People, even Nebraskans, are sometimes surprised when they learn that the poorest counties in the state — the places with the highest levels of child poverty — are in small-town Nebraska. It is an easy thing to miss if we think of small towns in that gauzy, Rockwellian way. It’s also easy to miss because the small towns themselves, and the residents suffering from poverty themselves, have often worked to hide the problem.
But what I love about our story today, written by intern extraordinaire Addie Costello — who is so good that we’re making her continue to write for us — is that it focuses on a trio of towns who are looking to tackle the problem head on.
Nebraska City is fighting one children’s book at a time. Hastings has ambitious goals and has already made a difference. And in my hometown, Red Cloud, access to quality child care is part of the solution.
This story does not ignore the problem. But it also focuses on the potential solutions.
Six-man…what? I love baseball. I know a whole lot about baseball. I frequently forget where I put my keys, but will never forget the names of the entire 1989 Cubs starting lineup.
But I had no Earthly idea that a Nebraska man — the man who invented wildly successful six-man football! — then got a little cocky and tried to popularize six-man baseball. It, uh, didn’t go so well.
Kevin Warneke, baseball enthusiast and chronicler of all things six-man, with the story.
Fist bump to our new supporter: I used to know American National Bank as the bank with that gigantic Christmas tree that I always find myself staring at during the holiday season as I drive up and down Dodge Street, looking for non-coal gifts to stuff into my loved ones’ stockings.
Now I know American National Bank as the newest sponsor of Flatwater Free Press. Thank you for supporting the next chapter in Nebraska journalism, ANB. And thank you for your excellent banking services…we use the branch in North Omaha, on Ames Avenue, and our bankgoer-in-chief, exec director Matt Wynn, reports that they have been wonderful to work with.
Up next: We have a lot of journalism coming your way in the next few weeks. Reporter Yanqi Xu has been working on a crucial environmental project that will soon start to run. Also on tap: A story on police conduct, a story we are collaborating on with the Omaha Reader. An amazing story about kids on a Native reservation. Mike’l Severe’s latest interview with a prominent Nebraska politician.
Oh, and this freelancer named Sarah Baker Hansen has a story soon about what’s maybe the best new-ish restaurant in Nebraska.
Have one you want to add to our list? 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:
- Gov. Pete Ricketts — potentially soon-to-be-appointed Sen. Pete Ricketts — and his parents have continued to spend heavily to shape the political landscape in Nebraska. And this latest one is an eyebrow raiser: The governor is spending dough to attack a contender for…a regent’s seat. And the guy he’s attacking is a Republican. The World-Herald’s Erin Bamer with the story.
- A few weeks ago, we broke the story that the loved ones of the man killed in a long-ago North Omaha shooting think that the man in prison for that shooting, Earnest Jackson, is innocent and should be released. The Nebraska Pardons Board refused to release Jackson, but at that same hearing they did pardon a military veteran after a show of force from members of the American Legion.
The Nebraska Examiner’s Paul Hammel with a fascinating follow-up, appearing here on the website of Lincoln TV station 10/11. Not every member of the American Legion liked this move. Some of ‘em, in fact, despise it. - A big company that provides Nebraskans jobs is set to move its headquarters. Nebraska Public Media has that story from the South Sioux City area.
- I grew up watching Roger Welsch, and when I grew up and became a reporter I always loved interviewing him and simply talking to him. He was a singular, whip-smart, homespun, big-hearted son of a gun. He was a Nebraskan. I will miss him. The Journal Star’s L. Kent Wolgamott with the story, which, fittingly, includes the last public words that the Nebraska storyteller wrote.
