FFP managing editor Ryan Hoffman here, pinch hitting this week while Matthew handles some important nonprofit journalism business. Like most good works of journalism, today’s story began with a question: How, if at all, has Nebraska’s 12-week abortion ban affected doctors in the year since it became law?
State watchdog reporter Sara Gentzler called up some docs who previously testified before lawmakers. Most said the ban has affected their work. One said it’s had no impact on how he does his job.
Easy enough, right? Not quite.
Sara wasn’t content with these six docs. She kept making calls. Many didn’t want to talk. Others didn’t want their name out there. Ultimately, she talked with five more physicians. They all said the law is affecting how doctors care for patients.
It’s worth noting that some of the most difficult of situations – those involving fatal fetal anomalies – are rare.
Abortion opponents say the issues raised by doctors are overblown. The law has saved lives and been good for the state, they say.
Regardless of whether you think the law has been good or bad, this is an important story.
Ballooning budget: Good stories also start with a tip, and we received a doozy. The budget for the University of Nebraska’s central administration had doubled in recent years while individual campuses, including UNL, were wrestling with budget cuts.
Turns out, it’s true. It also turns out there’s a perfectly normal explanation, according to system leaders. Essentially, it’s a cost-saving move that’s saved NU millions, they say.
But as the system faces financial hurdles and seeks to gain reentry into a prestigious group of universities, a critical question has emerged for the four-campus NU system: Should there be one University of Nebraska?
FFP investigative reporter Destiny Herbers with some excellent reporting on arguably Nebraska’s most important institution.
Source of pride: Forty years is a long time. Just think about that in the context of a job, a business, a relationship. Forty years is a long time. So, it’s notable that Omaha’s River City Mixed Chorus is in its 40th year, arguably bigger and better than ever. The OG queer choir’s history overlaps with some major triumphs and tragedies, including the legalization of gay marriage and the AIDS crisis.
FFP reporter Chris Bowling dug into the chorus’s archives to tell the story of this group that for 40 years has felt like a family to its many members.
Questions wanted: Some of our best story ideas come from readers, and they typically start with a burning question that just cries out for an answer. Have a question that our reporters need to look into? Complete this form or reach our newsroom at [email protected].
Thanks for reading,
—Ryan Hoffman, managing editor
Here’s what we’re into this week: News from around Nebraska
Every week we like to share great Nebraska journalism, no matter who made it. Here’s what caught our eye this week:
- Speaking of NU, regents approved a $1.1 billion operating budget that includes tuition increases. Two regents voted against the budget, reports the Lincoln Journal Star’s Chris Dunker.
Confession: Before I read about the tuition hikes, I clicked on Dunker’s other story out of Thursday’s meeting. One regent floated an idea (joke?) for NU to make a little extra dough by leaning into the “memorial” in Memorial Stadium. Personally, I like this (unserious?) idea. If the Big 12 can sell its naming rights to an insurance company, why can’t the Husker faithful have a literal boneyard. (You may need a subscription to read these stories.) - Gov. Jim Pillen issued a “save-the-date” of sorts for a special session on property tax relief. The governor has been on the offensive, seemingly alienating some lawmakers who he will assuredly need to pass something in the special session. The Nebraska Examiner’s Zach Wendling has been all over this story.
- An 11-year-old in Gibbon is running his own ice cream trailer. The Grand Island Independent’s Jeff Bahr with the story, which has inspired an important message for my twin 20-month-old boys: GET A JOB, FREELOADERS! (You may need a subscription to read this.)
- At least one person died at a southeast Nebraska nursing home beset by dirty water. The death occurred roughly 18 months after the water problem was first reported to the state. The World-Herald’s Martha Stoddard and Julie Anderson with the story. (You may need a subscription to read this.)
- Pornhub plans to cut off access in Nebraska in response to a state law requiring it and other online porn companies to verify the age of their users, reports the Examiner’s Aaron Sanderford.
- This is now a central Nebraska ice cream newsletter: Big Red Treats in Grand Island is going tip-free in this era where it feels like we are tipping for just about everything (he said before nodding to the FFP “Donate” link and coughing aggressively). NTV’s Nicole Steward with the story.
- The list of issues facing Omaha public housing residents is long: pests, mold, faulty heat in winter, leaking pipes and hot water failures, to name a few. The World-Herald’s Chris Burbach with an important story.
And if you want to read up more on the city’s public housing agency, FFP Omaha reporter Jeremy Turley dug into the agency’s eviction practices a few months back. Scroll to the bottom of this story to find all his reporting. - Having grown up in a Midwest city with a long streetcar saga, I couldn’t help but think “DUUUUHHHH” when I read that costs for Omaha’s streetcar project are coming in higher than expected. The city still plans to pay for it without raising taxes, reports WOWT’s Gina Dvorak.
- And finally, a headline sparking intrigue and, for those with coulrophobia, terror: Clown dolls outnumber people nearly 8 to 1 in this Nebraska town. A fun read (or listen) by Nebraska Public Media’s Sarah Lawlor.
