UNITED STATES ATTORNEY LESLEY A. WOODS

United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Justin Jelinek, 43, of Grand Island, Nebraska, was charged on October 29, 2025, by criminal complaint in Lincoln, Nebraska. Jelinek is charged with Assault on a Federal Task Force Officer with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon, Attempted Murder of a Federal Task Force Officer, Discharge of a Firearm During and Relation to a Crime of Violence, Receipt of Child Pornography, and Possession of Child Pornography. These charges carry penalties with a minimum of 5 years’ imprisonment to life.&nbsp; Discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence carries with it a 10-year mandatory minimum imprisonment term and qualifies for up to life in prison.

The complaint alleges that on October 15, 2025, Jelinek fired upon Federal Task Force Officers employed with the Nebraska State Patrol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations when executing a judicially issued search warrant in relation to receipt and distribution of child sexual abuse materials.

The complaint alleges that Jelinek confronted the officers with a firearm when they entered his residence after he did not respond to knocking and officers’ commands. Jelinek is alleged to have fired one round from a high-powered rifle when negotiations with Jelinek to drop his weapon and end the confrontation peacefully and safely failed. Jelinek shot out the front door of the residence at 7 officers who were on or around the front porch. One officer returned fire. Eventually, Jelinek surrendered and was arrested. The officers executed the search warrant and seized several electronic devices and performed a preliminary review for child sexual abuse materials. Law enforcement obtained additional search warrants while on site and seized firearms valued at approximately $100,000 and approximately 25,000 rounds of ammunition.

Jelinek appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Jacqueline M. DeLuca on October 30, 2025, for his initial appearance. A preliminary and detention hearing is scheduled for November 6, 2025, before Magistrate Judge DeLuca.

“This case underscores the extreme dangers our HSI agents and Task Force Officers face every day in the pursuit of justice and the protection of our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge for HSI Kansas City Mark Zito. “Despite Jelinek’s continued disregard for anyone other than himself, our Task Force Officers remained steadfast in their mission to hold him accountable. HSI, in collaboration with our partners, will ensure that he faces the full weight of federal justice for his actions. We are grateful that our officers and task force members emerged from this incident unharmed, and we remain committed to safeguarding the public from those who threaten the safety and security of our communities.”

A Criminal Complaint is a charging document that contains one or more individual counts that are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by&nbsp;Homeland Security Investigations.

Press ReleaseUNITED STATES ATTORNEY LESLEY A. WOODSDISTRICT OF NEBRASKA<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1760627506366.jpeg" alt="Justin M. Jelinek (Hall County Sheriff's Office)" />
 <figcaption>Justin M. Jelinek (Hall County Sheriff's Office)</figcaption>
 </figure>United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Justin Jelinek, 43, of Grand Island, Nebraska, was charged on October 29, 2025, by criminal complaint in Lincoln, Nebraska. Jelinek is charged with Assault on a Federal Task Force Officer with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon, Attempted Murder of a Federal Task Force Officer, Discharge of a Firearm During and Relation to a Crime of Violence, Receipt of Child Pornography, and Possession of Child Pornography. These charges carry penalties with a minimum of 5 years’ imprisonment to life.&nbsp; Discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence carries with it a 10-year mandatory minimum imprisonment term and qualifies for up to life in prison.The complaint alleges that on October 15, 2025, Jelinek fired upon Federal Task Force Officers employed with the Nebraska State Patrol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations when executing a judicially issued search warrant in relation to receipt and distribution of child sexual abuse materials.The complaint alleges that Jelinek confronted the officers with a firearm when they entered his residence after he did not respond to knocking and officers’ commands. Jelinek is alleged to have fired one round from a high-powered rifle when negotiations with Jelinek to drop his weapon and end the confrontation peacefully and safely failed. Jelinek shot out the front door of the residence at 7 officers who were on or around the front porch. One officer returned fire. Eventually, Jelinek surrendered and was arrested. The officers executed the search warrant and seized several electronic devices and performed a preliminary review for child sexual abuse materials. Law enforcement obtained additional search warrants while on site and seized firearms valued at approximately $100,000 and approximately 25,000 rounds of ammunition.Jelinek appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Jacqueline M. DeLuca on October 30, 2025, for his initial appearance. A preliminary and detention hearing is scheduled for November 6, 2025, before Magistrate Judge DeLuca.“This case underscores the extreme dangers our HSI agents and Task Force Officers face every day in the pursuit of justice and the protection of our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge for HSI Kansas City Mark Zito. “Despite Jelinek’s continued disregard for anyone other than himself, our Task Force Officers remained steadfast in their mission to hold him accountable. HSI, in collaboration with our partners, will ensure that he faces the full weight of federal justice for his actions. We are grateful that our officers and task force members emerged from this incident unharmed, and we remain committed to safeguarding the public from those who threaten the safety and security of our communities.”A Criminal Complaint is a charging document that contains one or more individual counts that are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.This case is being investigated by&nbsp;Homeland Security Investigations.

Grand Island Man Charged with Assault and Attempted Murder of Federal Task Force Officers

The divisive and powerful 9/11-era vice president was also a devoted husband, avid outdoorsman and close advisor to his daughter, Liz Cheney.

by&nbsp;<a href="https://wyofile.com/author/katie-klingsporn/">Katie Klingsporn</a> <a href="https://wyofile.com/">WyoFile</a>

Dick Cheney, the Wyoming oilman and politician who was widely considered to be the most powerful vice president in America’s history, died on Monday. He was 84.&nbsp;

Cheney, who grew up largely in Casper, served as Wyoming’s sole U.S. representative in Congress from 1979-1989. It was among his many roles in Washington. At age 34, he became the youngest presidential chief of staff in history when President Gerald Ford appointed him to the post. He served as secretary of defense under George H.W. Bush, and years later joined the ticket of George W. Bush to become vice president, serving two terms.

He and his wife of 61 years, Lynne, continued to live part-time in Jackson, and often hosted family there. Later in his life, Cheney became a close political advisor to his eldest daughter, Liz Cheney, who followed in his footsteps with a career in politics —&nbsp;and one that also grew polarizing.

Cheney was famously in D.C. as terrorists attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001, the defining event of his career. With President Bush in Florida that day, Cheney&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archives.gov/files/declassification/iscap/pdf/2012-163-doc-1-release-material.pdf">presided over the chaotic and terrifying early hours of the attack</a>&nbsp;from the Presidential Emergency Operations Center located underneath the White House — authorizing military force against civilian airplanes. He later became the chief architect of the war on terror.&nbsp;

While Cheney had admirers who respected his clear-eyed decisiveness, formidable intelligence and enduring patriotism, he also had detractors. The latter camp decried the surveillance and interrogation tactics implemented under his leadership as blatant civil liberties violations, and portrayed him as a Darth-Vaderesque figure — a sinister, secretive force orchestrating behind the scenes of the Bush administration.&nbsp;

In a nod to that, Cheney once showed up&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66FRAcBu9PA">dressed as the “Star Wars” villain for a “Tonight Show” interview with Jay Leno</a>. That, friends say, is an example of his sense of humor and proof that he was far more complicated than he was portrayed to be.

“He was fun and he could be funny, but he was also very serious,” said Judy Legerski of Lander, who has known Cheney since she worked on his first congressional campaign. “He was just a good, solid person. And a real guy.”

Friends remember Cheney as a cool-headed man of steely loyalty and deep consideration for others. He was a devoted husband and father, an avid fisherman and an accomplished outdoorsman. (He did find himself the subject of jokes after accidentally shooting an acquaintance during a 2006 hunting trip.) He wasn’t one for small talk, but if engaged on the right topic, he would expound at length.&nbsp;

“Dick’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever known in my life,” Legerski said. “His abilities of analysis were remarkable. You could ask a question, and he’d answer it like he’d done a research study on the topic two days before.”

Cheney was even-keeled and straightforward, a scholar of American history who loved dogs and was never one for the drama.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“He looked you right in the face if you had something to say,” remembers John McConnell, who was Cheney’s speechwriter in the White House. “He kind of had a way of tilting his head and listening to you, and he just was always great to work with. He was the most considerate and appreciative person I’ve ever worked for.”

He was hard-working and deeply committed to serving the country, said Steve Hadley, who served with Cheney at the Pentagon then in the White House as national security adviser.&nbsp;

“I would hope that [Americans] would recognize him as a man of integrity and talent, who loved the country, who put service to the country as his top priority, and was a terrific vice president in being supportive of the president and doing what the president needed him to do in order to keep this country safe,” Hadley said.

Cheney is survived by his wife, Lynne, daughters Liz and Mary, and several grandchildren.

Richard Bruce Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on Jan. 30, 1941 to a family of New Deal Democrats. His father was quiet, his mother high-spirited and convivial. His family moved to Casper when he was 13 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service reassigned his father to a new post.

As an adolescent, he played sports, explored the high plains with his brother, Bob, and developed a fishing addiction. Though a voracious reader of history, he was never a great student. In high school, he met and fell in love with Lynne Vincent, a bright and pretty student who was the state champion baton twirler. During their senior year at Natrona County High School, he was class president and she was homecoming queen. (The school’s football field&nbsp;<a href="https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/vicepresident/vpphotoessay/cheneyalumnifield/peindex.html">now bears his name</a>.)

Though a bit aimless, Cheney was advised by Casper oilman Tom Stroock to apply to Yale. Stroock assured Cheney the elite East Coast university was interested in geographic diversity. Cheney was accepted and awarded a full scholarship.&nbsp;

But after arriving in New Haven, Cheney fell in with a group of boys more interested in a good time than good grades, according to his memoir, “In My Time.” After two false starts, Cheney failed out.&nbsp;

He returned to Wyoming to “work in the tools” as a union member on jobs like installing electrical transmission lines. The work, which was physical and could be dangerous, paid well, but Cheney fell deeper into drinking with his work buddies. He was arrested twice for driving under the influence. The second arrest became a crucial fulcrum point in his life.

