Nebraska
Nebraska State Sen. Carol Blood poised to run against Rep. Mike Flood for Congress | Nebraska Examiner
BELLEVUE — Two years after running for Nebraska governor and securing 36% of the statewide vote as a Democrat, State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue appears poised to run for Congress.
Blood, who represents a Republican-leaning slice of Sarpy County in the Legislature, tipped her hand in recent social media posts encouraging people to attend an announcement this weekend.
An Instagram account called Carol Blood for Congress shared a campaign poster from 1st District U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb. The “F” in Flood is marked out and replaced with a “B.”
Scrawled above it is a simple message: “Fixed it!”
“In case you haven’t heard, we are going to rock this campaign,” the post says. It invites people to her kickoff at the electrical workers’ union hall in Lincoln at 1 p.m. Saturday.
A campaign website at www.carolbloodforcongress.com also briefly went live, including a not-yet-activated link to raise funds against a congressional incumbent.
What a Blood campaign might include
Several Blood supporters say she will emphasize her work helping veterans as the state senator who represents Offutt Air Force Base.
She will also likely talk about her work encouraging the Legislature to cut back on federal mandates requiring spending by schools and local governments that cost property taxpayers.
Blood is a former Bellevue city councilwoman. She has previously discussed the need for the state and federal governments to invest more in rural health care and mental health care.
Political observers say Blood could make Flood work in the GOP-leaning 1st District, which includes Lincoln, Norfolk (Flood’s hometown) and Bellevue, but they consider him the favorite.
Blood, who is term-limited in the Legislature, has been coy in recent weeks when asked about her future, but she did not deny she might be considering a bid. On Monday, she acknowledged the postings as works in progress.
Blood had not yet filed with the Secretary of State to run or with the Federal Election Commission to raise funds. But a handful of Democrats confirmed privately that the bid is real.
Flood awaits
Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb had said the party would field a challenger for Flood, who is seeking a second term after winning a special election and general election in 2022.
Flood replaced former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, who resigned after he was convicted of three felonies stemming from illegal foreign campaign funds raised for his campaign.
Fortenberry has since had his convictions reversed because of questions raised about whether it was appropriate to try him in California. Prosecutors said they are “evaluating potential next steps.”
Flood’s campaign had no immediate comment on Blood’s likely bid. He defeated Democratic State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln in the 2022 special and general elections.
Flood is a former speaker of the officially nonpartisan Legislature. In Congress, he has adopted more of the language of national Republicans, including on immigration enforcement.
He has also emphasized the need for House Republicans to restrain the spending impulses of Democratic Senate leaders and President Joe Biden.
As of the last federal campaign finance reporting period, Flood listed $235,000 in campaign cash on hand. Last year, Blood listed $2,700 in cash on hand left from her gubernatorial bid.
Any more challengers?
Flood is running in a state political environment where some leaders in the Nebraska Republican Party have been courting primary challengers to run against some GOP incumbents. He does not yet face one.
In the Omaha-based 2nd District, four-term Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., of Papillion, faces two challengers in his May primary: Dan Frei of Omaha and Michael Connely of York. The primary winner is expected to face Democratic State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha. Vargas fell three points short of Bacon in 2022.
In the largely rural 3rd District, nine-term Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., of Gering, also faces a Republican challenger: John Walz, a Hastings engineer. Democrats say they intend to field a candidate, too.
Nebraska
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.
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.
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Nebraska
IU dominated but then ‘it was just turnovers’ to blow 16-point lead vs Nebraska
Indiana basketball starting lineups, introductions video
The Hoosiers met undefeated Nebraska on Jan. 10. Here are the starting lineups from Assembly Hall.
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.
Nebraska
$3,125 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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Copyright 2026 KSNB. All rights reserved.
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