Nebraska

Most commenting on proposed Nebraska legislative rules opposed drastic changes | Nebraska Examiner

Published

2 years ago

January 9, 2024

Most commenting on proposed Nebraska legislative rules opposed drastic changes | Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — Nebraska’s 2024 rules fight drew interest Monday over a foundational issue: which senators could speak in what situations and for how long until a majority votes.

A smaller-than-expected crowd attended Monday’s public hearing, in part because of snowy weather. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

The Rules Committee’s public hearing touched on several topics, including whether the officially nonpartisan Legislature should continue the tradition of voting e for its leaders by secret ballot.

As expected, the future of the filibuster dominated discussions about 34 proposed changes after a 2023 legislative session marked by controversial bills and a nearly session-long series of filibusters aimed at stopping them.

Slippery roads across much of the state during Monday’s snowstorm likely limited the number of in-person testifiers to about a dozen. The committee received another 230 public comments online by midday.

Majority rules vs. minority rights

Two themes emerged: Many of those commenting opposed wholesale changes to the Legislature’s rules, urging senators to protect the unique traditions of the Unicameral body.

And some argued for making it harder for a single senator or two to derail a legislative session because they oppose a bill and using the Legislature’s rules to do so.

Nathan Leach of Kearney, representing himself and Nonpartisan Nebraska, which advocates protecting the Legislature’s nonpartisan approach, spoke about the need for measured changes. He warned of potential consequences of restricting free and full debate.

Retired University of Nebraska-Lincoln journalism professor Charlyne Berens, who wrote a book on the Unicameral, opposed changing the Legislature’s election of leaders to a public vote.

She wrote in an online comment that the secret ballot tradition “has worked well for decades.” She said it lets senators make decisions about who would be the best leaders above political considerations.

State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, at left, discusses rules changing proposals during a public hearing Monday at the Capitol. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

Allie French of Nebraskans Against Government Overreach and a legislative candidate in District 23, argued the opposite, saying all votes should be public so voters can hold state lawmakers accountable for votes that partisans might dislike.

She and other testifiers supported a change to give the public access to more digestible summaries of what bills would do at least five days before a public hearing instead of the current one-day rule.

Erdman’s proposals

Nancy Finken, Nebraska Public Media’s chief information officer and a representative of Media of Nebraska, defended reporters’ access to attend legislative committees’ executive sessions.

State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, chairman of the Rules Committee, has been trying to ban reporters from such sessions for seven years. He argued Monday that reporters are not allowed to attend executive sessions at any other level of government.

Erdman’s sweeping package of rules changes generated the most opposition Monday. Some of those testifying expressed concerns that his proposals tilted too far toward majority rule and away from providing minority rights.

His most controversial proposal would shift the required number of votes needed to overcome a filibuster to a sliding scale based on how many senators vote on a particular bill.

Erdman said the Legislature’s rulebook needs a fuller rewrite. He has said the current rules let the minority stop too many bills proposed by conservatives.

Unicameral experts have argued that the late Sen. George Norris, “father” of Nebraska’s one-house Legislature, designed his system to cool the passions of the majority and encourage moderate public policy so it is accepted by more Nebraskans.

Arch’s proposals

State Sen. Justin Wayne and Speaker John Arch discuss one of Wayne’s rules proposals Monday in Lincoln. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

No one testified in person against a rules package from Speaker John Arch. Senators who spoke to the Nebraska Examiner last week praised Arch and Erdman for sharing their proposals early.

A proposal by Arch to let a senator seek cloture votes (or end debate) on motions as well as when bills are being debated received little public pushback Monday.

Arch also proposed codifying limits that senators adopted last year limiting the number of priority motions a senator can file and then withdraw from a single bill during each round of debate.

State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha proposed tweaking Arch’s proposal limiting priority motions to make sure his Arch’s concerns about filibusters don’t limit legitimate disagreements.

