WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R45997) on July 31, 2025, entitled "Federal Regional Commissions and Authorities - Structural Features and Function:" (Continued from Part 3 of 5) * * * Northern Great Plains Regional Authority The Northern Great Plains Regional Authority (NGPRA) was created by the 2002 farm bill./163 The NGPRA was created to address economic distress in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri (other than counties included   more

WASHINGTON, July 31 -- Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release: * * * Fischer Advances $18 Million for Nebraska Health Care Improvements, Modernization * Funds to construct training facility for air transport of infectious disease patients, replace hospital water heating systems, upgrade operating room equipment Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced she advanced $18 million in funding to support improvem  more

WASHINGTON, July 31 -- Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release: * * * Fischer Advances Over $200 Million for National and Nebraska-Based Defense Programs * Funding for U.S. Strategic Command, 55th Wing, 557th Weather Wing - located at Offutt Air Force Base Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced she advanced over $200 million for key national and Nebraska-based defense programs, including U.S. Strategic Co  more

WASHINGTON, July 29 -- Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release: * * * Fischer Joins "Mornings with Maria" to Discuss Ending Russian Aggression, Senate Appropriations Bills * " I think the President was very plain in his comments. We're running out of patience with Putin--he is the aggressor here." Click the image above to watch a video of Senator Fischer's remarks Click here to download audio Click here to download video WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Deb F  more

WASHINGTON, July 29 -- Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release: * * * Fischer Statement on Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern Merger * Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, issued the following statement after Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced their merger agreement: "Headquartered in Omaha and employing over 5,000 Nebraskans, Union Pacific plays a crucial role in our state's economy. This merger not only has  more

WASHINGTON, July 31 -- Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release: * * * Fischer, Cortez Masto Introduce MAP for Broadband Funding Act * Provides fresh oversight over FCC's Broadband Funding Map, originally created by Fischer, Cortez Masto Today, U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced the Modernization, Accountability, and Planning (MAP) for Broadband Funding Act, to provide oversight of the Federal Communication Commission's   more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release: * * * Fischer: USF Working Group Comment Portal Officially Open * Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer announced that the Universal Service Fund (USF) Working Group request for comment portal is officially open on her website. The comment portal will allow for the submission of updated comments regarding the outlook of the USF. "As a co-chair of the Universal Service Fund Working Group, I'm committed to worki  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Nebraska, issued the following column: * * * Honoring Third District Legacies * While Nebraska's Third has existed since our state was first divided into congressional districts following the 1880 census, it first began to resemble its current shape after the 1960 census, when Nebraska moved from four districts to three for the first time. A total of 21 Nebraskans have represented the Third District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1883, a  more

WASHINGTON, July 29 (TNSFR) -- The Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, is preparing to repatriate the human remains of at least six individuals and 413 associated funerary objects to the Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming, following the completion of an inventory and determination of cultural affiliation. The human remains and objects were found at various sites primarily during construction or roadwork projects in Kansas including Decatur and Phillips Counties.   more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, issued the following news release: * * * Merkley, Curtis, Kaine, Ricketts Announce Bipartisan Bill to Support Taiwan's Diplomatic Partners in Latin America and Caribbean * Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Utah's U.S. Senator John Curtis, Virginia's U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, and Nebraska's U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts today introduced bipartisan legislation to support Taiwan and its diplomatic partners in Latin America and t  more

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, Aug. 1 -- The Minnesota Medical Association issued the following news: * * * MMA Signs on to AMA Letter Opposing Federal Legislation Expanding Pharmacist's Scope of Practice The MMA has signed on to an AMA letter opposing HR 3164, the "Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services (ECAPS) Act," in particular because it would allow "pharmacists to perform services that would normally only be authorized and covered if they were furnished by a physician." The letter   more

OMAHA, Nebraska, July 29 -- Mutual of Omaha Insurance, a provider of insurance, banking and financial products for individuals, businesses and groups, issued the following news release: * * * Mutual of Omaha Introduces Fixed Index Annuity Product OMAHA, Neb. - Mutual of Omaha is proud to announce the launch of its first fixed index annuity (FIA) product, Ultra Advantage, which aims to offer policyholders greater flexibility and control over their retirement savings. Ultra Advantage FIA allow  more

WASHINGTON, July 28 -- The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee posted the following news release: * * * Nebraska Faces Nearly $100 Million Budget Shortfall - Republicans Want to Make it Even Worse * As Nebraska faces a projected $95 million budget deficit, Republican congressional candidates are endorsing legislation that will sink the state even further into debt and risk ripping food off the tables of more than 63,000 Nebraska families. House Republicans' Big, Ugly Bill will requ  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (TNSLrpt) -- Nebraska's agricultural land market has experienced its first annual decline in six years, signaling a pivotal shift after recent historic highs. According to the report by University of Nebraska Center for Agricultural Profitability, the statewide average value of agricultural land dropped by 2% over the past year, settling at $3,935 per acre as of February 1, 2025. This modest but notable decrease follows a record non-inflation-adjusted value set in 2024 and ref  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: * * * Rep. Simpson Highlights Efforts to Make Housing More Affordable * WASHINGTON-- Today, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson highlighted his recent legislative actions to address housing affordability in America. These actions include supporting President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, voting to advance the Fiscal Year 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act  more

