Hey Omaha, Chris here.
The singer was filled with nerves as she stepped on stage. A crowd of 4,500 people stood before her. She didn’t want to mess this up.
But as she started filling the room with the hopeful lyrics of Andra Day’s “Rise Up” and Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” the nerves melted away.
“Can I just say, Nebraska, my God, Jayde Dorsey’s voice … holy smokes,” said Tim Walz, the Nebraska native and vice presidential candidate at a rally in August. “I don’t want to get ahead of ourself, but maybe she will need to do something in January, too.”
Dorsey reached her biggest audience that day, but the 12-year-old from North Omaha has been stunning her school, church and community for a while now. Her voice is powerful, people say. Spiritual. Something about the way she strings along a melody just makes others feel good. It captures their hearts.
Learn more about Jayde in Leo Adam Biga’s story here, or click on the photo above.
— Chris Bowling, Flatwater Free Press
Even though it’s cooling down outside, indoor events are heating up! There are lots of creativity and memories to be made this fall. Poetry, networking, candy, music and skateboarding.
Vocal Fry
Poetry is alive and well again in Nebraska. Bear witness to the verbal acrobatics of this month’s featured poet Angélica Perez at the Union for Contemporary Arts. You know you’re in for a memorable night!
– When: Oct. 17, 7-10 p.m.
– Where: The Union for Contemporary Arts – 2423 North 24th St., Omaha
Start-Up to Success Small Business Conference
Great community-focused networking event! Hear from local pioneers and leaders about their journey through the business world. Network with like-minded individuals while exploring all of the resources available to the citizens of Nebraska!
– When: Oct. 18, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
– Where: DC Centre – 11830 Stonegate Drive, Omaha
Mister K’s 2nd Annual Trunk or Treat
For the second year in a row, Mister K’s Clubhouse is bringing fun and cheer to the spooky season. Explore a fire engine, eat some candy and show off your costume at this free family friendly event!
– When: Oct. 19, noon-4 p.m.
– Where: KPAO parking lot – 4725 F St., Omaha
NOMA Underground
Live music lovers and musicians unite! This is a weekly event that’ll get your creative juices flowing. After a live music session, audience members are invited to join in on the jam. If you’ve been looking for a place to show off your chops, this is it!
– When: Oct. 23, 7-10 p.m.
– Where: North Omaha Music and Arts – 2510 N. 24th St., Omaha
Halloween Bash + Youth Skate Jam
The good times won’t end with Halloween. Wear your costume one last time! There will be free art activities, gaming, music, a costume contest and a youth skate jam. Pre-register to join the skate jam or the costume contest.
– When: Nov. 1, 6-8 p.m.
– Where: Benson Community Center – 6008 Maple St., Omaha
— Xavier Jackson is an Omaha-based entrepreneur who connects creatives and forges more opportunities for them through his organization Local Art Plug.
Are you civically minded and wanting to more effectively serve your community? Join Omaha Documenters for a virtual workshop on leveraging local assets tonight at 6 p.m.
The folks from Civic Nebraska will lead an interactive activity to help community organizers identify potential partners and resources to further their missions. The session will focus on examples tied to Documenters’ work connecting residents to information about local government boards, but it will be applicable to anyone hoping to build connections and increase engagement.
Register here, and join via Zoom with this link.
— Leah Wambui Keinama, Nebraska Journalism Trust
Speaking of prodigious musical talents, you might’ve heard of the transcendent virtuoso whose works have flowed freely through my earbuds this past week. His name is Stevland, but most people just call him Stevie.
As a pre-teen signed to Motown Records, Little Stevie Wonder charmed audiences with his charismatic stage presence and tremendous harmonica skills. But no other wunderkinds signed to legendary labels have sealed their cultural legacies and delivered on the promise of their early recordings quite like Stevie.
A run of five albums starting in 1972 would come to be referred to as Stevie’s “classic period.” A fantastic new podcast, “The Wonder of Stevie,” inspired me to fire up Spotify and listen to each of them with a new kind of appreciation. (“Innervisions” is now my favorite of the lot.)
New York Times culture critic Wesley Morris dives deep into the musical technique, personal meaning and social commentary Stevie tucked into every corner of these albums. Along the way, Morris speaks with the genius’ collaborators and notable fans influenced by the music, including Barack and Michelle Obama, Questlove and Janelle Monae.
Morris also makes a convincing case that a 25-time Grammy winner is somehow underappreciated by Americans outside of the Black community. You can find the six-episode podcast on Apple or Spotify.
— Jeremy Turley, 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
Tim Walz is coming to Omaha, again. The Nebraska native and veep candidate held an August rally in La Vista but is coming back on Saturday. He’ll stump for the metro’s lone electoral vote, which continues getting national attention from outlets like NPR and Politico. A group is planning a public event — where they’ll form a human “blue dot” — in Memorial Park this Sunday.
An impressive deep dive by the Washington Post’s Evan Halper on the competing interests of big tech’s data centers and climate activists in Omaha. The reporting draws a straight line between OPPD’s controversial decision to keep open two North Omaha coal-fired generators and the arrival of Google and Meta data centers, which require an enormous amount of power.
Omaha City Council President Pete Festersen will seek reelection in 2025, WOWT reported. If elected, the Democrat would become the longest-serving council member in city history, per a press release.
A deadly hit-and-run occurred on Abbott Drive Tuesday night. Police are looking for the driver. It’s the second time this month a driver allegedly fled the scene after hitting and killing a pedestrian.
The Nebraska Supreme Court said the state must allow people with past felony convictions to register to vote. If you have a past felony conviction and want to vote this November you must register this Friday either by mail or online. You can register in-person at the county election office by next Friday. Find more info on the Douglas County Election Commission’s website.
The Flatwater Free Press is published by the Nebraska Journalism Trust, a 501(c)(3) public charity