Nebraska

Nebraska senator invokes colleague's name while reading rape scene during debate

Published

2 years ago

March 19, 2024

Press Room

Nebraska senator invokes colleague's name while reading rape scene during debate

State Sen. Steve Halloran of Hastings opens an Agriculture Committee hearing in February 2023.

Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — A Nebraska legislative debate about keeping obscenity out of K-12 schools ended abruptly Monday night after a lawmaker, while reading a book passage about an explicit rape scene, invoked a colleague’s name.

State Sen. Steve Halloran of Hastings, during debate on Legislative Bill 441, warned state senators and those watching the livestream of legislative proceedings that he would be quoting from the hearing testimony on the bill.

LB 441, the priority bill of State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, seeks to crack down on obscenity and pornography in K-12 schools.

One person testifying at the March 24, 2023, hearing on LB 441 read passages from a book titled “Lucky,” by Alice Sebold, which includes a graphic description of a rape Sebold survived in college.

While reading the testimony, Halloran inserted the name “Senator Cavanaugh” at the end of some sentences about the sexual assault.

He didn’t specify which Cavanaugh. (Both Machaela Cavanaugh and her brother John serve in the Legislature.)

At least two of Halloran’s colleagues publicly called for him to resign.

During about four hours of debate, Halloran and others alluded repeatedly to the hearing transcript. Halloran was the first to read directly from it.

“We talked about, ‘My kids haven’t experienced this in my school,’” Halloran said. “Doesn’t matter. If it’s just one school that experiences this, (it’s) one too many.”

The lawmaker also invoked State Sen. George Dungan’s name after reading the passage.

He called out Dungan, of Lincoln, and Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, both attorneys, for questioning the legality of LB 441 but not proposing solutions.

“Don’t throw it away — fix it,” Halloran said. “It’s a problem.”

Much of Monday’s debate featured supporters saying that LB 441 would fix a loophole that they say prevents prosecution if a school official provides obscenity to minors.

Opponents said that is already illegal under state law, and school officials do not have immunity from prosecution.

After Halloran read from “Lucky,” Sen. John Cavanaugh said the Hastings senator “missed the point.”

“Yes, life is gross and very unpleasant,” he said. “But that is what life is, and people who experience that want to know they’re not alone.”

Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh told Halloran that his speech was harassment.

She said that while she and Albrecht disagreed about the bill, Albrecht remained professional during debate. Halloran did not, she said.

“That was so out of line and unnecessary and disgusting to say my name over and over again like that,” Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh said.

“You don’t know anything about anyone else’s life, and I can tell you that women in this body have been subjected to sexual violence,” she continued. “I didn’t know you were capable of such cruelty. That was so unbecoming of you and unbecoming of this body, and I hope that some other people who are Republicans will stand up and defend me.”

Albrecht and a handful of other lawmakers had left the floor when Halloran was reading the passage.

Albrecht said afterward she was “mortified” if Cavanaugh’s name was invoked.

“I don’t want to listen to this, but deep down inside, this is what’s happening,” Albrecht said. “… I will be the first to stand up and say I’m sorry — I’m sorry that we even have to read anything like this.”

Halloran, in an email to a Nebraska teacher Monday evening, wrote, “If you would have listened closely, I was addressing her lawyer brother … John!”

In another email shared online and with the Examiner, Halloran described the passage as a “‘how to rape’ lesson given to young people” and said his only regret is that liberals are not upset that “Lucky” is in school libraries.

Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh said on social media that Halloran’s explanation that he was referring to her brother was “dismissive” and ignores that men can also be sexually assaulted.

Colleagues from both sides of the aisle in the officially nonpartisan Legislature condemned Halloran.

State Sens. Megan Hunt of Omaha, a progressive, and Julie Slama of Dunbar, a conservative, both called for him to resign.

“Disgusting,” Slama wrote on X. “No context makes this appropriate.”

Speaker John Arch of La Vista, on a motion from Hunt, agreed to adjourn one hour early Monday evening.

