So much news, so little time. Let’s cannonball right into the pool.
King Crypto?: There is a power struggle, as in a struggle over power, going on in Stanton County, a fight that’s becoming increasingly important both in Nebraska and around the United States.
The biggest user of energy in Stanton County is a crypto mining company, Jeremy Turley reports today. This company, Jigowatt, sometimes demands more electricity than the rest of the county combined.Now, the Nebraska Public Power District is sinking $20 million into a new transmission line and substation upgrades.
They say it will benefit all energy users and may bring prices down. But neighbors say it’s mostly to help Jigowatt. And these neighbors are pissed, because NPPD is using eminent domain to take slivers of farmland to build the project.
Not the first time we have written about crypto gobbling up Nebraska energy — check out this story from Kearney — and not the first time we have recently written about NPPD making moves that demand scrutiny.
We’ll keep paying attention.
Trump and scholarships: Nebraska colleges and universities, including the University of Nebraska, are canceling or changing scholarships that have long given preference to LGBTQ students, single moms and first-generation immigrants. School officials told FFP fellow (and UNL j-school student star!) Shelby Rickert that they feel they have little choice after new Trump administration directives labeled such preferential scholarships racist or bigoted and sought to punish some schools that offered them.
The Trump administration and allies argue that this is correct — that any preferential scholarship is discrimination. A Metro Community College donor who, with his husband, had designed five such scholarships to help groups of people that he thinks need help — single parents and LGBTQ students to name two — thinks it’s the Trump administration that is being discriminatory. This donor pulled his money out of Nebraska.
Big announcement time: We have a new partner. And it’s the best investigative nonprofit newsroom in the world.
I’m thrilled to announce that ProPublica has selected FFP and FFP Omaha reporter Chris Bowling to be part of its Local Reporting Network. Chris will work on an Omaha-based investigative project for much of the next year, getting help from ProPublica’s incredible team of journalists and fellow FFP reporter Destiny Herbers. Learn more here.
More to come soon. Right now, suffice it to say: This is a dream come true for our plucky little Nebraska newsroom.
Mandi Tees It Up: What a lovely tale of Kearney native and Lexington resident Mandi Sedlak that we published this week.
Mandi lost her leg to a rare and dangerous disease. Her athletic dreams ended there … until they didn’t. Because now she’s one of the best adaptive golfers in the US of A, and she’s teeing it up soon to try to win it all.
Little help, please: Do you know of any Nebraskan or Nebraska family who has battled to understand the true cause of death after a loved one overdosed on drugs or died in a situation that involved drug or alcohol use? If so: Hit reply to this email, and I can get you over to Destiny Herbers, who is working on a project related to the way we count — or don’t — overdose deaths in Nebraska.
Buzzy Mexican food: It was damn fun to walk into the brand-new, and already wildly popular, Santoro in central-west Omaha as Sarah Baker Hansen’s dining partner. Sarah reviewed the buzzy new spot this week, ID’ing a few concerns while locating what is new and special about Santoro.
We Yorked It Up: A part of our staff, including my boss and The Other Matt, executive director Matt Wynn, spent Thursday in York talking to a crowd about the future of journalism. They also heard a few good story ideas from the crowd of 25 or so, I hear. On this one we partnered with longtime local reporter Melanie Wilkinson, who now runs this website. We’ll continue to do these listening events across the state, partnering with any local newsroom or journalist who will have us. Is that you? Email us today!
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
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:
- I usually save the warm and fuzzy story for the end, but I’m breaking all the rules today. I have been known to be a bit of a Carhenge hater over the years, a tad underwhelmed by the odd tourist attraction near Alliance. But now I have to go back. Because they hired artists from all over the world to paint some of the Carhenge cars, and honestly it looks amazing. Story by ageless wonder L. Kent Wolgamott of the Lincoln Journal Star.
Want to watch a short video of this? Pure Nebraska and 10/11 News Now have you covered.
(You may need LJS subscriber access to view the Journal Star story.) - It rained in Grand Island this week. And rained. And rained. After 7 inches of rainfall and the shattering of various records, the city was dealing with a state of emergency and some serious flooding. Story by KSNB Local 4.
- Beef prices continue to rise in Nebraska, and it’s having an effect on those of us who buy beef. The underlying reasons for these price increases are also impacting the Nebraska industry that produces it. Story by KETV’s McKenzy Parsons.
- Henry Cordes has written so many important Nebraska stories. This week, he did yet another, on the fallout from the immigration raid on an Omaha meatpacking plant. (May need OWH subscriber access to view.)
- Massive federal funding cuts are proposed for tribal colleges, and if it happens, it will have a massive impact on some tribal colleges who serve students here, reports Chris Dunker in a story appearing in the Omaha World-Herald. (May need OWH subscriber access to view this story.)
- After 30 years, Nebraska has ended what used to be a very, very long waitlist for those with developmental disabilities, a milestone celebrated by Gov. Jim Pillen this week. The story on what seems to be very, very good news — though some advocates are still cautious about the win — by the Lincoln Journal Star and another by KETV.
