Nebraska in the national news: August 2025

A University of Nebraska–Lincoln food scientist was featured in two national news stories on fermented foods in August. The stories were among 50-plus national news stories featuring Husker administrators, faculty, staff, students, centers and programs during the month.

• Heather Hallen-Adams, associate professor of practice in food science and technology, was quoted in an Aug. 18 Nature article on a new study showing that pH, temperature and microbial species in the cocoa bean fermentation process all influence how chocolate tastes. “I think this definitely has promise for people to start to play with and look at in terms of designer chocolates,” she said. She was not involved with the research.
• Hallen-Adams was also interviewed for an Aug. 26 New York Times article titled “Is kombucha good for you?” Kombucha is naturally low in sugar, she said, but some manufacturers add more sugar or fruit juice to make it sweeter. (This article requires a subscription.)

Additional national news coverage in August included:

• Drone Amplified and its IGNIS system were featured in an Aug. 1 Popular Science article. The company’s drones are currently operating more than 200 systems in at least 30 U.S. states, as well as Canada, Germany and Australia. Carrick Detweiler, School of Computing, is the company’s co-founder and CEO.
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln turfgrass researchers teamed up with Husker Athletics on the installation of Bermuda grass at the new football practice fields, The Athletic Business reported Aug. 1. Amanda Folck, an assistant extension educator in turfgrass management, led a year-long research project evaluating the performance of hybrid Bermuda grass. Folck; Matt Rhule, head football coach; and Alex Harter, head sports field manager for Nebraska Athletics, were featured in the article.
• The University of Nebraska–Lincoln will implement a plan by the end of the calendar year to reduce its budget by about $27.5 million, covering a structural deficit and anticipated new budget cuts, Chancellor Rodney D. Bennett announced Aug. 4. Articles on the budget reductions appeared in at least a dozen Nebraska media outlets, as well as Forbes and Higher Ed Dive.
• Chancellor Rodney D. Bennett was quoted in an Aug. 12 New York Times article on how financial troubles at colleges and universities could reshape the student experience. “Our revenue has not kept pace with expenses,” he wrote in an Aug. 4 message to faculty and staff, noting inflation and the high costs of health care, insurance premiums and utilities, among other headwinds. The university’s plan to reduce its budget was also mentioned in the article. (This article requires a subscription.)
• Dona-Gene Barton, political science, was quoted in an Aug. 4 Guardian article on the Senate race between incumbent Pete Ricketts and challenger Dan Osborn. Barton said she thinks Osborn has a “much tougher task” than he did in his 2024 race against Sen. Deb Fischer. Compared to Fischer, Ricketts is “much more popular in the state,” Barton said. “He has incredibly deep pockets, and he’s the sitting incumbent.”
• Kelsy Burke, sociology, wrote an Aug. 7 guest column for Time magazine titled “Religious opposition to trans health care is a relatively new phenomenon.” “Reactions from Christian leaders to gender-affirming health care were far more diverse in the past,” she wrote. “… In fact, some leaders from denominations that vocally oppose such care in the current moment once chose to support the decisions of doctors and transgender patients who pursued medical interventions.”
• The Kearney Hub, The Fence Post and Tri-State Livestock News ran articles on Kristen Herrick, a 4-H assistant with Nebraska Extension. She was heavily involved with Nebraska 4-H before her extension role.
• Brooke Rollins, U.S. secretary of agriculture, and members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation toured the university’s Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center on Aug. 9. Stories on the visit appeared in Nebraska Examiner, Nebraska Public Media, Brownfield Ag News and several other media outlets.
• Azzeddine Azzam, agricultural economics, was interviewed for an Aug. 11 Des Moines Register article on thousands of meatpacking jobs being in jeopardy amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrant work visa programs. Azzam said a tighter labor market may force meatpackers to pay higher wages to attract U.S.-born workers. Increased processing costs also could lower prices for ag producers and push consumer costs higher, he said.