The debate is scheduled to pick up Tuesday afternoon after lawmakers finish second-round debate on the state budget.

“There’s times when we just have to step back from the debate, and I think this is one of those times,” Arch said.

Tags: alice sebold, cavanaugh, Debate, george dungan, Hastings, john arch, john cavanaugh, joni albrecht, Julie Slama, K-12 schools, lawmaker, legislative bill 441, legislative debate, Legislature, lucky, Machaela Cavanaugh, megan hunt, Nebraska, Nebraska Legislature, obscenity, pornography, Rape, schools, sexual assault, Steve Halloran, Thurston

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Nebraska

Nebraska Football Offers In-State Legacy Offensive Lineman

Published

54 minutes ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Nebraska Football Offers In-State Legacy Offensive Lineman

New Husker offensive line coach Geep Wade has stayed busy in his first few weeks on the recruiting trail for Nebraska football.

Nebraska extended a scholarship offer Saturday to in-state offensive lineman Barrett Kitrell. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Class of 2027 interior lineman from Ashland confirmed the offer on social media. Iowa offered him earlier in the week, and he has other Division I offers from South Dakota State, Kansas and Iowa State.

Kitrell has visited a number of schools through his junior season, stopping at South Dakota State, Wyoming, Iowa State, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.

God is so good! After a great conversation with coach @GeepWade I am blessed to receive my 6th D1 offer from Nebraska! @HuskerFootball @AGBluejayFball pic.twitter.com/h3ciXeG727
— Barrett Kitrell (@BarrettK54) January 10, 2026

Kitrell has family ties to Nebraska football across two generations. His father, Barry, was a fullback for the Huskers from 1984-88. His brother Bo was a Husker fullback and tight end 2014 to 2018.

In addition, Barrett’s brother Blake was a Tulsa wide receiver, while brothers Brett and Bryce played at Ohio, having been recruited by Frank Solich.

Barrett Kitrell is a three-sport athlete for Ashland-Greenwood, competing in football, basketball, and track and field for the Bluejays. He has seen varsity action in all three seasons of his football career, playing in 33 games. The Bluejays have won a playoff game each of the past three seasons, advancing to the Class C1 semifinals this past year.

Kitrell becomes the third offensive line prospect offered by Wade and the Huskers this week, joining Grinnell, Iowa, prospect Will Slagle and 2028 prospect Wyatt VanBoening from Mundelein, Illinois. VanBoening also is the son of a former Husker, Simon VanBoening, a linebacker on the Huskers’ 1997 roster.

Nebraska offensive line coach Geep Wade | Nebraska Athletics

The Huskers are aiming for a massive overhaul of their offensive line, starting with replacing Donovan Raiola as the position coach. Wade, who came to Nebraska from Georgia Tech, has been retooling his line in early 2026 with transfer portal additions, bringing in Iowa State’s Brendan Black and South Carolina’s Tree Babalade. Nebraska has seen three linemen choose to exit via the portal: Brian Tapu, Houston Kaahaaina-Torres and Jason Maciejczak.

Kitrell could add athleticism to the offensive line, as he finished second in the Class B discus as a sophomore with a personal-best throw of 172’2 while finishing fourth in the shot put. Kitrell averaged four points and four rebounds per game for the Ashland-Greenwood basketball program as the Bluejays claimed the Class C1 championship in 2025.

Kitrell becomes the 16th interior offensive line offer for Nebraska’s 2027 class. The class is headlined by four-star quarterback Trae Taylor and in-state rising stars Tory Pittman III and Matt Erickson.

IU dominated but then ‘it was just turnovers’ to blow 16-point lead vs Nebraska

Published

13 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

IU dominated but then ‘it was just turnovers’ to blow 16-point lead vs Nebraska

Indiana men’s basketball lost to Nebraska 83-77 after leading by as many as 16 points.
Coach Darian DeVries cited a bad stretch, including key fouls on Tucker DeVries and turnovers, as the turning point.
The Hoosiers have three more opportunities for a Quad 1 win in their upcoming games.

