Flatwater Free Press
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Nebraska's important stories. Well told. 🗞️ https://flatwaterfreepress.org/subscribe/
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. 🔗 buff.ly/uACmsUF
December 8, 2025 at 9:30 PM
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. 🔗 buff.ly/uACmsUF
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? 🔗 buff.ly/K5l0Tfr
December 5, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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? 🔗 buff.ly/K5l0Tfr
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. 🔗 buff.ly/Li42CkZ
December 4, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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. 🔗 buff.ly/Li42CkZ
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: 🔗 buff.ly/fknTGZ5
December 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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: 🔗 buff.ly/fknTGZ5
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. 🔗 buff.ly/0VKacw5
December 3, 2025 at 4:00 PM
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. 🔗 buff.ly/0VKacw5
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.
🔗 buff.ly/p6uj9oH
🔗 buff.ly/p6uj9oH
December 2, 2025 at 11:00 PM
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.
🔗 buff.ly/p6uj9oH
🔗 buff.ly/p6uj9oH
A quarter of Nebraska’s overdose death certificates 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. 🔗 buff.ly/2sSi6pv
November 29, 2025 at 6:00 PM
A quarter of Nebraska’s overdose death certificates 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. 🔗 buff.ly/2sSi6pv
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: 🔗 buff.ly/HYRlRjd
November 28, 2025 at 11:00 PM
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: 🔗 buff.ly/HYRlRjd
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. 🔗 buff.ly/StuOGtz
November 26, 2025 at 8:00 PM
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. 🔗 buff.ly/StuOGtz
New at Flatwater: Angie Hanson knows grief. The Waterloo native lost her infant son, then her husband, then her brother. She started a business to help others navigate similar loss. 🔗 buff.ly/9NRMh0b
November 26, 2025 at 5:02 PM
New at Flatwater: Angie Hanson knows grief. The Waterloo native lost her infant son, then her husband, then her brother. She started a business to help others navigate similar loss. 🔗 buff.ly/9NRMh0b
For the first time in Nebraska history, a startup company is valued at $2 billion. That startup, Company Cam, is creating jobs, creating wealth – and doing its part to fight brain drain. 🔗 buff.ly/jrXIJjn
November 26, 2025 at 3:30 PM
For the first time in Nebraska history, a startup company is valued at $2 billion. That startup, Company Cam, is creating jobs, creating wealth – and doing its part to fight brain drain. 🔗 buff.ly/jrXIJjn
New at Flatwater: It once looked like the Poole family and thousands of other Nebraska would finally get high-speed Internet after years of balky Wi-Fi. But changing federal rules and the state’s own implementation means that they may now be out of luck.🔗 buff.ly/LH6Pjne
November 21, 2025 at 8:00 PM
New at Flatwater: It once looked like the Poole family and thousands of other Nebraska would finally get high-speed Internet after years of balky Wi-Fi. But changing federal rules and the state’s own implementation means that they may now be out of luck.🔗 buff.ly/LH6Pjne
New at Flatwater: The Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts have flooded the Omaha immigration court’s docket with the urgent cases of jailed immigrants, piling on to one of the nation’s most severe backlogs. 🔗 buff.ly/LBBViWN
November 20, 2025 at 5:45 PM
New at Flatwater: The Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts have flooded the Omaha immigration court’s docket with the urgent cases of jailed immigrants, piling on to one of the nation’s most severe backlogs. 🔗 buff.ly/LBBViWN
Nebraska’s Maggie Malone Hardin hopes to make it to her fourth Olympics. But her athletic aspirations no longer define her. 🔗 buff.ly/pO1fdoJ
November 19, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Nebraska’s Maggie Malone Hardin hopes to make it to her fourth Olympics. But her athletic aspirations no longer define her. 🔗 buff.ly/pO1fdoJ
New at Flatwater: The former administrator of a rural Nebraska nursing home is facing potential discipline from the state. Former staff at the home, which closed in April, say the city failed to provide oversight. 🔗 buff.ly/aX6mU52
November 19, 2025 at 4:00 PM
New at Flatwater: The former administrator of a rural Nebraska nursing home is facing potential discipline from the state. Former staff at the home, which closed in April, say the city failed to provide oversight. 🔗 buff.ly/aX6mU52
Meet the Nebraska family that has been officiating high school volleyball matches since it became a state sanctioned sport in 1972. The family has an inherited commitment to the game — dedication that extends back more than 50 years. 🔗 buff.ly/bQ4Fkih