• Frans von der Dunk, law, was interviewed for an Aug. 12 Washington Post article on the legal questions surrounding NASA’s accelerated plans to build a nuclear reactor on the moon. If a nation claims more than a few kilometers around a landing site as a “safety zone,” other countries might begin to suspect that they aren’t motivated by a desire for security but are instead using it as a “sort of veiled approach to say everyone keeps out,” von der Dunk said. He added that it is too early to assess the proper size of a lunar safety zone, given how little is known about NASA’s plans. (This article requires a subscription.)
• News Channel Nebraska, the Scottsbluff Star-Herald and Tri-State Livestock News ran articles on the six interns who worked in Bijesh Maharjan’s Soils Lab at the university’s Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center this summer. The interns were Dulmini Anuradha, Misara Bandara and Dilshan Ekanayaka from Sri Lanka; Muhammaed Lamin Bittaye from Gambia; Luise Marina Scapin from Brazil; and Delaney Pohl from Bridgeport, Nebraska.
• In the latest published work from the lab of Nebraska’s James Schnable, Vladimir Torres-Rodriguez and Guangchao Sun helped an international team identify a hidden layer of genetic control within the DNA of corn. The findings reveal how small variations in DNA can influence important traits such as drought resistance, plant height and flower time, ultimately leading to more resilient crops. Articles on the research appeared in KHGI, the Lincoln Journal Star, Farms.com, The Fence Post, Tri-State Livestock News and Where the Food Comes From.
• Joe Luck, associate director of the university’s Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center, was interviewed for an Aug. 13 Brownfield Ag News story on the new NFarms facility at the center. NFarms brings together precision ag data and technology to help producers improve management decisions.
• The Homeland Defense and Security Information Analysis Center published an Aug. 13 article on how University of Nebraska researchers are working to address agriculture-related cyber vulnerabilities. The Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ partnership with NU’s National Strategic Research Institute was highlighted in the article.
• The Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center recently received the Governor’s Excellence in Ag Partnership Award for its scientific excellence and support of Nebraska agricultural stakeholders, KFXL and Tri-State Livestock News reported. Gov. Jim Pillen presented the award at the 2025 Governor’s Summit in Kearney on Aug. 13.
• The exhibition “Go Big Red” is on view through Dec. 31 at Sheldon Museum of Art. The exhibition features works that contain the color red, chosen by 45 community co-curators. Stories on the exhibition happeared in KLIN, KLKN, KOLN/KGIN, the Lincoln Journal Star and Art Daily.
• Tamra Jackson-Ziems, plant pathology, was interviewed for an Aug. 15 Successful Farming article on the threats of tar spot and southern rust to Nebraska cornfields. She urged farmers to get out in their fields to allow them to make timely decisions. “It’s worth scouting fields, and some fields may benefit from fungicide treatment, especially if at early dough stage or earlier,” she said.
• Mardi Schmeichel, teaching, learning and teacher education, and Stacey Kerr, an independent researcher, were jointly quoted in an Aug. 17 Newsweek article titled “Sorority girls are the right’s latest obsession.” “The political right’s framing of sorority videos as ‘making the left mad,’ despite no evidence of widespread outrage, is a classic right-wing tactic: manufacturing a fake conflict as a way to signal dominance,” they wrote.
• The University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture have opened enrollment to the public for “Prime Education: Introduction to Butchery and Meat Processing,” a self-paced, online curriculum aimed at anyone interested in exploring a career in the meat processing industry. Stories on the course appeared in KOLN/KGIN, The Fence Post and Midwest Messenger.
• William “Bill” Struckmeyer, research manager at the High Plains Agricultural Lab near Sidney, recently received the Inclusive Excellence Award from the university’s Staff Senate, Tri-State Livestock News reported Aug. 27.

Faculty, administration, student and staff appearances in the national media are logged at http://newsroom.unl.edu/inthenews. If you have additions to the list, contact Sean Hagewood at shagewood2@unl.edu or 402-472-8514. If you have suggestions for national news stories, contact Leslie Reed at lreed5@unl.edu or 402-472-2059.