Howdy, Omaha — it’s Jeremy.
When family and friends ask how I like living in Omaha, my usual response is something like, “There’s a lot more going on than you’d think.”
Omaha isn’t a big city, per se, but it has some big-city attractions: an unrivaled zoo, the College World Series, renowned art and science museums, alluring music venues. The new Gene Leahy Mall even has a skate ribbon — something I’d only ever seen in my native Chicago.
I didn’t realize until I started reporting our latest story that the driving force behind so many of these Omaha institutions is the largesse of super rich people.
A generation of business titans — made wealthy by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, Kiewit and other major companies — has pumped billions of dollars into local nonprofits and building projects through family foundations.
But that generation is fading fast. Since 2016, leading local philanthropists Dick Holland, Walter Scott, Allan Lozier, Bill Scott and Howard Hawks have died.
Omaha’s philanthropic scene is starting to see the effects as prominent foundations plan to spend down their assets and fade into the sunset. I explored what the impending disappearance of these donors means for the city and whether a new class of philanthropists can pick up the slack.
You can read my story here (or click the photo above).
As the sun sets on 2024, Chris and I would like to thank all of you for reading our little newsletter this year. We’ll be off next week for the holidays, but we’ll see you again in 2025!
— Jeremy Turley, Flatwater Free Press
Five favorite restaurants of 2024
Favorites are one of those things that can really get you thinking.
I put a lot of thought into the five restaurants on my list this year — most are older and have been around long enough to prove their worth. But this year, they’re the places where I also think I spent the most time.
Will they be the same next year? I can’t say. But for now, here’s my five favorites — plus five more honorable mentions. I hope you’ll find a new favorite, too. Or maybe rediscover an old one. Happy new year.
Sarah Baker Hansen is an award-winning writer who has covered Omaha’s food scene for more than a decade. She posts restaurant reviews and food news on her blog, sarahbakerhansen.com.
The Omaha Municipal Land Bank (OMLB) will host a tax sale webinar in January to educate the public on purchasing tax lien properties, with an open house planned in February to engage nonprofit partners. The board approved November financials, reporting $1.8 million in revenue and a projected net income of $394,000, and discussed transitioning to a new property data system, Ptolemy, expected to be fully implemented by 2025. Members also approved a new home construction project at 2607 Spencer St. and emphasized efforts to expand nonprofit partnerships and secure legislative support. 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
What do you picture when you think “family Christmas card”? A line of kids dressed in matching holiday sweaters? A couple walking on the beach with their toddler in tow? A newborn making their debut on fridges across the country?
What my friends picture: Me and my cat (Lou). I know, crazy cat lady stereotypes are running through your brain.
Five years ago, I was at my first full-time job, in my first solo apartment. I opened a card featuring my cousin and her new baby. I pictured her opening a card of me and my cat. So mostly as a joke, I decided to send out a Christmas card that year.
I guess at a deeper level, I was searching for connection. This was a time all my friends and family were scattered around the country. I wanted to feel closer to them, even though we didn’t talk every day. A small reminder saying, “you’re still important to me, I miss you.”
The card, now an annual event, has gotten more intricate each year. I once attempted an 80s-style photoshoot with Lou. The year after that, our faces are photoshopped to look like Lou is a reindeer pulling my sled. Last year, my sister drew us as Peanuts characters ice skating.
Lou and I will appear on fridges in 12 states this year, a reminder of all the places I’ve been and friends I’ve made. Since the design is always a surprise and there are Christmas card recipients on this newsletter, I can’t reveal it just yet. But you can see last year’s, designed by my sister, a few paragraphs above.
— Natalia Alamdari, Flatwater Free Press
Omaha now has a plan for climate change, joining many U.S. cities that have strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and brace for extreme weather. The city has had similar goals for more than a decade but made little progress, I (Chris Bowling) reported for The Reader in 2023. Back then, officials told me they hoped the new plan would offer more clear direction.
A major ice storm hit eastern Nebraska last week, causing treacherous road conditions across the metro area. OPD received more than 500 calls for car crashes, and a 57-year-old woman died in a crash near Arlington, WOWT reported. Local hospitals saw dozens of patients with injuries related to the icy conditions, and auto body shops saw a surge in customers.
Mayoral candidates sparred over the city’s handling of the ice storm. Mayor Jean Stothert said city crews pretreated the main streets with a brine mixture in the days leading up to the storm, but rain washed it away. Her challengers — Jasmine Harris, John Ewing and Mike McDonnell — said the slick roads were indicative of a lack of preparedness, KETV reported.
The City of Omaha closed a $39 million land deal with a Utah-based development company that is taking over the redevelopment of the former Crossroads Mall site, the World-Herald reported. The project has been a long time in the making, but the new developer says construction on the multi-use complex will begin next year.
(You may need a World-Herald subscription to read this story.)
Marc Kraft, a former Omaha City Councilman and Douglas County Commissioner, died at age 77, KETV reported. Kraft owned his family’s downtown furniture store until its closure in 2013 and was known as an advocate for neighborhoods and initiatives across the city. (You may need a World-Herald subscription to read the second link)
Residents of a South Omaha neighborhood are starting to see fewer rats after city officials responded to an infestation stemming from an old recycling plant, KETV reported. Councilman Ron Hug and city workers held a town hall with affected residents, and reporter Quanecia Fraser got an interview with a classic South O dude who has killed five rats around his property.
Joseph Alaak, a former Lost Boy of Sudan who grew up in refugee camps, has found home as a priest at St. Martha’s Episcopal Church in Papillion, the Episcopal News Service reported. On Sunday afternoons, Alaak conducts a service in the Dinka language for South Sudanese worshippers. The father of five also helps bridge the language gap between generations by teaching English to South Sudanese parents and Dinka to their kids.
The Flatwater Free Press is published by the Nebraska Journalism Trust, a 501(c)(3) public charity