Kassidy Arena

2 weeks ago | nebraskapublicmedia.org | Kassidy Arena

A Democratic candidate has announced a campaign to run for Nebraska’s second congressional district, a position currently held by Republican Don Bacon. Denise Powell of Omaha is seeking to flip the traditionally purple district, where Bacon has served since 2017. Previous elections showed a tight race between Bacon and his Democratic opponent, with the last election against Democrat Tony Vargas, Bacon won with 50.9% of votes in the three-county district.

2 weeks ago | nebraskapublicmedia.org | Kassidy Arena

For the first time in 100 years, the Omaha Community Playhouse will have an all-Hispanic cast. The play, American Mariachi, starts on Friday and continues for a month through June 1. Alex Rodriguez, the playhouse’s co-artistic director and the stage and vocal director for American Mariachi, said this play helps to open up theater arts to more members of the Omaha community. “Hopefully other theaters in town and ourselves, here go, ‘Oh, we can do this work, and it shouldn't just be this play.

2 weeks ago | nebraskapublicmedia.org | Kassidy Arena

Sen. Pete Ricketts met with leaders in both the Philippines and Taiwan and discussed how to push back against China’s economic power. One way proposed was expanding trade with the U.S.Ricketts said Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim has expressed interest in buying more of Nebraska’s soybeans instead of purchasing them from Brazil. “Frankly, Taiwan does buy a lot from us already. We'd like to sell them more,” Ricketts said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday.

2 weeks ago | nebraskapublicmedia.org | Kassidy Arena

The barrier continues due to the sometimes invisible nature of post COVID. Robinson said she is lucky to have found a supportive community online, but she said there is still a spin on her and her friends’ diagnoses. “People don't believe that this is real. They say, ‘Oh, it's just a cold. It's just a flu,’” she said.

3 weeks ago | nebraskapublicmedia.org | Kassidy Arena

That’s one reason why state lawmakers and immigrant advocates have been working on a bill that would allow them to receive that benefit. LB299, which would have allowed work-authorized immigrants to receive unemployment benefits, had been introduced before. But this year, it got farther than ever. It was passed out of committee, with one present not voting, and was headed for floor debate. That is until co-sponsor of the bill, Sen. Margo Juarez, was pulled off the rotunda one day.