The Dan Parsons Show

What priorities should guide Nebraska’s Legislature as lawmakers face budget pressures, rising property taxes and questions about the future of public services? As part of The Dan Parsons Show’s special election series, Road to the Legislature , Democratic challenger Christy Knorr joins Dan Parsons to discuss her campaign for Nebraska Legislative District 12 in the Omaha area, where she is challen...

With Election Day approaching, Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District has become a battleground in the fight for control of Congress. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries came to Omaha this week to campaign for Denise Powell, the Democrat hoping to succeed retiring Republican Congressman Don Bacon. We were there as Jeffries made his case for a Democratic majority, promising action on Medicaid cu...

What issues will define Nebraska’s next governor — and what answers do voters deserve before Election Day? With the November 3 election approaching, Brett Lindstrom joins Dan Parsons to discuss his campaign, the questions facing Nebraska voters and the challenges awaiting the state’s next governor. From property tax relief to disability services and public trust, the conversation examines the issu...

Is Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District becoming a race to watch? One week before Election Day, Democratic challenger Chris Backemeyer returns to The Dan Parsons Show as national forecasters move his contest against Republican Congressman Mike Flood from solid Republican to likely Republican. Dan asks Backemeyer what has changed, and why dissatisfaction with Washington should translate into suppo...

Bob Krist says Nebraska’s election system is working—and he wants to keep it that way. The former state senator and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel joins Dan Parsons to discuss his America First Party campaign for secretary of state, his defense of mail voting and why he believes his experience sets him apart from his opponents. Dan asks Krist about his pointed new campaign commercial targeti...

When Omaha father Curt Safranek requested public records about Nebraska’s review of its developmental disability assessment system, DHHS estimated nearly $1 million to fulfill the request—with completion projected for 2076. Now he’s taking the agency to court. Safranek and attorney Daniel Gutman join Dan Parsons to explain the lawsuit and the family story behind it. Curt describes how a funding re...

Sen. Brad von Gillern and challenger Cindy Maxwell-Ostdiek answer the same questions in separate interviews, brought together in one episode of The Dan Parsons Show. Our Road to the Legislature series visits Nebraska’s Legislative District 4, covering parts of West Omaha and Elkhorn, for a rematch between the incumbent and the challenger who finished ahead of him in the May primary. Dan asks both...

University of Nebraska Board of Regents candidate Justin Solomon is making a major campaign pledge: He won't vote to increase tuition. But with the university facing budget pressures, how would he make the numbers work? Solomon joins Dan Parsons to discuss his plan to make higher education more affordable, protect academic freedom and rethink how the university operates. A former UNL student r...

Northwest Omaha and Bennington will elect a new state senator this November. But which candidate has the experience and ideas to deliver? In this edition of The Road to the Legislature, Dan Parsons interviews both candidates for Nebraska Legislative District 18: Democrat Jess Goldoni and Republican Taylor Royal. With property taxes rising, Nebraska facing budget pressures and growing communities d...

President Trump came to Grand Island with a message for Nebraska farmers, including a temporary change involving red-dyed diesel. But Nebraska Farmers Union President John Hansen says the problems facing agriculture run much deeper. Hansen joins Dan Parsons to break down what the diesel action actually does, the financial pressure facing Nebraska farms, the impact of tariffs and trade policy, and...

Why did President Trump come to deep-red Nebraska just weeks before Election Day? Trump’s Grand Island rally was about more than firing up the crowd. With Gov. Jim Pillen and Sen. Pete Ricketts facing unusually competitive races, the president came to Nebraska to energize Republican voters, and made news by signing an executive order expanding access to tax-free red-dye diesel. Dan is joined by lo...

The battle over White House press access has taken another turn. After a federal judge ordered access restored to CNN, MS NOW and Politico, the White House Friday night blocked CNN from accompanying President Trump on his Saturday trip to Tennessee. Dan talks with longtime Omaha television news director Rose Ann Shannon about the fight over presidential press access, the role of the television poo...

Nebraska is changing the way it assesses and funds services for people with developmental disabilities. Families say some people are seeing substantial reductions in funding even though their needs haven't changed. But is this simply an attempt to modernize the system, or are Nebraska's budget problems influencing those decisions? Dan Parsons talks with State Sen. Victor Rountree , sponsor...

