Imagine yourself in a blizzard so thick and cold and blinding that you could not see your hands right in front of you. Such blizzards were common 150 years ago on the upper great plains. Without much for houses and trees, the wind blew the snow with such force that the little ice crystals were more like little knives making it hard to keep one’s eyes open even if there was something to see. Thus, to get safely from the house to the barn, farmers often hung a rope between the two, to not get lost. It was literally a lifeline. Otherwise, one wrong turn and perhaps nothing would stop you from wandering across the frozen prairie.

Nebraskans continue to tell me their top priority is relief from local government property taxes. Since taking office, addressing this issue has been my number one priority. This budget cycle—thanks to the support of farmers, ranchers, homeowners, and small businesses—we will deliver historic amounts of property tax relief.

The withdrawal from Afghanistan is the biggest U.S. foreign policy blunder in decades. We left hundreds of American citizens and thousands of our Afghan allies at the mercy of the Taliban, the same group that gave safe haven to al Qaeda as it planned the 9/11 attacks. A suicide bombing at the Kabul airport killed 13 American servicemembers, including a Nebraskan, Marine Corporal Daegan Page, making it the deadliest day in Afghanistan for the United States since 2011.

Alcoholism, and addiction overall, isn't a character flaw, or a weakness of self-control. It's a disease. And, if you are like most of us, you've probably been affected by it. Maybe you struggle with alcohol consumption yourself or have a friend or family member who does. I rarely talk with anyone who doesn't have a personal story about how addiction has affected their life.

October is Manufacturing Month here in Nebraska. It is a great opportunity to celebrate the innovators and makers creating jobs across the Cornhusker State. Our state has a rich tradition of inventing and manufacturing premium products. Over the years, the imaginations of Nebraskans gave birth to ski lifts, center pivots, vise grip pliers, Kool-Aid, and Dorothy Lynch salad dressing. Today, companies in our state manufacture everything from subway cars, to combines, to the syringes used to deliver coronavirus vaccines.

Last week was a long and interesting week at the capitol. In my last article, I talked about the redistricting maps in LB 3 and LB 4 and of course things have changed in the legislature since then. As I write this article, I am relatively confident that the final legislative map wi11 be very similar to the map we passed last Thursday.

“The people you love the most are the ones who hold the power to hurt you so completely.” That’s not my line. It belongs to an author named Cheryl McIntyre from a book I haven’t read and probably never will, but it has resonated with me lately as I can see myself in the role of both the contributor and the recipient. Such are the perils of the modern family.

We’ve come a long way over the last year. Nebraska has managed the coronavirus pandemic without lockdowns, without statewide mandates, and without vaccine passports. We have the third lowest fatality rate from COVID-19 in the country. And we’ve fully vaccinated 87.5% of our 65+ population.

What I remember most is the silence. She was 19 years old, just starting her first semester of college.

Agricultural technology has come a long way since farmers used oxen and horse-drawn plows to break the prairie sod. Huge advancements are being made each year in ag tech, and Nebraska’s companies and universities are leading the way. The technologies they’re developing run the gamut from pioneering livestock management techniques, to innovations in the way crops are grown, to advancements in equipment.