Look at those ferocious Cody-Kilgore Cowboys, defending six-man football state champs, ready to take the snap, lateral it to the center (why not?) and run through the end zone into the clear-blue horizon.
I have seen the wonder that is six-man football. In fact, my hometown Red Cloud High School now plays six-man football. (Little known and slightly misleading fact: A undersized, plodding wideout named Matthew Hansen led the ‘98 RCHS squad in receptions. Misleading because I think I caught like 12 passes.)
But I had no idea how six-man football came into existence. Our newest story, by freelancer Kevin Warneke, tells us about its birth — in tiny Chester, Nebraska, nearly a century ago — and its recent resurgence in Nebraska’s smallest schools.
Nebraska…is it for everyone? The dramatic side of me loves mentioning the “Nebraska…It’s Not for Everyone” ad campaign to watch normally mild-mannered Nebraskans turn into anger monsters. And yes, the ad campaign that many Nebraskans love to hate is briefly mentioned — briefly! — in Natalia Alamdari’s Thursday story about a tourism resurgence in Nebraska.
But it’s much more than that. It’s about Nebraska places using what we actually have going for us — the sky! the stars! even the wind! It’s about how COVID-19 reenergized the road trip. Add it all up, and you can see why more tourists are heading into Nebraska.
The unsung hero, now sung: Shane Pekny is a giant reason that Flatwater Free Press exists. Shane is our development consultant through Vic Gutman & Associates in Omaha. But he’s much more than that. He’s likely the only human to have worked on the editorial board at the Miami Herald and also as the assistant manager of the Norfolk swimming pool. He’s a fabulous grant writer, a journalistic mind of the highest order, a Nebraskan with both vision and work ethic and our port in all storms. And now he’s getting the credit he so richly deserves. This week, the Institute for Nonprofit News announced three finalists for “Nonprofit Newcomer of the Year.” Shane Pekny is one of the three finalists.
He also sometimes proofreads this newsletter, which gives me an opportunity to say: Thank you, Shane.
Thanks to our development success, we have so much coming in the next few weeks — a new hire, and a brand-new video segment, to name two. All of us, including Mr. Pekny, are working hard to make this scrappy puppy the biggest and best it can be.
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:
- There is stupid, there is mind-numblingly idiotic, and then there’s what a man named John Channels did, allegedly on behalf of Catholic Charities, in Omaha earlier this year. Channels now sits in prison after turning what was allegedly meant to be an active-shooter training drill into a horrific and terrifying experience for the charity’s employees. But his lawyer says that Catholic Charities leaders knew all about the (terrible) plan. Todd Cooper of the Omaha World-Herald and a reporter who understands Omaha courts better than anyone, has been all over this incredible story. If you haven’t seen ‘em yet, the stories linked above truly have to be read to be believed.
- Here’s a wild one from the Lincoln Journal Star’s Peter Salter. An unknown person emptied 16 million gallons of canal water into the Republican River. So who did it? And is it even a crime?
- And finally, this news from the Grand Island Independent: Grand Island Northwest abolished its school newspaper and eliminated its entire journalism program after the school paper had the audacity to write news stories about LGBTQ issues, and then editorialize in defense of LGBTQ rights.
