Dan Parsons Videos

Nebraska has changed the way it determines funding and services for people with developmental disabilities — and families say some of those changes are resulting in significant cuts even when an individual’s needs haven’t changed.

So we ask the question directly:
Is Nebraska cutting disability services to balance the budget?

Dan Parsons is joined by State Sen. Victor Rountree, who introduced LR404; Carol Salber, a licensed independent mental health practitioner and parent; and Mike Browne, father of two adult sons with profound developmental disabilities and a member of Nebraska’s Developmental Disabilities Advisory Committee.

They discuss concerns about Nebraska’s implementation of the interRAI assessment, apparent errors identified by families and professionals, the impact of lower funding tiers, and whether state budget pressures are influencing decisions.

And all three address a question facing Gov. Jim Pillen and DHHS right now: Should funding reductions be paused while an independent review of interRAI is completed?

Subscribe to The Dan Parsons Show for independent Nebraska political journalism, interviews, Nebraska in 3, Why It Matters, Dan on the Road and our continuing Election 2026 coverage.

Support the show by becoming a Friend of Dan on Patreon.

State Sen. Kathleen Kauth told Brinker Harding: “I’ve never seen you turn down someone who wants to talk with you.”

I’ve invited Harding to appear on The Dan Parsons Show repeatedly since July 2025. On Sept. 4, his campaign responded: “Brinker is not available to appear on the show at this time.”

Brinker, the invitation remains open. Come on the show. Let’s talk about why you want to represent Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District.

#Nebraska #NE02 #BrinkerHarding #NebraskaPolitics #DanParsonsShow

Seven months ago, former Nebraska Appropriations Committee Chairman John Stinner questioned the way the state was managing its budget and making cuts.

Now Stinner is back in the news, again criticizing the Pillen administration’s budget decisions.

Listen to what he told me then.

#Nebraska #NebraskaPolitics #NEleg #JohnStinner #JimPillen #NebraskaBudget

Seven months ago, former Nebraska Appropriations Committee Chairman John Stinner joined The Dan Parsons Show and warned about the consequences of repeated cuts to state agencies, including losing some of Nebraska’s best people.

Now Stinner is sounding the alarm again, arguing that decisions by the Pillen administration are threatening Nebraska’s long-term financial stability.

Here’s what he told me seven months ago.

Watch the full John Stinner interview on The Dan Parsons Show.

Read the Senator’s latest piece: Careless budget decisions threaten state’s stability. https://tinyurl.com/StinnerOpEd

#Nebraska #NebraskaPolitics #JohnStinner #JimPillen #NEleg #NebraskaBudget

Nebraska Secretary of State candidate Sarah Slattery says the debate over mail-in voting has major implications for farmers and rural Nebraskans.

For voters who may live miles from a polling place, and farmers whose workday doesn’t fit neatly around Election Day, what would restrictions on voting by mail mean?

Slattery explains why she believes this is an important issue in the race for Nebraska Secretary of State.

#Nebraska #NEPolitics #SarahSlattery #SecretaryOfState #Election2026 #MailInVoting

Nebraska voters will choose a new Secretary of State on November 3, and the race is unfolding amid a national fight over who should control elections.

Democratic candidate Sarah Slattery joins the show to make her case for becoming Nebraska’s next chief election officer.
We press Slattery on some of the biggest questions facing the office: Is Nebraska’s election system working? Is voting by mail secure? How much authority should Washington have over Nebraska elections?
We also discuss Nebraska’s voter ID law, allegations of petition fraud, the record of the current Secretary of State and a basic test of election integrity: What happens when your own party doesn’t like the result?
With Election Day approaching, this is a conversation about more than one candidate. It’s about who runs Nebraska’s elections — and whom voters can trust to protect them.

The Dan Parsons Show — Nebraska politics beyond the headlines.
Subscribe for continuing coverage of Nebraska’s 2026 elections.

#Nebraska #NebraskaPolitics #Election2026 #SecretaryOfState #SarahSlattery #DanParsonsShow

A GOP super PAC is spending $1.4 million to support Pete Ricketts in Nebraska’s U.S. Senate race against independent Dan Osborn.

Why is that much outside money suddenly coming into a deep-red state? The spending offers a window into how seriously Republican groups are treating this race.

