Great Plains News Digest
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IOWA
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US–Election 2026-Senate-Iowa
Iowa Democrat Jackie Norris ends US Senate campaign, citing Des Moines superintendent’s ICE arrest
SUMMARY: Democrat Jackie Norris has ended her campaign for Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat. She plans to focus on her role as chair of the Des Moines public school board. This decision follows the arrest of Superintendent Ian Roberts by immigration authorities on Sept. 26. Norris says the situation demands her attention and has led to intense scrutiny. She will continue to lead the board during this transition and work on securing voter approval for a $265 million bond in November. Her departure leaves several male candidates in the Democratic primary field, with Republicans favored to retain the seat. Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is stepping down after serving two terms.
WORDS: 488 – MOVED: 10/16/2025 12:26 p.m. CDT
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KANSAS
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US–Gerrymander or Dummymander?
States are redistricting to help one party but sometimes the move can backfire
SUMMARY: An unprecedented number of states are considering redrawing their congressional district lines mid-decade. Some warn this could lead to “dummymandering,” where efforts to stretch partisan advantage might backfire. Nebraska is among the states where mid-decade redistricting has been floated. The focus is on the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District, which is considered vulnerable for Republicans. Some Republicans in states considering mid-decade redistricting are hesitant, fearing it could make other districts more susceptible to loss. Concerns about overreaching haven’t stopped the push for redistricting, but Nebraska faces challenges, including a lack of legislative support.
WORDS: 1083 – MOVED: 10/16/2025 3:23 p.m. CDT
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MINNESOTA
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US–Government Shutdown-Food Aid-What to Know
Food assistance is safe through October, but it may be at risk if the shutdown continues
SUMMARY: About 40 million people could see food assistance disappear next month if the federal government shutdown continues. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has told states not to send the companies that issue debit cards for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program November’s information yet. And at least some states have stopped approving new applications for SNAP. It’s possible that the government could find funding to keep the program going even if the shutdown continues, but at $8 billion a month, that would be a challenge. State officials say a pause in benefits would be a blow to families and the broader economy.
WORDS: 1043 – MOVED: 10/16/2025 9:46 a.m. CDT
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US–Election 2022-House
Greene, McBath win US House races; Cuellar in tight runoff
SUMMARY: One of the last anti-abortion Democrats in Congress was facing his toughest primary challenge yet in Tuesday’s runoff, while a staunch gun safety advocate ousted her House colleague in a fierce member-on-member congressional primary in suburban Atlanta. In northwest Georgia, far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a conspiracy-peddling provocateur who has endorsed calls to assassinate prominent Democrats, coasted to victory. Primary elections Tuesday in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Minnesota and Texas are offering a glimpse of what the next Congress could look like, with some marquee matchups testing whether voters want to elect agents of change or a return to normal.
WORDS: 1221 – MOVED: 05/23/2022 11:17 p.m. CDT
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MISSOURI
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US–Gerrymander or Dummymander?
States are redistricting to help one party but sometimes the move can backfire
SUMMARY: An unprecedented number of states are considering redrawing their congressional district lines mid-decade. Some warn this could lead to “dummymandering,” where efforts to stretch partisan advantage might backfire. Nebraska is among the states where mid-decade redistricting has been floated. The focus is on the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District, which is considered vulnerable for Republicans. Some Republicans in states considering mid-decade redistricting are hesitant, fearing it could make other districts more susceptible to loss. Concerns about overreaching haven’t stopped the push for redistricting, but Nebraska faces challenges, including a lack of legislative support.
WORDS: 1083 – MOVED: 10/16/2025 3:23 p.m. CDT
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NEBRASKA
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US–Gerrymander or Dummymander?
States are redistricting to help one party but sometimes the move can backfire
SUMMARY: An unprecedented number of states are considering redrawing their congressional district lines mid-decade. Some warn this could lead to “dummymandering,” where efforts to stretch partisan advantage might backfire. Nebraska is among the states where mid-decade redistricting has been floated. The focus is on the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District, which is considered vulnerable for Republicans. Some Republicans in states considering mid-decade redistricting are hesitant, fearing it could make other districts more susceptible to loss. Concerns about overreaching haven’t stopped the push for redistricting, but Nebraska faces challenges, including a lack of legislative support.