Arch said he and Cavanaugh would continue to talk. The committee has an executive session set for 10 a.m. Tuesday to discuss the proposals and what they took away from the hearing.

Handful of other ideas

State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha explained the reason why he proposed requiring senators to vote yes or no during the final reading of bills, pointing to the Nebraska Constitution. He also poked fun at himself, because he has himself voted “present, not voting.”

State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair faced questions from lawmakers about his proposal to limit senators to introducing no more than 14 bills a year and letting senators select a second priority bill when they propose five or fewer bills.

Speaker John Arch discusses his package of legislative rules proposals. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

“The question I ask is, are we sacrificing quality for quantity?” Hansen said.

State Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington and State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, who sit on the Rules Committee, asked what Hansen would do about productive lawmakers who pass double-digit bills in a given year.

Hansen said some would be able to pass off some of their “technical clean-up” bills to committees. DeBoer wondered aloud whether his idea might encourage more combined bills to skirt the limit.

Clerk of the Legislature Brandon Metzler spent much of the day testifying in a neutral capacity, answering lawmakers’ questions about the impacts of specific proposals and possible changes.

Heidi Uhing of Civic Nebraska praised Erdman and the Rules Committee and staff for making it easier to comment publicly online. She applauded their efforts to publicize all the proposals in one place on the Legislature’s website.

She also warned senators about the risks of tinkering with the cloture process. She said a rural state that is growing more urban and suburban might want to maintain minority members an opportunity to slow legislation down they disagree with.

“Nebraskans continue to believe that the Unicameral’s nonpartisan structure makes it more effective at problem-solving than a partisan Legislature,” Uhing said.

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Nebraska

ESPN’s Analytics Reveal Strong Prediction in Illinois vs. Nebraska Matchup

Published

10 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

ESPN’s Analytics Reveal Strong Prediction in Illinois vs. Nebraska Matchup

On Saturday afternoon (3 p.m. CT, Peacock), No. 13 Illinois (8-2, 1-0 Big Ten) will host No. 23 Nebraska (10-0, 1-0 Big Ten) in Champaign for an early-season ranked-on-ranked Big Ten showdown.

The Cornhuskers made their season debut in the AP poll this Monday. Two days later, they dismantled – by 30 points – a Wisconsin club that entered the season ranked in the top 25, knocking off the Badgers 90-60 in Lincoln.

Blood in the water. 🦈📹https://t.co/LKzCqN3tcz
— Nebraska Men’s Basketball (@HuskerMBB) December 11, 2025

ESPN’s matchup predictor makes its pick for Illinois-Nebraska

Nov 29, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg watches from the sideline during the first half against the South Carolina Upstate Spartans at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Yet on Saturday, according to ESPN’s analytics, the odds are not at all in Nebraska’s favor. The matchup predictor gives Illinois a 77.5 percent chance of staving off the visitors this weekend.

And it makes sense for two key reasons: 1) Home-court advantage. Playing at home, especially in Big Ten action, already gives any team a massive leg up. For example, the Illini, despite losing 14 conference games over the past two seasons, have just five league losses on their home floor during that stretch.

2) Illinois is really good.

The AP poll doesn’t always reflect reality. Both of these clubs may, in fact, be better than their respective rankings in that poll. Nevertheless, the difference between the No. 20 team and the No. 25 team isn’t nearly as drastic as the difference between the No. 5 and No. 10 team.

The Illini should absolutely dominate the Cornhuskers on the glass. Given the relative shortcomings of Brad Underwood’s squad in that department in its past few outings, it’s possible the margin is closer than it should be, but Illinois will undoubtedly control the boards to at least some extent.

And given the level the Illini defense has been operating at, specifically on first attempts in each possession, the Cornhuskers are going to find points extremely tough to come by. Offensively, Illinois will surely rely heavily on its talent once again, staying away from any complex schematic design and simply letting its players operate.

