The data center backlash is here, and it may soon be coming to a county board near you.
Today, Flatwater reporter Anila Yoganathan has the story from Nebraska City, where Otoe County just put a one-year ban on new data centers. She reports new restrictions in Madison County, which includes Norfolk, and notes they’re considering a ban in Gage County, where the county seat is Beatrice.
In these counties, and many others, Nebraskans are worried, angry, asking: Who is paying for the power that makes data centers run? How much water do they use? Why the secrecy?
As Dan Rather might say, the issue is hotter than a three-dollar pistol.
Some of this worry stems from Yoganathan’s previous reporting, when she broke the story that, following a change to state law, Google and others are planning a massive data center with its own power plant that would require more energy than the entire city of Lincoln. (Yes, you read that right.) Gage and Otoe are two counties where land has been optioned, presumably for this purpose.
But it’s a wider national story than that, as our seemingly inexhaustible need for data centers — for our search engines, for our smartphones, for our social media posts and now for AI — runs headlong into widespread public skepticism and hardening opposition to their construction.
Anila is doing a great job on this story, one of the biggest of 2026.
Hope amid heartbreak: In the movie version of this story, Lexington would have won. A Lex player would have scored the game-winning goal, they would have carried the coach around the field and a town still reeling from a Tyson plant closure that vanished nearly half of all the jobs in Lexington would have cheered wildly and cried and hugged as the music soared and the credits rolled.
But life is not the movies. It was Gretna, not Lexington, that emerged victorious Thursday in the state boys soccer final. The tears were real, and they were tears of disappointment — of frustration at not being able to deliver Lexington a win that felt so sorely needed.
Our multitalented multimedia journalist Naomi Delkamiller was there. Today, we published her photo essay that captures the heartbreak — and the hope, too.
Teachers flee: Nearly 18,000 Nebraskans certified to teach in our state aren’t teaching in a classroom this year. That’s an eye-opening 40% of certified teachers who aren’t teaching — a big problem as we continue to have teacher shortages in Nebraska.
So the question becomes: Why? Flatwater fellow Emma Croteau talks to teachers who are fleeing the field.
Thanks to our sponsor: This week, it’s an organization near and dear to my heart. It’s the National Willa Cather Center in my hometown of Red Cloud. If you haven’t checked out Red Cloud lately, this is the summer to do so. The Cather childhood home has been lovingly restored, the city and country tours are as cool as ever, the beautiful Cather Prairie is wonderful for a sunrise or sunset walk … and there’s an absolutely stunning new boutique hotel, The Hotel Garber, right on Main Street. It’s time for a road trip, and I’m not just saying that because it’s my hometown. In fact, Sarah and I are bringing friends there in two weeks for the annual spring conference, which you can still buy tickets for.
Thank you to the National Willa Cather Center for doing what you do for Red Cloud, for our most famous author and for supporting the mission of Nebraska nonprofit news.
Women hooping in Omaha: Thursday, we published a story about a couple of Omaha basketball stars who have returned to the city to mentor the next generation of players — especially fascinating because, after decades of little opportunity, women’s pro basketball is now booming. Flatwater correspondent Leo Adam Biga with the story.
Church van’s wild ride: The old church van now has a “Jagermeister dispenser mounted to its floor, a disco ball bouncing overhead and a new name: Van-Tastic,” writes Flatwater correspondent Peter Salter.
The van rolled past Wrigley Field, visited Little Richard’s grave in Alabama and traveled 3,500 miles through seven states on the weirdest road trip/scavenger hunt I have ever heard of. And, oh … this van doesn’t have a roof. They chopped off the roof! Because, Salter writes, this is the Chop Top Challenge.
File this one under “story I was not interested in until I started reading it, and then was hooked.” That’s thanks to the talented duo of Salter and photographer Eric Gregory.
About last week: You may have noticed that, last Friday, this newsletter popped into your email with a scary red security warning.
Or you more likely didn’t notice, because the email also went into your spam folder, where it is now hanging out with ads for cheap golf balls, cheap golf shoes, cheap golf clubs, cheap golf shirts and half-price wine. (Maybe that’s just my spam folder.)
I could try to explain the root cause of this problem, but it would take 1,000 more words and at least half a bottle of that half-price wine.
Suffice it to say: There is no actual security risk. This is Google being Google, and Mailchimp being Mailchimp, and the little guy – that’s us! – screaming into a customer service void as we try to fix a problem we did not create.
In any event, here is the good news: After many hours of effort and much swearing, we believe we have found the solution. So, fingers firmly crossed, you’re receiving this newsletter as you should.
I’m bugged by what happened last week because this newsletter is one of the ways we connect to you, and one of the ways you connect to us. We want to be here for you, in your email inbox, on our website and in person at “journalism on stage” events — a dependable, friendly presence. A partner, really, in our shared pursuit of telling important Nebraska stories to Nebraskans.
Thank you to the many of you who emailed to alert us to the issue. And thank you for your patience and good humor as we worked to get it fixed.
Now, if you would excuse me, I’m headed back into my spam folder in search of the perfect pair of $29 golf pants.
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? Reach our newsroom at [email protected].
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. See you next week.
— Matthew Hansen, Executive Editor
Thanks to this week’s sponsor
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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:
- Why in God’s name can’t a bar be called Barber Shop? The New York Times comes to Nebraska to tell the wild story of a bar, the Nebraska Board of Barber Examiners and a name.
- Here’s an interesting interview from Nebraska Public Media’s Dale Johnson that caught my attention. How in the heck did Hickman become one of the fastest-growing towns in Nebraska?
- Two former state officials are suing the Pillen administration, alleging that it unlawfully used state lottery proceeds intended for environmental purposes to help cover the state’s budget shortfall. Story by the Nebraska Examiner’s Paul Hammel, appearing here in 10/11 News Now.
- National Weather Service offices are hiring again thanks to a public safety push, Nebraska Public Media’s Macy Byars reports. Last year, Flatwater contributor Nancy Gaarder wrote about challenges in the local weather service office.
- A crucial story if you love cats (me), or the Nebraska State Capitol (again me) or both. *Raises hand* Cameron The Capitol Cat, who has long prowled the capitol grounds in search people who might pet him, is moving, reports the Nebraska Examiner, in a story written by NPM’s Noelle Annonen.
- The Wahoo police chief defends hiring an ex-Lancaster jailer who was fired twice, reports the Lincoln Journal Star’s Peter Breen. (You may need Journal Star subscriber access to read this story.)
- An important one from Nebraska Public Media reporter Jessica Wade. How did a federal Native American boarding school lose its dead?
- Can Lincoln raise the city’s minimum wage? Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers warned this week that the voter-approved measure may face lawsuits. Story by the Journal Star’s Anna Kleiber. (You may need LJS subscriber access to read this story.)
- Omaha may soon join Lincoln in attempting to separate from a new state law so that it, too, can raise the city’s minimum wage. Story by KETV’s Jon Grinvalds.
- And finally, this story has nothing to do with Nebraska, but it does have to do with high gas prices and … a grown man driving a Barbie Dream Mobile?