“Lynne, after spending a semester in Europe, had graduated summa cum laude from Colorado College,” Cheney recalled in his memoir. “And I was sleeping off a hangover in the Rock Springs jail.”

Determined to turn his life around, he stopped frequenting bars and enrolled at the University of Wyoming. In 1964, Lynne accepted his marriage proposal. They were married in August that year, and Cheney turned his focus to a career and fatherhood.

Cheney studied political science at UW, and got his first taste of political machinations as an intern in the Wyoming Legislature. Though he and Lynne had both planned to become college professors, his interests led him instead into politics. His first job came during the Nixon administration in 1969, when then-Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity Donald Rumsfeld hired Cheney as a congressional relations aide. That was the beginning of a decades-long mentorship and working relationship with Rumsfeld.&nbsp;

When Rumsfeld became President Gerald Ford’s chief of staff in 1974, Cheney acted as his deputy. And when Rumsfeld was bumped to secretary of defense in 1975, Cheney was promoted to fill the chief of staff vacancy.&nbsp;

After Ford lost his re-election bid to Jimmy Carter in 1976, Cheney decided to run for office himself. Not long after he moved Lynne and their two daughters back to Casper, he set his sights on the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. That’s when Legerski met him.&nbsp;

“Dick and two others were running on the Republican primary, and at the time, I was, for whatever reason, a hot political commodity around here,” Legerski said. “So each of these three people came and talked to me, and after talking to them, I determined that Dick was the guy I would support.”

She was impressed with his intellect and demeanor, she said.

That first primary, when Cheney vied against Ed Witzenburger and Jack Gage for the GOP nomination, was the toughest of his six campaigns for House, Cheney recalled in his memoir. After many previous years in D.C., one of his major tasks was convincing residents that he was in touch with them. He embarked on a dizzying tour of Wyoming diners, radio stations and town halls.&nbsp;

He was campaigning in Cheyenne in June 1978 when he awoke in the middle of the night with tingling in his left hand. Cheney, 37 at the time, was having a heart attack.&nbsp;

He was treated and released with instructions to rest. He quit smoking and began to eat healthier. Meanwhile, Lynne filled in on his campaign events. After winning the primary, he beat the Democratic challenger.&nbsp;

Cheney was re-elected five times, serving until 1989.&nbsp;

He honed his national security knowledge, assembled a team of Wyoming staffers and worked alongside Republicans such as Newt Gingrich and Phil Gramm. Cheney served as House Minority Whip and chairman of the House Republican Conference.

Among his legislative achievements, he was particularly proud of the 1984 Wyoming Wilderness Act, which added nearly 1 million acres to the state’s wilderness areas. Cheney worked closely with fellow Wyoming congressmen Alan Simpson and Malcolm Wallop to pass the legislation.

The campaign heart attack, however, would be the first of a string of health troubles to plague Cheney. He experienced a second heart attack in 1984, and a third in 1988. He underwent quadruple bypass surgery, suffered a fourth attack in 2000 and received a ventricular assist device implant in 2010. In 2012, at the age of 71, he received a heart transplant, which bought him several more years of life.

Cheney left the House in 1989 after President H.W. Bush appointed him secretary of defense. In that post, he oversaw Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm — key phases of the Gulf War. After Bill Clinton’s presidential election, Cheney took the opportunity to do some fishing, plying blue-ribbon waters from British Columbia to Oregon and New Zealand.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Then he went into the private sector, working as chairman and CEO of the energy juggernaut Halliburton, headquartered in Dallas. The proximity allowed him to get to know George W. Bush, who was governor of Texas. Bush’s camp first asked Cheney to run Bush’s presidential campaign, which he declined.&nbsp;

They came back with a new request: help search for a veep. Cheney agreed. Early efforts, however, were fruitless. Bush eventually persuaded Cheney to accept the post.&nbsp;

Legerski remembers where she was — riding the elevator at Little America in Salt Lake — when Cheney called to give her the news. “And I said, ‘Dick, I remember you telling me you were never hitching your wagon onto someone else’s star.’ And he said, ‘When your president asks, the only answer is yes,’” she said. “And that’s the kind of guy he was.”

The decision vaulted him into the national spotlight, where every aspect of his life was under scrutiny. That included his views on gay rights. Cheney’s daughter, Mary, had come out as gay to the family years before, and he supported her. When asked in a debate about gay marriage, he was careful, answering that while people should be free to enter any relationship they want, gay marriage should be left to individual states, not subject to federal policy.

Famously, the Bush v. Gore election was controversial, with the U.S. Supreme Court settling the recount dispute in Bush’s favor in December 2000. It was a bumpy start for Cheney, who had suffered another heart attack during the prolonged recount process. It also foretold a difficult era.&nbsp;

Less than a year later, terrorists attacked America on Sept. 11. That morning, a special agent burst through Cheney’s office door, hoisted him by his belt and hustled him down to the emergency operation room, telling Cheney an unidentified aircraft was heading toward the White House.&nbsp;

As with the rest of the country, 9/11 left indelible impacts on Cheney. He became determined to quash terrorists and their supporters with whatever tools of national power were accessible.&nbsp;

“I think that had a searing effect on him,” said Pete Williams, a former NBC news correspondent who worked as Cheney’s press secretary for seven years. “I think he felt that virtually anything that was conceivable to prosecute the war on terror, he was willing to consider.”

Pete Williams sits on WyoFile’s board of directors.&nbsp;

In the years that followed, Cheney was criticized for authorizing controversial counterterrorism policies, promoting the inaccurate claim that Iraq was linked to 9/11 and helping to expand executive power. Critics said Cheney committed war crimes, citing the country’s use of domestic spying, torture and indefinite detention.&nbsp;

“He never flinched when the going got tough, or when the criticism became heated as it did,” McConnell said.&nbsp;

The actions also stem from Cheney’s interpretation of the job, Hadley said. “I think he would say that the first responsibility of the president and vice president was to keep the nation secure, and he took that very seriously.”&nbsp;

Other factors led to Cheney exerting power in ways beyond previous VPs, who had mainly been figureheads. Unlike Bush, Cheney possessed decades of foreign policy, White House and congressional experience. Bush delegated meaningful tasks to him, which meant he served as a kind of chief operating officer for the president, exerting major influence in policy decisions.

As a vice president, Cheney divided the public in unprecedented fashion. People either viewed him with deep admiration, or as a secretive and corrupt man who orchestrated a dark chapter in America’s history — and not much in between.&nbsp;

The latter view was made manifest in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_(2018_film)">“Vice,” a 2018 film</a>&nbsp;starring Christian Bale as Cheney, a cunning and ruthlessly ambitious sociopath.&nbsp;

Reconciling the man and the reputation&nbsp;

Those who knew Cheney personally are adamant that the “Vice” character couldn’t be further from the truth.&nbsp;

“The last thing I would describe him as is taciturn or sour,” said Williams. “He was thoughtful, he was serious, he was highly focused. I very quickly realized that Dick Cheney did not do small talk … but I found him to have a great sense of humor, a very self-deprecating sense of humor.”

When it came to the war on terror, Williams said, “I think he felt that was the right thing to do to save the country.”

Legerski can see why Cheney could come off as remote. “I think in some ways, his gravitas was off-putting to some people,” she said. But she remembers a warm and considerate family man. The first time Liz Cheney ran for Congress, Legerski remembers, one of the drawbacks was that she wouldn’t be available to chauffeur her daughter to rodeos.&nbsp;

“So Dick got a truck, and he hauled [his granddaughter] and her horse to all the summer rodeos,” Legerski said. He&nbsp;<a href="https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/dick-cheney-embraces-the-darth-vader-meme-msna609146">adorned the pickup’s trailer hitch cover with an image of Darth Vader</a>.

Cheney largely disappeared from the public eye until the aftermath of Jan. 6. Republican support of Cheney and Liz fractured after the younger&nbsp;<a href="https://wyofile.com/a-year-later-cheneys-jan-6-response-divides-wyoming/">Cheney became a prominent critic of Donald Trump’s</a>&nbsp;actions related to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/01/06/dick-cheney-liz-cheney-only-gop-january-6-house-floor-nr-sot-vpx.cnn">Cheney backed</a>&nbsp;his daughter.

He had a refreshing straightforwardness, McConnell said.&nbsp;

“He had high expectations, but he was always fair, easy to deal with in the sense that you knew where you stood with him,” he said. McConnell remembers getting irritated when Cheney would be attacked in the press. Cheney seemed to accept it as part of the gig, and was too busy doing his job to spend much effort refuting the flak. McConnell often wondered if Cheney took the heat so that Bush didn’t have to.

“He wasn’t out there to improve his own image, he was there to serve the president and the country,” he said.

