Nebraska

Debate over the GOP-backed “Let Them Grow Act” roiled Nebraska’s usually cordial unicameral legislature. With battle lines drawn for and against gender-affirming care, the PAC aims to use its national platform to support state-level candidates who will support their mission.

A state program is meant to help Nebraskans who have been raped, abused, assaulted, or family members reeling from the death of a loved one. It’s helping very few of them, a Flatwater Free Press analysis shows.

Rural areas are losing grocery stores to consolidation faster than their urban counterparts — but some communities have come up with innovative solutions.

Accurate weather information is important for farmers, emergency responders and researchers managing extreme conditions. But many monitoring networks are limited by unstable, patchwork funding.

A Nebraska regulator is asking a news organization to pay thousands of dollars for the to compile a public records request.

Last October, wildfire sparked by an ATV consumed roughly a quarter of this living landmark in the heart of the Nebraska Sandhills. But in a man-made forest, officials say, there’s no roadmap for recovery.

Legislation and programs in states like Nebraska are paving the way to welcome large livestock operations by limiting local control over the facilities. Some rural residents worry about the potential pollution and decreased quality of life that will bring.

High prices for products like eggs and grain are expected to lead to a record windfall for farmers this year, overcoming drought, bird flu and costly inputs. But the profit margin is thinner for small producers and those hit hard by dry conditions.

There are few staff to monitor Nebraska’s vast swaths of farmland, thousands of cattle feedlots, large hog operations and chicken farms. And the agencies’ own regulations don’t give the staff many tools to combat malpractice.

Think of this year’s drought as a sort of dress rehearsal to consider the drier, hotter future that scientists predict climate change has in store. Long-lasting droughts could alter the way we live.