Nebraska
State racing and gaming commission decides market study is incomplete, needs additional info
LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) -The state agency that governs whether Nebraska needs more racetrack/casinos decided Friday that it needs more information before it can make that decision.
The move delivered a blow to several cities across the state — a list that now includes Fremont — that are seeking to join the state’s six existing racetracks in offering casino gaming in their communities.
The decision by the State Racing and Gaming Commission also served to delay consideration of moving a racing license from a quarterhorse track in Hastings to a proposed new track/casino in Ogallala, which would be the state’s first casino west of Grand Island.
Currently, only the existing, licensed racetracks in Lincoln, Grand Island, Omaha, Columbus, South Sioux City and Hastings are allowed to have casinos, under the 2020 vote by Nebraskans to allow casinos.
But the Nebraska Legislature passed a bill that allows additional locations to be considered once the Racing and Gaming Commission completes a market/economic study to determine whether additional “racinos” (a racetrack with a casino) could be allowed in the state without harming the existing operations.
A $48,000 study
On Friday, commission members voiced doubts that a $48,000 market study, completed last month by New Orleans-based gaming consultants The Innovation Group, met the requirements of the study as required by the Legislature.
That led to 7-0 passage of a motion to require a committee to review the legislative requirements and then decide whether the current study should be supplemented, or if a brand-new study should be done.
“I’m not sure there’s enough data (in the current study) to allow the commission to make a good judgment on any expansion of current racetracks beyond our current facilities,” said Dennis Lee, an Omaha attorney and the chairman of the seven-member commission.
Representatives of Warhorse Gaming, the Lincoln racino, and the Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, called for the Innovation Group study to be “thrown out” and a request for proposal be conducted to contract for a new study.
Tom Zitt with The Innovation Group told the commission that because Nebraska has such limited racing days, it was not possible to completely access the impact of additional racinos on the existing racetrack/casinos.
But racetrack officials faulted The Innovation Group for never calling or visiting the state’s racetracks to seek data they needed for the study.
Commissioner Jeff Galyen, however, said that his motion left it open for a committee to determine whether a new study or is needed, or just an addition to the existing study.
Zitt said his firm would be willing to expand its report if it could get information about the expected increases in racing days and purses, data that would help the firm project the impact on racing.
Lake Mac Casino tabled
Brian Jorde, an Omaha attorney representing the proposed “Lake Mac Casino Resort and Racetrack” in Ogallala, asked the Commission to approve the move of the racing license to Ogallala from Hastings.
He argued that the state statute directing the market study required the “initial issuance” of such a report, which has already happened. Jorde said the move could be approved now.
The attorney added that any market study will show that moving the racetrack 200 miles west to Ogallala is a benefit, and not a detriment, to the existing racetracks/casinos in the state.
Galyen, who is also an attorney, disagreed, saying the commission must wait for the market study to be updated or redone before it can approve a move or a new racino license.
The commission then tabled the request about the Ogallala move.
Fremont also wants a casino
Representatives of a group seeking a racino in Fremont also addressed the Racing and Gaming Commission on Friday. Fremont now joins Bellevue, Norfolk, North Platte, Kimball and York in expressing a desire to open a casino.
David Bracht, an Omaha attorney for the Fremont group, said that the city is well positioned to host a racino and that it would have a positive impact on the community.
The commission took no action after the Fremont presentation, determining that it could not rule on any new racinos until the market study is updated or redone.
Executive director to retire
A request by Tom Sage, the executive director of the State Racing and Gaming Commission, to retire on March 12 was approved at Friday’s meeting.
Sage, who has been with the commission for two decades, has been on a leave of absence for health reasons in recent days.
His leave began after questions arose about a recent $30,000 purchase of semi-automatic rifles for casino security. There were also concerns about whether a legislatively required market study was adequately completed.