In a&nbsp;<a href="https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2014/02/dick-cheney-on-his-heart-transplant-its-the-gift-of-life-itself.html">2014 article in Stanford Medicine</a>&nbsp;about Cheney’s long-standing heart issues, Cheney told the publication that before his transplant, he had confronted his mortality.&nbsp;

“I thought about it, I guess, I was at peace,” Cheney said in the article. “I had come to that point where I fully expected that I had lived a wonderful and remarkable life. I had a tremendous family. I had everything a man could ask for.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762260671709.png" alt="then-U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, in Cody July 30, 2022. photo by Dewey Vanderhoff" />
 <figcaption>then-U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, in Cody July 30, 2022. photo by Dewey Vanderhoff</figcaption>
 </figure>The divisive and powerful 9/11-era vice president was also a devoted husband, avid outdoorsman and close advisor to his daughter, Liz Cheney.by&nbsp;<a href="https://wyofile.com/author/katie-klingsporn/">Katie Klingsporn</a> <a href="https://wyofile.com/">WyoFile</a>Dick Cheney, the Wyoming oilman and politician who was widely considered to be the most powerful vice president in America’s history, died on Monday. He was 84.&nbsp;Cheney, who grew up largely in Casper, served as Wyoming’s sole U.S. representative in Congress from 1979-1989. It was among his many roles in Washington. At age 34, he became the youngest presidential chief of staff in history when President Gerald Ford appointed him to the post. He served as secretary of defense under George H.W. Bush, and years later joined the ticket of George W. Bush to become vice president, serving two terms.He and his wife of 61 years, Lynne, continued to live part-time in Jackson, and often hosted family there. Later in his life, Cheney became a close political advisor to his eldest daughter, Liz Cheney, who followed in his footsteps with a career in politics —&nbsp;and one that also grew polarizing.Cheney was famously in D.C. as terrorists attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001, the defining event of his career. With President Bush in Florida that day, Cheney&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archives.gov/files/declassification/iscap/pdf/2012-163-doc-1-release-material.pdf">presided over the chaotic and terrifying early hours of the attack</a>&nbsp;from the Presidential Emergency Operations Center located underneath the White House — authorizing military force against civilian airplanes. He later became the chief architect of the war on terror.&nbsp;While Cheney had admirers who respected his clear-eyed decisiveness, formidable intelligence and enduring patriotism, he also had detractors. The latter camp decried the surveillance and interrogation tactics implemented under his leadership as blatant civil liberties violations, and portrayed him as a Darth-Vaderesque figure — a sinister, secretive force orchestrating behind the scenes of the Bush administration.&nbsp;In a nod to that, Cheney once showed up&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66FRAcBu9PA">dressed as the “Star Wars” villain for a “Tonight Show” interview with Jay Leno</a>. That, friends say, is an example of his sense of humor and proof that he was far more complicated than he was portrayed to be.“He was fun and he could be funny, but he was also very serious,” said Judy Legerski of Lander, who has known Cheney since she worked on his first congressional campaign. “He was just a good, solid person. And a real guy.”Friends remember Cheney as a cool-headed man of steely loyalty and deep consideration for others. He was a devoted husband and father, an avid fisherman and an accomplished outdoorsman. (He did find himself the subject of jokes after accidentally shooting an acquaintance during a 2006 hunting trip.) He wasn’t one for small talk, but if engaged on the right topic, he would expound at length.&nbsp;“Dick’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever known in my life,” Legerski said. “His abilities of analysis were remarkable. You could ask a question, and he’d answer it like he’d done a research study on the topic two days before.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762260606545.png" alt="Vice President Dick Cheney in the President’s Emergency Operations Center on Sept. 11, 2001. (U.S. National Archives)" />
 <figcaption>Vice President Dick Cheney in the President’s Emergency Operations Center on Sept. 11, 2001. (U.S. National Archives)</figcaption>
 </figure>Cheney was even-keeled and straightforward, a scholar of American history who loved dogs and was never one for the drama.&nbsp;&nbsp;“He looked you right in the face if you had something to say,” remembers John McConnell, who was Cheney’s speechwriter in the White House. “He kind of had a way of tilting his head and listening to you, and he just was always great to work with. He was the most considerate and appreciative person I’ve ever worked for.”He was hard-working and deeply committed to serving the country, said Steve Hadley, who served with Cheney at the Pentagon then in the White House as national security adviser.&nbsp;“I would hope that [Americans] would recognize him as a man of integrity and talent, who loved the country, who put service to the country as his top priority, and was a terrific vice president in being supportive of the president and doing what the president needed him to do in order to keep this country safe,” Hadley said.Cheney is survived by his wife, Lynne, daughters Liz and Mary, and several grandchildren.<h2>Early life</h2>Richard Bruce Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on Jan. 30, 1941 to a family of New Deal Democrats. His father was quiet, his mother high-spirited and convivial. His family moved to Casper when he was 13 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service reassigned his father to a new post.As an adolescent, he played sports, explored the high plains with his brother, Bob, and developed a fishing addiction. Though a voracious reader of history, he was never a great student. In high school, he met and fell in love with Lynne Vincent, a bright and pretty student who was the state champion baton twirler. During their senior year at Natrona County High School, he was class president and she was homecoming queen. (The school’s football field&nbsp;<a href="https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/vicepresident/vpphotoessay/cheneyalumnifield/peindex.html">now bears his name</a>.)Though a bit aimless, Cheney was advised by Casper oilman Tom Stroock to apply to Yale. Stroock assured Cheney the elite East Coast university was interested in geographic diversity. Cheney was accepted and awarded a full scholarship.&nbsp;But after arriving in New Haven, Cheney fell in with a group of boys more interested in a good time than good grades, according to his memoir, “In My Time.” After two false starts, Cheney failed out.&nbsp;He returned to Wyoming to “work in the tools” as a union member on jobs like installing electrical transmission lines. The work, which was physical and could be dangerous, paid well, but Cheney fell deeper into drinking with his work buddies. He was arrested twice for driving under the influence. The second arrest became a crucial fulcrum point in his life.“Lynne, after spending a semester in Europe, had graduated summa cum laude from Colorado College,” Cheney recalled in his memoir. “And I was sleeping off a hangover in the Rock Springs jail.”Determined to turn his life around, he stopped frequenting bars and enrolled at the University of Wyoming. In 1964, Lynne accepted his marriage proposal. They were married in August that year, and Cheney turned his focus to a career and fatherhood.<h2>Politics&nbsp;</h2>Cheney studied political science at UW, and got his first taste of political machinations as an intern in the Wyoming Legislature. Though he and Lynne had both planned to become college professors, his interests led him instead into politics. His first job came during the Nixon administration in 1969, when then-Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity Donald Rumsfeld hired Cheney as a congressional relations aide. That was the beginning of a decades-long mentorship and working relationship with Rumsfeld.&nbsp;When Rumsfeld became President Gerald Ford’s chief of staff in 1974, Cheney acted as his deputy. And when Rumsfeld was bumped to secretary of defense in 1975, Cheney was promoted to fill the chief of staff vacancy.&nbsp;After Ford lost his re-election bid to Jimmy Carter in 1976, Cheney decided to run for office himself. Not long after he moved Lynne and their two daughters back to Casper, he set his sights on the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. That’s when Legerski met him.&nbsp;“Dick and two others were running on the Republican primary, and at the time, I was, for whatever reason, a hot political commodity around here,” Legerski said. “So each of these three people came and talked to me, and after talking to them, I determined that Dick was the guy I would support.”She was impressed with his intellect and demeanor, she said.That first primary, when Cheney vied against Ed Witzenburger and Jack Gage for the GOP nomination, was the toughest of his six campaigns for House, Cheney recalled in his memoir. After many previous years in D.C., one of his major tasks was convincing residents that he was in touch with them. He embarked on a dizzying tour of Wyoming diners, radio stations and town halls.&nbsp;He was campaigning in Cheyenne in June 1978 when he awoke in the middle of the night with tingling in his left hand. Cheney, 37 at the time, was having a heart attack.&nbsp;He was treated and released with instructions to rest. He quit smoking and began to eat healthier. Meanwhile, Lynne filled in on his campaign events. After winning the primary, he beat the Democratic challenger.&nbsp;Cheney was re-elected five times, serving until 1989.&nbsp;He honed his national security knowledge, assembled a team of Wyoming staffers and worked alongside Republicans such as Newt Gingrich and Phil Gramm. Cheney served as House Minority Whip and chairman of the House Republican Conference.Among his legislative achievements, he was particularly proud of the 1984 Wyoming Wilderness Act, which added nearly 1 million acres to the state’s wilderness areas. Cheney worked closely with fellow Wyoming congressmen Alan Simpson and Malcolm Wallop to pass the legislation.The campaign heart attack, however, would be the first of a string of health troubles to plague Cheney. He experienced a second heart attack in 1984, and a third in 1988. He underwent quadruple bypass surgery, suffered a fourth attack in 2000 and received a ventricular assist device implant in 2010. In 2012, at the age of 71, he received a heart transplant, which bought him several more years of life.<h2>Road to veep&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>Cheney left the House in 1989 after President H.W. Bush appointed him secretary of defense. In that post, he oversaw Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm — key phases of the Gulf War. After Bill Clinton’s presidential election, Cheney took the opportunity to do some fishing, plying blue-ribbon waters from British Columbia to Oregon and New Zealand.&nbsp;&nbsp;Then he went into the private sector, working as chairman and CEO of the energy juggernaut Halliburton, headquartered in Dallas. The proximity allowed him to get to know George W. Bush, who was governor of Texas. Bush’s camp first asked Cheney to run Bush’s presidential campaign, which he declined.&nbsp;They came back with a new request: help search for a veep. Cheney agreed. Early efforts, however, were fruitless. Bush eventually persuaded Cheney to accept the post.&nbsp;Legerski remembers where she was — riding the elevator at Little America in Salt Lake — when Cheney called to give her the news. “And I said, ‘Dick, I remember you telling me you were never hitching your wagon onto someone else’s star.’ And he said, ‘When your president asks, the only answer is yes,’” she said. “And that’s the kind of guy he was.”The decision vaulted him into the national spotlight, where every aspect of his life was under scrutiny. That included his views on gay rights. Cheney’s daughter, Mary, had come out as gay to the family years before, and he supported her. When asked in a debate about gay marriage, he was careful, answering that while people should be free to enter any relationship they want, gay marriage should be left to individual states, not subject to federal policy.Famously, the Bush v. Gore election was controversial, with the U.S. Supreme Court settling the recount dispute in Bush’s favor in December 2000. It was a bumpy start for Cheney, who had suffered another heart attack during the prolonged recount process. It also foretold a difficult era.&nbsp;Less than a year later, terrorists attacked America on Sept. 11. That morning, a special agent burst through Cheney’s office door, hoisted him by his belt and hustled him down to the emergency operation room, telling Cheney an unidentified aircraft was heading toward the White House.&nbsp;As with the rest of the country, 9/11 left indelible impacts on Cheney. He became determined to quash terrorists and their supporters with whatever tools of national power were accessible.&nbsp;“I think that had a searing effect on him,” said Pete Williams, a former NBC news correspondent who worked as Cheney’s press secretary for seven years. “I think he felt that virtually anything that was conceivable to prosecute the war on terror, he was willing to consider.”Pete Williams sits on WyoFile’s board of directors.&nbsp;In the years that followed, Cheney was criticized for authorizing controversial counterterrorism policies, promoting the inaccurate claim that Iraq was linked to 9/11 and helping to expand executive power. Critics said Cheney committed war crimes, citing the country’s use of domestic spying, torture and indefinite detention.&nbsp;“He never flinched when the going got tough, or when the criticism became heated as it did,” McConnell said.&nbsp;The actions also stem from Cheney’s interpretation of the job, Hadley said. “I think he would say that the first responsibility of the president and vice president was to keep the nation secure, and he took that very seriously.”&nbsp;Other factors led to Cheney exerting power in ways beyond previous VPs, who had mainly been figureheads. Unlike Bush, Cheney possessed decades of foreign policy, White House and congressional experience. Bush delegated meaningful tasks to him, which meant he served as a kind of chief operating officer for the president, exerting major influence in policy decisions.As a vice president, Cheney divided the public in unprecedented fashion. People either viewed him with deep admiration, or as a secretive and corrupt man who orchestrated a dark chapter in America’s history — and not much in between.&nbsp;The latter view was made manifest in&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_(2018_film)">“Vice,” a 2018 film</a>&nbsp;starring Christian Bale as Cheney, a cunning and ruthlessly ambitious sociopath.&nbsp;<h2>Reconciling the man and the reputation&nbsp;</h2>Those who knew Cheney personally are adamant that the “Vice” character couldn’t be further from the truth.&nbsp;“The last thing I would describe him as is taciturn or sour,” said Williams. “He was thoughtful, he was serious, he was highly focused. I very quickly realized that Dick Cheney did not do small talk … but I found him to have a great sense of humor, a very self-deprecating sense of humor.”When it came to the war on terror, Williams said, “I think he felt that was the right thing to do to save the country.”Legerski can see why Cheney could come off as remote. “I think in some ways, his gravitas was off-putting to some people,” she said. But she remembers a warm and considerate family man. The first time Liz Cheney ran for Congress, Legerski remembers, one of the drawbacks was that she wouldn’t be available to chauffeur her daughter to rodeos.&nbsp;“So Dick got a truck, and he hauled [his granddaughter] and her horse to all the summer rodeos,” Legerski said. He&nbsp;<a href="https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/dick-cheney-embraces-the-darth-vader-meme-msna609146">adorned the pickup’s trailer hitch cover with an image of Darth Vader</a>.Cheney largely disappeared from the public eye until the aftermath of Jan. 6. Republican support of Cheney and Liz fractured after the younger&nbsp;<a href="https://wyofile.com/a-year-later-cheneys-jan-6-response-divides-wyoming/">Cheney became a prominent critic of Donald Trump’s</a>&nbsp;actions related to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/01/06/dick-cheney-liz-cheney-only-gop-january-6-house-floor-nr-sot-vpx.cnn">Cheney backed</a>&nbsp;his daughter.He had a refreshing straightforwardness, McConnell said.&nbsp;“He had high expectations, but he was always fair, easy to deal with in the sense that you knew where you stood with him,” he said. McConnell remembers getting irritated when Cheney would be attacked in the press. Cheney seemed to accept it as part of the gig, and was too busy doing his job to spend much effort refuting the flak. McConnell often wondered if Cheney took the heat so that Bush didn’t have to.“He wasn’t out there to improve his own image, he was there to serve the president and the country,” he said.In a&nbsp;<a href="https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2014/02/dick-cheney-on-his-heart-transplant-its-the-gift-of-life-itself.html">2014 article in Stanford Medicine</a>&nbsp;about Cheney’s long-standing heart issues, Cheney told the publication that before his transplant, he had confronted his mortality.&nbsp;“I thought about it, I guess, I was at peace,” Cheney said in the article. “I had come to that point where I fully expected that I had lived a wonderful and remarkable life. I had a tremendous family. I had everything a man could ask for.”

