We’re simply not gonna shy away from tough stories at Flatwater Free Press.
I think we have already proven that with exposés on Nebraska’s parole board and the behemoth buying up Omaha houses. We have done dogged, fair reporting on Nebraska’s broken prison system and a rash of small-town thievery.
And I think we are doing it again with our latest story. This one, by talented freelancer Carson Vaughan, is a look at a piece of information and misinformation that’s having an impact in Nebraska, whether we like it or not.
The new film called “Mind Polluters”, billed as a documentary, claims teachers are sexually grooming students. It has been shown all around Nebraska. It’s routinely cited as evidence by school board members, school board candidates and at school board meetings — cited as a reason we shouldn’t have comprehensive sex education in Nebraska’s public schools.
But: The Nebraska Department of Education, the Nebraska State Education Association and a Creighton University expert all told Vaughan that the film, and most its claims, have no basis in reality. And, in fact, many claims in the film can be disproved simply by looking at current research.
Vaughan digs deep into the movie’s message, its impact — and how it’s affecting Nebraska’s public school teachers.
I’m thrilled we could work with two serious Nebraska journalists, Carson and cartoonist Jeffrey Koterba, on this story.
A summer camp that shines: On Tuesday, we released a story from interns extraordinaire Emma Schartz and Jazari Kual about an extraordinary camp run by extraordinary people in central Nebraska. Yes, I just used that word three times in one sentence. And why not? This is a camp that helps dozens of Nebraska kids get an overnight camp experience, where they can zipline and rock climb and splash around in a lake and toast marshmallows over a blazing campfire and all the amazing stuff you might remember doing at summer camp.
But these kids have often never been overnight without their parents before. These kids sometimes struggle to make the sort of friendships you make at summer camp. And yet these kids, their families and volunteers have created something called Operation Shine Camp — something that will absolutely warm your cold and shriveled heart.
At least it did mine.
Read Emma’s story, linked above. And watch Jazari’s video right here.
By the way: It was a visit that executive director Matt Wynn and I made to Kearney that led to this story idea. Thank you to the Kearney Area Community Foundation for hosting that visit…it’s proof positive that getting out into Nebraska is helping us to find good stories to tell Nebraskans.
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:
- I will yell it toward the heavens and towards haters on the Internet for as long as I can yell…Dirk Chatelain is a Nebraska treasure. He proves it yet again with two recent World-Herald stories: One: The legacy of Marlin Briscoe, the Omahan who became the NFL’s first Black quarterback. Two: Why is it still so rare that Nebraska boys’ athletes are coached by a woman?
- The Nebraska Examiner’s Aaron Sanderford spent a Saturday in Kearney, where he watched the Nebraska Republican Party get taken over by old-guard conservatives and Trump populists. Read his dispatch here.
