Welcome to the most mouth-watering newsletter we have baked thus far.
Why so delicious, you ask? Well let us count the ways.
Small town cafe success: Our newest feature is on the Newman Grove City Cafe, booming in 2021 despite its location in a 700-person town that’s a two-hour trek from Lincoln and Omaha. How are the owners, a transplant family from Omaha, making it work? Stellar reporter Barbara Soderlin tells us how, a tale that involves old-fashioned hard work, new-fangled technology and…pie. Oh my gosh the pie. Talented photographer Ryan Soderlin’s photos tell the story as well, including a glamour shot of a siracha burger with a side of fried cheese balls. Welp, I’m hungy.
We made state salaries truly public: This week, we launched something we believe to be an important tool for watchdog journalism and government transparency. Here is our first easily searchable public payroll, which allows you to see salary expenditures made by the State of Nebraska, department by department and employee by employee. We plan to continue adding government entities like cities, counties, NRDs, etc. Read exec director Matt Wynn’s column for more info on why we did this. Thank you to the Platte Institute for sponsoring this project and Code for Nebraska for building it.
We also plan to work on a similar tool that will soon allow Nebraskans a transparent look at the funding of our political campaigns. That’s darn near as tasty as pie, if you ask us.
Nebraska City, so much more than apple orchards: Matt Wynn and I spent serious time this week in the lovely southeast Nebraska town, meeting residents working to tackle the area’s biggest problems (housing, child care, poverty) and devising solutions and big plans for the future, including a soccer complex, miles of outdoor trails and a gorgeous downtown building saved from extinction. We also visited Dinty Moore’s Lunch Room, because we love tiny historic bars and cold beers. Expect to see several stories in the months ahead. And expect to continue to see us in Nebraska’s cities and small towns, because you don’t truly know until you go. We’re in McCook next month, where we will definitely eat at least one bierock (that’s what the cool kids call a Runza) at Sehnert’s Bakery.
One last thing: Tell your loved ones, your friends and your blood enemies to subscribe to this FFP free and weekly newsletter by going here.
Sincerely,
—Matthew Hansen, Editor of the Flatwater Free Press
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:
- Severely ill Nebraska patients are waiting hours to be transferred to big-city hospitals as stressed-out hospital staffs try, and try and try again, to find space for them. KMTV Channel 3 News Now reporter Aaron Sanderford with a life-and-death story on how packed intensive care units are endangering our fellow Nebrakans.
- The Lincoln Journal Star’s Don Walton, the DonFather of Nebraska media, and many other reporters continue to closely follow the story of Rep. Jeff Fortenberry’s indictment for allegedly lying to the FBI.
- The state’s largest solar farm, planned for just east of Lincoln, is one step closer to reality. Nebraska Public Media’s Fred Knapp with the scoop.
- Conditions inside the chronically overcrowded and understaffed Nebraska prison system got even worse than week. News Channel Nebraska reports that the Nebraska State Penitentiary didn’t have a drop of running water for three days.
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