Dick Cheney, Wyoming oilman and former vice president, dies at 84

FRESNO COUNTY —A hunter missing for almost three weeks in the California wilderness is alive and well.

Over the weekend hunters found 65-year-old Ron Dailey of Selma, California alive on the Swamp Lake trail Deputies and EMS have made contact with him, according to a statement from the Fresno County Sheriff's office.

Dailey had been missing since October 13, when he did not return from a hunting trip.&nbsp;

Fresno County Sheriff's deputies and volunteers with the county Search and Rescue Unit actively searched for Dailey. He left home on the morning of Monday, October 13, and was supposed to be back home that same evening, but had not been seen or heard from since.  He told family he was going to the Shaver Lake / Courtright Reservoir area of Fresno County.  The latest information we have is that when hunting, Ron was known to travel down small roads, dirt paths off of Dinkey Creek Road and McKinley Grove Road.

Ron is 5-foot-7,&nbsp; 190 lbs. with brown eyes, brown hair and a beard.  He does have underlying medical conditions.  He was driving a silver, 4-door, 2002 Dodge Dakota with California license plate 16028S2. The sheriff's office released no other details on Monday until authorities can interview him.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762224116242.png" alt="Photo Fresno County SAR Posse" />
 <figcaption>Photo Fresno County SAR Posse</figcaption>
 </figure>FRESNO COUNTY —A hunter missing for almost three weeks in the California wilderness is alive and well.Over the weekend hunters found 65-year-old Ron Dailey of Selma, California alive on the Swamp Lake trail Deputies and EMS have made contact with him, according to a statement from the Fresno County Sheriff's office.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3Dpfbid0djFr4G8ziWmDU3s4jxeuUDRp8hycoXTpgJimnhDWeiWVAsddMx9Hz5wYZnRhYnScl%26id%3D61565747247079&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="734" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>Dailey had been missing since October 13, when he did not return from a hunting trip.&nbsp;Fresno County Sheriff's deputies and volunteers with the county Search and Rescue Unit actively searched for Dailey. He left home on the morning of Monday, October 13, and was supposed to be back home that same evening, but had not been seen or heard from since. He told family he was going to the Shaver Lake / Courtright Reservoir area of Fresno County. The latest information we have is that when hunting, Ron was known to travel down small roads, dirt paths off of Dinkey Creek Road and McKinley Grove Road.Ron is 5-foot-7,&nbsp; 190 lbs. with brown eyes, brown hair and a beard. He does have underlying medical conditions. He was driving a silver, 4-door, 2002 Dodge Dakota with California license plate 16028S2. The sheriff's office released no other details on Monday until authorities can interview him.

Sheriff: Hunter missing for 20 days in wilderness found alive

LINCOLN--The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office is notifying consumers of a fraudulent text message circulating claiming to be from the Nebraska Department of Revenue. The message states that your tax refund request has been processed and approved and instructs you to provide payment information via a suspicious link that you must activate by replying on your mobile device.&nbsp;

The Attorney General’s Office urges&nbsp;do not follow the instructions provided, do not click on any links, or reply to the message in any way.

For legitimate tax refund information, visit the official Nebraska Department of Revenue website at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://revenue.nebraska.gov/">https://revenue.nebraska.gov/</a>.

Consumers&nbsp;are advised&nbsp;to remain vigilant, as scammers frequently impersonate government agencies to steal personal and financial information.

For more information, contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Affairs Response Team at 402-471-2682 or visit&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://protectthegoodlife.nebraska.gov/">ProtectTheGoodLife.Nebraska.gov</a>.

For Immediate Release<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762199428924.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>LINCOLN--The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office is notifying consumers of a fraudulent text message circulating claiming to be from the Nebraska Department of Revenue. The message states that your tax refund request has been processed and approved and instructs you to provide payment information via a suspicious link that you must activate by replying on your mobile device.&nbsp;The Attorney General’s Office urges&nbsp;do not follow the instructions provided, do not click on any links, or reply to the message in any way.For legitimate tax refund information, visit the official Nebraska Department of Revenue website at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://revenue.nebraska.gov/">https://revenue.nebraska.gov/</a>.Key Warning Signs of this Scam<ul>
 <li>The sender is an unknown international number.</li><li>The URL is not an official Nebraska government site.</li><li>The message pressures you with an urgent deadline or risk loss of refund.</li>
 </ul>Recommended Actions<ul>
 <li>Do not click on any links.</li><li>Do not reply to the message.</li><li>Do not follow the instructions provided.</li><li>Delete the message from your device.</li>
 </ul>Consumers&nbsp;are advised&nbsp;to remain vigilant, as scammers frequently impersonate government agencies to steal personal and financial information.For more information, contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Affairs Response Team at 402-471-2682 or visit&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://protectthegoodlife.nebraska.gov/">ProtectTheGoodLife.Nebraska.gov</a>.

Consumer Alert: Scam Text Message Impersonating Nebraska Department of Revenue

&nbsp; By:<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/paulhammel/">Paul Hammel</a>

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/11/03/two-ex-husker-coaches-receive-rarely-given-nu-award/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — A rarely granted honor, described as the University of Nebraska’s “highest and most prestigious award,” was recently bestowed on two former NU coaches.

The Regents Medal was given posthumously Friday to Bob Devaney, a two-time national champion football coach who helped make wearing red a state obsession, and to Terry Pettit, whose 1995 national championship in volleyball paved the way for Nebraska becoming what many call “the volleyball state.”

The medal has been given only eight times in the past 18 years and only once previously to someone involved in athletics — former NU football coach and athletics director Tom Osborne.

