Natalia Alamdari here, filling in for Matthew Hansen on newsletter duty and coming to you with another dispatch from Greater Nebraska.
When I wrote my first ever FFP newsletter, I told you all how I wanted to cover Greater Nebraska – an ongoing portrait of the state, taking a close-up look at culture and challenging our assumptions.
As I started traveling through Nebraska towns, I noticed that most Nebraska towns are overwhelmingly white. As a person of color, it’s something you can’t ignore. And I’ll be fully transparent with you all, it aligned with my assumptions about the state before I moved here.
But the best part of this job is challenging assumptions. What does the culture of rural Nebraska actually look like? I wondered. Who are the people calling these communities home?
And more importantly, how has that changed over time?
The finding: In 30 years, every county in Nebraska – even the most rural – has grown more diverse. It’s diversity driven by first-generation immigrants who have moved into the state, and their kids and grandkids who decided to stay.
And in Nebraska’s rural counties, it’s those families who drive population growth in communities that would otherwise be shrinking.
To see these demographic changes in action, I visited Wakefield, a town of about 1,500 people in northeast Nebraska that’s grown to be roughly half white and half Latino. In Wakefield, Main Street is lined with Latino-owned businesses. The only place you can find fresh produce in town is at Tienda Mexicana Guerrero, a grocery store that’s been a Wakefield fixture for nearly 25 years. The school is growing so fast that there’s no fear of closing or consolidation, but the single building is bursting at the seams.
The bottom line I learned from experts: Diversity is what drives population growth in rural Nebraska. And it’s population growth that keeps communities, businesses, schools and more thriving and continuing on.
This is the first of many stories from me exploring how immigrants have shaped Greater Nebraska. In the coming months, we’ll travel to places like Columbus, North Platte, Schuyler and more.
Douglas County, drama and … Charles Dickens?: I gasped multiple times reading this week’s story from Omaha reporter Jeremy Turley. Ex-employees allege turmoil inside the Douglas County Historical Society, and that board members treat the organization like “their own personal social club.” Turley walks you through the allegations, the board’s response, and what comes next for the organization meant to preserve history in the county.
This story truly has everything – mass resignations, potential damage to historical buildings and documents, even a Charles Dickens descendant who performs a one-man show of his great-great-grandfather’s works. But you’ll have to read the story to see how this all connects to Douglas County.
Come hang out with us: Fall is upon us, folks, and with that comes the hottest event of the season: the second annual Flatwater Free Press Festival aka FlatFest. The FFP staff is the coolest group of people I know, and you should totally want to come hang out with us (I’m not biased at all).
Once again, we’ll have a panel of journalism all-stars, and will be celebrating three years (!!) of Nebraska nonprofit news in Lincoln’s historic train station. And – spoiler alert – you’ll also get to hear myself and fellow senior reporter Yanqi Xu talk about what we’ve been working on this year.
Tickets are going fast, so buy your tickets now. Hope to see you there.
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,
—Natalia Alamdari, FFP Seacrest Greater Nebraska Senior Reporter
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:
- Nebraskan and UNL grad LaSharah S. Bunting is taking on a new (and very cool) role at The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering gender, politics and policy. If you were at FlatFest last year, you saw Bunting on a panel of amazing journalists all with Nebraska roots. Congrats to Bunting on her new gig!
- Last week in the middle of our pre-fall heat wave, I had friends from around the country texting me about corn sweat. In case you’ve missed the corn sweat convo every summer – corn sweat describes the moisture released by the crop as it grows, which then contributes to humidity. But Kate Grumke with Harvest Public Media tells us it’s more complicated.
- Four years ago, the village of Chapman lost its school. And it’s been costing the tiny village $25,000 a year to maintain the empty building. Now, a developer wants to turn the building into a drug and alcohol treatment center. NTV’s Steve White takes us inside a village board meeting this week where residents and board members weighed in on the project.
- Last week, an Omaha Police officer was serving a no-knock warrant. Eleven seconds in, the officer shot and killed an unarmed man. This week, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine announced the officer would not face charges. Omaha World-Herald reporter Molly Ashford walks us through when Nebraska law allows deadly force, and the events that led to the fatal shooting. (May need a subscription to read.)
- I loved this OWH story about Tim Walz’s Nebraska haunts from Emily Nitcher. After reading so many national articles parachuting into towns like Valentine and Alliance, the lede hit hard. Nitcher and photographer Megan Nielsen traveled through the Sandhills talking to folks across the political spectrum – the Walz supporters who held their own tiny rally sharing memories of the former teacher, the cafe owners who proudly display a Trump bobblehead, the Valentine locals who seem exhausted by all the attention. (May need a subscription to read.)
- FFP Editor-in-Chief Matthew Hansen specifically requested I include this story about pennies in this week’s newsletter. “Does it have a Nebraska connection?” I asked. “No, it’s just interesting,” he said. And while I gave him a hard time, I do have to admit it is interesting! Our country is stuck in an endless cycle of needing to produce more and more pennies. If every penny sitting in a jar were to suddenly return to circulation, we’d be stuck in a logistical nightmare, Caity Weaver of New York Times Magazine writes. (May need a subscription to read.)
