“It is sort of the equivalent of walking into an operating room and hoping that you can figure out which instrument to pick up.” — Judge Derek Weimer, district court judge in Cheyenne County.
Weimer was talking about the Nebraskans — more and more each year — who walk into his courtroom and defend themselves with no lawyer present.
These Nebraskans are representing themselves in large part because there are simply not enough lawyers practicing across Nebraska. A third of our 93 counties have three or fewer lawyers in them. And the lawyers who are there tend to be nearing or past retirement age, and spread increasingly thin.
Tempting lawyer jokes aside, this is a very real problem, reports our UNL Fellow Shelby Rickert. It matters for at-risk children, and for some of our poorest and most powerless residents. Really good work from Shelby, a small-town Nebraska kid like myself, who is now shining a light on too-often ignored Nebraska stories.
Poof goes $100 Mil: The money was going to be used by public health leaders across Nebraska for programs meant to reduce opioid addiction, get vaccines to kids without health insurance, to study substance abuse treatment and to plan for the next public health crisis.
But that $100 million, already allocated under COVID-19 relief legislation, is now being clawed back by the Trump administration. The argument for the clawback is pretty simple: COVID-19 is over as a public health crisis, the administration’s reps say. And it’s a cost-saving measure under DOGE.
Local public health directors in Nebraska say they have never before faced a clawback of funding already built into their budgets. And they worry that the decision will leave Nebraskans more vulnerable if a measles outbreak happens here or a public health crisis we haven’t yet imagined becomes reality.
Joshua Shimkus, our Howard Center fellow, with an important story as we continue to focus on how federal funding cut decisions made in D.C. affect Nebraskans.
Chugging to 200: I love to jog, so if you will imagine me two-thirds the way through a long run. I’m wearing my “Cardio King” T-shirt that Sarah found for me long ago at a thrift store. I’m middle aged. I’m sweating profusely. I am mad at myself for that third slice of pizza and second beer last night. I need some Gatorade. I need somebody to cheer me on.
In this analogy, you are that Gatorade. This month, during our annual spring donor drive, we are working to get 200 new recurring donors — loyal readers who give us $5 or $10 or $20 a month, or sign up to make a recurring annual donation. As of last check, we are at 121 so far … only 79 left!
We’d love your help in reaching the finish line. If you believe in what we are doing here at Flatwater Free Press, and believe in the mission of nonprofit news delivered for free to any Nebraskan who wants it, sign up right here.
To say thanks, we will send you a cool piece of fresh new FFP merch, which you can peruse by scrolling down at that link. Thanks!
Ted and Tequila: You need to go check this out. On May 6, author Ted Genoways makes his triumphant return to Nebraska, and more specifically to Lincoln’s lovely Francie & Finch bookshop. Here’s more info.
Ted is coming home to speak about his newest book, “Tequila Wars,” a true tale of farming, and big business, and U.S.-Mexican relations, and a guy you might have heard of named Jose Cuervo and … oh yeah, tequila. (We’ll have more on Ted’s book ahead of the event, so be on the lookout for that story.)
If you haven’t yet read a Genoways book, it’s time to start — he’s one of the finest modern writers to hail from The Cornhusker State. (We’ll give him a pass on his move to Tulsa to teach and do cool stuff at the university there.) I just received my advance copy in the mail, and I’m so, so excited to read it on a plane starting tomorrow morning.
You can pre-order your copy here. (Reminder: Support your local bookstore!)
And if you go to the 5:30 p.m. event to hear Ted, buy a book and get it signed — show up early. I have a feeling many, many Nebraskans are going to want to hear from Ted.
I won’t be there May 6 — stupid work trip — but a Flatwater journalist or journalists will be in the house.
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—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:
- A trade war doesn’t just affect consumers. It can hurt farmers. Here’s a New York Times story on how China buying fewer Nebraska soybeans might hurt farmers here in 2025, and for years to come.
- Ted isn’t the only author with Nebraska ties releasing a new, highly-anticipated book. Faiz Siddiqui, a UNL journalism grad, is now a reporter at the Washington Post. He’s been covering Elon Musk for years, and his new book about the world’s richest man looks like a must read. Here’s the author’s interview with Dale Johnson of Nebraska Public Media.
- It’s not your imagination — the wind is really worse in Nebraska this year. NPM’s Jackie Ourada with the story about how an increasing number of high-wind events are costing us.
- Speaking of wind, an eagle-eyed reader spotted this NYT story this week, and it’s too fascinating not to include. In a town right across the border from Nebraska, a funeral director made little Rock Port, Missouri, the first city in the entire United States to produce more electricity than the town needed from wind power.
- Five different ballot initiatives passed by Nebraskans in recent years are getting watered down or otherwise challenged by the Nebraska Legislature, reports the OWH’s Erin Bamer. (May need OWH subscriber info to access.)
- Nebraska’ highest paid superintendents make six times as much as new teachers, and more than superintendent counterparts in other states, State Auditor Mike Foley told the Legislature this week. Story by the Lincoln Journal Star’s Andrew Wegley. (May need LJS subscriber info to access.)
- What causes brain drain? The Omaha Chamber, with the help of UNO, is researching the answers to that question, reports the Nebraska Examiner’s Cindy Gonzalez. Among the findings: Cost of housing and a lack of walkable, bikeable neighborhoods.
- And finally, scientists have discovered a new color. Except you can only truly understand its brilliance if you fire lasers into your eyes. No, really.