It is intended, NU President Jeffrey Gold said, for individuals who provided “exceptional benefits” in furthering the goals and mission of the state university system.

NU Regent Paul Kenney, who presented the awards at a banquet Friday, said both coaches set standards of excellence that carried forward long after they retired. Both programs have nation-leading sellout streaks due to work by Devaney and Pettit to promote their sports.

Mike Devaney, one of Bob Devaney’s two sons, detailed how his father, a native of Saginaw, Michigan, worked in a foundry and was planning a career as a boxer before eventually going to college and taking a job as a teacher. His hiring, he said, was on the condition that he coach the football team.

Bob Devaney coached at four Michigan high schools, winning state titles, and on Duffy Daugherty’s staff at Michigan State before becoming head coach at the University of Wyoming.

Prior to taking over at Nebraska, Mike Devaney said his father watched film of the NU team’s 1961 season. His father, he said, couldn’t believe that the team, which had talented players like Bob Brown and Larry Kramer, had won only three games that year.

Bob Devaney coached at NU until 1972, winning eight Big Eight titles, playing in nine bowl games and claiming national championships in 1970 and 1971. He later served as NU’s athletic director from 1967 to 1992.

Mike Devaney said his father criss-crossed the state to build support for the football team and make “Go Big Red” a state motto. His father, he said, was a masterful speaker and communicator who made everyone in the audience feel like he was talking to them.

Pettit, a 79-year-old native of Crown Point, Indiana, got a teaching job at Louisburg College in North Carolina on the condition that he coach the golf, tennis and volleyball teams.

In volleyball, he molded a group of players who had never played the sport, winning the state junior college title after losing the first set of the season, 0-15.

Pettit famously applied for the head volleyball coaching job at Nebraska in 1977 after the women’s basketball coach at Louisberg, Paul Sanderford (who would later coach at Nebraska), found an advertisement for the Husker opening in a waste basket.

Over 22 seasons at Nebraska, Pettit built the Huskers into a national power in a sport then dominated by teams on the West Coast. He frequently recruited players who were great athletes in other sports, training them into great volleyball players.

Pettit’s teams won 21 conference titles, qualified for the NCAA tournament 17 times, and played in six final fours, winning it all in 1995 over Texas.

Now retired in Fort Collins, Colorado, Pettit is a published author and poet who produces a regular podcast on leadership and volleyball called “Inside the Coaching Mind.”

In his comments, Pettit said Lincoln business owners never said no to helping build the volleyball program by buying tickets, sponsoring tournaments, purchasing a new scoreboard and bringing in ranked teams to play the Huskers.

Past recipients of the University of Nebraska Regents Medal:

2017 — Richard “Dick” Holland (posthumously)

2013 — Mike Yanney and Dr. Gail Walling Yanney

2011 — Robert B. Daugherty (posthumously)

&nbsp; By:<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/paulhammel/">Paul Hammel</a><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/11/03/two-ex-husker-coaches-receive-rarely-given-nu-award/">Nebraska Examiner</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762196583845.jpeg" alt="The NU Regents Medal, described as the most prestigious award granted by the University of Nebraska, was given recently to two former NU coaches.&nbsp;(Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>The NU Regents Medal, described as the most prestigious award granted by the University of Nebraska, was given recently to two former NU coaches.&nbsp;(Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>LINCOLN — A rarely granted honor, described as the University of Nebraska’s “highest and most prestigious award,” was recently bestowed on two former NU coaches.The Regents Medal was given posthumously Friday to Bob Devaney, a two-time national champion football coach who helped make wearing red a state obsession, and to Terry Pettit, whose 1995 national championship in volleyball paved the way for Nebraska becoming what many call “the volleyball state.”The medal has been given only eight times in the past 18 years and only once previously to someone involved in athletics — former NU football coach and athletics director Tom Osborne.It is intended, NU President Jeffrey Gold said, for individuals who provided “exceptional benefits” in furthering the goals and mission of the state university system.NU Regent Paul Kenney, who presented the awards at a banquet Friday, said both coaches set standards of excellence that carried forward long after they retired. Both programs have nation-leading sellout streaks due to work by Devaney and Pettit to promote their sports.Mike Devaney, one of Bob Devaney’s two sons, detailed how his father, a native of Saginaw, Michigan, worked in a foundry and was planning a career as a boxer before eventually going to college and taking a job as a teacher. His hiring, he said, was on the condition that he coach the football team.Bob Devaney coached at four Michigan high schools, winning state titles, and on Duffy Daugherty’s staff at Michigan State before becoming head coach at the University of Wyoming.<figure>
 <img src="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2620-300x200.jpg" alt="Former Nebraska volleyball coach Terry Pettit accepts the Regents Award from NU Regent Paul Kenney and NU President Jeffrey Gold. (Courtesy of University of Nebraska)" />
 <figcaption>Former Nebraska volleyball coach Terry Pettit accepts the Regents Award from NU Regent Paul Kenney and NU President Jeffrey Gold. (Courtesy of University of Nebraska)</figcaption>
 </figure>Prior to taking over at Nebraska, Mike Devaney said his father watched film of the NU team’s 1961 season. His father, he said, couldn’t believe that the team, which had talented players like Bob Brown and Larry Kramer, had won only three games that year.Bob Devaney coached at NU until 1972, winning eight Big Eight titles, playing in nine bowl games and claiming national championships in 1970 and 1971. He later served as NU’s athletic director from 1967 to 1992.Mike Devaney said his father criss-crossed the state to build support for the football team and make “Go Big Red” a state motto. His father, he said, was a masterful speaker and communicator who made everyone in the audience feel like he was talking to them.Pettit, a 79-year-old native of Crown Point, Indiana, got a teaching job at Louisburg College in North Carolina on the condition that he coach the golf, tennis and volleyball teams.In volleyball, he molded a group of players who had never played the sport, winning the state junior college title after losing the first set of the season, 0-15.Pettit famously applied for the head volleyball coaching job at Nebraska in 1977 after the women’s basketball coach at Louisberg, Paul Sanderford (who would later coach at Nebraska), found an advertisement for the Husker opening in a waste basket.<figure>
 <img src="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2647-300x200.jpg" alt="Mike Devaney, son of the late NU football coach Bob Devaney, accepts the NU Regents Award from Paul Kenney, the chairman of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, and NU President Jeffrey Gold. (Courtesy of University of Nebraska)" />
 <figcaption>Mike Devaney, son of the late NU football coach Bob Devaney, accepts the NU Regents Award from Paul Kenney, the chairman of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, and NU President Jeffrey Gold. (Courtesy of University of Nebraska)</figcaption>
 </figure>Over 22 seasons at Nebraska, Pettit built the Huskers into a national power in a sport then dominated by teams on the West Coast. He frequently recruited players who were great athletes in other sports, training them into great volleyball players.Pettit’s teams won 21 conference titles, qualified for the NCAA tournament 17 times, and played in six final fours, winning it all in 1995 over Texas.Now retired in Fort Collins, Colorado, Pettit is a published author and poet who produces a regular podcast on leadership and volleyball called “Inside the Coaching Mind.”In his comments, Pettit said Lincoln business owners never said no to helping build the volleyball program by buying tickets, sponsoring tournaments, purchasing a new scoreboard and bringing in ranked teams to play the Huskers.<h2>Past recipients of the University of Nebraska Regents Medal:</h2>2023 — Howard and Rhonda Hawks2017 — Richard “Dick” Holland (posthumously)2016 — The Abel Family and Tom Osborne2014 — Walter Scott, Jr.2013 — Mike Yanney and Dr. Gail Walling Yanney2011 — Robert B. Daugherty (posthumously)2009 — Bill and Ruth Scott2007 — Charles W. Durham

Two ex-Husker coaches receive rarely given NU award

By:<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jacob-fischler/">Jacob Fischler</a>

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will pay for a portion of November benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the department said Monday in a brief to a federal court in Rhode Island.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71820142/21/rhode-island-state-council-of-churches-v-rollins/" target="_blank">four-page report</a>&nbsp;from the USDA answered U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr.’s order that President Donald Trump’s administration pay at least a portion of benefits to the 42 million people who receive assistance through the program by the end of Wednesday.

McConnell on Saturday laid out two options for the administration: pay for partial benefits by the end of Wednesday through a contingency fund holding about $5.5 billion, or pay for a full month of benefits by tapping other reserve sources such as the child nutrition program by the end of Monday.&nbsp;

USDA opted to use the contingency fund, giving the department until the end of Wednesday to pay out benefits.

A month of SNAP benefits costs the federal government about $9 billion.

USDA “will fulfill its obligation to expend the full amount of SNAP contingency funds today by generating the table required for States to calculate the benefits available for each eligible household in that State,” Monday’s brief said. “USDA will therefore have made the necessary funds available and have authorized the States to begin disbursements once the table is issued.”

By:<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jacob-fischler/">Jacob Fischler</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762195854495.png" alt=" A sign in a convenience store along Barlowe Road in Hyattsville, Maryland, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, advertises that it accepts SNAP benefits. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)" />
 <figcaption> A sign in a convenience store along Barlowe Road in Hyattsville, Maryland, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, advertises that it accepts SNAP benefits. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)</figcaption>
 </figure>The U.S. Department of Agriculture will pay for a portion of November benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the department said Monday in a brief to a federal court in Rhode Island.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71820142/21/rhode-island-state-council-of-churches-v-rollins/" target="_blank">four-page report</a>&nbsp;from the USDA answered U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr.’s order that President Donald Trump’s administration pay at least a portion of benefits to the 42 million people who receive assistance through the program by the end of Wednesday.McConnell on Saturday laid out two options for the administration: pay for partial benefits by the end of Wednesday through a contingency fund holding about $5.5 billion, or pay for a full month of benefits by tapping other reserve sources such as the child nutrition program by the end of Monday.&nbsp;USDA opted to use the contingency fund, giving the department until the end of Wednesday to pay out benefits.A month of SNAP benefits costs the federal government about $9 billion.USDA “will fulfill its obligation to expend the full amount of SNAP contingency funds today by generating the table required for States to calculate the benefits available for each eligible household in that State,” Monday’s brief said. “USDA will therefore have made the necessary funds available and have authorized the States to begin disbursements once the table is issued.”

