Flatwater Free Press

12/20/2024

Sen. Pete Ricketts and his family spent more than ever during the 2024 election cycle, accounting for 9.4% of all Nebraska political giving. Ricketts’ successor, Gov. Jim Pillen, took a different approach to influencing elections. Read more: https://buff.ly/3P9xivH

Story by Sara Gentzler and Alex Richards. Illustration by Bob al-Greene

12/19/2024

New from FFP: Sarah Baker Hansen picks her five favorite restaurants of 2024, the tried-and-true spaces that serve her favorite Manhattan, favorite pizza and favorite burgers: https://buff.ly/4fmjWHb

Review by Sarah Baker Hansen.

12/19/2024

New at FFP: Omaha’s long-stable philanthropic scene is shifting amid the dwindling of a generation of successful businessmen-turned-charitable giants. Can the city’s nonprofits find replacements for disappearing donors?
Read the full story: https://buff.ly/4fu5rB3

Story by Jeremy Turley. Illustration by Hanscom Park Studio

12/18/2024

A beloved TV Christmas movie was written by a woman from Valley – and based on her real-life tragedy and her triumph. The story of Gail Rock, Valley’s most famous resident, and the Christmas story she created. Read more: https://buff.ly/3P4Wfs9

Story by FFP correspondent Tim Trudell.

12/17/2024

We. Are. Hiring.
FFP seeks a reporter to do investigative and depth stories in Lincoln, NE’s capital city.
We pledge to adapt to this journalist’s skill set, pay fairly, give ample time off and help them shine. Apply: https://buff.ly/4iIaWPc

12/17/2024

New at FFP: One out of five Grand Islanders are foreign-born. Nearly 40% are people of color. But the vast majority of elected officials are white. A leadership program for immigrants is trying to change that. Read the full story: https://buff.ly/3ZE8OzC

Story by Natalia Alamdari.

12/16/2024

“The city doesn’t look like its leadership.” Experts say boards have become more diverse but are still majority white, older and wealthier than the residents their nonprofits aim to help.
Read the full story 👇 https://buff.ly/41vqcJf

Story by Destiny Herbers.

City leaders are also overwhelmingly white, according to a 2019 study commissioned by a local foundation that looked at Omahans in positions of nonprofit, business and governmental power.

12/13/2024

Food critic Sarah Baker Hansen's list of the top five restaurants opened in Omaha in the past five years includes a Ralston dumpling empire, a north downtown pizza superstar and a new-school steakhouse doing old-school dishes right.

12/13/2024

New at FFP: A small school in northeast Nebraska has strung together an unfathomable record in the Class D state championships – 19 straight appearances with 16 wins. Not on the gridiron, though. It’s on the stage.
Read the full story 👉 https://buff.ly/4fgCkkw

Story and photo by Pat Janssen.

12/13/2024

New at FFP: When school starts, Marco’s already been working for 15 hours on the graveyard shift. All over the state, often unknown to their teachers and principals, immigrant high schoolers do the same. Read more 👉 https://buff.ly/3ZDwl3B

Story by Natalia Alamdari. Photo credit: Rebecca S. Gratz.

12/12/2024

New @ FFP: What are the 5 best new restaurants in the Omaha metro? Sarah Baker Hansen makes her picks, including pizza downtown, dumplings in Ralston and a delicious new spot in the far-west suburbs. Read more 👉 https://buff.ly/3OSLSr7

Review by Sarah Baker Hansen.

12/12/2024

New at FFP: Omahans serving as board members of multiple nonprofits are older, more highly educated and more often men than the city’s population, a new FFP analysis found. They’re also overwhelmingly white, according to a previous study.
Read more 👉https://buff.ly/41vqcJf

Story by Destiny Herbers. Illustration by Hanscom Park Studio.

12/10/2024

Very few Nebraskans paid their property taxes early enough to claim their 2023 tax refund, being phased out because of a new state law. One who did: Gov. Jim Pillen.

Read the full story 👇

https://buff.ly/4gcJbwU

Story by Yanqi Xu, includes state tool to look up your own results.

Gov. Jim Pillen is one of the few Nebraskans who paid his 2023 property taxes in 2023, a move that allowed those who did to claim a state property tax refund. Anyone who paid their 2023 property taxes in 2024, as most do, can't claim that refund.

12/09/2024

Susie Buffett is already Omaha’s most influential philanthropist, but after her famous father dies, the magnitude of her giving could grow exponentially. She expects her focus to remain local.
Read the full story 👇 https://buff.ly/4gieHc9

Story by Jeremy Turley.

The three Buffett children are set to become some of the most important philanthropists in the world. Susie Buffett says her foundation will continue to focus on Nebraska.

12/08/2024

Creighton volleyball stars Norah Sis and Kendra Wait didn’t have time to agonize over 1 of their only losses on the season. They had patients to take care of the very next morning. “Some days, it’s harder than others,” Wait said.

Read more 👇 https://buff.ly/3VLpBj9

Story by Greg Echlin.

Creighton University is the only top-10 volleyball team in the country with nursing students on its roster. Two of those players face a difficult decision: pursue nursing or take a shot at playing in the pros.

12/06/2024

New @ FFP: A confusing switch to state property tax law means many will save — but many unaware Nebraskans will also lose out in the short term. Read the full story here 👉https://buff.ly/4g32sAE

Story by Yanqi Xu, includes state tool to look up your own results. Photo credit: Staci Blomstedt.

12/05/2024

New : Warren Buffett’s decision to task his three children with donating his fortune after his death will transform them overnight into some of the world’s most influential philanthropists. Will Omaha emerge a big winner?
Read the full story 👉 https://buff.ly/4gieHc9

Story by Jeremy Turley. Photo credit: Charles Sykes.

12/04/2024

New @ FFP: Creighton is the only top-10 volleyball team in the country with nursing students on its roster. Two of those players face a difficult decision: pursue nursing or take a shot at playing in the pros. Read more 👉 https://buff.ly/3VLpBj9

Story by Greg Echlin. Photo credit: Justin Kreutzian.