Greater Nebraska reporter Natalia Alamdari here, bringing you the updates from a week that’s felt 27 days long.
I spent last year writing stories about immigrants throughout Nebraska. How they’ve grown communities and business, like in the small town of Wakefield. Or how they’re keeping traditions alive, like in quinceanera stores in Columbus. Or how, in Schuyler, they juggle high school and overnight shifts, keeping Nebraska businesses staffed.
We’re five days into Donald Trump’s second presidency. He’s promised the largest deportation operation the country’s ever seen. We are covering and will continue to cover its impact in Nebraska.
On Monday, we shared the story of how advocacy groups were preparing for Trump’s presidency. They’re leading know your rights sessions, and equipping parents with safety planning pamphlets. They’re gathering teachers and principals on Zoom calls, answering the question of what to do if ICE comes knocking. They’re advising churches on their legal rights.
Already, parts of that story are out of date – this week, the Department of Homeland Security walked back a longtime protocol preventing ICE from entering sensitive spaces like schools, churches and hospitals.
But the crux of Monday’s story still stands: People are scared, and living in uncertainty. And trying to plan.
Today, we published a second story chronicling how Trump’s immigration policies are impacting Nebraskans. New FFP reporter Joshua Shimkus takes you inside businesses that wish they could grow, but are stuck because they can’t find workers.
Nebraska has 50,000 open jobs around the state, and no one to fill them. The labor crisis has brought together some odd partners. The Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, ag industry lobbyists, business execs, and immigration advocates are all calling for the same thing: an easier path to permanent residency.
As Trump orders an immigration crackdown, Nebraska companies are facing “mild concern to abject terror.” Read Shimkus’ FFP debut here. (And everyone say, “Welcome to Nebraska, Josh!”)
One more thing about this: Our best stories come from readers like you. And so I’m asking for your help as we continue to cover how immigration decisions made in Washington affect Nebraskans. Fill out this survey if there’s a story you think needs more attention.
The theater, the theater: Let me take you back in time: I’m 7 years old, and the local high school is performing “Les Miserables.” It was my first exposure to live theater, and it changed my brain chemistry.
That’s what I thought of reading Leo Adam Biga’s story taking us through 100 seasons of the Omaha Community Playhouse, and the stars who found their beginnings in Omaha. Read for some great archive photos of Henry and Jane Fonda and more.
Audit update: Earlier this year, Omaha reporter Chris Bowling brought you a story about therapists who have stopped accepting Medicaid patients – low-income Nebraskans in need of mental health help. The reason? They cited aggressive audits by massive insurance companies hired by the state.
Bowling brings you an update to the story – a proposed bill would make it harder for those audits to happen. Read the full story here.
Thoughts?: We’re always looking to improve. This is your chance to help us. Take this quick, three-question survey. It’s anonymous, easy to do and makes a real difference. Thanks!
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,
—Natalia Alamdari, Seacrest Greater Nebraska 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:
- President Trump has yet to enact tariffs promised during the campaign. But the prospect of them has Nebraska farmers on edge, reports the Journal Star’s Neal Franklin. (Story may require a Journal Star subscription.)
- The James Beard Foundation announced its finalists for best chef in the Midwest, and two Nebraskans made the list, KETV reports. Sarah Baker Hansen profiled one of the finalists, Dave Utterback, back in 2023 when he became Nebraska’s first-ever finalist for the prestigious award.
- State officials made a huge splash in 2022 when they announced plans to build a massive lake between Omaha and Lincoln. But those plans have largely evaporated. As The World-Herald’s Julie Anderson reports, Gov. Jim Pillen’s proposed budget left no funding for further studies. Pillen told reporters that the project didn’t warrant further discussion. (Story may require a World-Herald subscription.)
- Also absent in Pillen’s budget proposal: money for Nebraska’s “good life” districts. The incentive is one of roughly 50 recently-approved items that Pillen wants to cut, reports the Nebraska Examiner’s Cindy Gonzalez. But crafting a budget ultimately is the job of state lawmakers, several of whom have introduced bills addressing good life districts.
Speaking of those districts, Flatwater state government watchdog reporter Sara Gentzler reported last week that the state has lost out on more than $2 million in sales tax dollars due to the Gretna good life district. - An Omaha man who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for his actions outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was one of the more than 1,500 people pardoned by President Trump. He told KETV that he was not a rioter and that the plea deal he signed was a “false statement of my offense.”
- The cost of eggs is too damn high! And bird flu is to blame, reports Skyler Rossi with Harvest Public Media.
- The federal government might sell some of the 5,100 acres of public land that it owns in Nebraska. Casey Wonnenberg at News Channel Nebraska has the story.
- The Huskers mens basketball team dropped its fifth straight game Wednesday. But one Nebraska fan left Pinnacle Bank feeling pretty good. That’s because he won a Porsche … after draining a putt the length of the court. (FFP editor-in-chief Matthew Hansen didn’t tell me to put this one in the newsletter. But our resident golfer is probably nodding in approval.)
