It’s been a week. If you will indulge me, let’s take a deep, cleansing breath together and stare, for just a moment, at the photo above. That photo is of Lestina Saul-Merdassi, whose tribal ancestors appear in a groundbreaking exhibit currently at Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum. It’s groundbreaking because — for the first time — she and other Native educators, artists and activists are helping the rest of us to see Bodmer’s famed portraits through Native eyes.
If you are like me, you will linger on that photo just a second longer and give thanks to photographer Ryan Soderlin, whose own mastery of his craft and Northern Plains work ethic made our lives just a little bit richer today. Thank you, Lestina and Ryan.
And let’s not forget Barb Soderlin, the better half of this power couple! She wrote two wonderful stories on the new exhibit and the absolutely bananas way this art returned to Nebraska. The story involves, in chronological order, cholera, blizzards, a German prince, a German castle, and, eventually… Enron.
Yes, Enron.
Parole nastygram: Speaking of bananas… you absolutely need to read FFP exec director Matt Wynn’s column if you haven’t yet. In a nutshell: Our talented reporter Yanqi Xu set out to get an answer to a straightforward question from the five members of the Nebraska Board of Parole. How come parole board members aren’t showing up for parole board hearings?
Did I mention it’s been a week?
If you haven’t read it yet, read Yanqi’s absolutely terrific story on the parole board members not showing up to parole board hearings, and why that matters. Then take a deep dive into how she analyzed the data.
Questions wanted: Some of our best story ideas come from readers, and like Yanqi’s, they typically start with a question. 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:
- Together with the Omaha World-Herald, we’re continuing a series on Nebraska’s wildly overcrowded prisons. This week OWH reporter Henry Cordes wrote a story outlining the political and policy fight that’s endangering a bill meant to ease prison overcrowding.
- The New York Times ventured to a Lincoln bar where, as a 21-year-old UNL student, I used to drink vanilla vodka-and-Diet Cokes at midnight on Fridays. They did not go to Harry’s for the cocktails… they went as part of a story focused on Nebraska’s super-low unemployment rate, and how that’s affecting worker wages and companies.
- And speaking of money: You may have gotten a tax cut this week. Will that tax cut eventually wound the state of Nebraska budget? The Nebraska Examiner’s Paul Hammel with more.
