Two prominent Nebraskans, one known for his activities in state and local politics and the other for his work in academics and baseball elsewhere, have died. Gene Budig was 81 while Chuck Sigerson was 75.
Sigerson was born in Pennsylvania, but spent most of his adult life in Nebraska where he served 6 years as Republican Party state chairman and 9 years on the Omaha City Council before a stroke and cancer forced his resignation in 2010.
It was during Sigerson’s tenure as chairman that the GOP established its dominance in the state.
No Democrat has held a statewide office Mike Johanns succeeded Ben Nelson as governor in 1998 with the only Democrats in Congress since then have been Nelson in the Senate for 2 terms and Brad Ashford in the House for 1 term.
Gene Budig was the last president of the American League before the job was eliminated as well as the president of Illinois State University and West Virginia, and Chancellor of the University of Kansas, but the general public didn’t know of his Nebraska ties.
Budig was a native of McCook and earned 3 degrees from UNL – bachelor’s, master’s and PhD, all in education. He was also a newspaper reporter, governor’s assistant, and major general in the Nebraska Air National Guard.