Howdy, Omaha — it’s Jeremy.
A few weeks ago, I was hunting for a subject of local curiosity to feature in our Flatwater Explains series (which I still think we should’ve called “NebrAskin’ Questions”). Naturally, I turned to the internet’s ultimate crowdsourcing tool: Reddit.
My fellow terminally online Omahans came up with some great candidates for explainer pieces, ranging from the OmaDome weather phenomenon to the divisive pairing of chili and cinnamon rolls.
But one suggestion grabbed my attention and refused to let go. A Redditor called “frolickingclumsily” wrote, “Please help me understand how the city’s restaurant tax was sold to us as a temporary measure, but continues to this day.”
I’d heard that when it passed, Omaha’s restaurant tax was controversial, but I had no idea what a big deal it was until I dug into the newspaper archives and began calling up those quoted in the front-page stories of yesteryear.
Though it’s now a little-regarded line at the bottom of receipts, the 2.5% tax on dining out once fueled a nearly successful recall effort and served as a defining issue in the election that elevated Jean Stothert to the mayor’s office.
In this explainer, you’ll hear from three mayors and one legendary pizza institution on the tax that has outlasted political careers and become a staple of city budgets.
You can read my story here (or click the photo above).
— Jeremy Turley, Flatwater Free Press
Learn more about Flatwater Free Press sponsorship options »
November brings a chill in the air, but the Omaha art scene is heating up with solo shows, museum exhibitions, a circus-themed fundraiser and the beginning of the holiday show and boutique season. This month, there is something for everybody, especially anyone on your holiday gift list.
Sowing Seeds
Every first, second and third Saturday of the month, artist and organizer Jo Moore holds Sowing Seeds, a free, all-ages meeting for Omaha creatives. No matter what you are working on, Sowing Seeds provides a quiet environment to work with and meet other like-minded makers in Omaha’s award-winning comic and coffee shop.
– When: Sunday, Nov. 9, and Sunday, Nov. 16, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
– Where: Legend Comics & Coffee, 6068 Maple St.
Under the Big Top Ball & Art Auction
Tell your friends to grab their circus gear and load up the clown car! We’re headed to BFF’s Under the Big Top Ball & Art Auction! This is sure to be the wildest night of the year, hosted by burlesque performer Shimmy Laroux. This year features free food and drink, along with live entertainment by Parfait, Tumbleweed, Mimosa Savage, the crowning of the 2026 BFF royalty and artwork by more than 75 local artists.
– When: Friday, Nov 14, 6-10 p.m.
– Where: BFF Gallery & Mercer Masonic Lodge, 5901-5903 Maple St.
DRIPPING EARTH: Cannupa Hanska Luger Lecture
The 2025 Graham & Sally Lusk Lecture series brings Native American interdisciplinary artist Cannupa Hanska Luger to the Joslyn Art Museum. Join Luger in conversation with co-curators Karin Campbell and Annika K. Johnson as they discuss his innovative work that blends traditional culture and identity with contemporary printmaking, ceramics, video production and monumental sculptures.
– When: Saturday, Nov. 15, 2-3 p.m. Museum hours: Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Wednesday-Thursday 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
– Where: The Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge St.
O’MA, WHERE HAVE I BEEN? (LUV LET’ER)
bARBER returns to the Omaha art scene with his latest exhibition at Creighton University. Known for blending ambiguous human forms into unified compositions made from repurposed materials, bARBER invites us to find meaning on our shared journey through his latest works.
– When: Artist reception: Friday, Nov. 21, 4-6 p.m. Gallery hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m., until Nov. 23
– Where: Lied Art Gallery, Lied Education Center for the Arts, Creighton University, at the corner of 24th and Cass streets
HOLIDAY SHOW & CLOVER24 OPEN HOUSE
Once again, Omaha’s CLOVER24 hosts their annual Holiday Art Show of affordable art in the former Kitty Clover potato chip factory in South Omaha. This year’s show features Ilaamen, Sara Rowe, Jada Messick, Todd McCollister, Weston Thompson and me. Grab the perfect gift of art at CLOVER 24!
– When: Friday, Nov. 21, 5-9 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 22, 4-8 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 23, noon-4 p.m.
– Where: CLOVER 24, 2200 S. 24th St.
FLOW by Bart Vargas
Before I go, I might as well drop some shameless self-promotion. This month, I’m having a solo show of new paintings at the Radial Arts Center in the Benson Creative District. This exhibition practices what I preach as an educator of college art foundations and is dominated by the simplest and most complex element of art: line. Go with the FLOW and join me at the RAC!
– When: Opening reception: Friday, Nov. 7, 6-9 p.m. Gallery hours: By appointment
– Where: Radial Arts Center, 5915 Maple 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.
As I pulled into a parking spot outside 6320 Maverick Plaza, a feeling came over me that I thought had been permanently extinguished years ago: first-day-of-school jitters.
