In case you missed it: After Flatwater reported Otoe County could become home to a new data center, county officials approved a moratorium on new data centers. More Nebraska counties are considering similar moves. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/ObOZGDR

New at Flatwater: Nebraska might see a new nuclear power plant in the coming decades. Tech advancements could convince local leaders — and residents — to support a modern nuclear plant. But that tech is largely untested. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/Jwb0N4a

“You don’t have to stay in Omaha to give back to Omaha, you can always come back," said former Benson High basketball star Quinesha “Q” Lockett. Lockett is one of many professional basketball players returning to Omaha to mentor young players. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/RANToSI

New at Flatwater: The original Omaha streetcar died in the 1950s so cars could thrive. City planners and walkability advocates hope the modern streetcar could undo that and bring new life into downtown. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/bIsJiXq

Over the past year, we've expanded our coverage in Lincoln, bringing you rigorous reporting on data centers, child care, university budget cuts and beyond. Donate TODAY during Give to Lincoln Day to help us continue our Lincoln coverage. 🔗 givetolincoln.com/nonprofits/f...

In case you missed it: Nebraska reported recent improvements in its teacher shortage. Yet roughly 40% of licensed Nebraska teachers still aren’t teaching in the state this school year, a Flatwater Free Press analysis found. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/n30c8E5

New at Flatwater: A longstanding pastime in Lincoln is responsible for decades worth of friendships — even a few marriages. The activity? Ultimate Frisbee. It’s become a source of community in an increasingly isolated world. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/Ypsrp6t

The rules are simple. Find a car. Chop the top off of it. Remove the windshield. Complete as many bizarre tasks as possible en route to New Orleans from Chicago. Brad Sharp was game. But could the Nebraska man actually win the Chop Top Challenge? Find out 🔗 buff.ly/0isZy0b

Otoe County leaders just approved a moratorium on new data centers. More Nebraska counties are considering similar moves, reflecting growing worry about the industry's impacts on electricity and other resources. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/pzBgkaB

The Lexington boys soccer team fell to Gretna in the Class B state soccer championship yesterday. But their run still gave the town hope in a heartbreaking year. Story and photos by Naomi Delkamiller 🔗 buff.ly/RzBZOV7

Dariauna “Stretch” Lewis doesn’t have much free time. Between playing professional basketball overseas and training for her career after basketball, the former Omaha North High standout keeps busy. Still, Lewis rarely misses a chance to return to North. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/cw9P7zb

Roughly 40% of certified Nebraska teachers aren’t teaching in public or private classrooms this academic year, a Flatwater Free Press analysis found. Flatwater talked to over a dozen former teachers to find out why. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/9kuB5nN

Three Nebraskans just won a challenge you've probably never heard of. The Chop Top Challenge is an annual cross-country scavenger hunt in DIY convertibles. The Nebraskans drove 3,500 miles and completed about 40 challenges. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/0isZy0b

In case you missed it: A third ex-employee was arrested in a widening teen sex abuse scandal at a state-run facility in Kearney. Read our latest reporting 🔗 buff.ly/xZWhe56

For nearly 50 years, refugees were eligible for food assistance. But because of federal restrictions, thousands of Nebraska refugees have lost their SNAP benefits since October. It's affecting refugees and the grocery stores that rely on their business. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/MuncHKl

Prescribed burns can protect against major wildfires. They can also start them. Recent wildfires in Nebraska revealed these two truths about the controversial land management practice, even as it is being increasingly adopted. 🔗 buff.ly/jtphl4M

For more than a century, a smelter and other factories spewed 400 million pounds of lead dust across Omaha’s east side. Faced with similar concerns, 13 states passed laws requiring all kids to get a blood test before kindergarten. But not Nebraska. With @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social

The Winnebago Tribe wants the remains of two boys returned. It is now one step closer. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/fYote2k Reporting by Destiny Herbers.

New at Flatwater: La Casa, with its signature hamburger Romano pizza, has been a beloved staple for Omahans for decades. But just how did it become one? Read the history this week from Sarah Baker Hansen 🔗 buff.ly/na0QF0m

Passengers from a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship returned to the U.S. last week. But they were not headed home or to a major hospital on either coast. They were going to Omaha. Why? Read more 🔗 buff.ly/K6uF4Bo

New at Flatwater: Thousands of Nebraska refugees have been kicked off of SNAP since October because of federal restrictions. Now, families and advocates are trying to figure out how to keep people from going hungry. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/MuncHKl

New at Flatwater: A third former employee was arrested late last week for allegedly sexually abusing a boy housed at the Kearney Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/xZWhe56

Several Omaha-area legislative seats will likely decide whether Republicans have filibuster-proof control of the Legislature. Find out which races to watch 🔗 buff.ly/oKGHalm

New at Flatwater: Omaha restaurants have seen a big post-pandemic bump, but it's a different story along the streetcar route. New data confirms what many business owners have been saying: Heavy road construction has dampened sales. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/9v0XGtq

This spring, we felt your support loud and clear. Thank you to the 150+ new donors from Nebraska and beyond who said yes to supporting a free and independent press in Nebraska. This support means sustainability. It means staying power. Because of you, we're not going anywhere.

