Nebraska
Nebraska woman seeks answers after being laid off from federal job at FDA
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – A Nebraska woman says she’s still in shock after being terminated from the FDA in mid-February. Federal layoffs have been making headlines for weeks as the new Department of Government Effecicency or ‘DOGE’ works to shrink the federal workforce by any means necessary.
Federal worker, Lindsey Nielsen, said the targeted layoffs were a hit she and her colleagues saw coming. They were still in disbelief and devastated that their positions at the FDA were coming to a swift end.
Just two weeks later, Nielsen said she and colleagues at her office received a letter notifying them of their termination as probationary employees at the FDA.
“That means you’re either newly hired to your role or you got a promotion to a higher role with more responsibility,” Nielsen said.
Nielsen, who holds a PhD in Microbiology, started her job at the FDA as a Scientific Reviewer in 2023 and worked remotely from her home in Wood River.
Just one month before receiving the letter of termination she was promoted from ‘Senior Staff Fellow’ to ‘Microbiologist.’
Even more shocking? The reason for the layoff was listed as ‘poor performance.’
At the end of 2024, she received one of the highest ratings in her office and the highest ratings one could receive at the FDA in a performance review.
“I have no disciplinary actions, no negative anything on my record,” she added. “So it was a complete surprise.”
She was just one of the hundreds of laid-off FDA employees affected during the Trump Administration’s attempt to shrink the federal workforce.
“But what’s actually happening is a marring of people’s reputations, an inaccurate look into their actual performance, and a misunderstanding of what the federal agency actually is.”
Barely a week following the massive layoffs, hundreds of employees received a call notifying them of reinstatement, including all the employees at Nielsen’s office.
All, except her.
“There were people that were reinstated that had less tenure than me and some that had more tenure,” Nielsen said. “I did have the highest valuations of all of us, and I was a 10-point veteran hired under the veteran preference– so the idea is maybe there were some reasons that that difference was the reason I didn’t get a callback.”
She said she reached out to Senator Deb Fischer’s office for help, and that response said in part:
Now, Nielsen said she is speaking with lawyers to get a better grasp of what’s happening to her and others, and whether or not the firings are legal.
Nielsen admits she doesn’t believe the layoffs are a reflection of the FDA’s attitude toward its employees. Rather, she thinks it is an open display of the government putting pressure on federal agencies to make decisions that they are not sure are legal.
“I’m concerned about this because I think that it sets the tone that we can do illegal terminations at the federal government level, which might trickle down into the private sector.”
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OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – An active weather pattern is moving into the region starting tonight, bringing some snow into the region, according to KTIV’s forecast in Sioux City.
A First Alert 6 viewer sent footage of the storms while traveling on Interstate 80 near West Branch, Iowa.
TUESDAY NIGHT
In Siouxland, a batch of precipitation moves in after midnight. It could initially start as rain, but most of the precipitation will fall as snow. Snow showers will likely last through sunrise on Wednesday morning.
The snow will stay light with accumulations near an inch or less. This could create some slick spots on the Wednesday morning commute. Temperatures will probably fall a bit below the freezing mark.
Copyright 2026 WOWT. All rights reserved.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — UPDATE: Grand Island Police said around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday that the shelter in place order has been lifted .
GIPD said the item was retrieved by the Nebraska State Patrol Bomb Squad, who is investigating.
The area has also now been reopened.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The Grand Island Police Department has cordoned off a local block and is urging residents to shelter in place.
According to GIPD, officers responded to the 4300 block of Sherwood Road just before 2:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. A resident reported finding a suspicious cylindrical object wrapped in duct tape inside a home.
The Nebraska State Patrol Bomb Squad has been called to the scene to investigate the device.
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We will provide more information as it becomes available.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts has announced the winners of the 29th annual Nebraska Young Artist Awards.
The awards recognize 11th-grade students from Nebraska for their talents in visual art, dance, music, theatre, and film and emerging media arts.
Sixty-eight students from more than 40 high schools across the state have been selected as award winners and will be invited to a day of activities on campus March 25.
“Our faculty always look forward to this event,” said Chris Watson, director of recruitment for the college and coordinator of the awards. “They love meeting enthusiastic young artists, working with them and celebrating their talent.”
