Howdy, Omaha — it’s Jeremy.
When school let out for the summer last year, my mind wasn’t on graduation parties or yearbook signings. I was thinking about kids like Teddy Gleason and Kylee Shada who, in a few months, would be returning to school districts their parents tried to transfer them out of.
Teddy and Kylee were among hundreds of Nebraska students with disabilities who had been denied transfers to other districts, our June investigation with The 74 found. A state report later revealed the problem’s scale: Kids with disabilities were nearly four times as likely to be rejected in option enrollment as their peers.
A bill to ban disproportionate rejections in Nebraska passed this year. But the amended version mostly centered on allowing schools to suspend young students for violent behavior.
Even though siblings of option students could get relief under the new law, parents told me the legislation might do more harm than good for kids with disabilities.
Read my story about the disability disparity and the watered-down bill here (or click the photo above).
— Jeremy Turley, Flatwater Free Press
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If you appreciate the stories above, as well as our work on lead contamination, sinkholes, and the streetcar, as well as stories on our city’s rich history and rich food, please become a supporter. Start a new monthly gift by May 1, and we’ll send you a gift. We’re offering T-shirts, tote bags, and posters from local artists, including an eye-catching piece from Dundee. See you gift options and make your donation here.
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Omaha’s Crafted Ramen Misolado transports diners on joyful journey to Japan
I spend a lot of time in my Flatwater food column writing about things that are distinctly Nebraska, things like steaks and burgers. But this week, we take a journey halfway around the world, to Japan, home of delicious pork ramen, anime, groovy toys and snacks that I (and likely you) have never tried.
Crafted Ramen Misolado solves all our problems minus the 17-hour flight. On my two recent visits, it nailed almost everything we tried. It is casual, fun and affordable — things we all could use a little bit more of these days. Its owners say so far, Omahans have proved to be enthusiastic, adventurous eaters, excited to try something new. I just love that.
Read my review here (or click on the photo above).
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.
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Correction: In the Documenters section of last week’s newsletter, the dollar amount of the Omaha Municipal Land Bank’s liabilities was incorrect. The land bank’s March financial statements showed $5,940 in liabilities.
— Leah Wambui Keinama, Nebraska Journalism Trust
Big Snap Daddy, a common snapping turtle who grew to be the world’s largest, died on Monday. He was thought to be nearly 100.
The iconic turtle, who lived for decades at the Schramm Education Center’s aquarium in Gretna, was euthanized after his health “declined rapidly over the weekend,” Nebraska’s Game and Parks Commission announced Tuesday.
Big Snap had been on display as an education ambassador animal at the aquarium since the early 1990s, when an angler pulled him from the Missouri River near Peru, according to the commission.
I did not know Big Snap. I never met him nor saw him. But notice of his death Tuesday — notice that Nebraska had for years been home to a giant snapping turtle — raised questions.
Was Big Snap so big that the fisherman who caught him knew he needed to be turned over to the state? Did he have children, or was his last name a misnomer? What were his favorite foods? Will there be a necropsy to determine what caused Big Snap’s decline? Will there be a funeral?
I have answers, too.
Big Snap was, indeed, so large that the fisherman who caught him “decided he was too big” and “wanted him to be on display for the public to see,” the aquarium’s director told the Lincoln Journal Star in 2019. He was 50 pounds when he was caught and grew to 102 a month before his death.
He had no known children, a spokeswoman for the commission told me. He leaves behind a 600-gallon home. He enjoyed venison, bison and rainbow trout. There will be no necropsy. There will be no funeral.
In lieu of flowers, the commission is welcoming donations to the Schramm Park State Recreation Area, where Big Snap will be missed by those who cared for him, those who visited him and those who did not get the chance to.
— Andrew Wegley, Flatwater Free Press
With the May 12 primary election approaching, three Democrats vying to be U.S. Rep. Don Bacon’s replacement are hustling to win over voters, the Nebraska Examiner’s Juan Salinas II reported. Candidates Denise Powell and Crystal Rhodes argue conservative state lawmakers would have the votes to eliminate Omaha’s “Blue Dot” in presidential elections if State Sen. John Cavanaugh wins the House seat, The World-Herald’s Josh Reyes reported. Cavanaugh dismissed the claim as a “Republican talking point.” (You may need a subscription to read the World-Herald story.)
The Omaha Central Library opened over the weekend at 72nd and Dodge streets, WOWT reported. Patrons of the new library, mostly funded by philanthropy, have access to 3-D printers, a podcast room and a whole floor for genealogy and local history, KMTV reported.
Metro Transit changed a bus route connecting Florence and Aksarben via Saddle Creek Road, KMTV’s Jeremy Fredricks reported. The route now passes several grocery stores, more than a dozen schools and the Nebraska Medical Center.
Former Omaha mayor and current AM radio host Jean Stothert says her successor is barring city department heads from coming on her show. Ewing said he doesn’t want his employees put in awkward situations, The World-Herald’s Dan Crisler writes. Ewing said he might go on her show in the future. (You may need a subscription to read this story.)
The city approved a $411 million contract to renovate its wastewater treatment plant. The plan to rebuild the facility hit a snag when City Council members and a local construction company CEO raised concerns about the project’s bidding process, writes The World-Herald’s Julie Anderson. (You may need a subscription to read this story.)
The FBI charged a man from China with taking pictures of planes at Offutt Air Force Base, reports Gina Dvorak at WOWT. The man, a Chinese citizen and student in Scotland, allegedly took pictures at a base in South Dakota before being questioned in Omaha and finally being arrested in New York.
The Flatwater Free Press is published by the Nebraska Journalism Trust, a 501(c)(3) public charity