FFP Lincoln reporter and managing editor Ryan Hoffman here, coming to you with some breaking news: it’s December. I know, I know. Shocking, truly. This year is ripping by faster than a hypothetical Lincoln-based journalist on I-80 running late to the office in Omaha … again.
Personally, I’m having a hard time letting go of last week, and it’s not just the tighter fitting clothes or Black Friday football woes or steady diet of leftover-turkey sandwiches. Call it the dilemma of good fortune – the things I’m thankful for are too many for one day or one week (and apparently I’m not alone, based on the responses to FFP Editor Matthew Hansen’s newsletter last week). Healthy, happy year-old twin boys are at the top of my list, and the life-saving NICU nurses and doctors at Bryan Medical Center aren’t far behind.
I’m also thankful for Flatwater, and no, I’m not fishing for a raise when I say that (but, Matthew, if you’re reading this … *COUGH*). Truth is this thing is special – talented people telling important stories and telling them well. And it’s all thanks to support from hundreds of Nebraskans, people like you! (More on that shortly.) The Flatwater Free Press is a true Nebraska treasure. I’m grateful to be a part of it. And I’m grateful for those of you who have indulged me this long. Now, the important stuff:
Who’s buyin’ what now: There’s been quite a bit of hubbub nationally and in Nebraska about foreign ownership of farmland. China has dominated those concerns, particularly in the wake of a Chinese company’s purchase of South Dakota farmland near an Air Force base. In Nebraska, some have seized on federal filings showing 795,000 acres of farmland as having “foreign interest.” Foreign entities have deep roots in Nebraska ag, but the issue ain’t as straightforward as it’s often portrayed. Reporter Destiny Herbers untangles the issue of foreign ownership in the latest story in our series, “Who’s Buying Nebraska?”
The good stuff: We’re living in a time defined by rapid change – new tech, new industries, new hallmarks of American life. There’s something to be said for consistency, for longevity. That’s partially why I was so enthralled by this story from Minden, where, with a few exceptions, they’ve successfully staged an annual Christmas pageant each year since 1946.
It’s a quintessential small-town Nebraska story made possible by the town’s people – in at least one case, four generations of the same family. The pageant cast includes the chancellor at UNK and the Kearney County assessor, who summed it up perfectly: “There’s such a sense of small-town goodness to it.” Get you some of that goodness here courtesy of veteran central-Nebraska journalist Lori Potter.
BIG THANKS: We just wrapped up our fall fundraising campaign, and the bean counters around here tell me that our readers stepped up big time. We were looking for 400 new donors, and we found 429 of you. A total of 665 of you chipped in, and another 40 Nebraskans signed up to give automatically every month. With matching funds from our board of directors, other founding donors, and the national NewsMatch campaign, we tally just more than $132,000 in support of a free and independent press in Nebraska. Words fail me. On behalf of the entire newsroom, THANK YOU!
(Oh, and if you forgot to give, no worries, you can still do so here.)
Questions wanted: Folks often think journalists are all-knowing human encyclopedias, on top of every twist and turn in their community. That’s rarely the case. We depend on story tips. They’re responsible for some of our best stories. Have a question that you think we should look into? Complete this form or reach our newsroom at [email protected].
Thanks for reading,
—Ryan Hoffman, managing editor/Lincoln reporter
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:
- The campaign to raise $450 million for Memorial Stadium is facing pushback from donors. Some are questioning the timing of the effort spearheaded by UNL Athletic Director Trev Alberts. Some worry about the optics of a massive athletics fundraising push at a time when the NU system is slashing its budget, reports Aaron Sanderford with the Nebraska Examiner. Alberts also declined to comment on a memo, uncovered by the Flatwater Free Press, raising concerns about fiscal practices in UNO’s athletic department, where Alberts served as AD before taking the job at UNL.
- Speaking of the NU budget cuts, the Examiner’s Zach Wendling with a scoop about how UNL’s relatively new chancellor filled two vacant positions in his office as UNL weighs $12 million in budget reductions. The positions are being funded with money from the University of Nebraska Foundation.
- Nebraska’s infant mortality rate ranks near the middle of all U.S. states, well behind neighboring Iowa. Doctors say there’s a significant hurdle standing in the way of improvement: bad data on infant and maternal mortality. In some cases there are major delays. In other instances, the data lacks the level of detail that would be useful. KETV’s Abbie Petersen with this important story.
- Skepticism and hostility are adding to the challenges facing folks on the front lines of climate communication, people like climatologists and meteorologists. Harassment led one meteorologist to leave his job. And in Nebraska, fatigue contributed to the state climatologist’s decision to step down. A smart story by Nebraska Public Media’s Elizabeth Rembert, who spoke to folks in seven states for this piece.
- A small western Nebraska village went nearly a decade without making quarterly payroll tax payments because the village clerk “could not figure out how to make the payments,” according to a state auditor’s report. The Lincoln Journals Star’s Andrew Wegley with the latest story of a small-town Nebraska official employing questionable, to put it charitably, bookkeeping practices. Probably a good time to remind you about this 2022 FFP story documenting some of those previous “questionable” cases.
- Charlie Munger wasn’t a household name like his Berkshire Hathaway buddy Warren Buffett, but Munger was arguably as important when it came to building Berkshire into the behemoth it is today. Munger died Tuesday, about a month shy of his 100th birthday. Omaha World-Herald reporter Henry Cordes and retired OWH’er Steve Jordan with the byline on Munger’s obit. Jordan, who literally wrote a book on Buffett, also shared some reflections in this essay published by the Nebraska Examiner.
- And finally, my favorite story of the week. Norah Sis and Lindsay Krause have been friends since they were 10. They’re also fierce competitors on the No. 1 and No. 17 teams in the country. A sports story that’s really a story about friendship, about the bonds that build us. A wonderfully told story by the OWH’s Emily Nitcher.
