Flatwater Free Press

Our New Year’s gift to you: adding Bluesky to our social lineup. Follow us at flatwaterfreep.bsky.social for Nebraska's important stories, not on X

We’re hiring! The Flatwater Free Press, in partnership with Grist, is seeking a reporter to cover climate change in Nebraska. Learn more: buff.ly/g8va2D3

Breaking news: Yanqi Xu, FFP senior reporter, is a fellow in the New York Times’ Local Investigations Fellowship. Led by former NYT editor Dean Baquet, the year-long program helps journalists produce investigative work in their state. Let’s hear it for Yanqi!

What is a Runza? 76 years ago, Lincolnite Sally Everett turned her family recipe into a Nebraska restaurant behemoth. But where does its beloved signature menu item come from? Flatwater explains. 🔗 buff.ly/oV5boL3

New at FFP: Rampant undercounting of drug deaths & budget cuts fueled by flawed data have led Nebraska to build a detox “desert” where it’s tough to get help. One Hastings center – the state’s westernmost residential detox program – is working to help. 🔗 buff.ly/yDrsYWB

Japanese barbecue is a lot of fun, reviewer Sarah Baker Hansen says, and the servers at Koen in Omaha's Blackstone District do a good job of making sure guests understand the menu and know what to do. 🔗 buff.ly/2vUSvCS

New at FFP: 60 years ago, a filmmaker captured an Omaha pastor’s failed attempts to get his white church members to connect with nearby Black churches. The resulting film set off a firestorm. 🔗 buff.ly/rD9Hzvr

New at FFP: Nebraska Corrections wants the ability to let some inmates leave prison early. A state lawmaker sees a link with the conversion of a state prison into an immigration detention center. 🔗 buff.ly/sfHcU3E

Flatwater reporters and editors went on an Ogallala listening tour last week, speaking to leaders and residents about Keith County’s important stories. (Bonus: A Lake Mac sunset.)

In 2025, its first full year after reopening with the 42,000-square-foot addition, The Joslyn is almost certain to break recent attendance records. It’s landing on lists of the best American art museums. It’s also bringing in crowds. 🔗 buff.ly/4r2tQzw

UNL used complex — and controversial — statistical calculations to help decide which programs to close under a proposed $27.5 million budget cut. Now, administrators claim the full data analysis is proprietary information. 🔗 buff.ly/sleNMfY

In 25 years, the University of Nebraska’s spending on jobs like vice chancellors, housing coordinators, and research compliance directors has tripled. This year, those roles cost more money than faculty. 🔗 buff.ly/5iwboMF

After the sport’s arrival in Omaha a century ago, pigeon racing faced decades of falling interest. The arrival of bird-loving immigrants has added fresh blood to the local circuit. 🔗 buff.ly/oEvY07s

New at FFP: The state’s watchdog for child welfare has launched an investigation into the sex abuse allegations involving staff at the state-run youth rehabilitation center in Kearney. 🔗 buff.ly/EwM9ZUY