Heath Mello

  • Senators open to legislative changes to allow rideshare in Nebraska

    Senators open to legislative changes to allow rideshare in Nebraska

    LINCOLN—It appears Nebraska legislators may be poised to replicate Colorado legislation to create a new class of transportation to deal with ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft. Enter, transportation network carriers. A TNC “uses a digital network to connect riders to drivers for the purpose of providing transportation.”

  • Government, entrepreneurs invited to roundtable at NE Capitol April 2

    State leaders and members of entrepreneurial groups will meet for a roundtable in Lincoln on April 2 to talk about how the government can foster entrepreneurship. The Council of State Governments and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation have partnered to present a lunchtime session and roundtable discussion for Nebraska state policymakers at the Capitol from…

  • Nebraska bill would study best practices for venture capital growth

    A bill in the Nebraska legislature would create a $50,000 study to examine ways to support and increase venture capital in the state, including an analysis of best practices in other states. If the bill passes, the study would be completed by December and provide recommendations for future policy suggestions. The same bill, LB1114, also…

  • Hack Omaha provides opportunity to transform state, local government

    (Guest post by Heath Mello.) As local and state governments continue to wrestle with a wide range of ongoing policy challenges, one issue continues to stand out as an opportunity to help solve many problems with a simple stroke of the keyboard: releasing usable government data. Transparency in government continues to be an ongoing issue…

  • Sen. Heath Mello discusses economic development at Cornstalks

    July’s Cornstalks, an Omaha Chamber-hosted meetup for aspiring and current high-growth entrepreneurs, featured Nebraska State Senator Heath Mello speaking about entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic development. Mello’s opening remarks, which are featured in the seven minute video below, focused on efforts to grow Nebraska’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. He said: “There’s a lot of people…

  • Nebraska Film: Heath Mello advocates for film tax incentives

    (Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series titled Nebraska Film: An Exploration of the Growing Community.) As the Silicon Prairie region continues to build a reputation for being an entrepreneur and innovation hotspot, Nebraska is looking to become a Hollywood of sorts for its blossoming actors, directors and other “filmsters” awaiting stardom. While…