Students applied for the recognition and submitted an example of their work. Applications were received from 92 students. Hixson-Lied College faculty chose the winners.
Award winners were also asked to nominate the teacher who provided them with the greatest amount of mentoring and support in the development of their special talents.
Each student will receive a certificate and an original piece of artwork commissioned for the event and created by a School of Art, Art History and Design student.
Following is a list of award winners by hometown, with their high school and specialty area(s).
Aurora:
- Calvin Miller, Aurora, music
Beaver City:
- Johnathan Eakin, Southern Valley, visual arts
Bellevue:
- Mami Lloyd, Bellevue West, music
Bennington:
- Liliana Martic, Bennington, music
Eagle:
- Jorie Goings, Waverly, dance
Firth:
- Petra Van Cleave, home school, music
Fremont:
- Xavier Herre, Bergan Catholic, theatre
Fullerton:
- Lylla Sabata, Fullerton, music
Gretna:
- Lillian Bock, Gretna, music
Harvard:
- Allee Jarzynka, Harvard, music
Hendley:
- Lily Jordan, Southern Valley, visual arts
Hooper:
- Leo Arellano, Logan View, visual arts
- Ellsie Meier, Logan View, visual arts
Kearney:
- Kruz Flamig, Kearney, visual arts
- Isaac Hooton, Kearney, visual arts
- Mariah Kaslon, Kearney, visual arts
- Landen Tilley, Kearney, visual arts
Lincoln:
- Alissa Brenning, Norris, dance
- Kali Brewer, Lincoln Southeast, visual arts
- Ava Engel, Lincoln Northeast, dance
- Emalie Fischer, Lincoln North Star, dance
- Adelyn Haden, Lincoln Standing Bear, dance and music
- Audrey Haugen, Lincoln Southwest, theatre
- Andrea Hu, Lincoln East, music
- Logan Lambrecht, Lincoln Southwest, music and theatre
- Mckinzey Lile, Lincoln North Star, dance
- Hayley Marshall, Lincoln Southwest, dance
- Riley Minster, Lincoln East, music
- Joslyn Morgan, Lincoln Southeast, music
- Ariadne Ottoson, home school, music
- Megan Plander, Lincoln Lutheran, theatre
- Lauren Ramey, LPS Arts and Humanities Focus Program, visual arts
- Blake Semrad, Lincoln Southwest, dance
- Emma Shaeffer, Lincoln Southwest, dance
- Taylor Sharpe, Lincoln Southwest, dance
- Hugh Skretta, Lincoln High, music
- Samuel Sulzle, Lincoln Northwest, music
- Brooks Xia, Lincoln East, music
Martell:
- Reese Thomas, home school, music
Norfolk:
- Noah Asbury, Norfolk, music
- Emily Henkel, Norfolk, music; Nathan Kaiser, Norfolk, music
- North Platte: Brett Pfeifer, North Platte, theatre
Omaha:
- Asher Abuhl, Trinity Classical Academy, music
- Adam Campagna, Omaha South, film and emerging media arts
- Liam Cowherd Richardson, Creighton Preparatory, music
- Regina Ho, Millard South, film and emerging media arts
- Connor Holmstedt, Fort Calhoun, music
- Kara Leininger, Duchesne Academy, music
- Jayden Li, Millard North, music; Violet Little, Omaha Central, dance
- Mrethi Magesh, Millard North, dance
- Venkatesan Marichamy, Millard North, dance
- Moyra Matthews, Duchesne Academy, dance and music
- Jackson Mu, Millard North, music
- Gauri Nair, Millard North, dance
- Angela Qi, Millard North, music
- Jackson Ramsey, Gretna East, music
- Tara Richardson, Creighton Prep, music
- Vandana Santhanam, Marian, music
- Caroline Soderlin, Millard North, music
- Akshara Venkatesan, Millard North, dance
- Caleigh Walkenhorst, Millard West, music
Osmond:
- Donovan Heiman, Osmond, theatre
Papillion:
- Emelia Weaver, Papillion-La Vista, music
Pierce:
- Spencer Sindt, Pierce, music
Randolph:
- Brecken Shearer, Randolph, visual arts
York:
- Allison Holmes, York, visual arts
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