Nebraska’s race for Secretary of State is about more than who occupies the office. It comes as the country debates mail voting, federal involvement in elections, voter data and public confidence in the system. Democratic candidate Sarah Slattery joins Dan Parsons to explain why she believes she should be Nebraska’s next chief election officer. Dan presses Slattery on whether Nebraska’s election sy...

Flatwater Free Press reporter Yanqi Xu and executive editor Matthew Hansen join Dan for a candid conversation about Xu’s latest reporting involving Gov. Jim Pillen, Pillen Family Farms and immigrant labor. The conversation goes beyond the investigation itself. Yanqi describes pursuing Pillen after a news conference and confronting him directly about her reporting. Matthew discusses the role of an...

Nebraska rancher, businessman and former independent U.S. Senate candidate Jim Jenkins joins Dan Parsons for a candid conversation about the growing pressure on Nebraska agriculture, and why he believes the state’s political leaders aren’t doing enough about it. Jenkins argues that President Trump’s sweeping tariffs amount to a massive tax on American businesses and consumers, driving up costs for...

Bob Krist is back in Nebraska politics, with another unexpected political turn. The retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and former Nebraska state senator has been a Republican, an independent and the Democratic nominee for governor. Now, Krist is running for Nebraska Secretary of State as a candidate of the newly formed America First Party. In this episode of The Dan Parsons Show , Krist explains...

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly inherited a state facing serious fiscal challenges. Eight years later, she says Kansas has a $2 billion rainy-day fund, has paid down debt, fully funded schools and transportation — and cut taxes. In this exclusive conversation on The Dan Parsons Show , Kelly joins Nebraska gubernatorial candidate and former state Sen. Lynne Walz to discuss what Kansas learned — and what th...

Sara Kohen candidate for the Omaha Public Power District Board in District 1, joins the show to discuss why public power matters and what’s at stake for OPPD customers. We talk about the future of public power, data centers, renewable energy, grid reliability, and how board decisions shape affordability, economic development and Nebraska’s energy future. Learn more about Kohen's campaign at https:...

Republican political strategist Ryan Horn joins the show to break down a fast-moving week in Nebraska politics. We discuss the Lincoln petition fraud investigation, Brett Lindstrom’s failed attempt to qualify for the governor’s race after fraudulent signatures were flagged, growing questions about quality control in petition campaigns, and what the shake-up means for Gov. Jim Pillen’s reelection p...

Longtime political consultant Kate Wolfe joins the show to break down the alleged petition fraud tied to Good Government Lincoln’s failed city charter initiative effort. Drawing on her experience managing statewide petition campaigns, Wolfe explains how legitimate signature collection and verification should work, where she believes this effort may have broken down, and why the unusually high reje...

The race for Nebraska Governor just shifted. Former State Senator Brett Lindstrom has officially launched a petition drive to qualify as a nonpartisan candidate for the November ballot. Is this the start of a formal campaign, or a strategic test of the electoral math? Back on April 29, we sat down with Lindstrom to discuss exactly this: the "path" for a nonpartisan run, the signature requirements,...

State Senator Danielle Conrad and GOP consultant Ryan Horn join the show to break down Nebraska’s chaotic post-primary political landscape. We discuss the emergence of new minor-party efforts, rumors of strategic ballot maneuvering, the state of the governor’s race, the possibility of independent candidates reshaping November, and what Bob Evnen’s primary loss could mean for the future of Nebraska...

Mark Gudgel, candidate for the Omaha Public Power District Board in District 2, joins the show to discuss why public power matters and what’s at stake for OPPD customers. We talk about electric rates, data centers, renewable energy, grid reliability, the future of the North Omaha Power Station, climate change, and how board decisions shape affordability, economic development and Nebraska’s energy...

Jocelyn Brasher, Democratic candidate for Nebraska Attorney General, joins the show to discuss her campaign against incumbent Mike Hilgers and her vision for the office. Brasher talks about her background as a former assistant attorney general, consumer protection attorney and prosecutor, while outlining her priorities on consumer rights, antitrust enforcement, medical cannabis, right-to-repair is...