With the election mostly settled, attention is shifting to pressure on health care and manufacturing jobs. Hospitals are pressing Congress on Medicaid, a Pawnee City plant is cutting 93 jobs, and the state is launching a new reskilling effort.
Nebraska hospitals ask Congress to roll back Medicaid cuts
The Nebraska Hospital Association says federal cuts threaten access to care, especially in rural areas
The Nebraska Hospital Association called Thursday on federal lawmakers to revisit the July 2025 tax and spending law, which cut federal Medicaid funding by nearly $1 trillion over 10 years. CEO Jeremy Nordquist said the new Congress has an opportunity to reexamine the cuts, and the group named the state's roughly $1 billion-a-year directed payment program as its top priority to protect.
Why it matters: The state Department of Health and Human Services has also proposed reducing optional Medicaid services and provider rates. That puts hospitals between possible federal and state cuts heading into the 2027 session.
Read the full story: Nebraska Public Media
Alphia to lay off 93 workers at its Pawnee City pet food plant
The company is consolidating production at its plant in Bern, Kansas
Alphia told the Nebraska Department of Labor that 93 workers at its Pawnee City plant will lose their jobs, with layoffs beginning Feb. 1. The site will become a warehouse and distribution operation, and some workers can transfer to Bern. Pawnee City has about 850 residents, and Nebraska has lost 4,600 manufacturing jobs over the past 12 months.
Why it matters: The layoff adds to a string of Nebraska manufacturing cuts since the Tyson closure in Lexington. The Labor Department's list shows about 1,000 more lost jobs at other plants since then.
Read the full story: Nebraska Public Media
Labor Department launches $4.2 million reskilling initiative for laid-off workers
The program will build on the agency's Rapid Response services after mass layoffs
The Nebraska Department of Labor announced the Nebraska Rapid Reskilling and Reemployment Initiative, funded by a $4.2 million U.S. Department of Labor grant. It will offer individualized training and job matching for workers hit by large layoffs and is expected to begin operating in early 2027. Commissioner Katie Thurber said the Tyson closure in Lexington prompted the agency to review its layoff response.
Why it matters: The initiative gives the state a new tool for responding to plant closures. Thurber said its goal is to keep skilled workers in Nebraska instead of having them leave for other states.
Read the full story: Nebraska Public Media
State CIO Matthew McCarville resigns from Pillen's cabinet
Administrative Services Director Lee Will will lead the technology office in the interim
Nebraska Chief Information Officer Matthew McCarville, who had served since 2024, has resigned, the governor's office announced the day after the election. Pillen's statement gave no reason. McCarville wrote that his team modernized decades-old systems, reduced reliance on contractors and expanded statewide cybersecurity, and said he will soon share where he is going next.
Why it matters: The CIO's office oversees state technology systems and cybersecurity. The vacancy opens as Pillen prepares for a second term, and the state says details on filling it will come later.
Read the full story: Nebraska Examiner
University of Nebraska sets systemwide AI rules for faculty and staff
An executive memorandum limits how university data can be used in AI tools
NU President Jeffrey Gold issued an executive memorandum that bars using institutional and research data in personal AI subscriptions or in tools that claim ownership of that data or use it to train models. The university now has an enterprise ChatGPT license, and Gold asked employees to move to it by the end of 2026. A new NU AI Governance Group will oversee the rules.
Why it matters: The policy sets expectations for how Nebraska's largest public university system protects research data and intellectual property. Faculty still decide whether to use AI in their courses.
Read the full story: Nebraska Public Media
Cost of keeping a beef cow rises nearly 10%
A UNL Extension report puts the annual net cost at $1,616 per cow in 2026
The annual net cost of keeping one beef cow rose from $1,474 in 2025 to $1,616 in 2026, according to a UNL Extension report by educator Aaron Berger, and it is up about 25% since 2023. Feed costs rose the most, about $75 per head, along with fuel, equipment, interest rates and land.
Why it matters: Berger said the capital now required to borrow and service debt creates real barriers for Nebraska producers trying to start a cattle operation or expand an existing herd.
Read the full story: Nebraska Public Media
Around Nebraska
- County results show just six counties, all bordering Iowa, backed online sports betting Initiative 440, while about 54% of voters statewide said no.
- All 48 judges on the ballot were leading their retention votes, extending a streak in which no Nebraska judge has been removed by voters since 2008.
- Rep.-elect Denise Powell, who won the 2nd District by 15 points, said she would focus on affordability, health care, groceries and gas prices.
- Lincoln voters favored the city's plan to end off-year elections after 2029 and a two-term limit for City Council members, pending about 9,000 uncounted Lancaster County ballots.
Watch Next
- Nov. 6: Douglas County election workers count more than 6,000 early ballots, part of nearly 16,000 left to process by Nov. 16.
- Nov. 6: Lancaster County counts about 6,000 remaining early ballots, and its 3,000 provisional ballots are processed Nov. 13.
- Nov. 6: The State Board of Education holds a business meeting at 9 a.m. in Lincoln.
- Nov. 6: The Legislature's Urban Affairs Committee holds an interim hearing on LR415.
- Nov. 9: Applications close for the first cohort of the Nebraska Rural Health Technology Catalyst Fund.
- Nov. 10: The Omaha City Council is scheduled to vote on the delayed plumbing code changes.
- Nov. 18: Gov. Pillen's executive order easing fuel-hauling rules expires.
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