Polar Plunge 2026: Cold Water, Warm Hearts for Special Olympics Nebraska

Cold Water, Warm Hearts

Core Bank is proud to celebrate our most successful Polar Plunge yet! On Saturday, our team of 57 plungers raised over $35,000 for Special Olympics Nebraska before diving into the icy waters of Lake Zorinsky. As a result, this year’s event has become one of our most memorable community efforts.

If you’d like to take a look back at our journey, you can explore our recaps from previous Polar Plunges: 2023, 2024, and 2025 plunges.

Core Bank Executive Vice President Mike Rasmussen celebrates his last Polar Plunge with fellow team members.

Celebrating Love, Courage, & Community

Because this year’s plunge landed on Valentine’s Day, our theme was “Cold Water, Warm Hearts,” and our plungers donned pastel shirts and temporary tattoos with fun sayings (“BRR MINE,” “SNOW CUTE,” “CHILL 2GETHER,” and more). Afterwards, we celebrated at Brewsky’s with Special Olympics and fellow teams who participated in the plunge. As we celebrated, we learned that this year’s Omaha plunge raised over $350,000 in total.

Last January, our employees had the privilege of hearing athlete Talisa Stumpf speak about her experiences with Special Olympics at Core Bank Headquarters. She is accomplished in bowling and swimming and shared with us how the program has positively impacted her life. She will be representing Team Nebraska in bowling at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota, and we will be cheering her on! Fellow athlete Rachel Mulligan has also spoken at Core Bank, and she and her father joined our Polar Plunge team this year – raising over $1,500! Rachel has competed in cross country skiing at the Special Olympics World Winter Games Austria 2017 and has won multiple silver medals. She was also invited to the Special Olympics World Games in Italy last year (2025).

These moments and these athletes remind us why we plunge each year: to celebrate courage, build community, and support those whose stories inspire us all.

Special Olympics athlete Rachel Mulligan and her father waiting in line for the plunge

Record-Breaking Impact

$35,787 was fundraised in this record-breaking year for our team. We reached $3,100 higher than our previous record and $8,347 higher than last year (2025). Because of this, we are incredibly grateful for the support we have received. On our team alone, we had 57 participants, and the event as a whole had 1,140 participants. 10 of our plungers managed to raise over $1000, and three raised over $3000. Well done Mike, Staucia, and Jason! Our relationship manager, Steven Smith, even pledged to shave off his beard if he reached $1000 – and he did!

In addition, Core Bank employees Adam and Michelle were interviewed by KETV during the plunge. They were able to share their heart for the Polar Plunge and Special Olympic’s mission. You can watch the full interview on the KETV News Watch 7 website at the link below.

Thank you to everyone who fundraised and plunged with us – your efforts are helping change lives and brighten futures.

Core Bank employees running out of the water after the plunge

Thank You, Mike!

This was also our Executive Vice President, Mike Rasmussen’s final year of plunging as he will be retiring this summer. He has led Core Bank through 16 straight years of Polar Plunges and has even attended additional plunges since 2004. In total, he has completed 22 plunges for this cause. Mike is the heart and soul of Core Bank’s participation, and because of his leadership we have raised over a quarter of a million dollars for Special Olympics over the past 16 years. Mike, we are all so grateful for your leadership and dedication.

If you’d like to learn more about Special Olympics Nebraska, find out how to get involved in their programs, or join a Polar Plunge – check out their website at https://www.sone.org/.