LINCOLN- Just a few days into accepting applications for a new batch of emergency rental aid, representatives from around the state of Nebraska said they've already fielded more than 600 requests from 55 different counties. "It's been insanely busy," said Tanya Gifford of Lift Up Sarpy County. Gifford's organization is among those helping the Nebraska Investment Authority disburse $48 million in pandemic-related rent and utility aid, this time towards the state's 91 more rural counties.

The federal funding for these smaller counties had become shrouded in controversy in past years, after then-Gov. Pete Ricketts refused to tape into the federal dollars set aside for Nebraska. Ricketts, following the announcement that Nebraska would receive the funding, claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic was over and that Nebraska should guard against becoming a "welfare state." Despite this, state lawmakers became involved, but fell one vote short of overriding a veto on a bill that would have forced Ricketts' hand.

Gov. Jim Pillen, upon assuming the governorship, accepted what was left of the original $120 million in federal funding for these counties, bucking his predecessor's stance. A spokeswoman from Pillen's office said that the new governor recognized that housing stability and affordability issues still plagued rural Nebraska, and that accepting the funding would help ease those burdens. For the second round, applicants must demonstrate that they faced financial hardship during the pandemic, and then can receive up to $30,000 for past-due and future rent and utility payments.

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