Nebraska
Nebraska food bank announces $37M building and relocation plan to help meet 'unforeseen' demand • Nebraska Examiner
OMAHA — Rising demand for food assistance across the 93 counties it serves has pushed the Food Bank for the Heartland to extraordinary measures, including leasing refrigerated trailers to store food in the parking lot.
Volunteers and semitrailer truck drivers that visit the Omaha-based nonprofit often jam the road leading into its current headquarters.
Meanwhile, increased food costs and an end to many pandemic-era government assistance programs have created “disruption” that officials said they’ve not seen in the food bank’s 42-year history.
To help meet growing needs, the food bank on Sunday publicly announced a $37 million plan to build a new office and warehouse complex at a larger, 12-acre campus at the northeast corner of 84th and L Streets in Omaha.
40% larger
Representatives were joined by Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert in publicly unveiling renderings and other details of the 105,000-square-foot facility, which is about 40% larger than the current home.
Parking stalls will nearly double in number, for a new total of about 170 spots at the new base that for more than a half-century had been home to a car dealership.
“Our project is going to transform 84th and L,” said CEO and president Brian Barks. “It’s going to transform the way we do business and the way we are able to serve the community — with an emphasis on healthy foods.”
While planning began in 2020, the nonprofit’s governing board chose to delay the building and relocation announcement until it secured 60% of the $27 million it hopes to raise in philanthropic donations, Barks said. About $10 million is to come internally and from the sale of the existing building at 10525 J St.
The nonprofit continues to seek community contributions for the capital campaign.
Demolition and construction work is to kick off this summer, according to a project timeline, and the projected move-in is in 2026.
Food bank officials say the milestone comes as Nebraskans’ demand for food assistance grows.
Paul Maass, CEO of Scoular, said his involvement with the food bank has shown him that a lack of healthy food is widespread.
“For many, hunger is a hidden issue,” he told the dozens of supporters gathered Sunday under a large tent on the future food bank grounds. “But it is happening all around us, every moment of every day. I learned this is not an urban, rural or suburban problem. Hunger is a problem everywhere.”
26.7 million pounds of food last year
With a reach of 78,000 square miles across 77 Nebraska counties and 16 western Iowa counties, the food bank works with 555 network partners to distribute food items to those in need.
Last year, the network distributed more than 26.7 million pounds of food.
According to the organization’s projections, it will serve 600,548 households this fiscal year. That’s up from nearly 572,000 households a year earlier and about 313,000 five years ago.
Looking at demand from an individual standpoint, the food bank foresees serving 1.62 million persons this fiscal year, up from 1.52 million during the year prior and 843,000 in 2019.
Shedding light on demand, Barks said that Nebraskans have faced increased hardship since the government shutdown in December 2018.
“It’s going to transform the way we do business and the way we are able to serve the community — with an emphasis on healthy foods.”
– Brian Barks, CEO and president of Food Bank for the Heartland
Historic floods followed in March 2019, displacing thousands of people, including some who continue to rebuild.
COVID-19 led to an 89% increase in the number of meals distributed by the food bank. People who lost jobs during the pandemic tapped savings and amassed debt.
“Inflation and the lingering effects of pandemic continue to make hunger a daily reality throughout our communities,” the food bank said in its capital campaign statement. “With skyrocketing food prices, too many of our neighbors are forced to make impossible choices among items needed to survive and thrive — such as paying for food, medicine, utilities, or childcare.”
Pandemic highlight
The agency noted a highlight of its response to the pandemic. During that time, the food bank developed a small USDA-certified “Clean Room,” which accepts and processes bulk donations of nutrient-rich proteins.
Representatives said that the program has been successful, but building it took space away from the Volunteer Center.
The new facility is to include a larger Clean Room to process proteins.
Among other features:
- Increased storage capacity for cold and frozen food items; separate areas for loading and unloading operations.
- Increased space for volunteer groups and for staff collaboration.
- Easy access to main roads and the Interstate system.
Records show the sprawling corner property sold to the Food Bank for $7.1 million.
H&H Chevrolet, which reportedly had been at the site since 1968, moved last year to a larger area at the Steel Ridge development in Sarpy County.
Barks said the food bank visited multiple sites and considered other options, including renovation. He said clearing the 84th and L Streets site and building anew was more economical.
He said if people knew how the staff has managed to increase output in the current facility, they’d be even more impressed. He called the level of demand “unforeseen.”
“It has been an arduous journey,” Barks said. “To get to this point is everything from a relief to joy to thrill all wrapped into one.”
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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.
The Nebraska State Fair is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with a special 72-hour flash sale on Season Passes.
From July 3 through July 5, fans can purchase a 2026 Season Pass for just $50—a significant discount from its regular value of $132.
The pass includes one admission per day for all 11 days of the 2026 Nebraska State Fair, making it ideal for visitors who plan to attend multiple days.
Fair officials say the promotion is one of the biggest Season Pass discounts offered in years and will not be extended.
After July 5, Season Passes will remain available at a higher discounted price.
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Legalizing online sports betting has met with resistance in the Nebraska Legislature for years.
Tax Relief Nebraska, a group backed by Nebraska casinos and online sports betting groups, took the issue to the people of the state through a petition drive.
Those petitions are now in, and casino officials say they expect to have enough signatures to make the November ballot — but also expect pushback through Election Day.
The case for online betting
Currently, legal sports bets cannot be placed on a phone in Nebraska. Casino operators say people who choose to wager are finding other ways to do it.
“They’re just doing it illegally through a virtual private network, or they’re driving over to the first exit between Iowa and Nebraska, placing a bet and then driving back to their home,” said Lynne McNally of Warhorse Casino.
Nebraska casino operators say the state has already collected millions of dollars in state taxes and property tax relief from casino gambling, and that online sports betting would add to that total.
A majority of Nebraskans voted for casino gambling to enter the state in 2020, and casino operators expect similar support if the online betting petition makes the November ballot.
“As you know, we got 65% on the constitutional amendment and actually got nearly 70% on the tax portion of the statute when the casinos were legalized in 2020. I think that we’ll be in that area, if not maybe a little higher than that,” McNally said.
“There’s always going to be a sector of the public that doesn’t want to gamble. They don’t want to go to our facilities and that’s just fine. I guess I have an objection with trying to tell other people what to do,” McNally said.
The opposition
The Nebraska Family Alliance stands against online gambling and plans to campaign against the initiative across the state. The nonprofit group issued a statement that reads in part: “Online sports betting has been a massive public policy failure that benefits national sportsbooks at the expense of kids, student-athletes, families and businesses. While they have more money, they don’t have the truth.”
Pat Loontjer, director of Gambling with the Good Life, has opposed expanded gambling in Nebraska for 30 years.
“They’re telling the same lie — property tax relief. Well in Nebraska you say property tax relief and everybody says where do I sign,” Loontjer said.
Loontjer also raised concerns about the impact on young people.
“Sports betting on the phone is the most addictive thing for young people, young men especially. You’ve got kids that are going to lose their scholarships, lose their future,” Loontjer said.
What comes next
If enough signatures are verified and the issue is placed on the November ballot, Warhorse Casino officials say Nebraskans could be able to make sports bets on their phones by spring of next year.
Copyright 2026 WOWT. All rights reserved.
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