Trump admin. to pay partial November SNAP benefits by Wednesday

President Trump was the opening interview on 60 minutes Sunday. He taped the interview with Norah O'Donnell in Florida after his return from a successful trip to Asia. 

This was his first interview with the show since CBS parent company Paramount settled a lawsuit filed by President Trump over editing of the 60 minutes interview with Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election. The White House released the full 73 minute unedited video of President Trump's interview. The program only used 27 minutes on their broadcast.

President Trump was the opening interview on 60 minutes Sunday. He taped the interview with Norah O'Donnell in Florida after his return from a successful trip to Asia. <div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">See President Donald J. Trump&#39;s FULL interview on <a href="https://twitter.com/60Minutes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@60Minutes</a> — all 73+ minutes, without the network&#39;s edits and cuts. WATCH IN FULL: <a href="https://t.co/i95cQ3Gqei">pic.twitter.com/i95cQ3Gqei</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1985162774041804844?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>This was his first interview with the show since CBS parent company Paramount settled a lawsuit filed by President Trump over editing of the 60 minutes interview with Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election. The White House released the full 73 minute unedited video of President Trump's interview. The program only used 27 minutes on their broadcast.

White House releases unedited President Trump 60 Minutes interview

By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/juanvassallo/">Juan Vassallo</a>-

Soybeans sit in storage, farm bankruptcies are rising, and total farm debt continues to climb. By nearly every measure, American farmers are struggling.

Experts say financial pressures are expected to continue mounting.

Due to rising costs, low crop prices and the effects of the trade war, economists project that growers could see roughly $44 billion in net cash income losses from their 2025–26 crops.

At a September&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagofed.org/events/2025/midwest-agriculture-conference" target="_blank">conference</a>&nbsp;on agriculture and trade uncertainty hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank, Shawn Arita, professor at North Dakota State University and former senior economist with the USDA, presented projections showing losses across nine major crops.

With production costs far outpacing revenue, Arita and his team at the NDSU Agricultural Risk Policy Center estimate losses of about $20 billion for corn, $10 billion for soybeans and $8.5 billion for wheat — with peanuts, cotton, barley, oats, grain sorghum and rice adding another $6 billion combined.

Since 2023, U.S. farmers have struggled with high input costs and weak commodity prices, a squeeze economists attribute partly to the Russia-Ukraine war.

But this squeeze is made worse by the loss of key export markets — particularly China.

“The tariffs are creating challenges, but it’s not fair to say they are the main culprit,” Arita said. “Certainly, they are exacerbating the issue.”

Arita also noted that the crop sector tends to follow trade cycles more closely than inflation trends. “[China is] not going to start buying soybeans until they get something out of these negotiations,” he said during his presentation.

Still, the main problem remains high costs across the board — tractors, machinery, fertilizers and other inputs, many of which are imported. Although it’s too early to determine whether President Trump’s tariffs will have an effect on these prices, Arita said it’s “simple economics”: higher taxes on these products inevitably lead to higher production costs.

While some farmers are expected to receive financial assistance through the Big Beautiful Bill, that support isn’t set to arrive until October 2026.

This&nbsp;<a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2025/10/28/us-farmers-face-44-billion-in-losses-as-costs-rise-and-markets-shrink/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/" target="_blank">Investigate Midwest</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762051424365.jpg" alt="Image Pixaby" />
 <figcaption>Image Pixaby</figcaption>
 </figure>By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/juanvassallo/">Juan Vassallo</a>-Soybeans sit in storage, farm bankruptcies are rising, and total farm debt continues to climb. By nearly every measure, American farmers are struggling.Experts say financial pressures are expected to continue mounting.Due to rising costs, low crop prices and the effects of the trade war, economists project that growers could see roughly $44 billion in net cash income losses from their 2025–26 crops.At a September&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagofed.org/events/2025/midwest-agriculture-conference" target="_blank">conference</a>&nbsp;on agriculture and trade uncertainty hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank, Shawn Arita, professor at North Dakota State University and former senior economist with the USDA, presented projections showing losses across nine major crops.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762051269695.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>With production costs far outpacing revenue, Arita and his team at the NDSU Agricultural Risk Policy Center estimate losses of about $20 billion for corn, $10 billion for soybeans and $8.5 billion for wheat — with peanuts, cotton, barley, oats, grain sorghum and rice adding another $6 billion combined.Since 2023, U.S. farmers have struggled with high input costs and weak commodity prices, a squeeze economists attribute partly to the Russia-Ukraine war.But this squeeze is made worse by the loss of key export markets — particularly China.“The tariffs are creating challenges, but it’s not fair to say they are the main culprit,” Arita said. “Certainly, they are exacerbating the issue.”Arita also noted that the crop sector tends to follow trade cycles more closely than inflation trends. “[China is] not going to start buying soybeans until they get something out of these negotiations,” he said during his presentation.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1762051344746.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Still, the main problem remains high costs across the board — tractors, machinery, fertilizers and other inputs, many of which are imported. Although it’s too early to determine whether President Trump’s tariffs will have an effect on these prices, Arita said it’s “simple economics”: higher taxes on these products inevitably lead to higher production costs.While some farmers are expected to receive financial assistance through the Big Beautiful Bill, that support isn’t set to arrive until October 2026.This&nbsp;<a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2025/10/28/us-farmers-face-44-billion-in-losses-as-costs-rise-and-markets-shrink/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/" target="_blank">Investigate Midwest</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.

US farmers face $44 billion in losses as costs rise and markets shrink

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1761957209962.png" alt="President Trump spoke to reporters upon arrival Palm Beach, Florida on Friday -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>President Trump spoke to reporters upon arrival Palm Beach, Florida on Friday -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/GaXZbasg6U">pic.twitter.com/GaXZbasg6U</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1984383011937534409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 31, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Trump: It will be my honor to fund SNAP if ....

Sen. Dan McKeon faces Class II misdemeanor allegation by woman attending gathering

By:<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/ebamer/">Erin Bamer</a> <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — State Sen. Dan McKeon of Amherst was cited this week for misdemeanor “public indecency” stemming from an incident at lawmakers’ end-of-session party this spring, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.

Patrol investigators cited him after investigating an allegation by a woman attending a sine die party often attended by staff, family and friends of legislators, Patrol Public Relations Director Cody Thomas confirmed first to the Examiner.

The Patrol received a report in early September about an alleged incident in the evening hours of May 29 at Lincoln Country Club. That is the same time and location that lawmakers attended the first of two post-legislative session sine die parties.

“An adult female reported that Dan McKeon had made inappropriate contact with her buttocks with his hand, over the top of her clothing,” Thomas said in response to a reporter’s questions about the incident.

Thomas said the State Patrol issued McKeon a citation for public indecency — a Class II misdemeanor — Thursday. The allegation was forwarded to Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon’s office, which had no immediate comment.

McKeon, reached in person just before an Agriculture Committee hearing on Friday, told the Examiner: “I’m not going to respond.”

“Just like anything else, you just shut your mouth,” McKeon said.

Kathleen Neary, the attorney representing the woman making the allegations, said her client is grateful to the Nebraska State Patrol for conducting a swift and thorough investigation.

Additionally, Neary said her client plans to file an administrative charge with the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission (NEOC). The NEOC filing is an administrative prerequisite to filing a lawsuit against the state under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

While Neary is hopeful that the matter could be resolved without a lawsuit, she noted that, if necessary, she will sue and ask the jury for a verdict that vindicates and compensates her client for the harms that she has suffered.

McKeon is a registered Republican who was elected to the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature in 2024, replacing former State Sen. Fred Meyer of St. Paul. McKeon’s biographical page on the Nebraska Legislature’s website highlights that he has been married for 30 years and has four children.

During his first session in office, McKeon passed two bills to ease agricultural regulations and has another bill pending that aims to protect veterans from&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/05/05/legislation-would-protect-nebraska-veterans-benefits-from-predatory-claim-sharks/">“predatory claim sharks.”</a>

The Examiner is not naming the woman making the allegation, because it is the policy of States Newsroom and the Examiner not to identify people who say they have been abused unless they wish to talk publicly.

People around the Capitol have been talking for months about an alleged incident involving someone who works for the Legislature.

Democrat State Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha said he is “anxiously awaiting” the results of the State Patrol’s investigation. He confirmed that lawmakers have been aware of the incident behind the scenes for some time and said it’s been a “concern” among him and other senators.

“This type of behavior is really egregious,” Fredrickson said.

On Oct. 20, State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha — a progressive nonpartisan — posted on social media in response to a comment criticizing her that the Legislature doesn’t “have an ‘ethics committee,’ and if we did, my colleague who grabbed a staffers ass at an event a few months ago would have resigned already.”

Hunt, in a separate post on Friday, called elected office “a public trust” and said it should not be “a shield for misconduct.” She called on McKeon to resign and said the Legislature should also be held accountable for “sweeping” the incident “under the rug.”

“My colleague Senator McKeon — or ‘Dirty Dan,’ as he calls himself — should have resigned from this office, which I never observed him to represent with dignity or professionalism, long ago,” Hunt said in a Facebook post.

“Dirty Dan” is likely a reference to “Dirty Dan’s Barn Bash,” a Sept. 27 fundraiser McKeon touted in the midst of the State Patrol investigation.

As of mid-afternoon Friday, no resignation letters from a member of the Legislature had been received by the legislative or executive offices that would expect them.

Gov. Jim Pillen, through a spokesperson, had no immediate comment.

