Pillen appoints a familiar face as senator for District 41 after McKeon’s resignation
By Molly Ashford 
, Nebraska Public Media
Jan. 14, 2026, 2 p.m. ·
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen appointed Fred Meyer to the Legislature on Wednesday to fill a vacancy created after a senator resigned over sexual harassment allegations.
This is Meyer’s second appointment to the Legislature. He was appointed to represent the same district in 2023 after former State Sen. Tom Briese resigned to become the state treasurer, but he did not run to retain the seat in 2024.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, in my view, Fred was the top person,” Pillen said of Meyer.
The appointment comes after Sen. Dan McKeon resigned on Tuesday just before the Legislature was set to debate his expulsion. McKeon was accused of inappropriately touching and making lewd comments towards a legislative staffer at an end-of-session party last May. He denied the allegations, but said prior to resigning on Tuesday that he accepted responsibility for his actions.
Meyer, who lives in St. Paul, Nebraska, served on the State Board of Education from 1999 to 2010. He is semi-retired, and said he initially told Pillen "no" when asked about coming back to the Legislature.
“It wasn’t in my agenda to do it again,” he said. “But about 10 days ago, Coach Pillen started looking down at his bench, and there was one guy at the end of the bench who didn’t want to make eye contact with him. And he said, ‘Meyer, you’re in the game.’ So that’s why I’m here today – because I believe once you’re in the game, then you give it your all, which I promise to do to my fellow senators.”
Meyer said Nebraska has “plenty of laws” and he does not plan to introduce any new bills. He said he’s ready to work on closing the state’s budget deficit.
“The opportunity for any kind of new spending probably isn’t going to happen, and that’s OK,” he said. “If we can be efficient with our time this session, and do what we need to do, I will contribute whatever I can and whatever expertise I can.”
A special election will be held in November to determine who will finish out McKeon’s term, which ends in 2029. Meyer said he isn’t yet sure if he will run to keep the seat.
District 41 encompasses all of Wheeler, Valley, Boone, Greeley, Sherman and Howard Counties, and parts of Hall and Buffalo Counties. The district is largely rural and is home to about 38,000 people.
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