Nebraska
Nebraska governor issues a proclamation for a special session to address property taxes
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen issued a long-awaited proclamation on Wednesday calling a special legislative session to address the state’s soaring property taxes, ruffling some lawmakers’ feathers by giving them just a day’s notice.
Pillen warned lawmakers on the last day of the regular legislative session in April that he would convene a special session sometime in the summer after lawmakers failed to pass a bill to significantly lower property taxes. Last month, he sent a letter to Speaker of the Legislature John Arch saying he planned to call lawmakers back on July 25.
Property taxes have skyrocketed across the country as U.S. home prices have jumped more than 50% in the past five years, leading a bevy of states to pass or propose measures to rein them in. Nebraska has seen revenue from property taxes rise by nearly $2 billion over the past decade, far outpacing the amount in revenue collected from income and sales taxes.
Pillen’s proclamation calls for slew of appropriations and tax changes, including subjecting everything from cigarettes, candy, soda, hemp products and gambling to new taxes. It also calls for a hard cap on what cities and other local governments can collect in property taxes.
Just as significant is what’s not included in the proclamation: Pillen didn’t direct lawmakers to consider a winner-take-all system of awarding electoral votes ahead of this year’s hotly-contested presidential election.
Nebraska and Maine are the only states that split their electoral votes. In Nebraska, the three electoral votes tied to the state’s three congressional districts go to whichever candidate wins the popular vote in that district. Republicans who dominate state government in the conservative state have long sought to join the 48 other states that award all of their electoral votes to whichever candidate wins statewide, but have been unable to get such a bill passed in the Legislature.
Pillen said this year that he would include a winner-take-all proposal in a special session proclamation if the measure had the 33 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. He could still call another special session to consider a winner-take-all proposal if he thinks it has enough support to pass.
Pillen’s 11th-hour call for a special session to deal with property taxes drew testy responses from some lawmakers, who have to interrupt summer plans, find day care for children and put their full-time jobs on hold to head back to the Capitol. Even some of Pillen’s fellow Republicans joined in the criticism.
State Sen. Julie Slama, a Republican in the single-chamber, officially nonpartisan Legislature, slammed Pillen in a social media post as “an entitled millionaire.” She also dismissed his plan to shift a proposed 50% decrease in property taxes to a wide-ranging expansion of goods and services subject to the state’s 5.5% sales tax.
Pillen “thinks the Legislature will pass the largest tax increase on working Nebraskans in state history because he snapped his fingers and ordered us to dance,” Slama posted on X.
State Sen. Justin Wayne, a Democrat from Omaha, called on fellow lawmakers to immediately adjourn the session Thursday and demand a week’s notice from Pillen before reconvening. Barring that, the Legislature should at least recess on Thursday until Aug. 1, Wayne said in a Tuesday letter to his fellow 48 senators.
Under Nebraska rules, governors can call a special session but must issue a proclamation that outlines specifically what issues the Legislature will address during it. There is no deadline by which governors must issue a proclamation before calling lawmakers back for a special session, but legislators have typically gotten that call a week or more ahead of time.
Wayne called the lack of a proclamation from Pillen with only hours before the planned special session “blatant disrespect.”
“We are not his slaves to be summoned at his whim,” Wayne said. “We have families and lives, and this lack of consideration is unacceptable.
“It is time we assert our independence and demand the respect we deserve.”
Pillen’s office did not answer questions about why he waited until the day before the special session to issue the proclamation calling it.
Nebraska’s last special session took place in September 2021, when lawmakers convened to redraw the state’s political boundaries. That session lasted 13 days. Pillen has said he’ll call as many special sessions as needed and keep lawmakers in Lincoln “until Christmas” until a significant property tax relief bill is passed.
Nebraska
Pillen: Nebraska senator tears down historical exhibits by PragerU from Capitol walls
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Parts of a temporary historical exhibit inside the Nebraska State Capitol were torn down by a state senator, Gov. Pillen alleges.
Gov. Pillen said Wednesday on social media that several displays of historical figures, key events in the American Revolution and portraits of those who signed the Declaration of Independence were “ripped off the walls” by state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha.
A 40-second video shared by Pillen appears to show Sen. Cavanaugh taking down several displays and a photo showed the items on the floor of her office.
The displays featuring material made by the controversial conservative group PragerU were put up in the state Capitol as part of the United States’ 250th anniversary.
“Celebrating America during our 250th year should be a moment of unity and patriotism, not divisiveness and destructive partisanship. I am disappointed in this shameful and selfish bad example,” Pillen wrote.
Cavanaugh told 10/11 that senators are prohibited from putting items on the walls in the hallway outside their offices. She said the posters line the entire hallway around the first floor, but she only took down the ones outside her office.
