Flatwater Free Press

06/20/2025

New at FFP: Nebraska’s public drinking water and wastewater systems need billions of dollars to replace aging equipment and meet federal health regulations. When communities can’t get a loan from the program that’s designed to help, residents have to pay.

🔗 https://buff.ly/Faow4Z8

Story by Joshua Shimkus. Photo by Irene North.

06/19/2025

New at FFP: Growing up in Omaha, Dreion dreamed of singing before thousands of fans — a world away from his troubled upbringing in the foster care system. Now, those dreams are closer than ever.

🔗 https://buff.ly/NhuDbtD

Story by Leo Adam B**a. Photo by by Casey Durkin/NBC.

06/18/2025

New at FFP: Multiple Nebraska prisoners have killed their cellmates in the past six years. It’s cost the state nearly $900,000.

Nebraska’s prison system uses the controversial — and sometimes deadly — practice of double bunking inmates to accommodate its “overcrowding emergency.” Advocates and some lawmakers are renewing calls to end the practice.

🔗 https://buff.ly/qgIFWiO

Story by Shelby Rickert. Photo courtesy of Paige Carter.

06/17/2025

One in 100,000: In the late 1800s, Omaha tribe member Dr. Susan La Fleshe Picotte became the first Native American physician. She went on to build the first hospital on a reservation. Now, a nonprofit is breathing new life into the historic building.

🔗 https://buff.ly/q7eB3HK

By Natalia Alamdari. Photo by Jerry L Mennenga.

06/16/2025

A made-to-order chocolate souffle. A one-pound baked potato loaded with cubes of lardon. Colossal shrimp cocktail. And we haven't even mentioned the perfectly cooked beef. Read the latest in Steak Town USA: 🔗 https://buff.ly/9ylPAhK

By Sarah Baker Hansen. Photo by Joshua Foo.

06/16/2025

In the last decade, the number of requests Douglas County has received to treat dangerously mentally ill people has increased steeply. At the same time, commitments are down.

Families say the data shows the failure of a supposed safety net for some of the city’s neediest people.

“The current system is just broke,” said Tim Heller, who has filed at least six requests on his son and now chairs a state behavioral health advisory committee. “And nobody wants to take responsibility to fix it.”

🔗 https://buff.ly/4e1TfiT

Story by Chris Bowling. Photo by Abiola Kosoko.

06/14/2025

06/14/2025

801 Chophouse, the Midwestern high-end steakhouse chain with a location in downtown Omaha, is undeniably costly. It's also undeniably delightful, says FFP food critic Sarah Baker Hansen.

06/13/2025

New at FFP: In 1889, Dr. Susan La Fleshe Picotte became the first Native American doctor. More than a century later, the hospital she built in Walthill is being rethought into a space that shares her story — and makes health care more accessible.

🔗 https://buff.ly/q7eB3HK

Story by Natalia Alamdari. Photo by Jerry L Mennenga

06/12/2025

New at FFP: When a waiter wearing a smartly pressed, forest green workwear coat pushes a cart overflowing with steaks your way, it’s definitely your night. The latest in SBH’s Steak Town USA series, on a spot serving up a classic high-end experience.

🔗 https://buff.ly/9ylPAhK

Story by Sarah Baker Hansen. Photo by Joshua Foo.

06/11/2025

Shaheen’s restaurant is an Afghan-run business in Omaha, started by a family with roots in the U.S. stretching back 40 years.

The heart of the restaurant is the kitchen, where the eldest daughter does the cooking. She learned everything from her mother and grandmother. In Afghanistan, recipes are rarely written down, but rather passed down by word of mouth.

Afghan food is rich, aromatic and layered with meaning. Meals are not eaten — they’re shared, with intention. Spices such as cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and black pepper season dishes and memories.

🔗 https://buff.ly/Ks5388U

Story by Nasrin Nawa. Photo courtesy of Shaheen's.

06/11/2025

Community Conversations is a series of curated conversations, focused on key challenges facing our city. Our first discussion centers around access to mental health in Omaha and is taking place tomorrow from 6-8 p.m. at the Westside Community Schools Community Center Cafeteria.

Find out more about the event and register 🔗 https://flatwaterfreepress.org/events/community-conversations/

The series is sponsored by the Omaha Community Foundation.