The Banner County Fire Chief imposed a complete fire ban this week until conditions improve, including open burning, bonfires and fireworks.
Nebraska
Keys to Victory: Nebraska vs. UCLA
Nebraska welcomes UCLA to Lincoln on Saturday. The Huskers are playing to become bowl eligible for the first time in nearly a decade. The Bruins, who will be coming off a bye week, started off with a bear of a schedule that included Indiana, LSU, Oregon, and Penn State. They have seen some success more recently, with a close loss to Minnesota followed by a win over Rutgers.
On behalf of the Common Fan podcast, here are three keys to victory for the Huskers, and two keys to victory for all the fellow Common Fans.
NEBRASKA’S KEYS TO VICTORY
Don’t Lay an Egg. I don’t know how else to say this. Nebraska needs to not choke on Saturday. The Huskers are 5-3, one win away from being bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. UCLA is 2-5. UCLA has a first year head coach. While they’ve shown improvement in recent games, UCLA is not the better team. Conversely, Nebraska is the team with the second year head coach whose culture is firmly established. Nebraska will be playing at home. Nebraska is favored (most betting lines currently have the Huskers favored by around seven points). THERE IS NO REASON NEBRASKA SHOULD LOSE THIS GAME. If we want to point to the tough but competitive loss at Ohio State as a turning point, a moral victory, a valuable lesson, any of those things…they need to show the same championship level effort and take care of business against UCLA.
And while I would have much preferred Nebraska had beat Illinois and/or Indiana and/or Ohio State, it will be pretty cool if the Big Red can get the bowl monkey off their back at Memorial Stadium in a conference game in November, a month that has been a struggle in recent years. The home crowd should be juiced on Saturday.
Suffocate the Bruins. UCLA holds one distinction coming into this game. They are, in fact, the worst rushing team in the country, sitting dead last among all FBS teams from sea to shining sea. That translates to 134th nationally. The Bruins are averaging an anemic 2.54 yards per carry, and have gained a total of 452 yards on the ground so far this season. The next team on the list (you know, the 133rd ranked team) is more than 150 yards better than that! Somewhere, Johnathan Franklin is weeping. Nebraska on the other hand is 12th nationally in rushing defense, having just put on a clinic in stopping the run against one of the best teams in the country. I expect the Huskers to be able to completely shut down UCLA’s run game, making the Bruins one-dimensional and making it hard to move the ball at all. This is a matchup that favors the Blackshirts. If they show up like they did against Ohio State, they could flirt with a shutout.
More Field Goals Please. You never quite know what to expect from Nebraska’s offense. While certain parts of the operation have shown promise this season, it’s been very inconsistent. Which means it would be really helpful if they can get three points when three points are there for the taking. It would be fun if this discussion was unnecessary because Nebraska was finishing drives and getting into the end zone, but that hasn’t been the case nearly often enough this season. Enter John Hohl. He came into the year as the backup kicker, and after an injury to starter Tristan Alvano, went 1 for his first 5 attempts. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he made all three attempts against Ohio State, drilling two of those from more than 45 yards out. Hallelujah! Nebraska’s special teams play has been so inconsistent, it’s hard to know if we can count on the field goal unit to make kicks reliably moving forward. But Coach Rhule had previously commented that Hohl was making kicks in practice, and he made his coach look good this past Saturday. If Nebraska is going to win one or more of its final four games, making field goals has to be part of the equation.
COMMON FAN KEYS TO VICTORY
Homeward Bound. Nebraska will play at home for the first time since the Rutgers game on October 5. I’m sure it’s a welcome sight for the boys in red, after back to back road losses to two of the nation’s best teams in Ohio State and Indiana. This UCLA game is critical to the Huskers’ chances of making a bowl game and having a successful season. Memorial Stadium has been electric all season long, and I expect it to be on fire on Saturday afternoon. You’ve had a couple weeks off, Common Fans. If the yard work and the home improvement projects aren’t completed by now, they’ll just have to wait. Let’s get down to the old stadium early, bring your best tailgating game, and get ready to get loud.
Tailgate Time. Speaking of tailgates, the Common Fan Podcast is hosting one on Saturday. If you’re a regular listener to the podcast, or a regular reader, or just a fellow Husker-football-obsessed Common Fan, stop by and say hello. We’ll be in Lot 10, on W Street between 14th and 16th. We’d love to meet you and share in some Husker cheer before the Big Red takes down UCLA and we’re dancing in the streets to celebrate finally getting back to a bowl game.
As always, GBR for LIFE.
MORE: Matt Rhule Already Sees Great Improvement From Dylan Raiola
MORE: Adam Carriker Says Refs Need Postgame Press Conferences
MORE: No Excuses — Nebraska Needs to Beat UCLA
MORE: Could Dylan Raiola Start Using His Legs More Down the Closing Stretch of the Season?
