Howdy, Omaha — it’s Jeremy.
When I say “spoken word poetry,” what image comes to mind?
If you’re picturing a white-bearded, beret-wearing man sitting on a stool in a dark, smoke-filled room, you’re a little out of date.
Nebraska’s newly minted state poet proves that.
Jewel Rodgers is a 28-year-old Omahan who until recently worked in real estate. She’s a community advocate known for transforming vacant lots into parks. And she’s taking spoken word outside the nightclubs and classrooms, correspondent Ty Stewart reports.
Recently, Rodgers performed at a commercial real estate conference and at I Be Black Girl’s summit on the same day. Whatever the crowd, she makes her presence felt, exuding confidence from the stage.
The self-described “unconventional case” is blazing trails in her new role, and we all get to watch her do it.
You can read Ty’s terrific profile of Rodgers here (or click the photo above).
— Jeremy Turley, Flatwater Free Press
The Omaha Inland Port Authority Board approved a budget amendment to add two new staff positions and discussed plans for two major grant initiatives supporting small businesses and housing rehabilitation. The board also reviewed recommendations to streamline financial approvals and prepare for a vote on new bylaws next month. Updates included progress on the Airport Business Park and a request for more evening board meetings to boost community participation.
Read the full summary here and the full meeting notes on the Documenters website.
Want to help inform your community and create better journalism while getting paid? Become a Documenter today.
— Leah Wambui Keinama, Nebraska Journalism Trust
Wrangling 5,000 people running a relay race from Omaha to Lincoln is far from easy. But Ben Cohoon and his crew at Pink Gorilla Events are up for the job.
I’m on one of the 640 teams participating in Saturday’s 18th Market to Market Relay, which will send runners down streets, trails and country roads from Omaha’s Seymour Smith Park to Lincoln’s Haymarket. The race used to start in Omaha’s Old Market, but Missouri River flooding in 2011 forced some route changes that moved the starting line to Memorial Park. The start later shifted to Aksarben Village before it ended up at Seymour Smith.
Back when the race kicked off in 2008, we had an 8-member team from the Omaha World-Herald that ran it. For whatever reason, we didn’t run it again until 2020, but we’ve done it every year since then — with fewer and fewer OWH employees on the team until today, when only one current OWH’er remains. The rest of us are former World-Herald people or newspaper adjacent — husbands, friends or kids.
“It’s an amazing brain challenge every year,” Cohoon said of the complicated logistics involved in overseeing the race.
“It’s a great day for the community,” he said. “I feel a lot of pride in it. There’s been lucky breaks and conscious decisions that have led to us putting on a really great event for 18 years.”
Consider running the relay next year — registration opens in a few weeks.
— Bob Glissmann, captain, Ocelots Wielding Hammers M2M Team
An Omaha police officer is recovering from a gunshot to the head after responding to a 911 call at a gas station in west Omaha, KETV reported. Shedrick Mills, 36, admitted to the shooting in an interview, according to court documents. His family said he has struggled with mental health challenges and drug addiction. Omaha’s police union said the incident highlights the dangers of the job.
The Omaha World-Herald will no longer print a Monday newspaper, editor Ben Doody announced last week. Lee Enterprises has gutted the newspaper’s staff since buying the historic publication from billionaire Warren Buffett. The company laid off or bought out several Omaha journalists last month, shrinking its already-depleted news desk.
After 44 years at the World-Herald, legendary reporter Henry Cordes announced his departure from the paper on Facebook following the latest round of staff reductions. Cordes, who delivered the paper as a kid, has won many local and national journalism awards and authored four books during his tenure.
The Omaha Police Department refused to release body camera footage of a traffic stop in which officers held champion boxer Terence “Bud” Crawford at gunpoint just hours after he received the key to the city from Mayor John Ewing. Instead, the department published a written timeline of the incident.
Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said officers handled the Crawford traffic stop correctly, but he understands the community outrage and acknowledged that Black people are disproportionately pulled out of their cars at gunpoint compared to other racial groups, the Associated Press reported.
A bogus call claiming an active shooter at the University of Nebraska at Omaha interrupted a quiet Saturday on campus as police swarmed to respond, The World-Herald reported. Several colleges and high schools have been victimized by so-called “swatting” calls this year. (You may need a subscription to read this story.)
The Flatwater Free Press is published by the Nebraska Journalism Trust, a 501(c)(3) public charity