Before approving Sage’s retirement, commissioners and an official with the racing industry praised the hard work Sage has done to transform the agency from only governing horse racing, to also regulating casinos.
The commission has ramped up from two full-time employees to 25 since the state’s first casino opened in 2022.
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.
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Nebraska football’s big weekend of official visits turned one edge rusher from a rival into a Cornhusker.
Ma’atoe Moe, a 6-3, 240-pound edge rusher from Utah, announced his commitment to Nebraska football on Sunday. Moe flipped his original verbal commitment from Minnesota after his official visit weekend in Lincoln, along with several other high-profile recruits. Moe becomes the fifth commit of the visit cycle, joining cornerback Bryce Williams, tight end Joey Hunter, linebacker Eli Harris, and defensive lineman Errol Demontagnac as commits for the Huskers over the weekend.
The pass rusher had been verbally committed to Minnesota since last Sunday during an official visit to the Golden Gophers in the final weekend of May, but took down his initial social media post later that same day. Moe confirmed to Rivals on Wednesday he was committed to Minnesota, but changed his status following the visit to Lincoln.
COMMITTED! to THE University of Nebraska! #AGTG #GBR #BLKSHRTS❤️🖤 pic.twitter.com/NvjchUf9YR
— Ma’atoe Moe (@maatoe_moe0) June 7, 2026
“When in doubt, wear Red,” Moe reposted to his social media pages Sunday morning.
Nebraska had originally offered on May 5, becoming the latest of several Division I offers for the pass rusher since the spring. The Huskers earned Moe’s commitment over other offers from Utah Tech, BYU, Boise State, Washington State, UNLV, Utah State, Colorado State, and San Diego State.
Moe has transferred to Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, for his junior season in 2025, but was held out for five contests due to transfer eligibility rules in the state. The three-star prospect recorded 17 tackles, one sack, and 10 quarterback hurries in six games.
Moe is rated as a top-100 edge rusher prospect in the country and the No. 15 rated prospect in Utah, earning an 86 overall rating from 247Sports. Moe becomes the 10th three-star prospect to commit to Nebraska and bumps the Huskers’ 247Sports recruiting ranking to No. 17 in the country. Nebraska still trails fellow Big Ten programs Penn State (No. 7), UCLA (No. 8), USC (No. 10), Ohio State (No. 11), Oregon (No. 12), Minnesota (No. 13), Michigan (No. 14), and Washington (No. 16).
Nebraska continues to add commits from its new coaching staff additions, as Moe becomes another addition for assistant coaches Roy Manning and Corey Brown, as well as defensive coordinator Rob Aurich. Moe’s commitment becomes the third defensive line or edge rusher commitment of Nebraska’s 2027 Class, as St. Frances Academy’s Jayden Travers committed back in Dec. 2025, joining Moe and Demontagnac’s verbal commitments this weekend.
Moe fits a critical need for Nebraska as well, with the Huskers rostering nine current edge rushers for the 2026 season. Nebraska will graduate two at season’s end in Cameron Lendhart and UCLA transfer Anthony Jones Jr. The Huskers have five sophomores and two juniors on this year’s roster, including converted tight end Mac Markway, who will be playing as an edge rusher for the first time in his college football tenure.
Since the 2026 cycle began, Nebraska’s defensive priorities have adjusted under new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich. Moe’s flip marks the 10th defensive commit or signee for the Huskers, including four-star safety Corey Hadley Jr. and Omaha athlete Tory Pittman. The 2026 cycle wrapped with high-profile additions of defensive lineman Dylan Berymon, cornerback Danny Odem, and three-star Elkhorn North grad Jase Reynolds.
After limiting the program’s signees for the 2026 class to only 12 commits, Nebraska has surpassed last year’s total with the official visit haul from this weekend. The Huskers are now up to 16 hard commits, as several more high-profile targets could still be up for grabs.