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana men’s basketball coach Darian DeVries thought his team played well for about 28 minutes Saturday afternoon.

In those 28 minutes, IU built up as much as a 16-point lead against undefeated Nebraska. The Hoosiers went on a 12-2 run to end the first half, then extended that lead early in the second half.

Then, the defense started crumbling. Tucker DeVries picked up two fouls in the course of 21 seconds, forcing him to the bench. The Hoosiers started turning the ball over.

And Indiana’s upset bid fell apart, as the Hoosiers dropped an 83-77 decision to the Cornhuskers (16-0, 5-0 Big Ten).

“It’s disappointing, for sure,” Darian DeVries said. “We played well for a good 25, 27, 28 minutes, whatever, and then just had a bad stretch in there, and the game flipped. That’s why the turnovers are a big piece of that. We had, (a 16-point lead) and Tucker picked up his third and fourth foul on back-to-back possessions. Then they went on a 10-0 run right after that. That was a big turning point in the game, I thought, when he picked those two up.”

It seemed like the coaching staff (and fans) didn’t agree with those fouls, either.

Tucker DeVries’ third foul came as he fell on the ground while trying to defend Berke Buyuktuncel’s shot. Buyuktuncel continued to attempt a shot after the fall, and he got tangled in DeVries’ legs, falling himself, and officials called a foul on DeVries. Both Tucker and Darian DeVries, along with the crowd of 13,000 fans, didn’t agree with that foul.

Tucker DeVries’ fourth foul, which forced him to the bench for eight minutes, came just 21 seconds after his third. On the Hoosiers’ next offensive possession, DeVries attempted to shoulder his defender to get more space, and got called for the offensive foul and the turnover.

Indiana (12-4, 3-2) turned the ball over on four of its next five possessions, Darian DeVries said, and Nebraska capitalized for a 12-2 run to tie the game.

“I just think we didn’t have the type of possessions we needed after (Tucker DeVries) went out again, and most of them, it was just turnovers,” Darian DeVries said. “We didn’t get shots at the goal. I thought there might’ve been one or two in there where I think Lamar (Wilkerson) drove it hard and tried going through contact, and we didn’t get one there, but outside of that, we just didn’t get very good possessions. Our movement wasn’t as good.”

After Nebraska went on that run, all the momentum shifted to the Cornhuskers. In ways, the Hoosiers couldn’t get out of their own head, and the mistakes kept coming.

“We’ve talked to them a lot about that next play mentality,” Darian DeVries said. “Win that next play, and not compound mistakes. I thought tonight, again, for a stretch there was a period where we let one mistake turn into two. Then, instead of digging in and really making sure we get a quality possession the next time, we compounded it with another turnover. It led to back-to-back-to-back. All of a sudden your lead is gone, and momentum is real. It shifted pretty quickly there.”

This game, especially taking into account the 16-point lead Indiana once had, was a crucial opportunity for the Hoosiers to get their first Quad 1 win of the season.

But the Hoosiers, sitting at No. 30 in the NET rankings, still have three straight Quad 1 opportunities coming up in two road tilts at Michigan State and Michigan and a home game against Iowa in the next two weeks.

Those games, much like Nebraska, will be tall tasks. But, DeVries said, if the Hoosiers can execute for a full game like they did in those 28 minutes on Saturday, they’ll have a chance at them.

“When they’re executing the way that they did the first 25 minutes, it looks really good,” DeVries said. “And they’re doing a great job, and they’re defending and getting movement and things.”

Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.

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Nebraska

$3,125 Nebraska Pick 4 winning ticket sold in York

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

,125 Nebraska Pick 4 winning ticket sold in York

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

The ticket was sold at Pump & Pantry #16, 109 Lincoln Avenue, in York. The winning numbers from Thursday’s Nebraska Pick 4 draw were 09, 06, 01, 02.

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

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