Flatwater Free Press
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Nebraska's important stories. Well told. 🗞️ https://flatwaterfreepress.org/subscribe/
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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
December 15, 2025 at 5:30 PM
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
December 15, 2025 at 3:30 PM
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
December 13, 2025 at 3:30 PM
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.
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.
December 12, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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.
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
December 12, 2025 at 4:45 PM
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
December 11, 2025 at 3:30 PM
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
December 10, 2025 at 7:00 PM
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
December 10, 2025 at 4:01 PM
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
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