Nebraska

Once-controversial Summer EBT food program for low-income NE kids set for rollout • Nebraska Examiner

Published

2 years ago

May 6, 2024

Once-controversial Summer EBT food program for low-income NE kids set for rollout • Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — Nebraska’s plan to carry out the once-controversial Summer EBT food program for low-income youths has been given the green light from the federal government.

(Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the state’s planned rollout of the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program, which include details such as “touchpoints” that local officials designed to improve outreach, according to a media release Monday from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

So-called touchpoints include providing Nebraska parents with information on types of nutritious foods to buy and follow-up surveys to identify additional needs or concerns.

175,000 students

State officials expect the Summer EBT program to serve about 175,000 students, or 80,000 households that meet certain criteria, including an income that makes them eligible for free or reduced-price lunch during the school year.

That count is up from an earlier estimate of about 150,000 children anticipated to benefit at a state cost of about $400,000 per year to administer the federally-funded program.

Each qualified child is to receive a card loaded with a total of $120 in grocery-buying benefits. The program is designed to allow access to nutritious food during summer months when school is out.

Modeled after pilot projects and a nationwide pandemic-era initiative that ended, Congress authorized the more permanent summer program through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.

State Sen. Jen Day of Gretna during the past legislative session introduced Legislative Bill 952, which stalled but had been prioritized by Sen. Ray Aguilar of Grand Island to push the state to implement the federal program.

Gov. Jim Pillen had balked at opting in, describing the program as a leftover from the pandemic that had ended.

Child Nutrition protest — Paul Feilmann, an anti-poverty activist from Omaha, holds a vigil outside the Nebraska Governor’s Residence. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)

He later added that he didn’t believe in “welfare,” which brought more criticism because the governor, a hog producer and co-owner of a pork processing plant, has accepted federal assistance.

Already, Pillen had been flooded by pleas from food banks, advocates of the poor and protesters.

Ultimately the governor reversed his stand, attributing the change of heart to a visit with Aguilar, a Republican, and discussions he had with students at Boys Town and during a youth legislative day.

Big step

Day, who had led a letter-writing effort supported by 15 state lawmakers, said Monday that although Nebraska was one of the last states to opt in to the new summer program, it was the fourth in the nation to have its plan approved.

“I’m glad that we’ll be able to feed 175,000 Nebraska kids this summer and relieve some of the economic stress that many families are feeling right now,” Day said.

She praised the work of the DHHS and Department of Education in crafting the plan.

“These programs are crucial for making sure that kids in our state receive nutritious meals during the months they are not in school,” DHHS CEO Steve Corsi said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for the USDA said the agency is pleased Nebraska chose to participate.

State Sen. Jen Day of Gretna. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

“We are impressed that the state’s plan includes a range of services to reach kids and also robust outreach to the community,” said Cheryl Kennedy, regional administrator for the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. “This will be a great benefit to the children of Nebraska.”

Eric Savaiano, food and access manager for Nebraska Appleseed, a nonprofit that fought early on for participation in the program, said federal approval of Nebraska’s plan is a big step. Now, he said, there is contact information and other detail available for families.

“This puts details behind the program that means it is actually going to happen,” Savaiano said.

In addition to the Summer EBT program, the State Department of Education said it also is administering the Summer Food Service Program, which provides no-cost meals to kids from age 1 to 18 at about 300 sites across Nebraska.

No applications or paperwork are required to receive meals from approved Summer Food Service Program sites, most of which begin providing meals the first week of June.

Summer EBT eligibility

School-age, income-qualified youths are eligible for Summer EBT cards.

According to DHHS, kids already approved for free and reduced-priced school lunches, or who participate in state-administered public assistance, should receive their cards by mail and don’t have to formally apply.

If in doubt, or for more information on eligibility and application, the state offers a website for the Summer EBT program and the Summer Food Service Program: https://dhhs.ne.gov/SummerEBT.

Once a Summer EBT card is received and activated, it can be used like any other EBT card.

Cards are accepted at approved SNAP retailers, supermarkets and grocery stores. For a list, visit https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/retailer-locator

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Nebraska

Nebraska Football Offers In-State Legacy Offensive Lineman

Published

1 hour 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

14 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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