Hey Omaha,
Almost every night, my fiancée and I take the same walk through our neighborhood. About halfway through, we reach a church with big stained glass windows, old doors stained a deep brown and garden beds out front.
Until today, I didn’t realize the story it had to tell.
A few weeks ago, we had a story about “My Omaha,” a new documentary examining race issues here. The filmmaker was inspired by “A Time for Burning,” a 1966 documentary about a Lutheran pastor trying, unsuccessfully, to break bread between his white congregation and Black Omaha churches. That church, Augustana Lutheran, is the one I pass every day.
I hadn’t thought to look it up until I read Leo Adam Biga’s story about “A Time for Burning.” I also didn’t realize how controversial the documentary was here.
Nebraska Lutheran leaders called it “a disgrace” and protested its release. It divided the Augustana congregation. Many left. Even today, some still feel “betrayed” by the national Lutheran organization that produced the documentary.
Others disagree. As one present-day member put it: The film exposed “our collective sin. In that sense, all Americans share the resentment and shame of ‘A Time for Burning.’”
Hope you’ll read Leo’s story here (or click the image above).
— Chris Bowling, Flatwater Free Press
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I should have been laser-focused on our mission as Scott Vlasek introduced us to the flight simulator, but all I could think about was the upside-down rubber chicken staring back at me.
FFP reporter Destiny Herbers and I had come to UNO’s Aviation Institute to settle a long-debated question: Could we, a pair of non-pilots, safely land a plane?
The simulator, a replica small-plane cockpit contained in a metal box, looked about as you’d expect. Two seats for the pilots, a yoke and foot pedals for steering and a dashboard of gauges, switches and buttons for God knows what.
The black rubber chicken hanging from the machine’s exterior, however, was unexpected.
Vlasek, the institute’s director, explained: Southwest Airlines has a tradition of attaching rubber chickens to their simulators for good luck. As the story goes, a manager once demanded they be taken off, but the machines started malfunctioning. Now, every simulator Southwest orders comes with a chicken.
UNO, which educates future Southwest pilots, adopted the superstition, Vlasek said.
It eased my nerves to have the poultry charm there. If Destiny or I were to land a (simulated) plane, we’d need all the help we could get.
Destiny, self-confident in her plane-landing abilities, climbed into the cockpit first. Instructor Patrick Ryan turned on the simulator’s screens, revealing a bird’s-eye view of Omaha.
Patrick talked Destiny through steering with the yoke, using the rudder pedals and reading the gauges. He also controlled the throttle on a tablet.
Finally, we arrived at the moment of truth. Patrick cut the engine, and Destiny began descending toward Eppley Airfield.
“Looking good,” Patrick said reassuringly as she glided closer to the virtual runway.
Then, just a few hundred feet from the ground, the simulator’s screens suddenly turned white.
A malfunction — the kind rubber chickens are meant to prevent — had sabotaged Destiny.
Patrick said she was right on track for a smooth landing, but it was impossible to know for sure what would have happened.
I tried the simulator too and encountered a similar blank screen while attempting a loop.
We resolved to come back another day. Even though the answer to our question had eluded us, being at the controls of an aircraft for the first time was truly exhilarating. Patrick, who previously taught aviation to Burke High School students, was a great instructor.
Next week, we’ll tell you about our back-to-school adventure and what we learned about planes, aerodynamics and navigation in Larry Morgan’s private pilot theory class.
To read the first part of this series, click here and scroll down to the “Learning to Fly” section.
Flatwater Free Press, in partnership with ProPublica, is working on a yearlong project about the the legacy of lead in Omaha. After decades and millions of dollars spent cleaning the toxic metal out of yards here, we’re taking a deeper look at how effective the cleanup has been — and we need your help to do it.
If you’d like to have your soil tested, fill out our online form. Please note: We’re prioritizing properties either in or near the Superfund site.
Have questions or a story to share about lead? Contact Chris Bowling.
There’s a nip in the air, the leaves are falling and one question has been floating through our office like a ghoulish specter.
“What are you going to be for Halloween?”
This year, our co-worker is throwing a Halloween party. The pressure to show out has reached new heights.
I’m not particularly gifted in the costume ideation department, so my fiancée chose for us. We’ll be Toni and Candace, the matriarchs of Women & Women First Bookstore from “Portlandia.”
It’s going to be stiff competition for the best costume. We’ll also have a mechanic, a mead-loving bee, a 1920s flapper and Abraham “Save the Penny” Lincoln.
I hope your Halloween is filled with as much variety as ours — or at least some hot apple cider to keep you warm while you hand out candy.
— Chris Bowling, Flatwater Free Press
A South Omaha hotel has quickly become an eyesore after federal agents arrested its owners during an August trafficking raid, WOWT’s Mike McKnight reports. Nearby residents and business owners report seeing squatters and thieves climbing in and out of the building. It’s unclear who’s responsible for cleaning up the property since the owners are in jail awaiting trial.
OPPD delayed a vote on a long-standing plan to convert the coal-burning North Omaha power plant to run on natural gas, the Nebraska Examiner reported. Attorney General Mike Hilgers sued the utility last week over the plan, contending that environmental justice goals will make the power grid less affordable and less reliable.
The Nebraska Public Service Commission suspended the license of an Omaha grain dealer amid allegations that the business took in but failed to pay for $2 million in grain, The World-Herald reported. The commission says Hansen-Mueller Co. owes money to 38 grain producers going back to last year. (You may need a subscription to read this story.)
Omaha-based Union Pacific is among the donors funding President Donald Trump’s plan for an ornate ballroom in the east wing of the White House, Nebraska Public Media reported. The rail company is joined by other massive corporations, including Amazon, Meta and Google.
Former Central High School teacher Juan Oropeza-Perez was sentenced to 30 days in jail for posting nude photos of his ex-girlfriend online, KETV reported. Central High fired the teacher following his arrest in spring.
High school football in the metro will look different next year after regulators approved changes to prevent low-ranking Class A teams from having to play juggernauts. The World-Herald’s Stu Pospisil expertly breaks down the NSAA’s complex point system for playoff berths and how teams might fit into it.
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