It started with a letter. Preston Love Jr., a longtime North Omaha leader, wrote it and addressed it to all rural Nebraskans.
He had noticed the profound differences between his neighborhood and Nebraska’s small towns. Who couldn’t see those? But he had also noticed what many of us can’t see, or choose not to. Love understood that these seemingly polar opposite places — North Omaha and small-town Nebraska — also had much in common.
“… while ridiculously separated by distance, sometimes color, sometimes race, sometimes political persuasion, my reflection has taught me the truth of the matter,” Love wrote.
Our story today, written by Nebraska Community Foundation storyteller Michael Wunder, is about the seemingly unlikely cross-state and cross-cultural exchange that happened after Love’s letter.
It’s about recognizing our divides — black and white, east and west, urban and rural. And it’s about starting to bridge them.
Where Art Thou, Vinny P? Omaha City Councilman Vinny Palermo isn’t returning constituent emails, because the city disabled his email password in May. He isn’t attending park openings, or weighing liquor licenses, or fighting to get South Omaha funding, because he’s been sitting in jail on federal corruption charges for three months.
So, two questions: How in the heck is this South Omaha’s city councilman? And what should be done now that Palermo hasn’t done the business of his district since April?
FFP Omaha reporter Jeremy Turley asks community leaders and residents those questions in this week’s story about Vinny’s No Good, Very Bad Year.
Making an Impact, Together: Both these stories and so much of what the Flatwater Free Press does boils down to a single word. Impact. The impact of political misconduct on regular residents, for example. The impact of telling a story showing both the possibility and difficulty of bridging deep divides in this state we call home.
On the evening of Sept. 14, at the first-ever Flatwater Free Press Festival, we’re gonna showcase impact.
We’re gonna show you how FFP stories have had impacts on state law and on the lives of regular Nebraskans.
We’re gonna show you how your attention, and your help, has had a profound impact on the future of journalism in Nebraska.
Want to hear these stories, meet a star-studded panel and all the FFP reporters, eat some good food, have some good drinks and party like a journalist in a barn? Well, lucky you.
Learn more about FlatFest and buy your ticket here.
Seats are filling fast!
Coming soon: More on Seward County, more on nitrate seeping into our drinking water, two stories on disappearing health care in small town Nebraska and at least one wild Nebraska history tale. This August’s FFP stories are gonna be stellar. I’m excited to get ‘em to you.
Thanks to our sponsor: This week it’s the Platte Institute, which supports Nebraska journalism by aiding an effort to build and maintain FFP’s state salary database. (Currently under renovation.) Thank you to Platte for supporting the mission of Nebraska nonprofit journalism.
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].
Stay cool out there,
—Matthew Hansen, Executive 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:
- A few months ago we had the twisting, turning tale of Dave Utterback, award-winning chef of multiple fantastic Omaha restaurants. The story has gotten slightly stranger, thanks to the name of my personal favorite appetizer at his restaurant Koji. Runza did not like that Utterback called this dish a Ranza. Story from the Journal Star’s Pat Sangimino.
- You may have noticed that it is hot out. A couple stories tied to the heat this week, including continued University of Nebraska Medical Center research on how it’s even hotter in certain areas of Omaha, and a story about why it’s so darn scorching. Both come courtesy of Omaha’s WOWT Channel 6.
- A 26-year-old Lincoln man allegedly posed as a high school student and is now charged with sex crimes. The man’s father is a prominent Lincoln pastor. KETV with the story.
- The tiny town of Winslow was gonna move uphill, together, to avoid flooding. It hasn’t worked out very well. Nebraska Public Media’s Emma Krab with this tale about an all-hands-on-deck plan that seems to have devolved into a finger-pointing mess.
- Who owns Nebraska farmland? A new study seeks to learn the extent of foreign ownership in Nebraska, though experts caution that there may be mundane explanations for what looks like shocking federal data. Story by the Nebraska Examiner’s Paul Hammel.
