Howdy, Omaha – it’s Jeremy.
Like generations of young reporters before me, I stepped into the world of journalism as a starry-eyed college student.
I cut my teeth covering city council meetings as a member of the Columbia Missourian’s local government beat. On the surface, it sounds like an unglamorous assignment, but I was excited to write about dull but civically important topics in an interesting way — to “make the broccoli taste like Cheetos,” as my editor put it.
But as I began to leaf through council agendas, municipal codes and city budgets, I found myself thoroughly intimidated by all that I didn’t understand.
It took me years to wrap my head around the city hall beat, but fortunately, the quality of college-aged journalists has vastly improved since I was in school.
Our feature story this week comes from Naomi Delkamiller, an Omaha native and UNL student who is serving as a Flatwater fellow this year.
While diving into settlements paid out by Nebraska cities, Naomi found that Lincoln has ponied up much more to former employees than Omaha — despite having many fewer employees. The story raises questions about the workplace environment at Lincoln’s police and fire departments and gives readers an inside look at a little-understood element of city government.
Read Naomi’s story here (or click on the photo above).
— Jeremy Turley, Flatwater Free Press
The Millard Public Schools Board of Education approved an $835,000 roof replacement for Millard North Middle School, with funding to be partially covered by insurance and potential FEMA assistance. Superintendent John Schwartz praised the district’s response to the severe weather in July. The board also discussed legislative updates on property tax relief a day before the Legislature’s approval of a plan. Read our full summary for more details on these discussions and decisions. Read 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
I don’t know if y’all have listened to this band, the Beatles, but they’ve got some bops.
Sadly for you, I can’t divulge my secret for staying on top of the latest pop culture. I can share, though, that my lifelong aversion to the Fab Four was as ill-informed as your drunken uncle’s foreign policy hot takes at the Thanksgiving dinner table.
I blame poor song selection. Growing up, I cringed hearing songs like “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Yellow Submarine.” And there was the stupid saying that you were either Beatles or Stones. I was all in on the Rolling Stones.
Even though I’ve long had a few Beatles songs in my listening rotation (“Helter Skelter” and “Rocky Racoon”), saw Paul McCartney in concert and owned the “1” greatest hits CD, I subconsciously kept the Beatles at arm’s length.
What changed six decades after Beatlemania swept the states? I listened to the actual albums. All of the albums. From beginning to end. (Shoutout to the newsletter reader who, after my last “What I’m Into,” recommended the podcast “A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs.” It inspired my Beatles expedition.)
Few things top an album that you can start on track 1 and let play all the way through. It turns out the Beatles made a few of those.
— Ryan Hoffman, Flatwater Free Press
Each year, Omaha Public Library encourages the community to vote for and read one book as a way to promote literacy and inspire discussion. Join OPL in reading the 2024 selection, “The War Begins in Paris” by local author Theodore Wheeler, and engage further by participating in a program and discussing the book with friends, family and neighbors.
https://omahalibrary.org/omaha-reads
Property owners say the City of Omaha won’t let them rebuild their houses destroyed by tornadoes because their land is in a high-risk floodway, WOWT’s Joe Harris reported. The property owners, who live just outside city limits, say they plan to fight the city.
Metropolitan Community College is planning a huge new campus in Papillion that officials hope could serve as more of an “education destination” than a commuter school, The World-Herald’s Joe Dejka reported. The 185-acre site for the project sits between an Amazon warehouse and the Omaha National Cemetery. (This article may require a subscription read.)
Sarpy County bought a building for three times the assessed value by the county’s assessor, KETV’s Aaron Hegarty reported. The purchase raised questions about the appraisal’s accuracy, but the assessor said he couldn’t have done anything differently.
Omaha police shot and killed a 37-year-old man in northwest Omaha while serving a search warrant for narcotics and firearms, The World-Herald reported. (This article may require a subscription read.)
The Joslyn is (almost) ready to reopen after a nearly two-year, $100 million renovation. Betsie Freeman at The World-Herald takes a deep dive into these “transformational” changes.” Flatwater reported on The Joslyn postponing an exhibit by an internationally renowned artist accused of sexual assault. (Freeman’s article may require a subscription to read.)
The Omaha Housing Authority is working to comply with a new state law that requires it to add more tenants to its board and to reform its complaint policy, per The World-Herald’s Chris Burbach. Starting next July, the law will also require OHA to provide tenants with court-appointed lawyers in eviction court, Flatwater previously reported. (Burbach’s article may require a subscription to read.)
Omaha’s first bar showcasing women’s sports will open in Benson later this year, KETV reports. The co-owner of the bar said she’s embarking on the venture to honor her late sister, who loved watching women’s sports.
The Flatwater Free Press is published by the Nebraska Journalism Trust, a 501(c)(3) public charity