WASHINGTON, July 30 -- Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release: * * * Ricketts Celebrates Advancing of Historic Housing Bill, Inclusion of Streamlining Rural Housing Act * WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, during a Senate Banking Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and his committee colleagues unanimously (24-0) passed the bipartisan Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act of 2025. Ricketts celebrated the legislative package's i  more

WASHINGTON, July 29 -- Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release: * * * Ricketts Issues Statement on Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern Merger * WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) issued the following statement after it was announced that Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern had reached a merger deal: "Union Pacific is an engine for growth in Nebraska. Consolidating another railroad company's headquarters at the Union Pacific headquarters in O  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release: * * * SBA Offers Relief to Kansas Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by May Drought * SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the availability of low interest federal disaster loans to small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Kansas to offset economic losses caused by drought beginning May 27. The d  more

WASHINGTON, July 28 -- Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release: * * * Smith, Panetta, Reschenthaler Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Boost Critical Mineral Production * Washington, DC -- Today Representatives Adrian Smith (R-NE), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), and Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) announced the introduction of the bipartisan Critical Minerals Investment Tax Modernization Act. The legislation would expand tax relief to support production of certain critical minerals import  more

WASHINGTON, July 28 -- Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release: * * * Smith: Trade Deal with EU Groundbreaking * Washington, DC -- Today Representative Adrian Smith (R-NE), Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee's Trade Subcommittee, released the following statement after the United States and the European Union announced a deal to lower trade barriers and expand mutual investment. "This announcement breaks new ground for trade relations with our partners in the   more

LYONS, Nebraska, July 30 -- The Center for Rural Affairs issued the following news release: * * * Soil health resources for solar development are provided in the new fact sheet from the Center for Rural Affairs LYONS, NEBRASKA -- As solar energy projects continue to grow across the U.S., a fact sheet from the Center for Rural Affairs outlines how new development can be designed to protect soil health, reduce erosion, and maintain long-term agricultural productivity. The newly released fact s  more

WASHINGTON, July 31 (TNSLrpt) -- A report from the "Walking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors" project, a collaboration among Mellon Foundation, Otoe-Missouria Tribe and the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska, is shining a spotlight on both the aspirations and the obstacles facing Indigenous-led reconciliation and education efforts in southeast Nebraska. The three-year initiative, funded by the Mellon Foundation, conducted two major surveys in 2024: one among the Otoe  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 -- The U.S. Chemical Safety Board issued the following news release: * * * U.S. Chemical Safety Board Deploys to Fatal Explosion at Horizon Biofuels Facility in Nebraska August 1, 2025 - The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is sending a team to investigate the fatal explosion at the Horizon Biofuels facility in Fremont, Nebraska, that occurred on July 29. The facility is approximately 30 miles outside of Omaha. The blast fatally injured three people  more

LINCOLN, Nebraska, July 30 -- The University of Nebraska issued the following news: * * * Open house to debut Huskers' new state-of-the-art music building By Kathe Andersen The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Glenn Korff School of Music will host an open house for its new building at 10th and Q streets, 4 to 6:30 p.m. Aug. 22. The event will be followed by the Cornhusker Marching Band's annual exhibition at 7 p.m. in Memorial Stadium. Both events are free and open to the public. The open h  more

LINCOLN, Nebraska, Aug. 1 (TNSrep) -- The University of Nebraska issued the following news: * * * Two-thirds of Nebraskans are satisfied with work, survey finds Disparities found among income levels By Deann Gayman A little more than two-thirds of Nebraskans feel satisfied with their jobs, but contentment falls among those earning less, a recent survey shows. The latest Nebraska Snapshot from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Bureau of Sociological Research shows that overall, 28% of Ne  more

LINCOLN, Nebraska, Aug. 1 (TNSjou) -- The University of Nebraska issued the following news: * * * Wildlife shows wide range of responses to human presence in U.S. national parks Nebraska's John Benson helps lead multinational study By Leslie Reed Many summer visitors to America's national parks hope for a glimpse of a moose or a bighorn sheep -- or perhaps to spot a wolf or a bear. A newly published study by a multinational group of wildlife scientists took advantage of the unique opportu  more

WASHINGTON, July 29 (TNSFR) -- The University of Tennessee Knoxville campus Department of Anthropology and the University of Kansas have completed inventories of ancestral human remains and associated funerary objects and are preparing for their repatriation to Native American tribes. These actions align with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The institutions have determined a cultural affiliation exists between the remains and objects and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and   more

WASHINGTON, July 30 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency issued the following news release: * * * USDA Designates Two Nebraska Counties as Natural Disaster Areas Due to Drought * Other Nebraska Counties Impacted by Kansas Disaster Designations This Secretarial natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emerg  more

WASHINGTON, July 31 -- Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Nebraska, issued the following news release: * * * VIDEO: Ricketts Fights for America's Producers * WASHINGTON, D.C. - This week, during his weekly press call with Nebraska media, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) discussed the One Big Beautiful Bill and his work to secure the future for those who feed and fuel America. Watch the video here. " Agriculture is the heart and soul of what we do in Nebraska," said Ricketts. " Family farms, ranches,  more

WAYNE, Nebraska, July 30 -- Wayne State College issued the following news release: * * * Nelsen Selected for CASE's Mid-Career Fellowship Program The year-long fellowship provides an immersive professional development experience with a strong focus on mentorship, career planning, leadership development, and networking. Melissa Nelsen, director of major gifts for the Wayne State Foundation, has been selected as one of 10 professionals by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education's   more