As the old adage goes: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And with an Illinois offense currently ranked No. 5 in KenPom in terms of efficiency, it very clearly isn’t broken.

As Nebraska has done all season thus far to its opponents, Fred Hoiberg’s unit figures to make the Illini appear somewhat less than. But between the size and talent disparity, not to mention the home-floor advantage, Illinois will still very likely put an end to Nebraska’s exceptional undefeated start – even if it is a tighter battle than the Illini would like.

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York lottery player wins $3,125 in Nebraska Pick 4 drawing

Published

22 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

York lottery player wins ,125 in Nebraska Pick 4 drawing

LINCOLN, Neb. (KSNB) – One lucky player who bought a Nebraska Pick 4 ticket for the Wednesday, Dec. 10, drawing is holding a ticket worth $3,125.

The ticket was sold at Pump & Pantry No. 16 at 109 Lincoln Avenue in York. The winning numbers from Wednesday’s Nebraska Pick 4 drawing were 02, 00, 01, 05.

Winning Nebraska Lottery 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 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 from 0 through 9, for a chance to win up to $6,000. Players choose one of six bet types to set their play style and potential prizes. The odds of winning the $3,125 prize in Nebraska Pick 4 are 1 in 10,000.

Click here to subscribe to our KSNB Local4 daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.

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Emmett Johnson leaves Nebraska with sterling legacy, All-America status

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Emmett Johnson leaves Nebraska with sterling legacy, All-America status

LINCOLN, Neb. — One month ago, on the heels of a breakthrough performance by Emmett Johnson against UCLA, Nebraska launched a Heisman Trophy push for the junior running back.

Johnson enjoyed the limelight. Fans flocked to see him during an appearance in downtown Lincoln and at the high school championship games inside Memorial Stadium. He traveled home to Minneapolis during the Huskers’ bye week and visited his high school, Academy of Holy Angels. He had stopped in previously, but this trip was different.

“It was like a celebrity came to the school,” Holy Angels coach Jim Gunderson said.

In the final two games of the regular season with Nebraska, Johnson rushed for 320 yards, but the Huskers lost them in ugly fashion against Penn State and Iowa to cap a 7-5 regular season. As fast as the Heisman campaign began, it was over — but worthwhile, nonetheless.

Johnson ran this season in part so that running backs at Nebraska who follow him can fly. He leaves Nebraska with a sterling legacy.

On Wednesday, Johnson became the first Nebraska player to receive first-team All-America mentions since linebacker Lavonte David in 2011 — and the fourth running back in the past 70 years, matching Mike Rozier (1982 and ’83), Jarvis Redwine (1980) and Jeff Kinney (1971). His final year ranks among the top five in school history by a running back. Stack it alongside Rozier’s 1983 Heisman season, Lawrence Phillips in 1994, Ahman Green in 1997 and Ameer Abdullah in 2013.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule and his staff aim to use Johnson’s success to help bring backs to Lincoln who can finish what he started.

“It’s very much not in vogue anymore not to wait your turn,” Rhule said. “Sometimes, it’s like, ‘I’ll just go here and do this, just go there.’ But guys like Emmett had chances. And they stayed. And he deserves everything that he’s getting.”

Johnson was named the Big Ten running back of the year, a first at Nebraska. Last Friday, he declared for the 2026 NFL Draft, foregoing his final season of eligibility and the Dec. 31 Las Vegas Bowl.

High praise for the B1G’s top back@Emmett21Johnson pic.twitter.com/g7EhpUE2EP
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) December 11, 2025

What separated Johnson this year?

• His 1,130 yards in Big Ten play were the most by a Power 4 back in conference play. He stands alone with 1995 Heisman winner Eddie George as the only Big Ten players to total 1,100 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards in one season of league play.

• Johnson led the nation by accounting for 40.8 percent of his team’s total yards.

• He was the fourth FBS player since 2017 to average 120 yards rushing and 30 yards receiving.

