Destiny Herbers loves both horses and journalism. This week, she marries the two, telling a fantastic and deeply frustrating story about the death of 17 horses in Gage County — and why no one will pay criminally for those deaths.
You may have heard pieces of this story from other media outlets that have done a good job covering the day-to-day events of this southeast Nebraska controversy for months.
But this is the first story that puts it all together. Destiny got an interview with Gage County Attorney Roger Harris, now the subject of a recall attempt after he declined to prosecute the veterinarian who owned the dead and sickened horses. Destiny talked extensively to the county sheriff who investigated the case. She spoke with experts and probed what exactly killed and sickened those horses.
And she tells the story through the beautiful eyes of Shelby, one of the horses who barely survived.
Proud to be able to publish this one from Herbers, FFP’s newest investigative reporter. And, true to her job title, this story contains a couple shocking details she unearthed.
Cruisin’ down Dodge: One of the cool things about hiring younger reporters from all over the country is that they see our city and state with fresh eyes.
So it was that Jeremy Turley moved to Omaha and immediately wondered about the signs that I have never given a second’s thought to, the ones posted around the Hanscom Park neighborhood.
Turley wondered: Why is cruising banned? Why can I be fined $500 and thrown into jail six months for cruising?
Also, he wondered: What the heck is cruising?
When I learned of his newfound fascination, which he was turning into a story, I immediately thought back to those long late ‘90s Friday nights in my hometown Red Cloud, driving slowly up and down Main Street in my Chevy and stopping with my pals to see and be seen at Del’s gas station.
What were we doing? We were, of course, cruising.
But I digress. Turley’s resulting story is an oh-so Omaha story, a story that goes back to the ‘80s and prominently features teen boredom, an uptick in late-night car accidents, some mad teenagers and at least one absolutely sweet Twisted Sister T-shirt.
Whose money? Chris Bowling this week reported a story that otherwise would have gotten lost in the shuffle. It’s a change in state law that barely made a ripple inside the hallowed halls of the State Capitol. But it’s going to make a giant difference to some of Nebraska’s poorest families.
Bowling with the story of how and why the state will now disperse more child support money to low-income Nebraskans — a switch from the state keeping the money itself.
Calling all Kearneyites! Or is it Kearneyans? Our sister publication, Silicon Prairie News, is headed to Kearney in late April and would like to buy you a beverage. SPN covers all things startup business, entrepreneurship and tech innovation. It’s holding a mixer on Friday, April 26, at Thunderhead Brewing Company in Kearney. Sound like your thing? Sign up here.
Thanks to our sponsor: This week it’s American National Bank, which has supported the work of Flatwater Free Press — and been our bank! — since pretty much the very beginning. Thank you to American National Bank for understanding the importance, and supporting the mission, of Nebraska nonprofit news.
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OK, I’m going to go watch the Masters now. See you next week,
—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:
- Newsflash: Omaha’s most famous billionaire, that lover of Gorat’s Steakhouse and McDonald’s breakfast, is still doing well for himself. Forbes Magazine released its 38th annual billionaires ranking this week, and Warren Buffett was sixth on that list, just below Musk and Zuckerberg and just ahead of Bill Gates.
- OSHA has opened an investigation into the death of a 17-year-old who died in a Pillen Family Farms hog unit on April 1. The local sheriff’s office had earlier said there didn’t appear to be foul play. An autopsy is also underway. 10/11 News Now’s Bayley Bischof with the story.
- When the World-Herald’s Henry Cordes writes a story, I read it. Such it was last weekend, when Cordes published an important story about the future of the University of Nebraska campuses … a future that could involve campus mergers, if a memo written by former President Ted Carter is to be believed.
- By the way, just FYI — we are working on language to mark stories that require a subscription. It’s a little tricky to do so, because many newspapers allow readers to read a certain number of stories for free each month. So I don’t want to stop you from trying to click on something because it says in all caps SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED! But we have gotten quite a few emails about this in the last year, and I realize clicking on a story you can’t read bugs some of you. As I said, we will have some language added to this section soon. Thanks!
- My gosh Nebraskans are leaving a lot of money on the table. KETV’s Bill Schammert reports that the state’s residents have left unclaimed an astounding grand total of $421 million in unclaimed property tax credits since 2020.
- A scary story about what can happen to a big Midwestern city’s downtown. St. Louis’s downtown is in a “doom loop,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
- The Charlie Kirk-inspired “winner-take-all” controversy entered week two, with the focus shifting to the following question: Will Gov. Jim Pillen call the Legislature into a special session to vote on changing the way Nebraska allots its electoral votes for president?
Under normal rules, 33 state senators would have to sign off on that plan for it to pass. Lawmakers have repeatedly said that there aren’t 33 votes in favor. Nebraska Public Media’s Fred Knapp caught up with Speaker of the Legislature John Arch, who seemed remarkably noncommittal when Knapp asked about the possibility of a special session on winner take all.
Pillen will call a special session, a Pillen staffer told the Nebraska Examiner this week — but only if the votes are there to make the switch.
