Listen. I’m not always great with money. I have overspent on frivolous things. I have lost track of my checking account balance. I haven’t always saved enough for retirement. Sometimes I shop for groceries while hungry!
So, yeah, I’m not the master of the budgetary process. And yet — what happened in Norfolk recently makes my eyes widen to the size of snowballs. It gets my head shaking in fiscal disbelief. Honestly, it makes feel a little bit nauseous.
As FFP reporter Natalia Alamdari and FFP fellow Evelyn Mejia reported today, the Norfolk-area bus service shut down in January, right after it gave 10,000 rides in December. Dozens of employees were laid off. Thousands of people were left stranded, including many senior citizens, students, residents with disabilities and workers who take the bus to meatpacking or manufacturing jobs.
And why did these buses stop running? Because, allegedly, the director of the nonprofit that runs the bus service allegedly stole up to $1 million over the span of a few months and then fled the country.
Today’s story dives into what happened, its impact…and also how in the heck no one noticed a cool million bucks in taxpayer money sauntering its way out the door.
If this seems like a bit of a pattern to you — yup. We reported on the incredible rash of small-town clerk embezzlements last year. And we’ll continue to keep an eye on situations where no one seems to minding the till.
Native moms go to Lincoln: In 2021, talented freelancer and Reader editor Chris Bowling brought you the FFP story of two Lakota girls who had their hair allegedly cut by a small-town school secretary — an alleged act that violated Lakota religious and cultural beliefs, spurred a lawsuit and received national attention after we reported on it.
This week, Chris caught up with the moms at the center of that story. They appeared in a hearing room at the State Capitol building, there to support a bill they say will protect religious and cultural freedom, no matter your race, ethnicity, religion or culture.
Join us for journalism on stage: We’re holding our next journalism event in Norfolk, a night set aside to talk about Nebraska’s nitrate in water problem, why it matters, and some potential solutions. Yours truly will moderate a discussion with experts of various stripes, and take questions from the audience. Learn more about the upcoming event right here, and join us March 14 if you live in the Norfolk area.
Wanna learn about how to journalism? For the second year, we’re running the Omaha News Academy. It’s a program, funded in part by the Omaha Community Foundation, that allows aspiring journalists of any age and experience — or simply people who want to burrow into the belly of the journalistic beast — to take classes in the craft, ethics and future of journalism. Seriously…free journalism education, open to all. How cool is that?
Creighton journalism professor Carol Zuegner is working to organize this program. Contact her here with ideas, comments, questions — and help her design what our 2nd News Academy should look like.
Thanks to our sponsor: This week, it’s the Platte Institute, which partnered with us on a tool that allows the public to look up state payroll information, making it accessible to…you. We thank Platte for this shared interest in transparency, and its support for independent, nonprofit Nebraska journalism.
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:
- Nebraska residents on all sides of hot-button issues are signing up to speak before committees of the Nebraska Legislature, and then simply not getting the chance to make their voices heard. Paul Hammel of the Nebraska Examiner with this important story about regular citizens feeling like they are being silenced.
- A really infuriating story…A sanitation company at a Nebraska meatpacking plant used young migrant children to do dangerous work while allegedly violating child labor laws. Watch the story from NBC News.
- Which mid-sized Nebraska cities are growing and shrinking, and why? Nebraska Public Media reports this story, and includes handy-dandy graphics about the growth or stagnation of our state’s various cities that are smaller than Omaha and Lincoln. Some of them appear to be doing great. Some, not so much.
