Hey, Omaha. Chris here.
Today’s story starts in Karachi, Pakistan. There’s a guy in a Husker hat sitting with a young girl. She just got her polio vaccine. The man is Dr. Ali Khan, the dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and he’s celebrating another step toward eradicating the debilitating, deadly virus.
Khan’s life has been about progress. The son of a blue-collar Brooklyn family rose to top positions in public health, traveling the world to stamp out sickness before coming to Nebraska in 2014. In 2016 Khan published “The Next Pandemic” with lessons on how to curb infectious diseases.
Four years later, COVID-19 happened. Expertise clashed with misinformation while more than a million people died. Today, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired or received resignations from many top health officials. Recently, Kennedy’s office removed six of the 17 recommended vaccines for children. Last year, there were more measles cases in the United States than there had been in more than 30 years.
For Khan, these examples are evidence the work isn’t finished. The public and health officials have a fractured relationship that needs to be mended. At the same time, Khan said he can’t compromise his work, which is rooted in social justice.
Hope you’ll read Chris Burbach’s profile of one of Omaha’s most interesting people.
Click the link here (or click the photo above).
— Chris Bowling, Flatwater Free Press
Last year, FFP reporter Destiny Herbers and I embarked on an extracurricular activity that few reporters take up. To settle an argument over who could safely land a plane, we tried to learn the basics of aviation at one of the premier flight schools in the country, the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
The semester-long journey landed us in flight simulators and freshman classrooms and brought us face to face with some damn good pilots. Destiny and I are prone to fierce debate, but we left UNO’s Aviation Institute in agreement that getting your wings is no joke. It takes smarts, perseverance and hand-eye coordination that most folks don’t have (myself included).
You can read the whole “Learning to Fly” series from our first go at the simulator to our last right here. And on behalf of your flight crew, we’d like to thank you for choosing FFP Omaha.
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The 2026 art season wastes no time kicking off the new year! Check out the rich diversity of art our community has to offer with Nebraska pop art, group exhibitions, culture-shaping technology, indigenous creation stories and a showcase of the best visual art in the region.
Popcorn Nebraska
I’ve been a fan of Conrad Hinz for years. The way he blends Midwest iconography with contemporary popular culture, all with a rockabilly sense of humor, never ceases to amaze me. You do not want to miss this must-see show that opens during Hot Shops’ January Art Fluid open studios night.
– When: Opening reception: Friday, Jan. 9, 5:30-8 p.m. Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. On view until Jan. 25.
– Where: Hot Shops Art Center, 1301 Nicholas St.
Spectral Dynamics
Mads Anderson is known for his monumental abstract paintings, and this month, Modern Arts Midtown features his latest works. But Anderson isn’t alone. This exhibition will include artwork by Jacqueline Kluver, Julie Owens and Michael Welch.
– When: Opening reception: Friday, Jan. 9, 6-9 p.m. Gallery hours by appointment: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
– Where: Modern Arts Midtown, 3615 Dodge St.
Small Works
Anderson O’Brien kicks off the new year in a new space with its annual “Small Works” show. Now located in the Omaha Design Center, AOB will feature dozens of regional and national artists exhibiting works that are all smaller than a square foot.
– When: Opening reception: Saturday, Jan. 10, 3-6 p.m., Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Sunday, noon-6 p.m.
– Where: Anderson O’Brien Fine Art, 1502 Cuming St.
Close to the Clouds: Encountering Digital Diasporas and Ezra Masch: VOLUMES
For more than 40 years, the Bemis has been bringing artists and exhibitions from around the world to downtown Omaha. This month, they bring two fascinating experiences. “Close to the Clouds” from 2024-2025 Curator-in-Residence Kathy Cho is an international group exhibition that explores how the physical and digital worlds shape culture and identity. Ezra Masch’s “VOLUMES,” an immersive installation that blends sound, light and architecture, will evolve over the run of the exhibit.
