I’m not gonna beat around the bush here. We committed some serious journalism in 2023.
We told all the important stories below, stories I have unscientifically selected as The Best of 2023. We told them well. And we told them thanks to you, since our work as a nonprofit newsroom is powered by readers and donors like you.
(If you are mulling your year-end giving, I’d ask you to consider supporting our newsroom. Help us commit more journalism in 2024 by making a tax-deductible donation here.)
OK, I love a good year-end list, so here goes. Without further ado, and in no particular order, the Dirty Dozen Best FFP Stories of 2023:
1. In June, reporter Natalia Alamdari broke the story that Seward County does 1/3 of all state civil asset forfeitures in the entire state – often stopping an out-of-state driver and seizing their cash along a 24-mile stretch of I-80 without ever charging them with a crime.
2. In July, reporter Yanqi Xu broke the story that Gov. Jim Pillen’s hog farms often test sky-high for nitrate. Some of that nitrate is likely creeping into nearby drinking water.
3. Also in July, reporter Jeremy Turley showed that Omaha’s immigration judges reject asylum seekers, people often fleeing violence in their countries, at the highest rate in the U.S.
4. In November, reporter Destiny Herbers revealed that the organization buying the most land in Nebraska is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
5. In April, Tim Trudell told the tale of a small-town police chief who became a murder suspect. Now he’s a Florida retiree… and he’s talking.
6. In November, reporter Chris Bowling showed that the State of Nebraska is breaking state law in the Omaha area, as foster care caseworkers carry illegally high caseloads.
7. In August, Cindy Lange-Kubick wrote about a regular old table with the superpower to bind one family – her own family – to another.
8. In May, FFP state gov’t watchdog reporter Sara Gentzler dove into a state program meant to aid victims of violent crime – but it was helping barely anyone. Soon after the story, the director overseeing the program resigned.
9. In February, FFP’s UNL fellow Evelyn Mejia and Alamdari showed how much a city’s bus system being idled mattered to its youngest, oldest and most blue-collar residents. The week after this story ran, the bus system was restarted.
10. In November, Carson Vaughan wrote a story about an infamous Nebraska cattle baron who married his niece and then moved into a California castle that still stands.
11. This month, freelancer Dirk Chatelain told the story of a man who changed a basketball team, a town and many lives. Now Coach Feek is fighting for his own.
12. In April, Lincoln reporter Ryan Hoffman told the story of a new political mega-donor family whose spending is changing Nebraska politics. But it’s not the family you think.
Here’s the best part: I had to leave so many good ones off this list. Like the time Nebraska’s parole board started showing up more often for work, swearing it had nothing to do with our previous story exposing board attendance. Or an absolutely incredible story by acclaimed author Joe Starita about a Ukrainian family’s escape from the war, and journey to Nebraska. (OK, I lied, it’s really a Top 14 list.)
We told hard-hitting stories. We also told full-hearted ones, the type of stories that a Valentine resident could read about Omaha, or vice versa, and come away understanding that this state has problems, but it’s also filled with goodness, too.
I changed my mind. Here’s the best part: 2024 is gonna be even better. Thank you for reading, supporting us and following along with this email newsletter that started at zero in July 2021 and now has 12,000 subscribers.
Happy New Year from the staff of the Flatwater Free Press and from me, your friendly nonprofit newsroom editor.
Sincerely,
—Matthew Hansen, Executive Editor
