Flatwater Free Press

Flatwater Free Press Nebraska's important stories. Well told. 🗞️ The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska's first statewide independent journalism nonprofit.

It produces investigative stories and feature stories and shares them on its website, on social media and also with every Nebraska media outlet.

Angie Hanson needed a card for an ill friend, but all the choices felt hollow. She turned to her own history of loss and...
12/08/2025

Angie Hanson needed a card for an ill friend, but all the choices felt hollow. She turned to her own history of loss and grief and decided to make her own cards.

Unlike traditional greeting cards, they aim to deliver honest and often humorous messages for life’s difficult days.

Read more: đź”— https://buff.ly/uACmsUF

Story by Tim Trudell. Photo by Rebecca S. Gratz for the Flatwater Free Press.

The Pooles’ property was one of about 30,000 locations in Nebraska initially eligible for federal funding through a broa...
12/06/2025

The Pooles’ property was one of about 30,000 locations in Nebraska initially eligible for federal funding through a broadband program aiming “to connect every American to high speed internet.”

But federal changes to that program — then the way Nebraska implemented those changes — vastly cut the number of Nebraska locations and appear to have left the Pooles and thousands of others out of luck.

đź”— https://buff.ly/FoWG2gW

Story by Joshua Shimkus. Photos by Eric Gregory for the Flatwater Free Press.

New at Flatwater: An autonomous vehicle company’s recent stop in Omaha signaled the industry could be looking toward Neb...
12/05/2025

New at Flatwater: An autonomous vehicle company’s recent stop in Omaha signaled the industry could be looking toward Nebraska for expansion. Is the state ready for robotaxis?

đź”— https://buff.ly/K5l0Tfr

Story by Jeremy Turley. Photo courtesy of Nuro.

Amid a nationwide ICE crackdown, Nebraska immigration lawyers say their jailed clients are spending more time behind bar...
12/04/2025

Amid a nationwide ICE crackdown, Nebraska immigration lawyers say their jailed clients are spending more time behind bars while awaiting decisions from one of the nation’s most backlogged courts.

đź”— https://buff.ly/Li42CkZ

Story and photo by Jeremy Turley.

New at Flatwater: The Drover may be the most Omaha of all the Omaha steakhouses in our Steak Town USA series. Our final ...
12/04/2025

New at Flatwater: The Drover may be the most Omaha of all the Omaha steakhouses in our Steak Town USA series. Our final stop for the year is at the icon known for its whiskey marinade and cowboy kitsch: đź”— https://buff.ly/fknTGZ5

By Sarah Baker Hansen. Photo by Joshua Foo for the Flatwater Free Press.

A stroke threw 21-year-old Karissa Denae Johnson’s future into doubt. Now nearly two decades later, this globe-trotting ...
12/03/2025

A stroke threw 21-year-old Karissa Denae Johnson’s future into doubt. Now nearly two decades later, this globe-trotting Omahan’s hustle and Broadway dreams have taken her to New York City.

đź”— https://buff.ly/0VKacw5

Story by Leo Adam B**a. Courtesy photo.

Former staff at Hillcrest Care Center and Assisted Living in Laurel blame leadership at City Hall for a lack of oversigh...
12/02/2025

Former staff at Hillcrest Care Center and Assisted Living in Laurel blame leadership at City Hall for a lack of oversight leading up to the city’s decision to close the struggling center.

The city’s mayor said Laurel leaders worked hard to keep the center afloat but ultimately had to make the difficult decision to close Hillcrest.

đź”— https://buff.ly/p6uj9oH

By Shelby Rickert. Photo by Jerry L Mennenga for the Flatwater Free Press.

I love a well-told story. It’s why we built Flatwater a little differently, allowing our talented reporters more time to...
12/02/2025

I love a well-told story. It’s why we built Flatwater a little differently, allowing our talented reporters more time to dig to the heart of the matter.

Do you value our stories on water quality, county sheriffs seizing money, immigration, education, how federal budget cuts affect Nebraskans? Do you value our stories on inspiring athletes, wunderkind singers and people doing amazing things across our state?

During Flatwater’s holiday campaign, donate to help us tell more well-told Nebraska stories.

đź”— https://buff.ly/cCtnVOu

I want to know the inside story. This year, I found it inside documents at the Johnson County Courthouse. I told the sto...
12/01/2025

I want to know the inside story. This year, I found it inside documents at the Johnson County Courthouse. I told the story of one Tecumseh prison fire, the deaths of two Nebraskans – and the larger pattern that made tragedy inevitable.

đź”— https://buff.ly/oGetiIU

If you value the inside story, please join Flatwater’s 3,400 donors this holiday season and support our nonprofit newsroom.

đź”— https://buff.ly/gWG9QJX

A quarter of Nebraska’s overdose death certificates, including the one for John Anderson’s brother Max, do not say which...
11/29/2025

A quarter of Nebraska’s overdose death certificates, including the one for John Anderson’s brother Max, do not say which drug killed the person.

That’s a problem for public health and public safety workers, who need to know which drugs are threatening lives to respond and save them.

Without that, they — and Nebraska — are flying partially blind.

đź”— https://buff.ly/2sSi6pv

By Destiny Herbers. Photo by Rebecca S. Gratz for the Flatwater Free Press.

Through hard work, lots of red meat and a recent battle over property taxes, Johnny's Cafe is still serving Omahans. It ...
11/28/2025

Through hard work, lots of red meat and a recent battle over property taxes, Johnny's Cafe is still serving Omahans. It has no plans to stop, despite persistent rumors.

Read the latest from Sarah Baker Hansen in our year-long steak series: đź”— https://buff.ly/HYRlRjd

Photo by Joshua Foo for the Flatwater Free Press.

New at Flatwater: The closure of the Tyson plant in Lexington delivered a “gut punch” to the Nebraska town of 11,000, wh...
11/26/2025

New at Flatwater: The closure of the Tyson plant in Lexington delivered a “gut punch” to the Nebraska town of 11,000, which stands to lose 3,200 jobs. It also may drive record beef prices even higher.

đź”— https://buff.ly/StuOGtz

By Josh Funk, Associated Press. Photo by Kent Sievers/Omaha World-Herald via AP.

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