New at Flatwater: When Nebraska’s DHHS unveiled a plan to divvy up opioid settlement money, one recipient stood out: The Central Wyoming Counseling Center, which got $3.4 million. The Wyoming center’s former CEO: Steve Corsi, who now runs DHHS. 🔗 buff.ly/3UaJfY2

New at Flatwater: A small number of state employees are working mind-boggling amounts of overtime. They're doubling their salaries while toiling in extremely short staffed positions. It's costing us, the state auditor says. 🔗 buff.ly/gptXGrx

New at Flatwater: Stigma. Shame. Confusion. Seven Nebraska families say that after they lost a loved one to an overdose, nobody was there to answer their questions, including: What happened? The latest in “Dying Blind.” 🔗 buff.ly/4fzUpmg

ProPublica and Flatwater Free Press want to help Omahans understand the lead risks in their own yard. Sign up for our free soil testing. 🔗 buff.ly/B0MrBGH

The Lincoln Diocese removed a priest from his parish after a mother raised concerns about his behavior toward her teenage son. Years later, that teen, now an adult, believes the diocese hasn’t done enough. 🔗 buff.ly/MKT6z5G

The investigation of a teen’s death at Pillen Family Farms was marred by missteps, The New York Times and the Flatwater Free Press found. Among them: The farm blocked investigators from conducting timely air quality tests. 🔗 buff.ly/oy9OswZ

After a teen died at Pillen Family Farms, his mom grew frustrated that no one could say why. She requested tissue from his body to independently test. The county attorney said no. “My son is dead,” says Justy Riggs-Panther. “There ought to be answers.” 🔗 buff.ly/oy9OswZ

New at Flatwater: Tessa Domingus struggled with mental health issues and addiction before being sent to prison. There, she connected with the nonprofit that would help her find a sense of purpose. This weekend, at age 44, she’ll become a college graduate. 🔗 buff.ly/oY51EfK

New at Flatwater: The investigation of a teen’s death at Pillen Family Farms was marred by missteps, The New York Times and the Flatwater Free Press found. Said Dr. Erin Linde, who did the autopsy: “The type of investigation that really should have been done wasn’t done.” 🔗 buff.ly/oy9OswZ

Faced with a bleak financial situation, lawmakers turned to a little-known fund to help domestic violence survivors and pay for other priorities. But now that fund doesn’t have enough money to cover those commitments. 🔗 buff.ly/AlWr51J

Do you live in or near the Omaha Superfund site and want to know if you’ve been exposed to lead? ProPublica and Flatwater Free Press will test your soil for free. 🔗 buff.ly/B0MrBGH

New from Flatwater: What’s the best steakhouse in Omaha? After a year of reviewing steakhouses, and ranking them in a variety of steakhouse classic categories, Sarah Baker Hansen thinks she knows. 🔗 buff.ly/ck1V04g

New at Flatwater: A department at UNL has produced homegrown meteorologists and geologists who have gone on to serve in critical roles. Earlier this month, NU’s regents eliminated the program. 🔗 buff.ly/bDFeSBm

New from Flatwater and ProPublica: Omaha residents face a hidden danger – the lead in our yards. 🔗 buff.ly/ckuPQHN

Across the state and country, it has become increasingly difficult for hospitals like The Pender Community Hospital to keep their doors open. 🔗 buff.ly/0dvxvBV

New at Flatwater: A Lincoln Diocese parishioner alleged misconduct by a priest. The diocese barred the priest from being alone with kids. But church officials have never publicized the allegations or looked for other victims, the priest’s accuser says. 🔗 buff.ly/MKT6z5G

Heading into the final two matches of the regular season, Dani Busboom Kelly described Allick as a “team player and somebody that’s ultra competitive” and noted her growth as a leader over the past 10 months. 🔗 buff.ly/l4E53nR

As we prepare to wrap up a year of steakhouses, the question remains: Is steak better in Omaha? The owners of one of its most iconic steakhouses think so. Read the final story in the series, about The Drover: 🔗 buff.ly/91YjrDz

When an Omaha mother discovered high levels of lead in her son’s blood, she looked up EPA tests and found potentially harmful levels of the metal in her yard. 🔗 buff.ly/ckuPQHN

New at Flatwater: Nebraska lawmakers earmarked millions to help domestic violence survivors and pilot a new juvenile justice program. There’s not enough money in the account to go around. 🔗 buff.ly/AlWr51J

Join the Flatwater Free Press for office hours at the Lexington Public Library, Monday Dec. 15 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Lexington is on the brink of change. We want to hear from you – share your story and let us know what stories you’d like to see covered.

New at Flatwater: After years of resistance, Nebraska tapped into hundreds of millions of federal dollars to support struggling hospitals. Now the future of that funding is in doubt. 🔗 buff.ly/0dvxvBV

New from Flatwater and ProPublica: For more than a century, a smelter spewed lead dust over Omaha. For decades, the government cleaned it up. 🔗 buff.ly/ckuPQHN

Faith and music held starring roles in Karissa Denae Johnson’s childhood. Both proved pivotal in helping her recover from a stroke when she was 21, and they remain so nearly two decades later as she pursues a theater career in New York City. 🔗 buff.ly/KXiBrj6

New at Flatwater: Nebraska volleyball player Rebekah Allick has faced heartbreak on the court. It’s nothing compared to what she and her five siblings endured during their childhood. 🔗 buff.ly/l4E53nR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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