Imagine, for a moment, that you are getting off an airplane in a country where you have never been. You have left your family and everyone you know behind, thousands of miles away from this unfamiliar place, called Nebraska. You know the language here, but it is not your first or best language.
You are picked up at the airport by a man you have never met, driven to a small town, and soon asked to start the thing that you have been granted a work visa and hired to do.
Teach.
That’s real life for Dorina Ramos and dozens of other teachers from the Philippines, now educating students inside at least eight different public school districts in Nebraska.
Thirteen teachers from the Philippines, including Ramos, teach at Schuyler. That number will rise to 19 next year.
School leaders say many of these teachers are experienced, with advanced degrees. They’re trying to surround them with support as they adjust to the language, culture, teaching style and students here. And, school leaders argue, they essentially have no choice: They have to look far and wide for teachers in order to fill an ever-growing number of vacancies.
The head of Nebraska’s teachers’ union argues that this is not a real solution to the teacher shortage dilemma, and that foreign teachers are being set up to fail.
A fascinating story from Seacrest Greater Nebraska reporter Natalia Alamdari.
Yo, Lincoln: Your very cool Give to Lincoln Day is coming up May 29. And you can, indeed, donate to Flatwater Free Press as a part of your giving plan that day. Learn more about Give to Lincoln Day and all the very cool causes you can support. And here’s the link to shoot a few bucks — which get matched! — to FFP. As always, Nebraska’s first independent statewide nonprofit newsroom — that’s us — appreciates your support.
Solutions and a sad update: FFP reporter Chris Bowling is doing good work covering both the problems and solutions for Nebraskans with mental health problems, and a system that is straining — and sometimes failing — to provide help.
On Thursday, he highlighted a unique program at Nebraska Medicine, which seeks to help people in psychiatric crisis — and, in the process, keep patients from getting visited by the police, getting arrested and ending up in jails already crowded with others suffering from underlying mental health issues.
But also this week, he wrote a story that we wish we didn’t have to write. Last year, Chris met the Koch family, telling the Cozad-area family’s story as part of a broader story about the large gaps, and grassroots half-solutions, in rural mental health care.
On May 10, the father of that family, Jeremy Koch, is alleged to have killed his wife Bailey, his two teenage sons, Hudson and Asher, and then himself, after being recently released from inpatient care. It was the morning of Hudson’s high school graduation.
I’m proud of Chris for talking to the Koch family’s friends and doctors, Nebraskans who are grieving and searching for hope amid this unspeakable act. They’re also trying to amplify an undeniably important story — a story, in fact, that Bailey Koch herself had been telling for years.
Simply: There are many people out there, including in rural areas, who need help. It’s incumbent upon our systems, both broken and brand-new, to help them.
Journalism on stage: Want to be part of a community-wide discussion on mental health? On June 12, at Omaha Westside High School, Bowling will moderate a panel of doctors, experts in public health and homelessness and family members. We’ll also be hearing from you, the audience, at that event. Learn more and RSVP to attend here — I know it’s filling up fast.
Dumplings and more: And finally, Sarah Baker Hansen’s newest restaurant review is about a singular new-ish spot in downtown Omaha. It serves the momos — those are delicious Nepalese dumplings, one of my fave menu items in the city — that its owners are known for. But at Cattle Call, they are also doing much more.
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:
- Who says state government is boring? An absolutely bananas story out of the Capitol Thursday. Gov. Jim Pillen vetoed some spending in the Legislature’s budget bill. But because those vetoes didn’t get delivered to the correct office, they may be null and void?
Stories on the bizarre turn of events by the Lincoln Journal Star’s dynamic duo Chris Dunker and Andrew Wegley, and the Nebraska Examiner’s Zach Wendling.
(You may need LJS subscriber access to read the Journal Star story.)
Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in the governor’s office yesterday. Would not love to be the employee whose job it was to deliver the vetoes. - We held Flatwater Free Press’ annual journalism retreat on Tuesday. During that day, we talked some about different ways to tell our stories. I wanted to highlight a couple examples. Paula Lavigne, an investigative reporting legend who is Omaha-based and has long worked for ESPN, spoke to us about her 2023 reporting project when ESPN used data journalism in an innovative way to tell the story of gender bias in college sports.
And here’s another example from the Washington Post this week, allowing us to see if and how food costs are going up during the Trump administration vs. the Biden administration. - How exactly did Omaha Mayor-elect John Ewing stun this editor and political observers of both parties by beating three-term incumbent Mayor Jean Stothert by a shockingly large margin last week? The OWH’s dean of journalism, Henry Cordes, breaks down the numbers and the reasons behind Ewing’s big win. (You may need OWH subscriber access to read this story.)
- There’s no shortage of talk about Nebraska’s “brain drain” problem. But Nebraska Public Media’s Mike Tobias has the story of a Nebraskan who came home to launch a business … making candy.
- The head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture was in Nebraska earlier this week. It coincided with her approval of a waiver — the first of its kind — allowing the state to ban the use of SNAP benefits to buy soda and energy drinks. The New York Times reported that the move reverses decades of policy.
- The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has hired a former Omaha police officer who was fired earlier this year after he was found to have violated policies and procedures when he fatally shot an Omaha man in 2024. KETV’s McKenzy Parsons has the story.
- Make. It. Stop. An outside group is already running ads supporting Sen. Pete Ricketts in his 2026 reelection effort, which could see the former governor squaring off with Dan Osborn, reports the Nebraska Examiner’s Aaron Sanderford.
