It’s a story about a hiking-and-biking trail. It’s also a story about us in 2024.
See, York got a cool $15.6 million to build a trail through town, scoring an amenity prized by other smaller communities all over Nebraska.
Except the trail’s planned route has now spanned accusations of government secrecy, dark talk of drugs, crime and sex trafficking and the seemingly inevitable threat of a lawsuit.
FFP Seacrest Greater Nebraska Reporter Natalia Alamdari with the story, which very much matters in York — and also, I think, very much matters to any reader looking for a lens into where we are today.
Taxpayer jail: A year ago, Douglas County finished construction of a gleaming new $27 million, four-story building in downtown Omaha. County leaders call it a juvenile justice center or a juvenile detention center. Because I’m not a fan of bureaucrat speak — editors are forever annoying like this — I’m going to call it a juvenile jail.
Except that gleaming building, mostly paid for by tax dollars, still sits vacant a year later, reports FFP Omaha reporter Jeremy Turley. And now county board members are acknowledging that the juvenile jail may never be used for its intended purpose. Never. That’s a very long time.
Turley on how the leaders of Douglas County — and its taxpayers — got here.
Home sour home: In Lincoln, nearly 1 in 3 families who qualify for the federal program meant to get them housing don’t actually get to use that voucher before it expires. At issue: Some Lincoln landlords simply won’t rent to Section 8 voucher holders, housing advocates argue. They’re trying to get the Lincoln City Council to do something about this, saying Lincolnites of low-income are ending up in substandard housing — or no housing at all — because of it.
But some landlords, even those who rent to Section 8 voucher holders, say it would be unjust for the government to force them to do so. And some city leaders say potential fixes are tricky.
A really smart and nuanced story from FFP investigative reporter Destiny Herbers on an issue that very much matters in Nebraska’s capital city.
FlatFest Fills Fast: That’s a lot of F’s, but my alliteration doesn’t make it any less true. Last week, we put tickets on sale for our 2nd annual Flatwater Free Press Festival, to be held in Lincoln’s historic train station on Oct. 23.
Those tickets are darn near halfway sold out. After one week!
So, if you wanna attend, party in a train station, meet FFP reporters, meet and listen to big-time journalists with Nebraska ties, eat, drink and participate in a pep rally focused on the impact and importance of Nebraska nonprofit news …
Learn more and buy your tickets right here. And do it soon.
Our annual FFP event follows a day-time event that we’re holding in partnership with the Atlantic, also known as the No. 1 news magazine in the business. It’s called State of Our Union, it’s focused on issues facing Nebraska and our country, it will be held at the Nebraska Union on UNL’s city campus, and it’s absolutely free.
Come to one. Or be like me and come to both! It’s going to be an amazing day.
Thanks to our sponsor: This week it’s the Lincoln Community Foundation, whose mission is to inspire Lincoln to give, act and lead. LCF supports our journalistic efforts, and I thank them for their recognition that news and nonprofit news help makes a community stronger.
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:
- A shocker from Florida, shocking enough that the New York Times covered the news that former Nebraska U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse is stepping down as University of Florida’s president only 17 months after leaving the Senate and starting that high-profile academic job. I was saddened to see the reason, which is tied to continued and worsening health issues facing Melissa Sasse. I and everyone at FFP wish the Sasse family better days ahead.
- You may have heard Nebraska’s property taxes are high. This week, Gov. Jim Pillen released what he says is his plan to deal with it during a likely special session of the Nebraska Legislature, tentatively slated to begin July 25. Story by Zach Wendling at Nebraska Examiner.
If the reaction is any indication, Pillen will have a hard time getting the 33 votes he needs to pass it into law, though he expressed confidence that property tax relief will happen during the special session. In Wendling’s story and in this one by the Journal Star’s Andrew Wegley, I counted the following Republicans throwing cold water on the plan: Conservative State Sen. Julie Slama, who labeled one part of the plan “corruption,” Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, State Sen. Merv Riepe, the right-leaning Americans for Prosperity, whose state director used to work for Pillen and more. (There are several Republican supporters in these stories, too.) Opponents are joined by most every Democrat quoted in these stories.
It’s gonna be a battle. - This story, from the OWH’s Martha Stoddard does the math and suggests the tax plan will help property owners while hurting lower-income Nebraskans. (May need subscriber access to view this story.)
- In Nebraska, when can you shoot someone or use other “lethal force” in self defense? KETV’s Aaron Hegarty asks and answers that question in this story.
- A federal discrimination lawsuit has been filed against Omaha-based investment giant Carson Group, whose former top marketing officer alleges that she was fired for raising concerns about “the continued employment of a man accused of sexual assault,” write Molly Ashford and Henry Cordes for the Omaha World-Herald. (You may need subscriber access to view this story.)
- It’s like Y2K out there today, except for real this time. A global tech outage is disrupting air travel, business and well, pretty much everything today, reports 10/11 News Now via the Associated Press. And yes, it’s affecting Nebraska airports, reports Nebraska Public Media.
- And finally, we have a housing crisis in Nebraska and throughout the Midwest and Great Plains. Could manufactured homes help solve this crisis? Listen or read this story from NPR’s Midwest Newsroom.
