The red leather booths. The saddle barstools. The stiff drinks. The carrot cake made from scratch. The onion rings that may be the best in all the land.
Oh, and don’t forget the steak, still lovingly aged in the basement.
It’s easy to write off the 103-year-old steakhouse Johnny’s Cafe as a bygone relic. But the truth is that it’s still a timeless and timelessly fun experience, a place that can connect young and old, the regular and the out-of-towner, the seeker of ironic and iconic.
Sarah Baker Hansen with her latest Steak Town USA story on the family-run restaurant, opened in 1922 in the shadow of South Omaha’s stockyards — and the lovely story of the family that’s still surviving and thriving in 2025.
Sarah and I will for sure be back soon. See you there.
Dying Blind: Every new story in Destiny Herbers’ series about how Nebraska can’t, or won’t, get its arms around its drug problem makes this lifelong Nebraskan angrier.
Today’s tale focuses on this frustrating fact: Roughly a quarter of the time, the death certificate of a Nebraskan who has clearly died of an overdose doesn’t list the drug or drugs that killed him.
That’s far worse than the national average. It frustrates the loved ones of Nebraskans, like Max Anderson, who have overdosed and died. And it frustrates public health experts and ground-level workers trying to make a difference.
Why? Because if we don’t know what is killing Nebraskans, we can’t properly react. If we don’t know what is killing Nebraskans, it’s harder to save the next Nebraskan’s life.
It’s like driving a car at midnight without headlights.
I think most Nebraskans pride ourselves on our basic competence, our ability to get things done. I know I do.
So this angers me because it strikes me as sloppy and suggests a simple lack of care. As the story notes, some county attorneys don’t even apply for available funding meant to help them figure out drug deaths at no cost to their taxpayers!
Read Destiny’s latest story, check out the “Quick Hit” summary of her series, “Dying Blind,” and, if you are so inclined, hope with me that her work brings about greater understanding — and true change.
Maggie’s Comeback: Maggie Malone Hardin, who grew up in Geneva and now lives in tiny Davey, throws the javelin farther than almost any other woman in the world.
And as correspondent Rebecca Svec writes, that may be the least important thing about her.
Our little baby is getting all grown up: Matt Wynn and I co-founded Flatwater Free Press four-plus years ago now, hoping against hope that we could build Nebraska’s first statewide, independent nonprofit newsroom and build it to last.
Mr. Wynn’s column this week is proof that it is working — thanks to you.
He announced the hiring of three new reporters who will make us bigger and stronger in 2026. Omaha news legend Henry Cordes, who has been breaking stories and doing quality, Flatwater-like investigative journalism since I was in short pants. Lincoln rising star Andrew Wegley, who has covered and will continue to cover state government with clarity and wit.
And the talented and driven Anila Yoganathan, who will soon load up her car and steer north from Atlanta, starting a new chapter of her career — and a new chapter of our newsroom — as our first-ever climate reporter in partnership with Grist.
And there’s more! Check out Matt’s column for all the changes.
I’m so excited for these three to join what is already a talented, ambitious stable of reporters. I’m so excited for what 2026 has in store. And I’m forever thankful that so many of you are coming along on this journey with us. We truly could not be doing this without your support.
Thanks to our sponsor: This week, it’s the Nebraska Celebration of Books, which is being held tomorrow in Lincoln and is free and open to the public. Man, what a cool event — check out the list of Nebraska authors scheduled to appear here, including our state’s poet laureate, Jewel Rodgers, who we wrote about a few weeks ago.
Thank you to the Nebraska Celebration of Books for supporting the mission of nonprofit news, and supporting important, well-told stories told by authors from Ogallala to Omaha.
Questions wanted: Some of our best story ideas come from readers, and they typically start with a burning question that just cries out for an answer. Have a question that our reporters need to look into? Complete this form or reach our newsroom at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Matthew Hansen, Executive Editor
Thanks to this week’s sponsor
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Here’s what we’re into this week: News from around Nebraska
Every week, we like to share great Nebraska journalism, no matter who made it. Here’s what caught our eye this week:
- Warren Buffett wrote his annual Thanksgiving letter this week. He shared some news about what he will be stopping as “Father Time” has its way and what he will continue. (He also announced some massive donations to his family’s foundations.)
Story by the Associated Press’ Josh Funk, who has been covering the Buffett beat for decades. - My favorite weird story of the week: The leading cause of power outages in Nebraska and the Midwest? Squirrels. It’s driving power companies nuts, reports Macy Byars and Ana Wombacher of Nebraska Public Media.
- And probably the most important story of the week: Is the coal plant that has long spewed in North Omaha going to be shut down at some point? The World-Herald’s Julie Anderson with that story. (You may need OWH subscriber access to view this article.)
- This week, Gov. Jim Pillen appointed the first-ever justice of color to the Nebraska Supreme Court. The Nebraska Examiner’s Zach Wendling with the story.
- Remember that disturbing story about law enforcement raiding a small-town Kansas newspaper? Well, the Kansas county where that raid occurred will now pay $3 million in damages and apologize over that raid that sparked an outcry over press freedom. Story by the Associated Press.
- Some UNL professors are mad at Chancellor Rodney Bennett and are attempting to pass a “no confidence” vote on his leadership. The Journal Star’s Chris Dunker with more on that story and what’s behind it. (You may need LJS subscriber access to view this story.)
- The largest ethanol carbon capture operation in the entire world is now located in Columbus, Nebraska. Nebraska Public Media’s Matt Olberding with the story.
- The good news: Farm income is going up in Nebraska! The bad news: It really depends on what you farm. Story from Nebraska Public Media’s Brian Beach.
- Another one from Beach, who must have been busy this week. School bond issues — which used to be near certain to pass — are now continuing to fail in some places around the state.
- My gosh, judging by these sneak peek photos from the Omaha World-Herald, our biggest city’s new main library is going to be incredible.
- And finally, I missed the Northern Lights in the Nebraska sky earlier this week. So I was glad to catch up with these photos of the stunning night sky from the North Platte Bulletin and Kearney’s NTV News.
