The first story I have for you today is one of the more complex and ambitious stories we have ever published.
Strangely, it’s also pretty simple.
Nebraska is undercounting the number of Nebraskans who die of drug overdoses. And the fact that we are flying blind is costing us money, and more lives. That’s right — as a consequence of a broken system that fails to count drug deaths properly, even more Nebraskans are probably dying.
Our basic, systemic failure to do what The Count taught us to do on Sesame Street has been an open secret inside corners of state government for some time. It has been a source of frustration among experts and those working on the ground to save the lives of Nebraskans addicted to opioids.
But, today, FFP Investigative Reporter Destiny Herbers offers unshakeable facts to bolster what had been rumor.
She shows us why this matters. And she tells us the incredibly human and heartbreaking story of one family’s struggle to get answers.
It’s a journalism tour de force, complete with graphics and photos that tell the story and another incredible design from Hanscom Park Studio.
I’m proud of Destiny’s work here. I’m proud that Flatwater is illustrating yet again that we are a newsroom willing and able to take big swings and connect.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: WOWT Channel 6 did its own version of Destiny’s story, and did a nice job of it. It aired last night. Here’s their version, complete with an interview with Destiny. It’s lovely when we can multiply the eyeballs on important stories by partnering with other media outlets.
Football and Fairness: Judging by the reaction on social media, FFP Reporter Jeremy Turley’s story this week fits the definition of what reporters call, “a talker.”
Turley goes inside the world of Nebraska high school sports, where, especially at the highest levels, open enrollment, flurries of transfers and some pretty obvious recruiting of teenagers are having an ever-larger impact.
Turley shows how this is turning some football programs into haves, and some into have-nots.
We did this one in partnership with Omaha Magazine. Thanks to Omaha Mag editor Doug Meigs for approaching us with the partnership idea, and for magazine photographer Sarah Lemke for photographing Turley’s story.
Pinch Me I’m Dreaming: On Wednesday I interviewed the mayor of Omaha in front of hundreds of people, and then interviewed the legendary former editor of the New York Times in front of hundreds more. Dean Baquet gave us compliments on stage, and while meeting with our staff raved about this story from Reporter Sara Gentzler and LJS reporter Andrew Wegley from last week.
During our third annual FlatFest, between the free, sold-out afternoon event at Creighton and the sold-out ticketed event at Kiewit Luminarium, we hosted and moderated roughly five hours of “journalism on stage.” We talked to newsmakers, leaders, experts, advocates about the state of Nebraska, and how to move it forward.
Our reporters and other editors performed admirably. You can read our coverage of the afternoon “Future of Nebraska” event here.
And the crowd — that’s you — came ready to discuss, learn and to celebrate the importance of journalism in Nebraska.
There’s a moment at every FlatFest when I climb onto the stage, look out at the audience and I’m overcome by a feeling of almost unspeakable gratitude. What was once a dream has become reality, and somehow that reality is even better than the dream.
Don’t wake me up.
Last Man Standing: Earlier this week Sarah Baker Hansen had a really lovely story on Cascio’s, the Italian steakhouse still serving up steaks and spaghetti in a gigantic restaurant on the edge of Omaha’s Little Italy.
There used to be a dozen Italian steakhouses in Omaha. Now there is but one. Sarah with her latest in the Steak Town USA series — the story of a restaurant and a family, which is also the story of immigration and a vanishing food culture.
Thanks to our sponsor: This week it’s KIOS, 91.5 on your FM dials and No. 1 in your hearts. It’s Omaha’s National Public Radio affiliate, it’s where I get my morning news and my weekly fix of Fresh Air and This American Life. The radio station is celebrating 56 years of being on the air! Let’s hear it for public radio! Thank you 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].
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:
- In case you missed it, the best damn boxer on Planet Earth is an Omahan. Nebraskan Bud Crawford, now 42-0, won the biggest fight of his career last Saturday night, beating Canelo Alvarez in a Netflix live event watched by a stunning 41 million viewers. I learned more about Bud here in this pre-fight story from the Guardian.
If you missed this fight, here’s the exact moment myself and several hundred other people in a downtown Omaha sports bar stood up and cheered so loud that they maybe heard us in Scottsbluff. - “For more than a half-century, vaccines have had remarkable success eradicating the most lethal and devastating childhood infectious diseases, saving millions of lives and ushering in a relative golden era of global public health.
“But now, America is dangerously backsliding.”
Thus begins this wildly important story on childhood vaccine rates from NBC News, which they did in partnership with a team of researchers from Stanford University. - This was a cool one from Omaha World-Herald stalwart Henry Cordes. A mom was grateful to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for being such a great place for her daughters. So she left a voicemail … and now it’s the centerpiece of UNL’s latest advertising campaign. Really fun read. (You may or may not need OWH subscriber access to read this OWH story.)
- Some agricultural economists are raising alarm about recent changes to a quarterly USDA report, saying the changes call into question whether the reports are still useful, according to this story by Harvest Public Media’s Michael Marks.
- Sarah Hardin was a banker the day that the Mullen superintendent knocked on her door and said they needed a science teacher.
Now, nearly two decades later, Sarah Hardin is the Nebraska Teacher of the Year. Lovely story from Zach Wendling of the Nebraska Examiner. - Nebraska is weighing how to respond to a request from the U.S. Department of Justice for sensitive voter registration data, reports Chris Dunker at the Journal Star. The state previously rejected a similar request during President Trump’s first term. (You may need an LJS subscription to read this story.)
- Why is the price of beef continuing to go up? NPR with a story that’s really important inside The Beef State.
