I can’t tell you how disappointed I am to report what follows, but it’s news you deserve to know and need to understand.
As you may know, the Nebraska Journalism Trust filed a lawsuit in November 2022 related to a public records request. Months later a judge ruled in our favor.
This morning the Nebraska Supreme Court announced that it was overturning, in part, that lower court’s decision. This clears the way for the State of Nebraska to charge us an ungodly amount of money to gain access to public records related to the state’s growing nitrate-in-groundwater problem.
These are emails that could reveal how a state agency is grappling, or not grappling, with a gravely serious public health concern, and now they will likely remain hidden.
It’s a decision standing in stark opposition to the 10 words that Nebraska’s leaders once deemed so important that they etched them onto the north face of the State Capitol.
“The Salvation of the State is Watchfulness in the Citizen.”
Today the Court decided to make it a little harder to watch the state, leading us toward something that does not feel like salvation.
Read the rest of my (short) thoughts about the case, and where we go next.
We will keep fighting because we believe in those 10 words etched on the Capitol. And I thank you for reading, for donating and for fighting right alongside us.
Evictions halted: A few short months ago, the Omaha Housing Authority was filing to evict tenants at a dizzying rate — some 400 times in 2023 alone. This matters in part because roughly 1 in 7 of Omaha’s public housing residents ends up in a homeless shelter after being evicted.
Then, when FFP reporter Jeremy Turley started reporting his original story, a funny thing happened. OHA simply and suddenly stopped filing to evict people.
Read Turley’s eyebrow-raising follow-up story.
Pillen (coverage) wins: For the second time in two years, FFP senior reporter Yanqi Xu (pronounced Yen-chee Shoe) has won a national award for her unparalleled coverage of Nebraska’s growing problem with nitrate in our groundwater.
This time, she won it with her coverage of high nitrate in and around hog farms owned by Gov. Jim Pillen, and she won it alongside a valued journalistic partner, Investigate Midwest and its reporter Sky Chadde.
This was the story that Pillen responded to by attacking Yanqi’s identity.
This honor was bestowed mere hours before the Supreme Court decision that makes it harder for Yanqi to do more valuable journalism in this area.
No one promised it would be easy. But I remain so proud that Yanqi and FFP are doing important work, especially when it’s hard.
Hey, about that horse: Nebraska is breeding and raising racehorses again, only a few years after the numbers had dropped to unsustainable levels. But all is not hunky dory in this world tied to state-sanctioned gambling, reports longtime Grand Island sportswriter Bob Hamar in his first story for us.
Thank you to our sponsor: This week it’s Swoon Home + Design, our first-ever newsletter specific sponsor! Smash that link if you want to see a gorgeous kitchen, learn more about about Jenny Wilkins’ business, and thank Jenny and Ryan, as I will now, for supporting the important mission of Nebraska nonprofit news.
Thank you to … you: We’re building something truly special here. A force. A juggernaut. We’re helping to build the next chapter in Nebraska journalism.
We’re doing all this because you are reading and supporting us and telling your best friend and your uncle Pete. All of this is possible because you see the value in preserving what has been lost, and in trying something new.
None of this happens without you. So thank you.
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:
- You may have heard this little thing about a certain athletic director bolting for Texas A&M. The World-Herald’s Sam McKewon got the first interview with Trev Alberts, who said some interesting things.
- Meanwhile, the Nebraska Examiner was doing good work reporting on a new Alberts-related fight between Gov. Pillen and the University of Nebraska regents.
- I should also add that the FFP’s Sara Gentzler was the first to report anything amiss in Husker Heaven, when she last year uncovered an internal memo showing questionable financial moves by the UNL athletic director when he was the UNO athletic director. The story also revealed some pretty obvious University infighting, too.
- Things got heavy in the Nebraska Legislature this week, after some state senators flipped their previous votes and supported Gov. Pillen’s veto of a needle exchange bill introduced by Sen. Megan Hunt. The news made it all the way to The New York Times.
- A Nebraska watchdog is reporting that inconclusive drug tests are being used to punish prison inmates, reports the Journal Star’s Andrew Wegley.
- Important pizza news in Lincoln: The new owner of a beloved pizzeria/bar, who owns a different beloved pizzeria/bar, doesn’t plan to change the food. In fact, he doesn’t even plan to change how the menus are printed. The Journal Star’s Pat Sangimino has the story.
- The western Nebraska village of Brule has seen quite a bit of controversy in recent months. Failed recalls. The departure of a longtime clerk. Oh, and a $130,000 missed bond payment. The Nebraska Auditor’s Office is investigating. Nebraska Public Media’s Brian Beach unpacks it all.
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