Waterloo and Cedar Falls speaks up: Letters to the editor for the week of Sep. 25, 2026
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Our weekly round-up of letters published in the Courier.
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I am a fifth-generation Nebraskan and a UNL holder of three degrees. I have had an amazing career in agricultural communication, education and technology in Nebraska, Washington, D.C., internationally and now in Nebraska again. Brent Comstock's Sept. 20 column was an outstanding articulation of what we need from our university! I strongly urge you to carefully read what he wrote. Look at the backgrounds of his supporters and vote for Brent. We can hold him accountable to deliver for all of us who care about this state.
Janet Poley, Lincoln
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It’s impressive that Lynne Walz is singlehandedly responsible for bringing data centers to Nebraska, as Pillen’s ads claim. She apparently accomplished this feat as one legislator of 49 and from the minority party. Meanwhile, Pillen has been governor for four years with a Republican majority Legislature. Every governor since 1999 has been Republican, including now-Sen. Pete Ricketts.
What was Pillen doing during this time? Accepting Ricketts’ donations, then appointing him U.S. senator. Awarding a $2.5 million no-bid contract that drew scrutiny by State Auditor Mike Foley, who said it broke the law by not identifying what emergency justified it and “smacked of favoritism” because the contractor, Julie Bushell, knew and had previously traveled with Pillen as part of a state delegation and on other occasions. LPD is investigating, while new questions are being reported about the contractor. Calling Nebraskans who didn’t vote for him “libtards.” Overseeing HHS as it denies services to our disability community, leaving families devastated. Running a company that pollutes our groundwater with nitrates, and responding by calling the reporter who wrote about it a “Chinese communist.” Employing a 17-year-old teen who died working with hazardous chemicals in a hog confinement facility, leaving his mother seeking answers that were not forthcoming. Opening a concentration camp to detain men, women, and children, while Pillen Farms used a contractor that hired undocumented migrants to work for them. Enacting Medicaid cuts and sending our voter data to Washington to please the president. Using a taxpayer-funded jet to tootle around the state. Taking a budget surplus and turning it into a billion-dollar deficit by giving tax breaks to himself and his wealthy donors (but still not addressing property taxes).
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Political ads keep promising “lower costs,” but household budgets tell a different story. Rising property taxes, high insurance premiums and elevated prices for groceries, fuel and healthcare continue to strain families and retirees. While people struggle, leaders such as Sen. Pete Ricketts have pushed major data‑center expansion that relies on generous tax incentives and heavy use of local power and water.
Many residents wonder why corporate tech giants receive relief while households shoulder rising costs.
- Updated
Justice demands answers for Brianna
The fatal shooting of 19-year-old Nyandeng “Brianna” Chol should deeply concern our entire Lincoln community.
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The fatal shooting of 19-year-old Nyandeng “Brianna” Chol should deeply concern our entire Lincoln community.
As a parent of a young Black teenager in Lincoln, this tragedy hits devastatingly close to home. When I look at my own child, I am filled with outrage and fear knowing that a 19-year-old young woman, with her entire life ahead of her, could be killed right here in our city.
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What is your opinion of the U.S. Congress?
If voters don't approve of Congressional performance, then why do they keep sending the same people back to Congress?
- Updated
As a grandmother, I’ve been fortunate to watch my grandchildren grow up on the volleyball court. It’s a privilege to watch them learn how to contribute to a team, push through disappointment, celebrate the success of others and keep showing up even in the face of hardship. These lessons stay with a child long after the final whistle blows.
Unfortunately, my grandchildren’s opportunities aren’t universal. A child’s chance to build confidence through sports shouldn’t hinge on how much money their parents earn. Nor should belonging on a team depend on a child’s ZIP code.
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Now that felon Trump’s reintroduced the big lie to justify encouraging benighted followers to engage in election fraud in the midterms “by cheating like hell like them,” all Americans should wake up to this repetition of history and censure him by voting out of office all complicit, now irrevocably corrupted, congressional Republicans who’ve thus far shirked responsibility by enabling him.