November 18, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Meet the Nebraska family that has been officiating high school volleyball matches since it became a state sanctioned sport in 1972. The family has an inherited commitment to the game — dedication that extends back more than 50 years. 🔗 buff.ly/bQ4Fkih
Union Pacific Railroad is the lone Nebraska-based company publicly known to have donated to the new White House ballroom championed by President Donald Trump. 🔗 buff.ly/a56iUH9
November 18, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Union Pacific Railroad is the lone Nebraska-based company publicly known to have donated to the new White House ballroom championed by President Donald Trump. 🔗 buff.ly/a56iUH9
“I don’t know what the county may potentially be on the hook for”: The feds found the Seward County sheriff was misspending forfeiture money on salaries. It wants the money back. 🔗 buff.ly/MpA6nMx
November 15, 2025 at 6:00 PM
“I don’t know what the county may potentially be on the hook for”: The feds found the Seward County sheriff was misspending forfeiture money on salaries. It wants the money back. 🔗 buff.ly/MpA6nMx
Max Anderson was one of an estimated 35% of Nebraskans killed by an overdose in 2017 who didn’t have a drug listed on their death certificates. Knowing now that Max’s death certificate is part of the missing data, making it harder to save lives, bothers his brother John. 🔗 buff.ly/DuFdCRv
November 14, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Max Anderson was one of an estimated 35% of Nebraskans killed by an overdose in 2017 who didn’t have a drug listed on their death certificates. Knowing now that Max’s death certificate is part of the missing data, making it harder to save lives, bothers his brother John. 🔗 buff.ly/DuFdCRv
New at FFP It’s 103 years old. It ages its steaks, stirs strong cocktails, makes its carrot cake from scratch and serves maybe the best onion rings in Omaha. It’s Johnny’s. And it’s surviving and thriving, reports Sarah Baker Hansen 🔗 buff.ly/3QHCslI
November 13, 2025 at 4:30 PM
New at FFP It’s 103 years old. It ages its steaks, stirs strong cocktails, makes its carrot cake from scratch and serves maybe the best onion rings in Omaha. It’s Johnny’s. And it’s surviving and thriving, reports Sarah Baker Hansen 🔗 buff.ly/3QHCslI
New at FFP: Javelin thrower Maggie Malone Hardin catapulted to the top of her sport before graduating college. Then she fell to the lowest of lows. Now the three-time Olympian is sharing her story in hopes it will help others. 🔗 buff.ly/XaWAa9A
November 12, 2025 at 6:35 PM
New at FFP: Javelin thrower Maggie Malone Hardin catapulted to the top of her sport before graduating college. Then she fell to the lowest of lows. Now the three-time Olympian is sharing her story in hopes it will help others. 🔗 buff.ly/XaWAa9A
New at Flatwater: Breaking news…we’re getting bigger! Executive director Matt Wynn announces a trio of new reporters and other promotions as Flatwater continues to grow in its fifth year. 🔗 buff.ly/wKuvx9e
November 12, 2025 at 3:30 PM
New at Flatwater: Breaking news…we’re getting bigger! Executive director Matt Wynn announces a trio of new reporters and other promotions as Flatwater continues to grow in its fifth year. 🔗 buff.ly/wKuvx9e
New at FFP: Regulars at the Nebraska high school state volleyball tournament will see a familiar face on the sideline. Kim Kwapnioski has refereed for more than 30 years. She’s 1 of 4 generations of refs in the family. 🔗 buff.ly/Tji8XTS
November 7, 2025 at 5:30 PM
New at FFP: Regulars at the Nebraska high school state volleyball tournament will see a familiar face on the sideline. Kim Kwapnioski has refereed for more than 30 years. She’s 1 of 4 generations of refs in the family. 🔗 buff.ly/Tji8XTS
New at FFP: Union Pacific is the lone Nebraska-based business listed as a donor for the new White House ballroom. It’s also a company that needs federal approval for a massive merger that would cement U.P. as the biggest railroad in the United States. 🔗 buff.ly/LtM6j04
November 7, 2025 at 3:30 PM
New at FFP: Union Pacific is the lone Nebraska-based business listed as a donor for the new White House ballroom. It’s also a company that needs federal approval for a massive merger that would cement U.P. as the biggest railroad in the United States. 🔗 buff.ly/LtM6j04
Ever wonder why Omahans are taxed extra at restaurants? 15 years ago, controversy over the city’s levy on dining out garnered front-page headlines and nearly ousted a mayor. Flatwater explains how the once-contentious debate faded into oblivion. 🔗 buff.ly/HKb3CRc
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Ever wonder why Omahans are taxed extra at restaurants? 15 years ago, controversy over the city’s levy on dining out garnered front-page headlines and nearly ousted a mayor. Flatwater explains how the once-contentious debate faded into oblivion. 🔗 buff.ly/HKb3CRc