Nebraska football was able to bring LSU commit and five-star tight end target Ahmad Hudson on an official visit this weekend as well, marking Hudson’s fourth visit to Lincoln overall. The Louisiana product is also a dominant force on the hardwood, as Hudson had been in Lincoln to visit Fred Hoiberg and Nebraska basketball as a potential addition to play two sports for the Huskers.
Hudson would tell Rivals on Sunday that Nebraska is “close” and added that the program would “change the whole offense for me.” Hudson has created a new budding relationship with now in-state Nebraska commits Trae Taylor and Tay Ellis, as the Millard South pair connected with the five-star prospect since the ‘Battle at the Boneyard’ event last summer.
“I don’t talk to a lot of quarterbacks. I’m more of a receiver guy,” Hudson told 247Sports last summer. “So the fact that we just clicked instantly that could possibly mean that if I do come here, we could possibly just click just like that. It wouldn’t be we have to go out and throw every day. Just click. So being able to click with him like that helps with my recruitment.”
If Nebraska paired Moe’s flip with a Hudson commitment, the weekend could go down as one of coach Matt Rhule’s and the Huskers’ most important – and successful – recruiting weekends in the program’s history.
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Nebraska
Nebraska DHHS reviewing federal rule on Medicaid work requirements, declines call to ‘press pause’
LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) -Nebraska became the first state to implement new federally mandated work requirements for Medicaid recipients in May, and the federal government this week released a first look at what all states would need to follow by Jan. 1.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its interim final rule on the work requirements Monday for public review. Local nonprofit Nebraska Appleseed blasted the proposal as more onerous than Nebraska’s requirements, implemented eight months early, and which the advocacy organization argues could lead to more hurdles down the line.
Broadly, the federal requirements mandate that certain adults receiving Medicaid who are between the ages of 19 and 64 will need to work, volunteer or attend school for at least 80 hours per month, earn at least $580 a month or qualify for an exemption.
Among those who are exempt are people who are pregnant, have a disability, are a parent or caretaker of a young child, or veterans with a total disability rating.
Collin Spilinek, a spokesperson for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said the agency is reviewing the new guidance “to determine what changes, if any, will be necessary to make.”
The state agency has said roughly 25,000 of the 72,000 adult Nebraskans enrolled through Medicaid expansion will eventually be subject to the updated work requirements to keep or get Medicaid coverage at their renewal period.
The federal proposal includes a new hurdle on top of Nebraska’s requirements, Appleseed argues, that “directly targets” people with disabilities, mental conditions or medical needs, such as cancer or HIV, by requiring Medicaid recipients who have serious medical needs or disabilities to “prove” a condition makes them unable to work to qualify for an exemption.
“This federal rule adds major and punitive new restrictions that will directly hurt Nebraskans, especially those with serious medical needs and disabilities,” said Sarah Maresh, Appleseed’s health care access program director, in a statement.
Maresh said Nebraskans were already “confused, scared and at risk of unnecessarily and inappropriately losing” health care because Gov. Jim Pillen decided to act early.
Collin Spilinek, a spokesperson for Nebraska’s DHHS, said the agency has been able to “successfully manage” the new workload of implementing the requirements with “no issues.”
“Staff members have the foundational expertise to absorb the new requirements without expanding headcount and have received targeted training specific to the work requirements, including new policy content, system workflows and verification standards,” Spilinek said this week.
Maresh and Appleseed urged DHHS to “press pause” and join the rest of the nation in implementing requirements by January 2027. Spilinek said there are “no plans” to do so.
“People’s lives are on the line,” Maresh said.
In April, days before Nebraska moved ahead with the work requirements, Drew Gonshorowski, director of the state’s Division of Medicaid and Long-Term Care, told KETV the changes are meant to promote workforce and curb Medicaid misuse.
“Our commitment here is to ensure that our members receive coverage long term,” Gonshorowsk told KETV at the time. “And we will work with our providers to ensure sustainability of our systems.”
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com.
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Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.
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