Work will begin on US-26, from Mitchell to Scottsbluff

Weather permitting, work will begin April 13, 2026 on U.S. Highway (US-26), from reference post 13.25 to reference post 21.25, according to the Nebraska Department of Transportation.

Simon Contractors, Inc., from Cheyenne, Wyo., is the contractor for this project. Work includes installing ADA ramps at various locations in the town of Mitchell, pavement repair and paving new asphaltic concrete between Mitchell  and Scottsbluff. Traffic will be maintained with lane closures. A 12-foot width restriction will be in effect. Anticipated completion is Oct. 2026.

Motorists are reminded to drive cautiously in and near work zones, to buckle up, and put phones down.

Work will begin in District 5 Sidemount DMS Boards

Weather permitting, work will begin April 13 on the District 5 Sidemount DMS Boards project, according to the Nebraska Department of Transportation.

Watts Electric Company, of Waverly, is the contractor for this project. Work includes installing digital message boards and automated gates at various locations in the panhandle of Nebraska. Traffic willbe maintained with shoulder closures. Anticipated completion is Oct. 2026.

Motorists are reminded to drive cautiously in and near work zones, to buckle up, and put phones down.

Work will begin on N-250, north of Lakeside

Weather permitting, work will begin April 13 on Nebraska Highway 250 (N-250), from reference post 0.2 to reference post 13.38, according to the Nebraska Department of Transportation.  Work will also resume south of Smith Lake, from reference post 13.38 to reference post 26.10.

Werner Construction, of Hastings, is the contractor for both projects. Work includes asphalt paving, culvert extensions, curb and gutter, flumes, and grading and seeding. Traffic will be maintained with lane restrictions and a pilot car with flaggers. A 12-foot width restriction will be in effect. Anticipated completion is Nov. 2026.

Motorists are reminded to drive cautiously in and near work zones, to buckle up, and put phones down.

NDOT, UNO Conducting Community Stakeholders Survey and Public Meetings for Unmet Needs of Rural Intercity Bus Service

The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) is partnering with the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Center for Public Affairs Research (UNO CPAR) to conduct an Intercity Bus Service Study of the intercity bus services available in Nebraska.

As part of the Study, NDOT is requesting input from stakeholders and community members with an interest in the state’s intercity bus public transportation services by utilizing the survey link provided below. NDOT administers the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA’s) Section 5311(f) funding for rural intercity bus services in Nebraska, and this survey is an important element of the consultation process required under this program. A major focus of this effort is to determine the need for state/federal assistance to maintain current services or provide expanded connections from rural areas to connect with the national intercity bus network. By using these services many Nebraska residents can reach key connecting points for more distant travel.

Comments can be submitted via the survey at ndot.info/656469. Answers to the survey are confidential and will only be shared in the aggregate form. Comments must be submitted by April 30, 2026.

In addition to the survey, there will be two public meetings scheduled via Zoom to gather input. The first meeting will be on Tuesday, April 21 from 1-2 p.m. To join the meeting, visit unomaha.zoom.us/j/95425601695 and enter meeting ID 954 2560 1695. The meeting can also be joined via one tap mobile at +17193594580,,95425601695# US or +12532050468,,95425601695# US.

The second meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 29 from 9-10 a.m. To join the meeting, visit unomaha.zoom.us/j/92503332015 and enter meeting ID 925 0333 2015. The meeting can also be joined via one tap mobile at +16694449171,,92503332015# US or +16699006833,,92503332015# US.

Input from the meetings will be used by NDOT as it considers using federal funds to maintain the existing intercity services or provide additional intercity services.

For questions about the survey, please contact Clay Stevens, UNO Center for Public Affairs Research, at claystevens@unomaha.edu. For questions about the consultation process or the intercity bus program, contact Sarah Soula at NDOT at sarah.soula@nebraska.gov or 402-479-4871.

Appropriate provisions for the hearing and visually challenged or persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) will be made if NDOT is notified by April 8, 2026.  For those without internet access, information may be obtained at NDOT Headquarters, 1500 Nebraska Parkway, Lincoln, NE 68502 or by contacting Sarah Soula, NDOT Transit Manager, at 402-479-4871 or sarah.soula@nebraska.gov.

For more information visit ndot.info/intercityf3e2cc.

Thursday marked a turning point in Nebraska’s 2026 legislative session: any bill that hasn’t already been brought to the floor for debate stands no chance of making it through the body and onto Gov. Jim Pillen’s desk.

LR298CA now shares that fate with several other senator priority bills, despite it being scheduled for debate on Thursday morning.

“There were about 15 bills, priority bills of other senators, that have yet to be heard,” Sen. Tom Brandt, who championed LR298CA, said. “And so, we felt very fortunate that we had a shot at this.”