WORDS: 1083 – MOVED: 10/16/2025 3:23 p.m. CDT
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NE–University Spending-Administration
University of Nebraska now spends more on administrators and managers than on faculty
SUMMARY: The University of Nebraska spent more last year on administrators than it did on faculty members who teach and advise students. The spike in spending is especially stark when compared with how much the University of Nebraska pays its professors and instructors. When adjusted for inflation, the cost of faculty across the system declined by 10% in the past 10 years, while administrative and professional costs grew by 54%. University officials say administrative spending has grown, but most of that money is pulled from revenue generated by those departments. The bulk of faculty and academic spending draws from the state-aided budget, a mix of taxpayer money and tuition dollars.
WORDS: 1465 – MOVED: 10/17/2025 12:04 p.m. CDT
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NORTH DAKOTA
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US–Trump-Coal
US rejects bid to lease coal from public lands in Utah as sales in western states fall flat
SUMMARY: U.S. officials have rejected a mining company’s bid for more than 6 million tons of coal beneath a national forest in Utah. It’s the third proposed coal sale from public lands in the West to fall through this month despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to boost production of the fuel. The Interior Department says it received a single bid for two tracts of federal coal near central Utah’s Skyline Mine and that it did not meet the requirements of a law that requires companies to pay fair market value for coal from public lands. The department last week rejected a bid for 167 million tons of coal in Montana, then indefinitely postponed an even larger sale in Wyoming.
WORDS: 774 – MOVED: 10/16/2025 1:08 p.m. CDT
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OKLAHOMA
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US–Trump-Energy-Transmission
Energy Department offers $1.6 billion loan guarantee to upgrade transmission lines across Midwest
SUMMARY: The Department of Energy says it has finalized a $1.6 billion loan guarantee to a subsidiary of one of the nation’s largest power companies to upgrade nearly 5,000 miles of transmission lines across five states, mostly in the Midwest, for largely fossil fuel-run energy. The project by AEP Transmission, a subsidiary of Ohio-based American Electric Power, will help meet surging electricity demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. The project will upgrade power lines in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia. Thursday’s announcement deepens the Trump administration’s commitment to traditional, polluting energy sources even as it works to discourage the U.S. from clean energy use.
WORDS: 809 – MOVED: 10/16/2025 1:01 p.m. CDT
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SPORTS
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IOWA
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FBC–Penn St-Grunkemeyer
Ethan Grunkemeyer ready for first career start at Iowa as Penn State tries to salvage season
SUMMARY: Ethan Grunkemeyer was immediately swarmed by reporters after Penn State practice. As bodies and cameras enveloped him on Wednesday night, the quarterback’s eyes glanced back toward his teammates. One shouted, “Yeah Grunk! Man of the hour!” Grunkemeyer, who will make his first career start when the Nittany Lions visit Iowa on Saturday, finally allowed himself to smile. The redshirt freshman says “I definitely feel prepared.” The Nittany Lions have lost three straight games and longtime coach James Franklin has been fired. It’ll be up to Grunkemeyer to try to salvage a season that he and his teammates hoped would end with a deep playoff run.
WORDS: 822 – MOVED: 10/16/2025 1:06 p.m. CDT
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MINNESOTA
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BKN–NBA-Betting
Western Conference teams dominate NBA championship betting with season on the horizon
SUMMARY: The Western Conference is so strong that its championship might feel like the real NBA Finals. BetMGM Sportsbook shows that six of the top seven potential NBA champions from a betting liability standpoint are from the West. Miami is the only Eastern team. Western teams have won three of the last four championships, with Boston in 2024 being the exception. Oklahoma City and Denver are the top favorites at BetMGM. Meanwhile, the MVP race appears to be among Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic. Dallas’ Cooper Flagg is the favorite for Rookie of the Year.
WORDS: 942 – MOVED: 10/16/2025 6:29 p.m. CDT
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OKLAHOMA
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BKN–NBA-Betting
Western Conference teams dominate NBA championship betting with season on the horizon
SUMMARY: The Western Conference is so strong that its championship might feel like the real NBA Finals. BetMGM Sportsbook shows that six of the top seven potential NBA champions from a betting liability standpoint are from the West. Miami is the only Eastern team. Western teams have won three of the last four championships, with Boston in 2024 being the exception. Oklahoma City and Denver are the top favorites at BetMGM. Meanwhile, the MVP race appears to be among Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic. Dallas’ Cooper Flagg is the favorite for Rookie of the Year.
WORDS: 942 – MOVED: 10/16/2025 6:29 p.m. CDT
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