Every so often, Flatwater Free Press has a story I don’t want to tell you much about, because I don’t want to ruin it.
Instead, I just want to say: Trust me, read this.
Today is one of those stories.
If you’re not yet convinced, Natalia Alamdari’s tale is about a tiny Nebraska town where residents recalled two board members, then watched as these recalled members somehow got … more power. It involves a comically large gavel, nasty anonymous notes, shouting matches in the city park, heated arguments regarding holiday candy and a village clerk who no longer has a key to the village office.
It’s all that and something else, too. It’s a story fueled by the rage and political division we can all relate to, no matter where we live. It’s the story of the United States of America in 2024. Like I said: Read this.
Public records plot twist, and a way to help: Last week I told you about a Supreme Court ruling that appeared to wound our ability to finally get public records that may show what the state was doing — or not doing — to prevent nitrate from seeping into drinking water. The ruling seemingly harmed all Nebraskans’ ability to know what their government is doing.
Well, hold your horses.
Late Wednesday, the Legislature, by a vote of 39-0, passed a bill that appears to explicitly ban the practice of governments charging those who request public records for legal work – no matter if the person performing that legal work is a lawyer or not. Read the story, by the Journal Star’s Chris Dunker, here.
Charging us for legal work performed by rank-and-file employees is exactly what Nebraska’s Department of Environment and Energy is trying to do in our case. It’s why they priced these public records at an eye-popping $44,000.
Now, where does this leave us? I’m not sure yet. Even if the bill becomes law, there’s no telling what’s ahead in our two-year quest to get our paws on these public records. The jury’s still out on whether freedom of information will reign in Nebraska.
But I can tell you two things with absolute certainty.
One: We’re never going to pay the state $44,000 for these records. It’s simply wrong. It’s why we went to court.
Two: We at the Flatwater Free Press are going to need to devote more energy and money to fighting on behalf of the Nebraska public’s right to know.
So, announcement time: FFP and our parent nonprofit, the Nebraska Journalism Trust, is launching a new fund to pull things out of the dark corners of secretive government and into the sunshine. This fund will pay for the cost of public records requests our reporters make. It will pay for legal fees when we need to fight for our rights and yours in court. It will help pay for tools we build to analyze and share public information with you.
It’s a fund devoted to making public information … truly public.
We are calling it the Freedom of Information Fund.
(My vote to name it the Do Good Things War Chest got overruled.)
Do you want to help the Flatwater Free Press fight the fight on behalf of government transparency? I would very much appreciate that help.
Donate to the fund right here.
More to come on the Supreme Court decision and this bill in the Legislature soon.
Boomers Groovin’: An Omaha-area radio station is succeeding by going truly local and by serving a baby boomer generation connecting with its music and its locally famous DJs. Intrepid correspondent Tim Trudell with the story of Boomer Radio, which can now be found all over your radio dial.
Barrel Racin’: A Broken Bow 16-year-old has become an accomplished barrel racer after teaching herself to ride and race by watching YouTube videos.
Now I feel a bit ashamed that I use YouTube to watch old Saturday Night Live skits.
Naomi Delkamiller tells the ultimate Horse Girl Story, the story of Shayla Staab, her lovely horses and her loving family.
Also, let me take a sec to recognize Naomi herself, who is a UNL student, our latest FFP fellow and is doing fantastic work like this story and photos. I love that we can support the next generation of Nebraska journalists who, in turn, produce great stories for you like this one.
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].
See you next week,
—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:
- Nothing much happened at the University of Nebraska this week. Except the regents put forward the person who will likely be the next University of Nebraska president. That presumed next president, Dr. Jeffrey Gold, said he was simpatico with Gov. Jim Pillen in his first interview after being picked. Oh and also UNL hired an athletic director to replace Trev Alberts.
- The ultimate compliment an editor can give is, “Damnit, I wish we had gotten that story.” Which I said when I read this story from Nebraska Public Media’s Kassidy Arena, about a very cool Lincoln program seeking to solve two problems: A shortage of workers, and refugees in need of jobs.
- Sarah McCammon, who was once a reporter for Nebraska Public Media, now skillfully covers politics for NPR. I started reading her new book, “The Exvangelicals” last night, and I stayed up way past my bedtime because I couldn’t put it down. It’s the story of her growing up in a strict Evangelical household, and why she and many others have left even as they deeply identify with parts of the religion in which they were raised. Read an interview with Sarah and then buy the book from a local Nebraska bookseller like this one.
- Property taxes will go markedly down, but some sales taxes will go up if the Legislature passes a tax reform bill, reports the Nebraska Examiner’s Paul Hammel. Gov. Pillen appears to support it. Conservative orgs don’t love it, because it raises some taxes. Neither do some left-of-center orgs who note it treats the wealthy far better than lower-income Nebraskans, who don’t tend to own property.
- A Nebraska state senator read a graphic rape scene aloud on the floor of the Nebraska Legislature while several times inserting the name “Cavanaugh” into his reading. Sadly, I’m not making this up. Read more on Sen. Steve Halloran’s comments, and the fallout, from KOLN’s Bayley Bischof, seen here in WOWT, and from Hammel in the Nebraska Examiner.
- The Legislature has earmarked some money for the troubled York women’s prison following good reporting by the York News-Times’ William Swett and the Journal Star’s Andrew Wegley. But questions remain, the pair reports.
- And finally, a heartwarming story about two nurses who found love and formed a family while working in the NICU at an Omaha hospital. This one is from the OWH’s Julie Anderson.
