Snowballing scandal. That’s the phrase Flatwater’s Sara Gentzler uses in today’s story, and I wholeheartedly agree. Gentzler has the latest on the teenagers at a state-run center who for years were allegedly sexually abused and assaulted by staff.
Among the shocking details in today’s story, which focuses on the latest (and most serious) arrest and the first person to get sentenced to jail:
Officials at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Kearney threw a teenager into de-facto solitary confinement for six months after he was allegedly abused by a staff member. (The staff member allegedly had given him a phone, and there was an escape plan on it, both offenses.) They didn’t get the youth any therapy or other treatment tied to the alleged sexual abuse during that time, despite the fact that YRTC leaders knew of the allegations.
And a judge threw the absolute book at the first employee to be sentenced this week, in part because during a pre-sentence evaluation she expressed the belief that she — not the 15-year-old boy she began to sexually abuse in 2023 — was the real victim here.
Gentzler has been all over this story since Day One. She has been a huge part of the effort to drag the allegations and the coverup into the light, and I’m thankful as an editor and as a Nebraskan that she’s digging out the truth — and that she’s not done.
Power play: Who knew the American burying beetle had such power? The little sucker is at the center of a 14-year fight between the Nebraska Public Power District, which is trying to build a massive power line through the Sandhills, and a coalition of Native tribes and Sandhills ranchers trying to stop it.
That’s right — 14 years. And, even after the Trump administration recently got involved, the power line is stalled and remains years from getting built, Flatwater’s Destiny Herbers reports.
Drumroll, please: It’s time to unveil the centerpiece of a major celebration we are planning for Flatwater’s fifth birthday this fall. It’s the Flatwater Free Press Festival, codename FlatFest! It’s the best journalism party west of the Missouri River! And this September, we are bringing it back to the Lincoln area — and back to a barn.
The link has more information, including intel on the journalism legend I will be interviewing onstage on FlatFest night. Buy your tickets now — I have a sense this will sell out quickly. We want you there as we celebrate the present and future of nonprofit news in Nebraska.
More exciting announcements to come in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, the early bird gets the … birthday cake?
Goalllll!: A lovely story out of Omaha, where a soccer-focused nonprofit figured out how to bring 22 kids on the trip of a lifetime … a trip down to Kansas City and onto the the actual green grass of the World Cup, standing right next to the players. It really is the stuff dreams are made of, reports Flatwater’s Naomi Delkamiller. It’s an incredible moment for the organizers, for the kids, for their parents.
Bada$$ barber: Speaking of lovely stories, how about this one out of Lincoln? A barber named Sam Dov wanted to do something for struggling working parents. So he came up with a plan: Bring diapers or baby wipes to Faded Barbershop in north Lincoln and I will give you two haircuts for the price of one.
He’s working with the local nonprofit Lincoln Littles, which plans to distribute these supplies to childcare providers and parents across the city, reports correspondent Tynan Stewart. And he’s doing it because he knows what it’s like to struggle.
You want to help Sam hit his Huggies and Pampers goal? Click here to book a cut or simply drive over to the barbershop with your donation.
Farmer’s market meetup: On Sunday morning, Flatwater journalists are going to be staffing a booth at the Aksarben Village Farmer’s Market. They will be there to talk story ideas, answer your questions and generally better your Sunday morning. Go check ’em out.
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? Email 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:
- Central Nebraska reporter extraordinaire Steve White is doing a series on the strain on rural firefighters, many of them volunteers, in the wake of Nebraska’s massive wildfires this year. You should check out the whole thing, but here are a few stories I liked, on the growing demands for these firefighters and the difficulty recruiting new firefighters.
- The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Friday that a lawsuit that sought to stop the state from handing over potentially sensitive voter data to the U.S. Department of Justice is moot and dismissed the appeal, the Nebraska Examiner’s Juan Salinas II reported. The court said Nebraska’s voter registration list already has been released to the Justice Department.
- Gov. Jim Pillen unveiled a property tax hotline this week, meant to capture outrage from Nebraskans and put pressure on state lawmakers to cut those taxes. Story from the Nebraska Examiner’s Zach Wendling.
- I liked this Father’s Day column from The World-Herald’s Tom Shatel, where he speaks to Husker hoops coach Fred Hoiberg about his relationship with his sons — and his own dad. (You may need OWH subscriber access to read the story.)
- The interim superintendent of the North Platte Public Schools says unpaid student meal balances have increased sharply, prompting renewed discussion about how the district communicates with families and whether to continue small, annual price increases for breakfast and lunch, KNOP reports. Damon McDonald said negative balances have increased on lunch accounts from $3,000 three years ago to $10,000-$11,000 this year.
- Is Nebraska going to legalize online sports gambling? We’re one step closer, reports Nebraska Public Media’s Aaron Bonderson.
- And finally, want to find out if you talk like a Nebraskan? Take this cool dialect quiz from the New York Times’ Upshot.
