He returned to Lincoln last weekend nine or 10 pounds lighter than when he left.
“I feel amazing right now,” he said.
His outlook for 2025 is on the rise.
(Photo: Mitch Sherman / The Athletic)
Nebraska
Central Nebraska authorities investigate possible drowning at Mormon Island State Recreation Area
HALL COUNTY, Neb. (KSNB) – The Hall County Sheriff’s Office confirmed one person possibly drowned at the Mormon Island State Recreation Area on Thursday.
The Doniphan Fire and Quick Response Team responded to the area near Interstate 80 and Highway 34 for a water rescue around 5:15 p.m.
Sgt. Jeremy Jones said a group of individuals unloading a boat into the water lost sight of one of the males assisting and were unable to locate him for some time. Authorities arrived on scene and found the deceased male in the water.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Grand Island Rural Fire, Dive Rescue Team, Nebraska State Patrol and Nebraska Game and Parks are also on scene assisting in the investigation.
Stick with Local4 for updates on this developing story.
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Copyright 2025 KSNB. All rights reserved.
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