This kind of reckless nonsense, like the bogus “Trump dividend,” has to be stopped before the $40 trillion national debt begins to increase exponentially, and before more have to suffer loss or death needlessly here in the U.S. or in Venezuela, Israel, Jordan, Gaza and Iran.
- Updated
Radical Islam
As we remember the images of horror from Sept. 11, 2001, citizens on both sides of the aisle are concerned with the growing presence of Islam in our communities and its commitment to violence, i.e. honor killings, subjugation of non-Islamic people under sharia law, capital punishment for homosexuals and converts etc.
- Updated
I think that somewhere I remember reading that Larry Van Oort was a teacher so I guess he took an English class in college, but apparently he forget how to write in sentences instead just jotting down disjointed ideas as he wrote. But he is a master at the dog whistle. He must know there are no more than a handful of DSA, or communists as he prefers, but he wants you to believe they are set to take over government.
Instead of scaring you with this Red Scare he should be more concerned with the rampant in-your-face graft and corruption that is occurring with Trump, his family and associates. Out of control gas prices because of this ill-conceived war with Iran, high prices for groceries and fertilizer for farmers because of Trump's idea of his stupid tariffs are making life harder for everyone except for his wealthy bros.
- Updated
As the great Yogi Berra once said: "It's deja' vu all over again." The newest conspiracy theory concerns Artificial Intelligence, or AI, and how it will destroy mankind. "The sky is falling!" Been there.
In 1968, a biology teacher named Paul Ehrlich wrote "The Population Bomb." He claimed that overpopulation was a given, and that worldwide mass starvation and social chaos was probable. Our news media, rather than ask questions, promoted his theory for years. When skeptical minds scrutinized Ehrlich's predictions, they found his data seriously flawed.
- Updated
Reference: “UNI panel to discuss Iowa cancer crisis” The Courier 9/826. The discussion was based on an authored document, “Environmental Risk Factors and Iowa’s Cancer Crisis,” which attempted to correlate Iowa’s rising cancer rate to agricultural chemicals.
Agricultural chemicals can contribute to cancer causation, but the causes of cancer are multi factorial. Looking at average lifespan: Hawaii 80, Iowa 77.9, West Virginia 72.2 we do not appear to have a cancer crisis.
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I am a fifth-generation Nebraskan and a UNL holder of three degrees. I have had an amazing career in agricultural communication, education and technology in Nebraska, Washington, D.C., internationally and now in Nebraska again. Brent Comstock's Sept. 20 column was an outstanding articulation of what we need from our university! I strongly urge you to carefully read what he wrote. Look at the backgrounds of his supporters and vote for Brent. We can hold him accountable to deliver for all of us who care about this state.
Janet Poley, Lincoln
It’s impressive that Lynne Walz is singlehandedly responsible for bringing data centers to Nebraska, as Pillen’s ads claim. She apparently accomplished this feat as one legislator of 49 and from the minority party. Meanwhile, Pillen has been governor for four years with a Republican majority Legislature. Every governor since 1999 has been Republican, including now-Sen. Pete Ricketts.
What was Pillen doing during this time? Accepting Ricketts’ donations, then appointing him U.S. senator. Awarding a $2.5 million no-bid contract that drew scrutiny by State Auditor Mike Foley, who said it broke the law by not identifying what emergency justified it and “smacked of favoritism” because the contractor, Julie Bushell, knew and had previously traveled with Pillen as part of a state delegation and on other occasions. LPD is investigating, while new questions are being reported about the contractor. Calling Nebraskans who didn’t vote for him “libtards.” Overseeing HHS as it denies services to our disability community, leaving families devastated. Running a company that pollutes our groundwater with nitrates, and responding by calling the reporter who wrote about it a “Chinese communist.” Employing a 17-year-old teen who died working with hazardous chemicals in a hog confinement facility, leaving his mother seeking answers that were not forthcoming. Opening a concentration camp to detain men, women, and children, while Pillen Farms used a contractor that hired undocumented migrants to work for them. Enacting Medicaid cuts and sending our voter data to Washington to please the president. Using a taxpayer-funded jet to tootle around the state. Taking a budget surplus and turning it into a billion-dollar deficit by giving tax breaks to himself and his wealthy donors (but still not addressing property taxes).
