LINCOLN- State Sen. Merv Riepe, the Ralston lawmaker at the nexus of controversy the past three years since returning to the Nebraska Legislature, isn’t afraid to go against his Republican colleagues. Riepe returned to the Legislature in January 2023 after losing a reelection bid to his predecessor in 2018. While his first term was more in line with the then-Nebraska Republican Party, which he notes was different, too — his return has positioned him differently, as more of an independent thinker and pivotal vote on many proposals.

From new abortion restrictions, Medicaid expansion, and gender-related care to sports and bathrooms for transgender students, winner-take-all and criminal justice for teen offenders, the 82-year-old Riepe found a spotlight he says he never intended to seek. “If I’m the 33rd vote to kill something, then I say, ‘OK.’ If I feel strongly about it, I will do that, regardless of what the consequences are,” Riepe told the Nebraska Examiner during a two-hour interview.

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