FFP reporter Destiny Herbers and I had just been cast in the unlikely role of UNO aviation students after a speculative debate about landing planes turned into a very real plan to audit Larry Morgan’s private pilot theory class.
Larry, a man of many talents, holds a unique hybrid position at UNO. By day, the longtime engineer oversees the campus’ physical well-being as the university’s assistant vice chancellor of facilities management, but on Wednesday evenings, he teaches freshmen the basics of aviation.
We met him before attending our first lecture and laid out the argument that had delivered us to his classroom: Destiny believed she could land a plane — perhaps not perfectly but without killing anyone on board — and I believed she couldn’t.
Larry grinned and imparted a bit of old pilot wisdom.
“A good landing is one you can walk away from,” he said. “A great landing is when you can reuse the plane.”
As we took our seats at the back of the class, Larry launched into a highly technical lesson on aircraft engines.
I frantically typed notes into my laptop as he explained the four-stroke engine cycle running under the hood — or rather, the cowling — of small planes. Most of it bounced right off my thick skull until he gave us a mnemonic device: “Suck, squeeze, bang, blow.”
We have since attended lessons on flight instruments (those confusing gauges in the cockpit), aerodynamics, airport operations and navigation fundamentals.
Last week, Larry introduced us to the E6B flight computer, an analog slide-rule calculator that helps pilots work out equations involving time, speed, distance, fuel burn and wind correction. Invented by a U.S. Navy man in the 1930s, the ingenious “whiz wheel” aided flyers in World War II, featured in the original Star Trek and remains in use today.
After our initial technical snafu in the flight simulator, Destiny and I are still looking forward to settling our original argument. But we agree that sitting in on Larry’s class has been a wonderfully enlightening experience — regardless of whether it helps us land a plane when we get another shot at the simulator.
Tune in to the next edition of “Learning to Fly” when we’ll bring you the story of a real live UNO aviation student and why they chose an unconventional college major. Click these links to read Part 1 and Part 2 of the series.
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.
Last week, the Omaha City Council approved a $50 million agreement with Kiewit Building Group to build the Tranquility Park Sports Complex, expected to be completed by summer 2027. Council members also approved multiple snow removal inspection contracts aimed at improving post-storm accountability. Other approved measures included funding for police air support training, community recreation and a violence intervention partnership with Nebraska Medical Center. 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
Back in 2020, I made an impulse Facebook marketplace purchase: a second-hand sewing machine.
I’ll be able to hem my pants, I thought. I could sew a dress!
But between the sourdough and the embroidery and the crochet projects, I never actually learned how to use that daunting machine. For five years, it has sat on a shelf, a reminder of the $100 I spent on a hobby that never was … until now.
Last weekend, I took my first sewing class, the first of a four-week beginner class through Metro Community College’s Community Education program. Our skilled teacher Debbie walked us through how to thread the machine and load a bobbin. We practiced sewing straight lines on a piece of paper before moving onto fabric scraps. This Saturday, we’ll graduate to pillowcases — one step closer to sewing my own clothes.
— Natalia Alamdari, Flatwater Free Press
Amy Hicks, an employee in the City of Omaha’s finance department, was among five suspects arrested in connection with a sex trafficking investigation, The World-Herald reported. Hicks, the alleged “lynchpin” of the operation, was charged with six felony counts, including possession of child pornography and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. A house in Omaha’s Hanscom Park neighborhood where trafficking allegedly took place burned in a fire last week. (You may need a subscription to read this story.)
With the SNAP benefits of about 250,000 Nebraskans expiring during the government shutdown, several nonprofits and hospitals joined the city in a food drive to feed hungry families, KETV reports. Donors dropped nonperishable foods at 13 different city-run community centers and at locations of CHI Health and Goodwill. The Douglas County Board also approved a $200,000 allocation to various food banks, WOWT reports.
A scuffle over future development at the old Civic Auditorium site is kicking up some dirt, writes Jessica Wade at The Reader. Tomorrow marks the deadline for White Lotus Group to show progress on the site since the city sent a default notice three months ago. An unnamed nonprofit is allegedly interested in developing the property.
The City of Valley voted to recall its mayor and City Council president Tuesday, according to unofficial election results from KETV. By state law, the two officials must resign and the city must find their replacements unless a recount is ordered. The city has faced turmoil over issues ranging from the alleged mistreatment of a police dog to using tax breaks to build luxury lake developments.
U.S. Rep. Don Bacon wants to be a national security adviser for the next Republican presidential hopeful. The GOP congressman who represents Omaha and is retiring at the end of his current term told The World-Herald he would support “traditional conservatives” like the current governors of Georgia or Virginia.
The political action committee founded by Dan Osborn, the nonpartisan Omahan running for U.S. Senate, paid more than $114,000 to a consulting firm co-owned by his wife. A spokesperson for the campaign declined to tell Andrew Wegley at the Journal Star how much Meg Osborn made. A government watchdog group said Osborn should be more transparent about his finances to match his populist platform. (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