• His 1,821 yards from scrimmage and 1,451 rushing ranked second and third, respectively, in the FBS.

In form true to his roots, Johnson proved wrong skeptics who believed he could not handle 20 carries per game in Big Ten play.

Does everyone realize how freaking good Emmett Johnson is for @HuskerFootball ? Dude is a straight balla. Quick, decisive, tough, great as a receiver. One of the most underrated RB’s in the Country!
— David Pollack (@davidpollack47) November 28, 2025

“He has always had that chip to prove people wrong and be great,” Gunderson said. “This is how he envisioned it going, and he wasn’t going to be denied.”

Four years ago, on a Sunday in mid-December, less than a week before the signing period opened, Johnson accepted a Nebraska scholarship offer. Ron Brown extended it.

A month earlier, Scott Frost, the Nebraska coach from 2018 to 2022, fired four offensive assistants. Brown, with 24 years of experience as a Nebraska assistant under three head coaches, was elevated late in that season from offensive analyst to running backs coach. He reviewed tape of Johnson, who scored 42 touchdowns and rushed for 2,500 yards at Holy Angels in 2021.

And Brown wondered why no big school had snatched up Johnson.

“I was perplexed,” Brown said. “Because when I saw Emmett play, I thought, ‘This guy is special.’”

Brown had recruited Abdullah from high school in Alabama to Nebraska in 2011. And Brown coached Abdullah in his back-to-back 1,600-yard seasons as a junior and senior before an NFL career that continues this year in its 11th season. In Johnson, Brown saw some of Abdullah’s vision, change of direction, endurance and ability to recover.

Brown quizzed Gunderson, the Holy Angels coach, about Johnson.

“I probably threw 100 questions at him,” Brown said, “looking for something that might be a little bit off, something that I had missed.”

Nothing.

“Coach Brown could just see the intangibles,” Gunderson said, “the stuff that isn’t measured. He saw the potential and the kind of kid who was going to work and who believed in himself.”

Johnson started six games as a redshirt freshman in 2023. He started five in 2024 and found his rhythm in the Nebraska offense when Dana Holgorsen arrived as coordinator last season. In December 2024, Johnson considered entering the transfer portal.

Holgorsen’s commitment helped get him to stay.

“ I think he just wanted to know that somebody had a plan for him,” Gunderson said.

The plan was never to leave Nebraska early. Johnson simply wanted the chance to receive a heavy workload.

He got 32 offensive touches against Cincinnati in the 2025 opener, 24 against Michigan, 23 against Maryland and 29 against Northwestern. In November, after quarterback Dylan Raiola was injured, Johnson stacked three games with 31 opportunities apiece and a 27-touch effort against Penn State.

“This dude really did what he said he was going to do,” Nebraska tight end Luke Lindenmeyer said.

His reliability never came into question.

“I’m so proud of Emmett, man,” senior cornerback Ceyair Wright said. “I think his success is a product of who he is as a person, how he treats people and the work that he puts in.”

Emmett Johnson shouldered a heavy load late in the season, garnering 27-plus touches in each of his final five games for Nebraska. (Harry How / Getty Images)

His humility and care for others rate as Johnson’s most admirable trait. Johnson said he wanted to share credit with his teammates for the accomplishments of this season. He rushed for 177 yards in the first half against Iowa and 217 for the game. But he stressed in the aftermath that he felt badly for older teammates who played their final games in Lincoln on Black Friday.

Turns out, he was among them. Johnson takes pride, he said, in building a new reputation for Nebraska running backs — more than a decade after Abdullah departed, three decades after Green and 42 years after Rozier’s Heisman.

“It matters a lot,” Johnson said, “because Nebraska is a special place. I want to be able to have recruits look at this place and know it’s special. It is special. I’m blessed to be the one doing that and helping. It’s bigger than just football.

“There are a lot of great humans here. That’s what I want to help push.”

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