#Nebraska #NESen #PeteRicketts #DanOsborn #NebraskaPolitics #Election2026 #Shorts

Nebraska is one of the most Republican states in the country. Donald Trump carried it by roughly 20 points in 2024. Pete Ricketts is an incumbent U.S. senator with substantial campaign resources of his own.

So why is a Republican super PAC suddenly spending $1.4 million to help him?

The spending comes as Nebraska’s Senate race between Pete Ricketts and independent Dan Osborn draws increased attention. A recent SurveyUSA poll measured Osborn at 46% and Ricketts at 42%, while another poll showed the race tied at 47%. Individual polls have uncertainty and shouldn’t be treated as predictions, but the new outside spending provides another indication that Republican groups are taking the Nebraska contest seriously.

In this Why It Matters, Dan Parsons looks beyond the headline at what the $1.4 million ad buy tells us — and what it doesn’t — about Nebraska’s 2026 U.S. Senate race.

Beyond the Headlines.

#Nebraska #PeteRicketts #DanOsborn #NebraskaPolitics #NESen #Election2026 #WhyItMatters #TheDanParsonsShow

This is what holding power accountable looks like.

Flatwater Free Press reporter Yanqi Xu kept digging, kept asking questions and kept pursuing the story of immigrant hiring at Pillen Family Farms, even as Gov. Jim Pillen publicly pushed back against her reporting.

Then other journalists stepped in.

The New York Times partnered with Flatwater to bring the investigation to a national audience. The Omaha World-Herald helped amplify the story in Nebraska.

It took the tenacity of a reporter, and the willingness of journalists and newsrooms to work together.

That’s journalism.

#InvestigativeJournalism #Nebraska #Journalism #Accountability #PillenFamilyFarms #FlatwaterFreePress #NewYorkTimes #OmahaWorldHerald

What started as investigative reporting in Nebraska is now a national story.

Flatwater Free Press and The New York Times jointly published an investigation into immigrant workers and Gov. Jim Pillen’s family business.

Pillen is pushing back. I sat down with Flatwater reporter Yanqi Xu and Executive Editor Matthew Hansen to talk about what they found, the governor’s response, and why this Nebraska story is now getting national attention.

#Nebraska #JimPillen #FlatwaterFreePress #NebraskaPolitics #TheDanParsonsShow #newyorktimes

Flatwater Free Press reporter Yanqi Xu and executive editor Matthew Hansen join The Dan Parsons Show for a behind-the-scenes conversation about Xu’s reporting on Gov. Jim Pillen, Pillen Family Farms and the use of immigrant labor.

Xu recently tracked down Gov. Pillen after a news conference to ask him directly about her reporting. His response: “That’s an old story” and “It’s not true.” Pillen later accused Flatwater of being a “left-leaning news outlet” attempting to take out conservative leadership.

But this story goes back years.

Dan first met Yanqi when she and Matthew appeared on his radio show to discuss her reporting on nitrate contamination involving Pillen’s hog operations. Days later, Pillen dismissed the reporting in a radio interview and referenced Xu’s Chinese background.

In this episode, Yanqi and Matthew talk about:

• What the latest investigation found
• How Yanqi pursued the governor for answers
• Pillen’s response to the reporting
• What it’s like to become part of the story you’re covering
• The Omaha World-Herald’s coverage of the confrontation
• And what this episode says about journalism, political power and holding public officials accountable

It’s also a story about persistence: asking the question, following the evidence and showing up when the person in power would rather move on.

Subscribe to The Dan Parsons Show for independent conversations about Nebraska politics, journalism and the people shaping our state.

And for more from Dan—including the new “Off the Record” segment—join us on Patreon.

Flatwater Festival 2026: https://flatwaterfreepress.org/events/flatwater-festival-2026/

#Nebraska #JimPillen #YanqiXu #FlatwaterFreePress #Journalism #NebraskaPolitics #DanParsonsShow

What’s really happening behind Nebraska’s political headlines?

I’m launching Dan Parsons: Off the Record — Nebraska Political Insider Brief, exclusively for Patreon members.

Drawing on more than 30 years in politics, journalism and public affairs, I’ll take you behind the interviews and share what I’m hearing, what I’m watching, and why it matters.

Real conversations. Beyond the headlines.

Join now: The Dan Parsons Show on Patreon

#NebraskaPolitics #DanParsonsShow #OffTheRecord #Nebraska #Politics