Howdy, Omaha — it’s Jeremy.
It was a throwaway line at a press conference I didn’t really care about that grabbed my attention.
City Engineer Austin Rowser was telling reporters about the Pacific Street sinkhole that went viral online when he casually remarked that Omaha had seen roughly 400 “cave-ins” since the beginning of last year.
The number stunned me. I had read about only two sinkholes since I moved to Omaha. How could this be happening hundreds of times right under my feet without me knowing?
I approached Rowser afterward and asked a simple question: Is Omaha more prone to sinkholes than other cities?
“Yes. That’s the easiest question I’ve ever answered,” he replied.
Much of Omaha is built on highly erosive soil that can be washed away, creating cavities underground, Rowser explained. Most cave-ins are pretty minor and don’t swallow cars like the Pacific Street sinkhole did, he said.
Local geologists told me more about our soil, known as loess, and the hilly terrain that makes Omaha susceptible to sinkholes, especially when pipes leak.
When you put it all together, it’s a hole-some story worth digging into. Puns fully intended.
You can read my sinkhole story here (or click the photo above).
Also, if you’ve been keeping up with the Sarah Baker Hansen x FFP sandwich bracket, you might have seen that the voters crowned a champion.
The winner is … “The OG,” a sweet tea-brined fried chicken sandwich from Dirty Birds! The downtown Omaha joint made a celebratory post urging fans of the sandwich to “stay dirty.”
— Jeremy Turley, Flatwater Free Press
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Rarely do I feel compelled to photograph my food. Rarely do I feel compelled to ignite a newsroom brawl. Yesterday, I did both.
It was “The American” at Know Good on 35th and Center streets – the best bagel sandwich an Omahan can buy. A substantial bagel, stuffed with silky scrambled eggs, thick bacon, American cheese, a crispy hash brown and cream cheese with chunks of fresh jalapeño.
All told, it’s probably the size of four hockey pucks stacked on top of each other. It’s gorgeous, it’s tasty and I can’t eat it like a sandwich without first taking its lid off. I ate one yesterday, on a plain bagel, and I took this photo of it because it begged me to.
Then I went to work. But I kept thinking about how delicious my breakfast was, so I offered to write about it for this newsletter. And then I made a pivotal choice. I wrote in our officewide chat: “What’s the best bagel in Omaha?”
Never has a question so divided the Nebraska Journalism Trust. First, two fans of Bagel Bin – the family-owned, old-school spot near 120th and Pacific. Another Know Good booster entered the chat. Then came several passionate co-workers who only buy from Omaha Bagel Co.
My desk neighbor and famed Omaha reporter Chris Bowling chimed in: “Maybe bagel sandwiches are like people,” he wrote. “It’s what’s on the inside that counts.”
Unfortunately, that conciliatory tone didn’t stick: “If it’s what’s on the inside that matters to you, go get a cheeseburger, buddy,” replied Jeremy Turley, Omaha reporter and author of this newsletter.
Somebody vouched for Costco’s bagels. We learned Einstein Bros., Bruegger’s and Panera are all under the same company. We learned one of our editors — I won’t name names — prefers an English muffin over any bagel. (And if you find yourself in our capital city, one Lincoln reporter insists on Russ’s at 17th and Washington.)
This is my “What I’m Into,” so I stand by what I wrote: The American from Know Good is the best bagel sandwich an Omahan can buy. Discuss.
— Sara Gentzler, Flatwater Free Press
Gretna East High School administrators censored a student journalist’s editorial cartoon criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a subsequent opinion piece about the cartoon’s removal, Macy Byars reported in The Reader. Students are appealing to the Gretna School Board to reinstate the cartoon and to adopt a school press freedom policy.
Elkhorn-area day care Premier Academy announced it is closing due to rising costs and low enrollment, KMTV’s Jill Lamkins reported. Omaha metro families pay an average of $13,000 a year for one kid to attend day care.
Power management company Eaton plans to open a massive manufacturing facility in Bellevue that would come with 200 new jobs, Nebraska Public Media’s Matt Olberding reported. The facility, scheduled to open in 2027, will make electrical equipment for data centers. The firm laid off about 200 people in Kearney last year.
Vandals broke into the Florence Depot Museum over the weekend, destroying historic artifacts and wrecking part of the 1888 building, WOWT’s Andrew Pfeifer reported. Though nothing was stolen from the museum, damage from broken windows, spray-painted walls and beheaded mannequins totals more than $20,000.
The Omaha Supernovas fired head coach Luka Slabe with six matches left in the regular season, The World-Herald’s Mike Patterson reported. Assistant Thomas Robson will fill in as the team vies to secure a spot in the playoffs. The Novas won the championship in Major League Volleyball’s inaugural season in 2024, but they sit at 11-11 this year. (You may need a subscription to read this story.)
Omaha-based Astute Coffee is offering teens who age out of foster care a lifeline by hiring them as baristas, The Reader’s Jessica Wade reported. The nonprofit, which started in 2015 as the Bike Union, takes in 10 to 15 young adults each year.
The Flatwater Free Press is published by the Nebraska Journalism Trust, a 501(c)(3) public charity