Political ads keep promising “lower costs,” but household budgets tell a different story. Rising property taxes, high insurance premiums and elevated prices for groceries, fuel and healthcare continue to strain families and retirees. While people struggle, leaders such as Sen. Pete Ricketts have pushed major data‑center expansion that relies on generous tax incentives and heavy use of local power and water.
Many residents wonder why corporate tech giants receive relief while households shoulder rising costs.
Justice demands answers for Brianna
The fatal shooting of 19-year-old Nyandeng “Brianna” Chol should deeply concern our entire Lincoln community.
The fatal shooting of 19-year-old Nyandeng “Brianna” Chol should deeply concern our entire Lincoln community.
As a parent of a young Black teenager in Lincoln, this tragedy hits devastatingly close to home. When I look at my own child, I am filled with outrage and fear knowing that a 19-year-old young woman, with her entire life ahead of her, could be killed right here in our city.
What is your opinion of the U.S. Congress?
If voters don't approve of Congressional performance, then why do they keep sending the same people back to Congress?
As a grandmother, I’ve been fortunate to watch my grandchildren grow up on the volleyball court. It’s a privilege to watch them learn how to contribute to a team, push through disappointment, celebrate the success of others and keep showing up even in the face of hardship. These lessons stay with a child long after the final whistle blows.
Unfortunately, my grandchildren’s opportunities aren’t universal. A child’s chance to build confidence through sports shouldn’t hinge on how much money their parents earn. Nor should belonging on a team depend on a child’s ZIP code.
Now that felon Trump’s reintroduced the big lie to justify encouraging benighted followers to engage in election fraud in the midterms “by cheating like hell like them,” all Americans should wake up to this repetition of history and censure him by voting out of office all complicit, now irrevocably corrupted, congressional Republicans who’ve thus far shirked responsibility by enabling him.
This kind of reckless nonsense, like the bogus “Trump dividend,” has to be stopped before the $40 trillion national debt begins to increase exponentially, and before more have to suffer loss or death needlessly here in the U.S. or in Venezuela, Israel, Jordan, Gaza and Iran.
Radical Islam
As we remember the images of horror from Sept. 11, 2001, citizens on both sides of the aisle are concerned with the growing presence of Islam in our communities and its commitment to violence, i.e. honor killings, subjugation of non-Islamic people under sharia law, capital punishment for homosexuals and converts etc.
I think that somewhere I remember reading that Larry Van Oort was a teacher so I guess he took an English class in college, but apparently he forget how to write in sentences instead just jotting down disjointed ideas as he wrote. But he is a master at the dog whistle. He must know there are no more than a handful of DSA, or communists as he prefers, but he wants you to believe they are set to take over government.
Instead of scaring you with this Red Scare he should be more concerned with the rampant in-your-face graft and corruption that is occurring with Trump, his family and associates. Out of control gas prices because of this ill-conceived war with Iran, high prices for groceries and fertilizer for farmers because of Trump's idea of his stupid tariffs are making life harder for everyone except for his wealthy bros.
As the great Yogi Berra once said: "It's deja' vu all over again." The newest conspiracy theory concerns Artificial Intelligence, or AI, and how it will destroy mankind. "The sky is falling!" Been there.
In 1968, a biology teacher named Paul Ehrlich wrote "The Population Bomb." He claimed that overpopulation was a given, and that worldwide mass starvation and social chaos was probable. Our news media, rather than ask questions, promoted his theory for years. When skeptical minds scrutinized Ehrlich's predictions, they found his data seriously flawed.
Reference: “UNI panel to discuss Iowa cancer crisis” The Courier 9/826. The discussion was based on an authored document, “Environmental Risk Factors and Iowa’s Cancer Crisis,” which attempted to correlate Iowa’s rising cancer rate to agricultural chemicals.
Agricultural chemicals can contribute to cancer causation, but the causes of cancer are multi factorial. Looking at average lifespan: Hawaii 80, Iowa 77.9, West Virginia 72.2 we do not appear to have a cancer crisis.
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