It’s Friday, and not even a second snowstorm this week can dampen this UNL alum and Nebrasketball fan’s good vibes radiating from Tuesday’s shocking defeat of No. 1 Purdue. The last time the Husker basketball team beat a top-ranked team … I was a toddler! What a fantastic Nebraska scene inside Pinnacle Bank Arena. I’m so glad I forced myself (and Sarah!) to drive through the wintry weather to see it in person.
Creighton, UNO and UNK partisans: Feel free to send all snarky comments to [email protected]. I can’t be hurt … well, not until the Iowa game tonight.
Chasing Charlie: Nebraska’s most infamous crime happened 65 years ago now, but our understanding of that murder spree — particularly questions surrounding Charles Starkweather’s then-14-year-old girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate — continue to be re-examined.
And Nebraskans do need to take another look, says a Nebraska native and famed true crime writer who has spent years studying the Starkweather murders.
Harry MacLean never met Starkweather or Fugate back then, though he easily could have — he believes that he and Starkweather were at the same places at the same times while growing up in Lincoln.
Now, his new book on the murder spree that spawned movies, songs and more than a half-century of fascination views the crime with fresh eyes. It points out that our modern understanding of the teenage brain, of aggressive (and now illegal) law enforcement tactics used in the case and our 2024 understanding of trauma all should make Nebrakans react differently to Fugate, who is still alive though never fully vindicated.
I’m excited to read the book, and was fascinated to read Leo Adam Biga’s story on MacLean, Starkweather and Fugate, which we published today at Flatwater Free Press.
Housing Omahans with the least:
The Omaha Housing Authority is changing the way it gives shelter to those who often desperately need it. So reports Jeremy Turley in today’s FFP. It’s his latest story focused on OHA, which has been filing more evictions, sometimes for small amounts of money, and sometimes when they may not have to.
It’s important stuff, to both those evicted and to society at large, when we consider the amount or money, or lack thereof, that we set aside to house those of low-income … and then what happens when it doesn’t work.
We’re heading to the (Nebraska) Supreme Court:
A little breaking news for you in the newsletter today. On Feb. 7, the Flatwater Free Press gets its day before the Nebraska Supreme Court. As you may remember, we have been fighting for nearly two years now to get public records related to Yanqi Xu’s award winning coverage on Nebraska’s growing nitrate-in-drinking water problem.
These records are emails written by public employees who are paid by public taxpayer dollars and tasked with regulation and oversight of the water that Nebraskans drink … an important public health concern. That’s a lot of “publics” in one sentence, isn’t it?
And yet, the state has thrown up roadblock after roadblock in this case, presumably attempting to shield the records from public view. They have tried to charge us the price of a fancy car for the records. Then they appealed when a lower court judge ruled in our favor — an appeals process that is taking our time and money, of course, but also using up state time and money … your money … too.
So here we are. February 7. FFP and the state get to present our cases to the highest court in Nebraska. We think our case is strong. We think our case is just. We think you should get the opportunity to see public records related to ever-higher nitrate levels in some (mostly small town) water supplies … high nitrate levels that are believed, by experts, to make childhood cancer more likely.
Note to self: Matthew, make sure the one suit you own fits before you try to put it on Feb. 7.
Thanks to our sponsor:
This week, it’s SWOON Home + Design, owned by Jenny and Ryan Wilkins. Swoon’s philosophy: “You should enjoy the process of your home’s redesign, not just the final product.”
Check out their Facebook page right here. (The company photo and link to the site is at the bottom of this email.) Swoon’s philosophy is ALSO to support nonprofit news, and for that I thank their crew from the bottom of my journalist’s heart.
Talkin’ land:
Reporters Yanqi Xu and Destiny Herbers, along with intern Evelyn Mejia and a UNL journalism class, completed a pretty incredible project on who is buying up Nebraska land, and why, which we ran in November and December.
This week, they chatted with Omaha podcast host Tony Bock about the series, its importance and some of the eye-opening stuff they found. (Bill Gates is buying up Nebraska land, for example, as is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
Listen to Tony’s podcast, Omahapod, and his interview with Yanqi and Destiny here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).
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].
Sincerely,
—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 Plattsmouth school board member at the center of the state’s most heated debate over what books school kids should be able to read has been recalled from office, reports the Lincoln Journal Star’s Jenna Ebbers.
- Where does Sen. Tom Brewer live? Armed with more info, the Nebraska Examiner’s Aaron Sanderford jumps back into this years-old controversy about whether the famed soldier and first-ever Native American Nebraska state senator lives in his district, or over here near Omaha.
- Millions of gallons of sludge recently flowed from a Grand Island packing plant into area streams, reports NTV in Kearney. The state is now investigating.
- Gov. Jim Pillen still thinks property taxes are too high, but he seems to be backing away from plans that boost sales taxes in order to reduce property taxes. Story from WOWT.
- We may not be teaching Nebraska kids how to read correctly, according to the latest research. The World-Herald’s education reporter Lauren Wagner with the story.
Today’s newsletter is sponsored by:
Planning + Outcome Perfected
