Hello, Editor Matthew here. I’m back after the longest vacation I have taken in five years after Flatwater. I am reinvigorated. I’m recharged. I’m ready to share the news! Whooooo! Let’s dive in.
Nebraska towns like Crete are slashing their budgets, laying off new police officer hires and librarians. Why? They say they don’t have any choice — the money they get from the State of Nebraska has been wildly diminished.
In Crete, it was an 80% decrease in the amount of municipal equalization dollars annually doled out by the state according to a formula.
This has big, big implications for communities like Grand Island, Crete and many others, reports Flatwater’s Emily Wolf.
On second thought: State leaders were considering a program to release some prisoners early, a move that would have likely saved taxpayer money and also lessened the rampant overcrowding of our prison system.
Flatwater watchdog Sara Gentzler reported on that plan, called PATH, breaking the story that prison officials and others were considering it.
And then it went away, poof, in a cloud of smoke.
Gentzler with a smart follow-up about why the PATH program vanished and why that matters for state leaders and regular Nebraskans alike.
Smash! Bang! Crunch! Win?: My small-town roots really came out as I was reading our story earlier this week on a county fair demo derby. I mean, what more fun can you have than watching grown adult humans smash old cars repeatedly into one another until they all are smoking and barely moving?
I will answer that myself: There is little else in this world that’s more fun.
Come for correspondent Greg Echlin’s entertaining story on the Polk County Fair demo derby and stay for photographer Eric Gregory’s amazing photos of this one-of-a-kind event.
State’s best barn party: It’s gonna be hot as Hades this weekend, which reminds me that in late September, it often gets incredibly nice in Nebraska. And guess what? A late September evening is when we are hosting our one-of-a-kind annual event, which many people call the Flatwater Free Press Festival but I, because I’m cool, call FlatFest.
This year, it’s at a cool renovated barn just outside of Lincoln. It’s got an amazing outdoor area. Come help us celebrate our fifth anniversary. Eat all the food and sip on a cocktail underneath the Nebraska sky as the sun sets. Meet the Flatwater reporters. And also listen to me interview legendary journalist George Packer. I’m already excited! Learn more here and buy your tickets today, as I know they are going quickly.
Teaser time: We have a couple of big, important stories about to launch or continue in the next few weeks. These stories started with questions: How much more expensive are Nebraska homes getting, and why? And in Omaha, did the largest Superfund cleanup of its kind in American history work?
Some of our best story ideas come from readers like you, and they typically start with a question much like this. Have a question that our reporters need to look into? Reach our newsroom at [email protected].
Stay cool and see you next week.
— Matthew Hansen, Executive Editor
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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:
- There are plans to put a 5,000-head hog confinement facility near the Niobrara River. Critics of that plan say it’s likely to contaminate groundwater or the the river itself, which annually has 60,000 paddlers go down it. Supporters say that’s, well, hogwash.
Story by the Nebraska Examiner’s allegedly retired reporter extraordinaire Paul Hammel. - Nebraska’s expected budget deficit is ballooning, and state leaders are clearly already eyeing the state’s “rainy day” fund, along with budget cuts, to help close it. Story by Nebraska Public Media’s Noelle Annonen.
- It looks like CNN is going to air Jake Tapper’s extended interview with former Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse on Sunday evening. I will share some or all of it in next week’s newsletter.
- In related news, KETV reports that Nebraska Medicine is accepting Stage 4 pancreatic cancer patients into its expanded access program, which gives patients access to an investigational therapy (such as the drug Sasse has been taking) before it’s FDA-approved.
- Cool story out of Omaha: Work has begun on a new year-round public market that will be located near the city’s riverfront and right by the new and vastly improved Gene Leahy Mall. As a longtime downtown resident, I am very, very excited for this. Story by Grow Omaha.
- Support for both recreational and medical marijuana has continued to go up in the state of Nebraska, according to a new survey, reports the Lincoln Journal Star’s Chris Dunker. (You may need LJS subscriber access to view this story.)
- Omaha Mayor John Ewing has signed a measure setting a minimum wage of $15 an hour for most workers, including a higher floor than the state rate for teens, the Omaha World-Herald’s Julie Anderson reports. Ewing said he’s confident the city has the authority to act despite the legal challenges the move may face. (You may need a World-Herald subscription to read the story.)
- The most dangerous intersection in the state of Nebraska? By one metric, it’s the roundabout at 14th and Superior Streets in Lincoln. Story by the Journal Star’s Lori Pilger on the spots in the state that report the most crashes, which also includes intersections in Omaha, Bellevue, Grand Island, Kearney and more. (You may need LJS subscriber access to view this story.)
- The Americans sent to the National Quarantine Unit on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus after a hantavirus outbreak on their cruise ship didn’t enjoy their stay, The New York Times reports.
- The Examiner’s Zach Wendling had two really important stories this week. The first: Violent threats against public officials are increasing around the country, and that now has hit close to home for Gov. Jim Pillen. The second: The number of Nebraskans receiving public food aid has dropped by 17% — that’s some 25,000 Nebraskans — since Congress passed last year’s giant tax cut and spending cut package.
- And finally, there is a one-of-a-kind antique store in Wilbur, reports 10/11 News Now’s Grace McDonald for Pure Nebraska.