– When: Opening reception: Friday, Jan. 16, 7-9 p.m. Gallery hours: Wednesday, Friday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Until May 3.
– Where: The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, 724 S. 12th St.
Stories of Our Being: Indigenous Origins in Nebraska
For two nights only, a tipi rises in the Scott Pavilion, where National Heritage Fellow Steve Tamayo (Sicangu Lakota) shares traditional indigenous creation stories accompanied with light projections. Please register for this free, public, all-ages event.
– When: Tuesday & Wednesday, Jan. 20-21, 5-9 p.m.
– Where: Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge St.
OEAA Visual Arts Showcase
This month, RBR Gallery showcases the Visual Arts nominees of the 20th Annual Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards. This is a once-a-year opportunity to see an eclectic mix of the best artists active in our region during the 2024-2025 art season.
– When: Opening reception: Friday, Jan. 30, 5-9 p.m. Gallery hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. On view until Feb. 21.
– Where: Roberta & Bob Rogers Gallery, 1806 Vinton St.
— Bart Vargas is a visual artist, educator and advocate based in Omaha, Nebraska. He publishes a weekly list of local arts, culture and entertainment events on social media and operates an international studio with his wife Bekah Jerde.
A parent, at times, is more of a chauffeur than a caregiver. I spent a lot of time in the car with my kids, and there was usually music playing. Sometimes Dad’s choice, most of the time theirs. Raffi was a favorite, sometimes Barney, and with my youngest, it was the cast of Glee. But one of my fondest memories is my 4-year-old daughter requesting more of the “bee guy.” It took a while to figure out she wanted to hear Sting.
So, music has played a big part in my relationships with my family. At Christmas this year, my daughter (the Sting fan) suggested we start a music-based competition. Music League is an app out of Des Moines where competitors submit songs based on themes like best covers or current favorites and vote on the winners.
It has been fun! I’m learning what my kids are listening to and they, once again, are sampling some of my choices. This week was favorite duets, and I pulled some major points with Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole singing “Unforgettable.” My son submitted another favorite with “Seven Spanish Angels” by Willie Nelson and Ray Charles — a song I introduced to my kids 20 years ago. Yeah, the old man still has game.
— John Costello, Nebraska Journalism Trust
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents has proposed spending $800 million to buy out Clarkson Regional Health Services from its partnership in Nebraska Medicine and bring the hospital under state control, Julie Anderson at The World-Herald writes. University leaders say the change represents a “tremendous opportunity” to further medical research and care. Nebraska Medicine board members say the takeover could affect operations and rope the hospital into the state’s budget shortfall. (You may need a subscription to read this story.)
North Omaha businessman and civil rights leader Daniel Goodwin Sr. died at 93, WOWT reported. For six decades, he operated Goodwin’s Spencer Street Barbershop with his wife Andrea. The business gave a start to former State Sen. Ernie Chambers and featured in the massively influential documentary “A Time for Burning.”
Omaha’s New Year’s Eve fireworks show ended prematurely after a man entered the firing zone and tripped over a wire, disabling dozens of fireworks, KETV reported. City officials later determined the man did not intend to disrupt the show.
Farnam bridge is coming down, coming down. The midtown Omaha overpass, scheduled for demolition this weekend, will be rebuilt over 2026 to carry the Omaha streetcar. Tracks will also be laid in midtown and downtown, which brings more construction-related traffic changes, Molly Hudson at KMTV reports.
A real estate developer has sued the City of Omaha to prevent it from repurchasing the site of the former Omaha Civic Auditorium, writes Jessica Wade at The Reader. Last fall, the city alleged the developer had failed its contractual obligations. The developer alleged the city’s conduct, including talking to a nonprofit about buying the land, “destroyed” contractual expectations, “materially interfered” with the developer’s ability to perform and “violated the implied covenant of good faith.”
The Flatwater Free Press is published by the Nebraska Journalism Trust, a 501(c)(3) public charity