Republican Speaker John Arch, through a staffer, referred questions to Republican State Sen. Ben Hansen of the Legislature’s Executive Board, which investigates allegations of wrongdoing against members.

Hansen neither confirmed nor denied whether the Executive Board was separately investigating the incident. He said he could not disclose details because of a strict confidentiality standard, but added, “The Legislature handles all incidents of workplace harassment with the utmost respect and importance.”

Republican State Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner, vice chair of the Executive Board, confirmed that members of the committee are looking into the situation separately from the criminal investigation, but she said the group hasn’t yet reached a conclusion.

McKeon is expected in Lancaster County Court Dec. 10, authorities said.

McKeon faced court proceedings earlier this year on an unrelated civil case. The senator was named in a lawsuit filed in April by Kaup Produce Inc. The company sued McKeon for breach of contract, alleging McKeon did not pay for more than $18,000 worth of seed and other agricultural products the company provided him.

The case was closed on July 7, according to Nebraska’s judicial website. The case summary says the case “was disposed as uncontested default,” indicating that an agreement had been reached between the parties.

Nebraska Examiner Reporters Zach Wendling and Juan Salinas II contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1761963289167.png" alt=" State Sen. Dan McKeon of Amherst. Oct. 24, 2025. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption> State Sen. Dan McKeon of Amherst. Oct. 24, 2025. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Sen. Dan McKeon faces Class II misdemeanor allegation by woman attending gathering</h2>By:<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/ebamer/">Erin Bamer</a> <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — State Sen. Dan McKeon of Amherst was cited this week for misdemeanor “public indecency” stemming from an incident at lawmakers’ end-of-session party this spring, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.Patrol investigators cited him after investigating an allegation by a woman attending a sine die party often attended by staff, family and friends of legislators, Patrol Public Relations Director Cody Thomas confirmed first to the Examiner.The Patrol received a report in early September about an alleged incident in the evening hours of May 29 at Lincoln Country Club. That is the same time and location that lawmakers attended the first of two post-legislative session sine die parties.“An adult female reported that Dan McKeon had made inappropriate contact with her buttocks with his hand, over the top of her clothing,” Thomas said in response to a reporter’s questions about the incident.Thomas said the State Patrol issued McKeon a citation for public indecency — a Class II misdemeanor — Thursday. The allegation was forwarded to Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon’s office, which had no immediate comment.McKeon, reached in person just before an Agriculture Committee hearing on Friday, told the Examiner: “I’m not going to respond.”“Just like anything else, you just shut your mouth,” McKeon said.Kathleen Neary, the attorney representing the woman making the allegations, said her client is grateful to the Nebraska State Patrol for conducting a swift and thorough investigation.Additionally, Neary said her client plans to file an administrative charge with the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission (NEOC). The NEOC filing is an administrative prerequisite to filing a lawsuit against the state under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.While Neary is hopeful that the matter could be resolved without a lawsuit, she noted that, if necessary, she will sue and ask the jury for a verdict that vindicates and compensates her client for the harms that she has suffered.McKeon is a registered Republican who was elected to the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature in 2024, replacing former State Sen. Fred Meyer of St. Paul. McKeon’s biographical page on the Nebraska Legislature’s website highlights that he has been married for 30 years and has four children.During his first session in office, McKeon passed two bills to ease agricultural regulations and has another bill pending that aims to protect veterans from&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/05/05/legislation-would-protect-nebraska-veterans-benefits-from-predatory-claim-sharks/">“predatory claim sharks.”</a>The Examiner is not naming the woman making the allegation, because it is the policy of States Newsroom and the Examiner not to identify people who say they have been abused unless they wish to talk publicly.People around the Capitol have been talking for months about an alleged incident involving someone who works for the Legislature.Democrat State Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha said he is “anxiously awaiting” the results of the State Patrol’s investigation. He confirmed that lawmakers have been aware of the incident behind the scenes for some time and said it’s been a “concern” among him and other senators.“This type of behavior is really egregious,” Fredrickson said.On Oct. 20, State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha — a progressive nonpartisan — posted on social media in response to a comment criticizing her that the Legislature doesn’t “have an ‘ethics committee,’ and if we did, my colleague who grabbed a staffers ass at an event a few months ago would have resigned already.”Hunt, in a separate post on Friday, called elected office “a public trust” and said it should not be “a shield for misconduct.” She called on McKeon to resign and said the Legislature should also be held accountable for “sweeping” the incident “under the rug.”“My colleague Senator McKeon — or ‘Dirty Dan,’ as he calls himself — should have resigned from this office, which I never observed him to represent with dignity or professionalism, long ago,” Hunt said in a Facebook post.“Dirty Dan” is likely a reference to “Dirty Dan’s Barn Bash,” a Sept. 27 fundraiser McKeon touted in the midst of the State Patrol investigation.As of mid-afternoon Friday, no resignation letters from a member of the Legislature had been received by the legislative or executive offices that would expect them.Gov. Jim Pillen, through a spokesperson, had no immediate comment.Republican Speaker John Arch, through a staffer, referred questions to Republican State Sen. Ben Hansen of the Legislature’s Executive Board, which investigates allegations of wrongdoing against members.Hansen neither confirmed nor denied whether the Executive Board was separately investigating the incident. He said he could not disclose details because of a strict confidentiality standard, but added, “The Legislature handles all incidents of workplace harassment with the utmost respect and importance.”Republican State Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner, vice chair of the Executive Board, confirmed that members of the committee are looking into the situation separately from the criminal investigation, but she said the group hasn’t yet reached a conclusion.McKeon is expected in Lancaster County Court Dec. 10, authorities said.McKeon faced court proceedings earlier this year on an unrelated civil case. The senator was named in a lawsuit filed in April by Kaup Produce Inc. The company sued McKeon for breach of contract, alleging McKeon did not pay for more than $18,000 worth of seed and other agricultural products the company provided him.The case was closed on July 7, according to Nebraska’s judicial website. The case summary says the case “was disposed as uncontested default,” indicating that an agreement had been reached between the parties.Nebraska Examiner Reporters Zach Wendling and Juan Salinas II contributed to this report.

Nebraska state senator cited for ‘public indecency’ during session-ending party

By:<a href="https://stateline.org/author/jacob-fischler/">Jacob Fischler</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/ariana-figueroa/">Ariana Figueroa</a>

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Boston ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plan to pause a food assistance program for 42 million people was illegal — but gave the Trump administration until Monday to respond to her finding before she decides on a motion to force the benefits be paid despite the ongoing government shutdown.

At nearly the same time Friday, a Rhode Island federal judge in a similar case brought by cities and nonprofit groups ordered USDA to continue payments and granted a request for a temporary restraining order.

In Massachusetts, in a Friday afternoon&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71783393/26/commonwealth-of-massachusetts-v-united-states-department-of-agriculture/" target="_blank">order</a>, District Court of Massachusetts Judge Indira Talwani said she would continue to take “under advisement” a coalition of Democratic states’ request to force the release of funds from a contingency account holding about $6 billion.

Her ruling came a day before&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/shutdown-double-whammy-snap-food-benefits-ending-and-federal-workers-go-unpaid" target="_blank">a cutoff of&nbsp;</a>Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits to low-income households.

Because Congress is locked in a stalemate over a stopgap spending bill and did not appropriate money for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, administration officials say the program cannot provide federal funds beginning Saturday. In states, SNAP benefits are loaded onto cards on varying dates, but the cutoff would be effective for November benefits.

Talwani, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, called the administration’s conclusion it can’t provide SNAP funding “erroneous,” and said the reserve fund was sufficient for SNAP benefits to flow to states and the vendors that add money to debit-like cards issued to the program’s beneficiaries that are used to purchase groceries.&nbsp;

The law creating the program mandated that benefits continue, she said.

“Defendants are statutorily mandated to use the previously appropriated SNAP contingency reserve when necessary and also have discretion to use other previously appropriated funds,” Talwani wrote.

Talwani ordered the administration to say by Monday whether it would provide at least partial benefits for November.

The 25 states that sued were Massachusetts, California, Arizona, Minnesota, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington state, Wisconsin Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. The District of Columbia also sued.&nbsp;

In Rhode Island, where the judge granted a temporary restraining order, the advocacy group Democracy Forward, which was among those bringing the suit, praised the move.

“A federal court today granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful effort to halt the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the ongoing government shutdown,” the group said. &nbsp;“The decision ensures that millions of children, seniors, veterans, and families will continue to receive essential food assistance while the case proceeds.”

The judge in that case, John James McConnell Jr., said the administration’s actions violated a key federal administrative law against arbitrary and capricious executive action and federal spending laws “by disregarding Congress’s direction that SNAP must continue operating,” Democracy Forward said.