“When I walked in this morning and saw these poster boards lining the hallway of my office, I thought well I’m not allowed to have things lining the hall of my office… I tried to take them down as gently as I could and not damage any of them, and I stacked them inside of my office and I let the state patrol know that they were there,” Cavanaugh said.
PragerU has previously faced criticism for making content that historians, researchers and scholars have considered inaccurate or misleading. Some parents and educators have also spoken out against the nonprofit, saying its content spreads misinformation and is being used for “indoctrinating children.”
The Founders Museum exhibit in particular has been criticized by The American Historical Association for blurring the line between reality and fiction, according to NPR.
The exhibit is supposed to remain on display during public building hours through the summer.
Click here to subscribe to our 10/11 NOW daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Oregon State LB transfer Dexter Foster commits to Nebraska
Nebraska has picked up a third linebacker commitment from Oregon State transfer Dexter Foster, a sophomore with three seasons of eligibility remaining, including a redshirt year.
The 6-foot-3, 236lb linebacker started in seven games this fall for the Beavers, totaling 52 tackles with 3.0 tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries and a pass breakup. As a true freshman in 2024, he appeared in 12 games, totaling 43 tackles with two tackles for loss, a sack and two quarterback hurries.
Foster held just two offers coming out of high school prior to committing to Oregon State, but was at one point a target for new Nebraska defensive coordinator Rob Aurich, when Aurich was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Idaho in 2022-2023.
The sophomore joins a linebacker room that has seen a bit of a facelift through transfer portal additions. San Diego State linebacker Owen Chambliss led the Aztecs in tackles this season and has now signed with the Huskers, following Rob Aurich to Lincoln. Iowa State freshman linebacker Will Hawthorne committed to the Huskers on Tuesday. Nebraska fell just short of Iowa State when Hawthorne was coming out of Gilbert (Ia.) in the 2025 cycle.
Foster is the seventh transfer portal addition for the Huskers this cycle and the fourth defensive addition. The Huskers are expected to be done with linebacker portal recruiting at this point and will turn attention to needs up front, both at defensive tackle and edge rusher.
Quick look at what Nebraska is getting in Foster
Standing 6-foot-3, and north of 235lbs, Foster is rangy and athletic in space. Has the versatility to play true strong-side or weak-side linebacker and could even spin down to edge rusher if needed. Possesses the athletic and physical range to track down ball-carriers in space, arm length to keep would-be-blockers at bay. Shows good eye discipline working through traffic, quick to react and trigger downhill, with the fluidity to change directions quickly. Still more read-and-react than anticipatory at this point in his development, but gets to his spots quickly. Has the athleticism to stick in coverage against running backs, tight ends and even slot receivers.
Has the experience, size and play-style to factor into Nebraska’s linebacker rotation immediately, and could even push to start alongside San Diego State linebacker transfer Owen Chambliss. Has the versatility to be a chess piece of sorts for Aurich and stick on the field regardless of personnel.
Nebraska
Nebraska-based pizza chain Godfather’s Pizza is set to open a new location in Queen Creek
QUEEN CREEK, AZ — A slice of the Midwest is coming to the East Valley! Godfather’s Pizza from Omaha, Nebraska, is set to open a new location this month in Queen Creek.
Bruce Cannon, who owns and operates two Godfather’s Pizza locations in Lincoln and Norfolk, Nebraska, will also own and operate the new Queen Creek restaurant.
“This marks the brand’s first traditional Godfather’s Pizza restaurant in Arizona since 2009, signaling an exciting return to the Phoenix metro area,” read the news release sent to ABC15.
The restaurant will open near Queen Creek Rd and Signal Butte Rd.
The restaurant will provide dine-in, carryout, and third-party delivery options, featuring its classic pizza lineup alongside favorites like breadsticks, streusels, and specialty pies.
IF YOU GO
- Opening date: January 19, 2026.
- Address: 22485 Queen Creek Road, Suite 101
More Things to Do stories:
-
News1 week agoFor those who help the poor, 2025 goes down as a year of chaos
-
Detroit, MI4 days ago2 hospitalized after shooting on Lodge Freeway in Detroit
-
Georgia1 week ago
Best in Georgia: 2025 AJC Varsity high school football all-state teams
-
Dallas, TX3 days agoDefensive coordinator candidates who could improve Cowboys’ brutal secondary in 2026
-
Detroit, MI1 week agoWith 46k outages around Michigan, Metro Detroit prepares for power loss
-
Southeast1 week agoMurder in small-town America: The crimes that tore quiet communities apart in 2025
-
Miami, FL1 week agoMiami-Dade sheriff’s deputy opens fire on vehicle after altercation during traffic stop, officials say
-
Midwest1 week agoMcDonald’s locks doors to keep out individuals who present ‘a risk’ in crime-ridden Minneapolis area