The proposal would have put a constitutional amendment to a vote of the people, aiming to erect more stringent guardrails around the Nebraska Environmental Trust. Budget legislation swept more than $10 million from the fund this year, and the measure sought to prevent that in the future.

Brandt said he had the votes as of yesterday, but this morning, a couple of defections dropped the tally below the crucial 33-vote threshold. The body adjourned early without debate.

“To be fair to everyone in this situation with their priorities, we will be passing over LR298CA,” Speaker John Arch said.

Brandt said he wishes he had more time.

“It is certainly disappointing,” Brandt said. “Normally, you would have time — you’d have hours to work a bill like that. And quite often you can get them to come back and vote your way.”

The decision drew frustration from conservation advocates, who had been watching closely from places like Prairie Pines, a restored prairie and forest area outside Lincoln funded in part by Environmental Trust dollars.

“It felt like a gut punch,” said Mark Brohman, executive director of the Wachiska Audubon Society. “I was hoping that someone would come out and say we’ve got something worked out, but it just didn’t happen.”

Brohman said without additional protections to NET, the future of conservation work in the state would be more uncertain.

“As long as they’re taking money from the Environmental Trust, it’s going to make our job tougher on the landscape,” Brohman said. “I’m really worried next year, without this protection going into place, that the trust will be another source of income they’ll come looking at again.”

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Overstreet said that while a general election may have about 120 different ballot faces across the county, the primary may have 120 ballot faces for each party.

“Everybody has some races that are the same across the entire county — the governor, the secretary of state, the attorney general — all of those state offices or federal offices can be county-wide, but you start slicing and dicing on local races, and you get a lot of different ballot faces,” Overstreet said.

Here’s how that works for different registered voters.

Those who belong to a political party get a ballot corresponding to their party. For example, registered Republicans get a Republican ballot.

For those not registered with a political party, they get a nonpartisan ballot, which has nonpartisan races like State Board of Education and state Legislature. Then, they can request what’s called a “nonpartisan partisan” ballot. Overstreet said many independent voters don’t realize they have this option – they can weigh in on some partisan races.

“You would have to request the second ballot. It’s not something that they say, ‘Hey, do you want a second ballot?’” Overstreet said. “You have to know it. You have to know that you can ask for it so you can weigh in on your Senate and House seat.”

The Democratic and Libertarian parties keep their primaries open to other voters. That’s not the case for the Republican and Legal Marijuana NOW parties. Nonpartisan voters can still request one of these ballots, but it will only have the races for the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives — and that’s required by law.

Mary Jane Truemper, chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party, said sometimes the GOP has chosen to have an open primary, but for now, they keep it closed to only Republican voters. That’s caused some voters in Nebraska to change their political affiliation ahead of primaries.

“We just chose not to at this point, but we want Republicans choosing the Republican candidates, and that’s just the way we’ve decided it was best for us,” Truemper said.

Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said the NDP keeps an open primary because the number of Democrats and nonpartisan voters together can compete with the Republicans in the state.

“We even endorse and support independent candidates,” Kleeb said. “We make sure that they have access to party resources. We just really want to create a coalition, not only of supporting independent candidates, but also supporting independent voters.”

Constantly preparing for the next election

Political party officials start thinking about election day as soon as possible, most times after the last election.

Truemper said the party is currently assessing every race to see who is running as a Republican and who their competition is.

“One of our goals is always to put Republicans in seats,” Truemper said. “We try to identify districts where maybe there’s a Democrat now that we see an opportunity for us to have a Republican in there and focus on those districts.”

Truemper has spent the months leading up to the election working on messaging for the Republican party, connecting with county parties and looking for future candidates. She said a big part of preparation is finding ways to encourage people to vote in the primary.

“What can we do in [congressional district] two, [congressional district] one, especially if there’s not a really highly competitive race in the primary, because that affects your down ballot races, and so that’s what we’re doing now, is working out strategies,” Truemper said.

Kleeb, with the Nebraska Democratic Party, said the NDP is also focused on getting Democrats in seats, especially when it comes to the state Legislature.

“We’re really making sure that we spend some time and money on those races to ensure that in the rural legislative races that we get the Democrat over the finish line, so we have a fighting chance in the general election,” Kleeb said.

The NDP is also looking for ways to connect with voters ahead of the primary, including mailers, phone calls and texts. Kleeb said they are doing voter guides for the primary, which isn’t the usual plan.

“We usually only do them in the general, but we’re going to do voter guides in the primary this year, too,” Kleeb said. “That lets voters know who the Democrats are on the ballot, because there are so many nonpartisan races.”