A couple of things are true at once, according to a really cool new story and data visualization we published today.
Fact 1: Nebraskans are buying electric vehicles in far greater numbers than we did a few years ago.
Fact 2: We’re still lagging behind almost every other state.
Fact 3: The EVs that are getting bought here are wildly concentrated in the Omaha and Lincoln metro areas (duh) but also, interestingly, more popular in eastern and central Nebraska than they are in other areas.
Before I go further: You need to check out the interactive mapping that Yanqi Xu and Naomi Delkamiller did on this story. (Scroll through it at the top.)
And then we get to ask the question, as Naomi and Yanqi did today. Why? And the answer for Nebraska’s fast-growing but still lagging and uneven EV adoption rate has something to do with where we’re putting charging stations, and where we aren’t.
Related: Naomi has another shorter story published today, on $30 million in federal infrastructure law funding that the state received to build a new charging network. But it’s not going to get built anytime soon, because our state is also lagging behind in utilizing this dough.
Anyway, really good work from FFP senior investigative reporter Yanqi Xu and FFP’s UNL Fellow Naomi Delkamiller. It’s a little project that fulfills a couple of the initial promises of our nonprofit newsroom. It’s new information! Things you did not know before you read it. And it’s truly statewide, focused on the entire state of Nebraska.
Pillen’s quiet cuts: The Legislature passed a budget. Gov. Jim Pillen signed it and called it “fiscally sound.” And then, a few days later, without telling the state senators who had just passed the budget, his office directed state agencies to slash $280 million.
That’s the beginning of the story that FFP reporters Chris Bowling and Sara Gentzler uncovered this week, one that has particular relevance as Pillen and his political allies now work to roll that money into property tax relief during a special session of the Nebraska Legislature. Some state senators love the budget cutting. Some do not.
But virtually everyone, including an expert who analyzed finances, forecasts and budgets for the Legislature for nearly a half century, say that what Pillen’s office did here is far from normal.
In Heaven (and in Wilber) there is no beer: I have been to Wilber Czech Festival twice, which makes me, I believe, honorarily Czech. (For those of you who haven’t been, shame on you! And it’s next weekend.)
If they get this done, I can promise you I’m going back a third time, drinking a Wilber Czech Brewery Company beer and, when the mood strikes, perfectly belting out this iconic polka tune.
Taco time in the suburbs: You know what goes well with beer, I have found? Tacos. Sarah Baker Hansen, in her latest review for FFP Omaha, found a spot roughly 130 blocks west of Omaha’s Mexican food epicenter that’s serving a pretty mean one.
If you are an Omahan or Omaha-curious, and want to see all our Omaha news, restaurant reviews, art news and event lists, sign up for our Omaha newsletter, which is delivered each Thursday morning by FFP Omaha reporters Chris Bowling and Jeremy Turley.
An FFP milestone: I started writing this little Friday newsletter each week in September 2021. We started with … zero subscribers.
Today, for the first time, this newsletter has 15,000 subscribers.
I’m proud of that, because we’re doing it our way, the FFP way, and we’re doing good journalism that keeps bringing you back. Thank you for being a part of it. I appreciate it, and each and every one of you 15,000.
FlatFest update: We secured our first panelist this week, a big-time, up-and-coming journalist with Nebraska ties. And the Flatwater Free Press Festival is now about half sold out, which is incredible, since it isn’t until Oct. 23.
Learn more and grab your tickets soon if you’re planning to come. We’d love 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,
—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:
- The Lincoln Journal Star had a very, very good week.
Reporters Chris Dunker and Andrew Wegley did the work on figuring out how much Gov. Jim Pillen’s businesses may save each year if his tax plan becomes law. (Short answer: Somewhere near $1 million.)
And, as I posted on social media earlier this week, Jenna Ebbers had an incredibly important story about how a family moved from Wayne after a terrible series of racist attacks on their son.
That Wayne story gutted me, as a child of small-town Nebraska, and some one who very much loves my rural community and others.
It also made me so thankful that the family in this case agreed to speak to Ebbers about what they faced. It’s always easier to stay silent. But having the courage to stand up — that can change things.
(You may need subscriber info for both stories, and wow, these are two good reasons why Lincoln residents should subscribe to the LJS.) - Nebraska is one of 12 states without legalized marijuana — but you wouldn’t know it driving around Omaha. That’s a slightly paraphrased first line of World-Herald reporter Molly Ashford’s story on the confused state of cannabis in Nebraska. What’s legal? What’s not? Why? Good work by Ashford. (May need subscriber access for this story.)
- Gov. Pillen barnstormed the state but didn’t hold a property tax town hall in Omaha or Lincoln in advance of the special session. Some state senators held their own forums, and — judging by the packed houses in both Omaha and Lincoln — there was considerable interest in talking about the issue. Story here by WOWT’s Bella Caracta.
- Breaking news this morning: The Nebraska Supreme Court upheld the law restricting both abortion and trans care for minors. The Nebraska Examiner’s Aaron Sanderford has the story.
- The special session is on! Nebraska Public Media’s Fred Knapp is there, covering it.
- Looking at the forecast for the next week, a swimming pool sounds like a necessity. How about a 100,000-square-foot waterpark with a retractable roof? That’s what the city of Bellevue is proposing, reports Cindy Gonzalez at the Examiner.
