Sara Gentzler

Breaking news: Yanqi Xu, FFP senior reporter, is a fellow in the New York Times’ Local Investigations Fellowship. Led by former NYT editor Dean Baquet, the year-long program helps journalists produce investigative work in their state. Let’s hear it for Yanqi!

We’re hiring! The Flatwater Free Press, in partnership with Grist, is seeking a reporter to cover climate change in Nebraska. Learn more: buff.ly/g8va2D3

New at FFP: Nebraska is one of the worst states in the country for Black maternal and infant health. Momentum is building to change that, but new federal policies could threaten that work. 🔗 buff.ly/5vfgZBR

FFP senior reporter Natalia Alamdari, and Marco, are national award winners. "Marco's Journey" won the National Award for Education Reporting. Read "Marco's Journey," Alamdari's national award winner, here 🔗 buff.ly/Hs4aobS

Congratulations, Natalia!

New at FFP: Nebraska Public Power District’s newest land came with an eyebrow raising price tag of $5 million — around five times the assessed value. NPPD said a competing offer drove the price. Experts think if NPPD had used eminent domain, they might have saved millions. 🔗 buff.ly/ZyKcqCb

Ricketts’ Riches: Record election spending shows senator’s family far from done in Nebraska Sen. Pete Rickets and his parents shattered their previous spending records during the recent election cycle. The family spent roughly $1 of every $11 spent by anyone on any Nebraska political race, P...

If you want to read more about it, please check out my friend @saragentzler.bsky.social's story in the Flatwater Free Press: nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news...

As of April, there were no nurses trained and working in abortion at Omaha's Planned Parenthood clinic, employees told me. The political environment is hostile to clinics like this - but employees say the organization has created "a ban of its own."

New story 👇

Where’s the beef? Not all Nebraska producers on board with Pillen’s proposed ‘lab-grown meat’ ban - Flatwater Free Press From the respite of his Callaway office, after a cold January day spent working cattle, Jim Jenkins wrangled with a question: Do you think much about meat

In light of today's debate in the unicameral: Here's my story about Nebraska's proposed ban on "lab-grown meat." flatwaterfreepress.org/people-shoul...

This is why journalists make public record requests: the real worries of policymakers come out in those internal documents. From state-government watchdog reporter Sara Gentzler at Nebraska's Flatwater Free Press: buff.ly/4klFXcQ. @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social @saragentzler.bsky.social

Paid sick leave carveouts for smallest Nebraska businesses, minors, temp ag workers advance • Nebraska Examiner Nebraska state lawmakers advanced a bill that seeks carveouts to a voter-approved paid sick leave law before it takes effect in October.

After a week-long debate — Paid sick leave carveouts for smallest Nebraska businesses, minors, temp ag workers advance in the statehouse.

Via @nebraskaexaminer.com

nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/28/p...

In all my reporting on this, the message from child care providers and parents is clear: Something isn’t working.

This year, there’s also a clear response from most lawmakers and advocates: Don’t expect help from the state this year.

New at FFP: DOGE, the cost-cutting team headed by Elon Musk, has canceled the leases on buildings where Nebraska farmers meet with federal workers, where western Nebraskans get tax help and where tourists to Valentine learn about the Niobrara River. Read more 🔗 buff.ly/5uFMcSy

New at FFP: Their flights were booked. They had signed a lease. They were ready to come to Nebraska. Until President Donald Trump signed an executive order bringing refugee resettlement to a halt. Now, a Syrian family stays stranded in the Middle East. Read the full story → buff.ly/2vombF3

YouTube video by KNEB TV Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen Questioned on Winner Take All and the Nebraska Blue Dot

This is kind of remarkable. Gov. Pillen holds a townhall in the deep red Panhandle, brings up his effort to make Nebraska a winner-take-all state, and gets roundly jeered by the crowd: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWb1...

Records obtained by Flatwater Free Press reveal Nebraska officials worried about far-reaching fallout from the Trump administration’s funding freeze directive, from disaster recovery to aid for mothers and infants.

Read more ➡️ buff.ly/4klFXcQ

New at FFP: In the wake of the Trump administration’s freeze on federal grants, the governor’s office offered a reassuring message. Internal communications paint a more chaotic picture. FFP reporter Sara Gentzler unpacks the story 🔗 buff.ly/4klFXcQ

‘This is wild’: Emails show Trump funding freeze sparked concern in Nebraska state agencies - Flatwater Free Press Records obtained by Flatwater Free Press reveal Nebraska officials worried about far-reaching fallout from the Trump administration’s directive, from disaster recovery to aid for mothers and infants

“I don’t know how much we want to fight to keep it,” a policy adviser to Gov. Pillen wrote of the biggest-ever federal grant to NDEE. “We can use it to benefit farmers and agriculture in the state, but don’t want to run counter to Trump’s Administration.”
flatwaterfreepress.org/this-is-wild...

Launching a starter pack for people looking for Nebraska news. I'll keep it updated as more people come around. Let me know if there's anyone I missed. go.bsky.app/H4vLz4m