In now-deleted sermon videos, Senate candidate Bill Forbes warned Islamists will "overtake us" and called for a Christian revival. The registered Democrat said he is running for U.S. Senate to expose the “lying” in Washington. Party leaders accuse him of being the liar. 🔗 buff.ly/ZjZPKYk

Millions in dark money ads spent on behalf of candidate Denise Powell have told Democratic primary voters that State Sen. John Cavanaugh going to Congress could give Republicans a filibuster-proof majority in the Legislature. But that’s far from the whole story, some argue. 🔗 buff.ly/lPXHc2c

New at Flatwater: In 1890, Omaha’s streetcar system was one of the largest in the country. But by the 1950s, the last running trolleys rolled to a halt. A collaboration with The Reader Omaha. 🔗 buff.ly/3v6Pn5m

In case you missed it: Writer-director Robert Machoian wrote the screenplay for his new film “Omaha” in the wake of a disastrous 2008 Nebraska law that garnered national attention. Nearly two decades later, the project has finally made it to the big screen. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/oAPiT8a

New at Flatwater: Lawmakers attempted to hit the brakes on a sweeping proposal to shuffle kids among five state-run facilities. But the state is moving ahead with part of the plan. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/uiRGsJj

The amount of waste Omaha recycles each year has stagnated. Although the City of Omaha has increased the amount of recyclable materials that it keeps out of the landfill, a Flatwater Free Press analysis found its efforts to promote recycling lag behind most peer cities. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/G4M17ok

We are nearing the end of our spring campaign! New recurring donors to the Flatwater Free Press by May 1 can select a free poster as a thank-you gift. Donate today 🔗 buff.ly/7mAphuz

New at Flatwater: For almost 30 years, UNL’s Immigration Clinic has served dual roles: educating the next generation of lawyers and providing free legal counsel. Now the clinic is set to close — prompting questions about the future of immigration law in the state. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/OcmUntM

New at Flatwater: A new film titled “Omaha” is winning critical acclaim. The story, based on a disastrous period of recent history, premieres in Omaha on Thursday. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/Ad9fTi8

Nebraska school districts denied transfers to kids with disabilities at nearly four times the rate of their peers last school year. A bill to erase the disparity got gutted. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/8J3TCq2

Big Snap Daddy, a common snapping turtle that grew larger than any living member of his species, died Monday. He was thought to be nearly 100. “He really did look more prehistoric than anything,” the aquarium’s director said. “Almost like a dinosaur.” Read more 🔗

New at Flatwater: Every year, Justin Evertson tries to find the biggest trees in Nebraska. The top contenders end up on the state’s Champion Tree Register, a log of the biggest trees of their kind in a state not usually known for its foliage. Read more 🔗

New at Flatwater: Nationally, there’s been no shortage of talk about election reforms. But for Nebraska’s upcoming primary election, it’s business as usual.

Flatwater took home the top prize in a new competition that allows Nebraska’s biggest newspapers and nonprofit newsrooms to compete for state honors. That win highlights a slew of national and state awards Flatwater reporters won this month. Read more 🔗

Something magical happens when a restaurant takes a diner on a journey halfway around the planet. That's what happens when you walk through the doors of Omaha's newest ramen spot. Read more 🔗

New at Flatwater: It started as a bill to prevent discrimination against students with disabilities who try to transfer school districts. But the legislation that passed could hurt those same kids more than it helps, parents and advocates say. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/8J3TCq2 Story by Jeremy Turley.

Flatwater was built for times like these. When paywalls divide who sees news, Flatwater is for keeping it free for everyone. When the state feels divided, Flatwater is for celebrating what binds us together. Help us reach more Nebraskans by donating today: buff.ly/AtGhOOk

New: The Nebraska Department of Economic Development, charged with working to grow the state, dropped from 114 full-time employees to 83 between late June and late February — a 27% reduction, or more than a fourth of the staff, in just those eight months. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/D9rGMXm

New: A Flatwater Free Press analysis comparing Nebraska job growth to that of six neighboring states illustrates Nebraska's diminished economic competitiveness — and suggests it has cost the state 70,000 jobs in recent years. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/1IfDrIg

NEW: For more than a century, factories spewed toxic dust across the city, contaminating the soil and causing lead poisoning. We talked to experts about how to stay safe from lead exposure. w/ @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social

New at Flatwater: Nearly five months after her arrest for theft, Becky Stamp remains the appointed guardian for six vulnerable Nebraskans. One reason: The state’s Public Guardian Office doesn’t have the capacity to take on new clients. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/DK4osZa

In an interview with The Atlantic's Evan Smith at the magazine’s Atlantic Across America tour stop in Omaha, Mayor John Ewing said the job of running the country’s 41st largest city has required bipartisan dealing and a rejection of national political framing.

In an interview with The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, Nebraska Journalism Trust executive director Matt Wynn said the Flatwater Free Press launched when Nebraska needed it most. "We just kind of were in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing."

In a panel Wednesday night as part of The Atlantic Across America tour, Flatwater Free Press investigative editor Natalia Alamdari told The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg that amid growing evidence of GOP backlash nationwide, the politics of rural Nebraska have long been more nuanced.

For more than a century, a smelter and other factories spewed 400 million pounds of lead dust across Omaha's east side. Faced with similar concerns, 13 states passed laws requiring all kids to get a blood test before kindergarten. But not Nebraska. 🔗 buff.ly/KBLSiXG