By:<a href="https://stateline.org/author/jacob-fischler/">Jacob Fischler</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/author/ariana-figueroa/">Ariana Figueroa</a>WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Boston ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plan to pause a food assistance program for 42 million people was illegal — but gave the Trump administration until Monday to respond to her finding before she decides on a motion to force the benefits be paid despite the ongoing government shutdown.At nearly the same time Friday, a Rhode Island federal judge in a similar case brought by cities and nonprofit groups ordered USDA to continue payments and granted a request for a temporary restraining order.In Massachusetts, in a Friday afternoon&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71783393/26/commonwealth-of-massachusetts-v-united-states-department-of-agriculture/" target="_blank">order</a>, District Court of Massachusetts Judge Indira Talwani said she would continue to take “under advisement” a coalition of Democratic states’ request to force the release of funds from a contingency account holding about $6 billion.Her ruling came a day before&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/shutdown-double-whammy-snap-food-benefits-ending-and-federal-workers-go-unpaid" target="_blank">a cutoff of&nbsp;</a>Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits to low-income households.Because Congress is locked in a stalemate over a stopgap spending bill and did not appropriate money for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, administration officials say the program cannot provide federal funds beginning Saturday. In states, SNAP benefits are loaded onto cards on varying dates, but the cutoff would be effective for November benefits.Talwani, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, called the administration’s conclusion it can’t provide SNAP funding “erroneous,” and said the reserve fund was sufficient for SNAP benefits to flow to states and the vendors that add money to debit-like cards issued to the program’s beneficiaries that are used to purchase groceries.&nbsp;The law creating the program mandated that benefits continue, she said.“Defendants are statutorily mandated to use the previously appropriated SNAP contingency reserve when necessary and also have discretion to use other previously appropriated funds,” Talwani wrote.Talwani ordered the administration to say by Monday whether it would provide at least partial benefits for November.The 25 states that sued were Massachusetts, California, Arizona, Minnesota, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington state, Wisconsin Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. The District of Columbia also sued.&nbsp;In Rhode Island, where the judge granted a temporary restraining order, the advocacy group Democracy Forward, which was among those bringing the suit, praised the move.“A federal court today granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful effort to halt the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the ongoing government shutdown,” the group said. &nbsp;“The decision ensures that millions of children, seniors, veterans, and families will continue to receive essential food assistance while the case proceeds.”The judge in that case, John James McConnell Jr., said the administration’s actions violated a key federal administrative law against arbitrary and capricious executive action and federal spending laws “by disregarding Congress’s direction that SNAP must continue operating,” Democracy Forward said.McConnell also was appointed by Obama.

Trump admin. blocked from cutting off SNAP benefits as two judges issue orders

DHHS says Gov. Jim Pillen can issue partisan statements with state resources; message blames Democrats for federal shutdown as SNAP shutoff looms

&nbsp; By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/jsalinas/">Juan Salinas II</a>

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/10/30/nebraska-dhhs-website-blames-dems-for-federal-government-shutdown-as-snap-shutoff-looms/">Nebraska Examiner&nbsp;</a>

LINCOLN — The&nbsp;Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services website posted a banner this week blaming U.S. Senate Democrats for the federal government shutdown and urging them to “stop using Nebraska’s most vulnerable people for political leverage.”&nbsp;

On the banner, the state points to Democrats for disrupting the state-federal partnership on public grocery benefits, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, which it says will run out of funds by the end of the month.&nbsp;

The original message followed a similar approach to the Trump administration, some GOP-led states and some Democratic-led states during the messaging battle over who’s to blame for the federal shutdown.&nbsp;

Nebraska DHHS updated the banner on its website Thursday after reporters and others asked questions, tweaking the announcement from a blanket statement by DHHS into the same message shared as a direct quote from Gov. Jim Pillen.&nbsp;

A DHHS spokesperson said the post was added at the Governor’s Office’s request and was updated to “eliminate any confusion” about where the statement came from.&nbsp;State law prohibits&nbsp;public resources from being used for&nbsp;political purposes, as critics of the banner note. On Thursday afternoon, Pillen’s office confirmed that it approved the posting.&nbsp;

<h2>DHHS says Gov. Jim Pillen can issue partisan statements with state resources; message blames Democrats for federal shutdown as SNAP shutoff looms</h2>&nbsp; By:&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/author/jsalinas/">Juan Salinas II</a><a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/10/30/nebraska-dhhs-website-blames-dems-for-federal-government-shutdown-as-snap-shutoff-looms/">Nebraska Examiner&nbsp;</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1761872082287.jpeg" alt="A sign in front of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services' Lincoln Public Assistance Office on Oct. 30, 2025. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>A sign in front of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services' Lincoln Public Assistance Office on Oct. 30, 2025. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>LINCOLN — The&nbsp;Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services website posted a banner this week blaming U.S. Senate Democrats for the federal government shutdown and urging them to “stop using Nebraska’s most vulnerable people for political leverage.”&nbsp;On the banner, the state points to Democrats for disrupting the state-federal partnership on public grocery benefits, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, which it says will run out of funds by the end of the month.&nbsp;The original message followed a similar approach to the Trump administration, some GOP-led states and some Democratic-led states during the messaging battle over who’s to blame for the federal shutdown.&nbsp;Nebraska DHHS updated the banner on its website Thursday after reporters and others asked questions, tweaking the announcement from a blanket statement by DHHS into the same message shared as a direct quote from Gov. Jim Pillen.&nbsp;A DHHS spokesperson said the post was added at the Governor’s Office’s request and was updated to “eliminate any confusion” about where the statement came from.&nbsp;State law prohibits&nbsp;public resources from being used for&nbsp;political purposes, as critics of the banner note. On Thursday afternoon, Pillen’s office confirmed that it approved the posting.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_7197-255x300.jpg" alt="The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services website, before the update, displayed a banner this week blaming U.S. Senate Democrats for the federal government shutdown. (Courtesy of Nebraska DHHS)" />
 <figcaption>The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services website, before the update, displayed a banner this week blaming U.S. Senate Democrats for the federal government shutdown. (Courtesy of Nebraska DHHS)</figcaption>
 </figure>DHHS officials and the Governor’s Office said the Republican governor has the authority to issue partisan statements on state websites.&nbsp;State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, a Democrat, said the tweak to the website is an admission that he overstepped state law by authorizing the statement and is now trying to “thread the needle” with a quote from him.“Nebraskans are rightly concerned about the disruption of SNAP benefits … and instead of finding solutions, what the governor decided to do was to create yet another distraction,” Conrad said.&nbsp;Common Cause of Nebraska officials said it was unlikely that Pillen violated state law. The national version of the same group is among legal observers who have argued&nbsp;the Trump administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/10/14/nx-s1-5574162/kristi-noem-tsa-video-hatch-act-ethics-violation" target="_blank">likely violated</a>&nbsp;the Hatch Act by using government websites and agencies to blame Democrats for the shutdown. That federal law limits political activities of federal employees and federal agencies to ensure government programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion.&nbsp;Criticisms grew after the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Housing and Urban Development posted messages blaming the “Radical Left” in Congress for the shutdown, in website banners similar to the initial Nebraska DHHS post. The Trump administration also inserted language in some&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/10/05/nx-s1-5563182/shutdown-lawsuit-education-department-partisan-messages" target="_blank">automated email responses</a>&nbsp;from federal agencies blaming Democrats.The political messaging also reached American airports in a video by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for the shutdown, a video&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nebraska-airports-arent-playing-video-from-dhss-noem-blaming-dems-for-government-shutdown/">Nebraska’s two largest airports</a>&nbsp;have said they aren’t airing.<figure>
 <img src="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_7211-256x300.jpg" alt="The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services website after the update displaying a banner this week blaming U.S. Senate Democrats for the federal government shutdown (Courtesy of Nebraska DHHS)" />
 <figcaption>The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services website after the update displaying a banner this week blaming U.S. Senate Democrats for the federal government shutdown (Courtesy of Nebraska DHHS)</figcaption>
 </figure>In Democrat-led Massachusetts, a state&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mass.gov/" target="_blank">government website</a>&nbsp;has an alert saying, “President Trump is freezing SNAP benefits,” while New York’s&nbsp;<a href="https://otda.ny.gov/#expanded" target="_blank">Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance</a>&nbsp;urges New Yorkers to call their representatives in Congress.&nbsp;Earlier this week, Nebraska DHHS announced that SNAP benefits for roughly 150,000 low-income recipients across Nebraska would be paused due to the&nbsp;shutdown. The agency also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ketv.com/article/nebraska-dhhs-will-not-fund-snap-benefits-if-federal-aid-stops-in-november/69184134#:~:text=Tens%20of%20thousands%20of%20Nebraskans,says%20that%20would%20be%20illegal" target="_blank">told Omaha ABC affiliate KETV</a>&nbsp;that it would&nbsp;not take over SNAP funding by itself, because “absorbing the expense of this federal program is not sustainable.”&nbsp;Twenty-five states&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/30/trump-administration-snap-food-aid-lawsuit-shutdown-00630133" target="_blank">have sued the Trump administration</a>&nbsp;over its decision that the USDA cannot use&nbsp;emergency funds to cover SNAP benefits in November. Several other states, such as Virginia and Rhode Island, have declared a state of emergency to reallocate state funds to cover shortfalls in the SNAP program, bolster food pantries or do both.Texas Democrats&nbsp;<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/30/texas-snap-food-assistance-greg-abbott/" target="_blank">have urged</a>&nbsp;Gov.&nbsp;<a href="https://directory.texastribune.org/greg-abbott/" target="_blank">Greg Abbott</a>&nbsp;to use his executive authority to provide emergency state funding. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds&nbsp;<a href="https://governor.iowa.gov/press-release/2025-10-30/governor-reynolds-announces-support-food-banks-and-pantries-delay-snap-benefits-expected" target="_blank">announced some state funding</a>&nbsp;for Iowa’s food banks and pantries and activated the Iowa National Guard for&nbsp;food distribution.&nbsp;Pillen joined other governors in saying their states can’t cover the missing federal food aid, Pillen’s office said it has no plans to declare an emergency. Nebraska is currently dealing with a budget shortfall.&nbsp;Also on Thursday, a lawsuit was filed against Steve Corsi, the CEO of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, alleging that he violated state law by posting the message slamming the Democrats.The posting, the article said, was also “false and misleading,” according to the lawsuit filed by Lincoln attorney Vince Powers, a former head of the Nebraska Democratic Party, on behalf of a Lincoln woman, Kay Siebler.Omaha&nbsp;Mayor John Ewing Jr., a Democrat, the Food Bank for the Heartland, Community Alliance, and other Omaha city leaders&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/omaha-mayor-food-bank-call-for-donations-amid-snap-pause/#:~:text=Omaha%20Mayor%20John%20Ewing%20partnered%20with%20the,in%20Nebraska%20amid%20the%20ongoing%20government%20shutdown." target="_blank">have asked for food and monetary donations</a>&nbsp;ahead of SNAP benefits being shut off.Nebraska Examiner Reporter Paul Hammel contributed to this report.