Labor & Growth
Nebraska minimum wage will increase next year by 29 cents less than voters called for
LINCOLN — Legislative changes this year to annual bumps in Nebraska’s minimum wage mean workers’ increase next year will be 29 cents less than what voters approved in 2022. New data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released this month indicates a 3.6% annual rise in the Consumer Price Index for goods and services […]
Top 16 named in 2026 search for Nebraska’s ‘coolest’ manufacturing product
LINCOLN — The top 16 products have been revealed for the 2026 “Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska” competition — ranging from license plates to popcorn and what is billed as the world’s first miniaturized robotic-assisted surgery system. “Nebraska makes some incredible products and the people who make them deserve to be celebrated,” said Joseph Young, […]
Lawmakers divided on influence of newest Nebraska Economic Forecasting Board Pillen appointees
LINCOLN — As criticism clouds Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s latest appointments to a state advisory board predicting state tax revenues, lawmakers are divided on what influence the most well-known of those newest board members will have. The nine-member Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board will meet Oct. 30 and project whether Nebraska faces a budget shortfall […]
Staffers at Nebraska economic development agency express low confidence in its leaders
LINCOLN — In a survey of Nebraska Economic Development staff, roughly half of the current workers heavily criticized the department’s leadership, claiming management cares more about budget cuts and downsizing than taking care of their employees. “Some days I feel like I could write a 10-page paper on all the ways the agency/organization lack the […]
Omaha mayor breaks into song, crowd cheers state-aided North Omaha market
OMAHA — A jingle created and sung by Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr. especially for the occasion kicked off a groundbreaking Saturday for a grocery store described as key to restoring dignity and economic vitality to one of Nebraska’s most distressed areas. The full-service grocery in North Omaha — to be run as a social […]
Visit Nebraska leader touts tourism impact, Buffalo County growth
LINCOLN — Nebraska’s Buffalo County, buoyed by development in Kearney, stood out as a growing state tourism magnet during an event Friday spotlighting the economic impact of travel to the Cornhusker state. Of Nebraska’s five most populated counties, Buffalo reportedly outpaced peers with its 7% growth in direct travel spending in 2025 compared with 2024. Only […]
Census data shows US poverty rate drops to lowest on record, but experts are cautious
The official poverty rate in the United States dipped slightly by half a percentage point last year to a historic low of 10.2%, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday. The supplemental poverty rate, a more holistic figure that includes an individual’s non-cash resources, remained essentially unchanged at 13.1%, according to the bureau’s annual […]
Nebraska’s $200M social media settlement will be paid over 10 years
Nebraska could receive more than $200 million from the recent multistate settlement with Facebook’s parent company, Meta. But those payments will stretch over 10 years, so they won’t plug the hole in the state’s current budget. The state is projected to finish the current fiscal year more than $208 million short of its required 3% […]
Pillen faces blowback on Nebraska immigration stance, releases ‘Pillen Playbook 2.0’ platform
LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is facing pushback from the challengers to his reelection bid over his immigration stance as a new Flatwater Free Press investigation states his family ag operation has long hired undocumented laborers. The Flatwater report, released Wednesday in partnership with The New York Times, states Pillen’s hog business has employed migrant […]
Nebraska state employees union enters negotiation phase for next two-year contract
LINCOLN — On the eve of new negotiations beginning for their next two-year contract, members of the largest union representing Nebraska state employees gathered near the state Capitol to share what terms they’re seeking. The Nebraska Association of Public Employees, known to many as NAPE/AFSCME, will begin contract negotiations Wednesday with state officials to set […]
At least 61 employees left Nebraska Department of Economic Development within 15 months
LINCOLN — After 26 years working in Nebraska’s Department of Economic Development, former director of field operations Sheryl Hiatt said she didn’t want to retire, but she felt she had no other option. According to Hiatt, changes made within the department — most of which came after Gov. Jim Pillen’s appointment of Maureen Larsen as […]
Developers eye Native nations, tribal communities for new data center projects
Officials in Page, Arizona, a small city near the Glen Canyon Dam, passed a land sale agreement last fall that establishes a framework for future construction of a data center. The sale of the 500-acre parcel about a mile away from the Colorado River’s Horseshoe Bend — one of the most visited natural landmarks in the Glen Canyon […]