MORE: Analytics Preview: Nebraska Football vs. UCLA
Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
Cheyenne County banned fireworks in rural areas while allowing communities to make their own decisions. Potter and Dalton both enacted local restrictions.
Potter adopted an ordinance June 22 banning fireworks within village limits and its 1-mile zoning jurisdiction. Violators face a $500 fine, increasing to $1,000 per discharge during a red flag warning.
Sidney, however, took a different approach, temporarily limiting fireworks between Wednesday and Sunday morning.
In Dawes County, fireworks remain banned, but the Mr. Fireworks display following Saturday’s Crawford rodeo received an exemption. Organizers said the show remains tentative depending on wind conditions and availability of the local fire department.
Regardless of local rules, Hohbein urged Nebraskans to pay attention to their environment.
“There are three things that are really dangerous for a wildland fire situation, and that’s hot, dry and windy. When those three conditions occur, any kind of fire can start easier, quicker, and then spread much faster,” Hohbein said.
If possible, he recommends leaving fireworks to the professionals.
While Hohbein has seen fewer public displays this year, many professional shows are becoming larger with bigger shells and additional safety measures, including dedicated safety officers and firefighters on site.
“With the hazardous conditions, let somebody else worry about those shooting off fireworks, and then just sit back and enjoy,” Hohbein said.
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LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) — After a hamstring injury during Nebraska’s baseball season, Will Jesske was advised to take it easy this summer. He is, but Jesske has found a new way to stay involved in the game.
Jesske is coaching a local legion baseball team. He is a volunteer assistant for Lincoln Hotel Group, the senior legion team for Standing Bear High School.
Jesske, a Lincoln Southeast graduate, describes himself as the “hype man” in the LHG dugout. He brings energy and enthusiasm, which players enjoy. Jesske said coaching is a way he can give back to local players while helping LHG’s coaching staff. Jesske played under Tanner Lewis and Kyle Beacom in high school. They now lead the LHG legion program.
Jesske is entering his senior season at Nebraska. He has appeared in 95 games over his career, including 33 during the Huskers’ 43-win season this spring. Jesske was injured early in the season but played through it as Nebraska hosted an NCAA regional. He hit .318 in his junior season. Jesske said he is fully healthy and credited extended rest with his recovery.
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Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Former Nebraska wrestler AJ Ferrari wanted in Lincoln, accused of assaulting pregnant woman
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Former Nebraska wrestler AJ Ferrari is wanted in Lancaster County on suspicion of assaulting a pregnant woman in May.
An arrest warrant was filed for Ferrari on Thursday. He faces three felony charges which include first-degree false imprisonment and assault by strangling a pregnant woman.
According to an arrest affidavit, a woman from California contacted police in Lincoln on May 8 just after midnight. She told officers her daughter called for help and pointed them to Ferrari’s apartment.
Police arrived at the apartment and knocked on the door. A pregnant woman came out after several minutes of knocking with no answer. Officers said the woman was visibly upset.
She told officers that Ferrari tried taking her phone away after an argument, but she wouldn’t let him take it. The arrest affidavit shows Ferrari then dragged her off a bed by her feet.
Police think Ferrari then got on top of her and strangled her, likely until she was unconscious. The woman told police that she felt as though her throat “collapsed” and that she was “breathing through a straw.”
Once regaining consciousness, police said the woman tried hiding in a closet and contacting her mother on another device. But Ferrari followed her, pushed her onto a bed and sat on her until she apologized, according to the affidavit.
She apologized in order to be released, police said. The woman then tried to leave the apartment, but police said Ferrari dragged her by the arm back inside. She found her phone and contacted her mother, yelling “help!”, prosecutors wrote.
Ferrari grabbed the phone and hung up, according to the affidavit. The woman’s mother tried calling several more times before calling police.
Authorities transported the woman to Bryan West for treatment. Officers said she sustained injuries consistent with strangulation, including bruising around her neck and other abrasions.
Last weekend, Ferrari was arrested in Lincoln County on suspicion of flight to avoid arrest, willful reckless driving and obstructing the police. He was cited after a trooper chased a Corvette in the North Platte area.
Lincoln County authorities told KOLN that Ferrari is out on bond. His current whereabouts are unclear.
Court records show that the woman has filed for a protection order against Ferrari. A hearing has been set for July 7 to give him an opportunity to show the court why one should not be issued.
Previously, Ferrari was booked in Lancaster County, Nebraska for an outstanding warrant in January of this year, but those charges were dismissed later that week.
Ferrari parted ways with the Huskers in April of this year.
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Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.
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