Matthew Hansen
@matthewhansen.bsky.social
Editor of the Flatwater Free Press.
Scribe from Red Cloud.
Champion eater of ice cream.
Scribe from Red Cloud.
Champion eater of ice cream.
On the origins of, and Nebraska’s undying love for, pairing chili with a cinnamon roll.
“It came from those Midwest heathens,” “Nope — straight to jail” and “What kind of savage does this” are printable Reddit reactions to chili and cinnamon rolls.
But Nebraskans love it—and proudly claim the dish.
🔗 buff.ly/jtL9z8r
But Nebraskans love it—and proudly claim the dish.
🔗 buff.ly/jtL9z8r
Chili and cinnamon rolls: 'Warm, welcoming and a little unexpected' — just like Nebraska - Flatwater Free Press
“People love a dish with a backstory,” one commenter said. “That’s one of the major appeals to chili and cinnamon rolls. Whether it’s served at school cafeterias or a community supper, it’s…
flatwaterfreepress.org
January 14, 2026 at 5:25 PM
On the origins of, and Nebraska’s undying love for, pairing chili with a cinnamon roll.
Really proud of this work from Yanqi, and thrilled with the @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social collab with the @nytimes.com to tell an important Nebraska story.
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
December 21, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Really proud of this work from Yanqi, and thrilled with the @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social collab with the @nytimes.com to tell an important Nebraska story.
Reposted by Matthew Hansen
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
December 19, 2025 at 2:00 PM
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
Reposted by Matthew Hansen
Did you know: Omaha, Nebraska, has the largest residential lead cleanup site in the U.S. BUT... this year, the Trump admin tripled the amount of lead that had to be in the soil to warrant a potential cleanup, meaning many families may be out of luck. @chrisbowling.bsky.social
The EPA Was Considering a Massive Lead Cleanup in Omaha. Then Trump Shifted Guidance.
The Trump administration says it will speed cleanups, but residents of the largest residential lead Superfund site worry fewer properties will be remediated.
www.propublica.org
December 11, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Did you know: Omaha, Nebraska, has the largest residential lead cleanup site in the U.S. BUT... this year, the Trump admin tripled the amount of lead that had to be in the soil to warrant a potential cleanup, meaning many families may be out of luck. @chrisbowling.bsky.social
Such a crucial and well-written story on how decisions made in DC can greatly affect the lives — and the health of kids — in neighborhoods in faraway Omaha.
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 4:49 PM
Such a crucial and well-written story on how decisions made in DC can greatly affect the lives — and the health of kids — in neighborhoods in faraway Omaha.
Interesting story to read minutes after I paid $42 for two pounds of coffee beans. (Up roughly 20% at my local coffeeshop this year.) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
Trump Administration Prepares Tariff Exemptions in Bid to Lower Food Prices
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Interesting story to read minutes after I paid $42 for two pounds of coffee beans. (Up roughly 20% at my local coffeeshop this year.) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
Reposted by Matthew Hansen
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
November 13, 2025 at 4:30 PM
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
Our little baby is getting so grown up
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
November 12, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Our little baby is getting so grown up
Reposted by Matthew Hansen
New at FFP: UNL’s Statistics Department is 1 of 6 programs set to close under proposed budget cuts. But stats professors say there’s a glaring problem: UNL used flawed data to determine which departments to slash. 🔗 buff.ly/o6onFrl
October 17, 2025 at 4:02 PM
New at FFP: UNL’s Statistics Department is 1 of 6 programs set to close under proposed budget cuts. But stats professors say there’s a glaring problem: UNL used flawed data to determine which departments to slash. 🔗 buff.ly/o6onFrl
“In both cases, YRTC leaders learned of the alleged misconduct months earlier, but the state didn’t disclose it to probation officials, the boys’ attorneys or the judge.”
New at FFP: Two staff members at a state-run center for troubled kids have resigned following allegations that they had sexual contact with teens in their custody. Another is on leave, and one woman has been criminally charged. 🔗 buff.ly/MYjkh5X
October 16, 2025 at 2:29 AM
“In both cases, YRTC leaders learned of the alleged misconduct months earlier, but the state didn’t disclose it to probation officials, the boys’ attorneys or the judge.”
Left, right, middle, up, down, sideways…there’s only one thing for actual honest to goodness media to do here, and I don’t give a good goddamn who the president is.
The answer, always: No.
The answer, always: No.
Two conservative newsrooms — Newsmax and the Washington Times — so far have joined a slew of national news organizations in refusing to sign an agreement with the Pentagon that could limit journalists' rights to gather or report information not officially authorized for release.
News outlets broadly reject Pentagon's new press rules
The Pentagon said reporters would need to sign a pledge committing to its rules in order to maintain their press credentials.
www.axios.com
October 14, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Left, right, middle, up, down, sideways…there’s only one thing for actual honest to goodness media to do here, and I don’t give a good goddamn who the president is.
The answer, always: No.
The answer, always: No.
Important, heartbreaking story.
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Trump’s USAID pause stranded lifesaving drugs. Children died waiting.
USAID antimalarial and HIV supplies valued at nearly $140 million were delayed in the first half of the year or not delivered at all due to the Trump administration’s foreign aid pause, The Post found...
www.washingtonpost.com
October 1, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Important, heartbreaking story.
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
We deported a Russian who stood against Putin and his invasion in Ukraine back to Russia, where he’s now imprisoned. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/w...
He Fled Putin’s War. The U.S. Deported Him to a Russian Jail.
www.nytimes.com
September 16, 2025 at 2:34 PM
We deported a Russian who stood against Putin and his invasion in Ukraine back to Russia, where he’s now imprisoned. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/w...
A tale of two media ecosystems.
September 10, 2025 at 2:25 PM
A tale of two media ecosystems.
A Venezuelan man in Nebraska awaiting an asylum case helped the U.S. government bust up a giant human trafficking ring.
They arrested him anyway. Now he’s likely to be deported.
@flatwaterfreep.bsky.social story from Jeremy Turkey and Emily Wolf.
flatwaterfreepress.org/he-aided-a-h...
They arrested him anyway. Now he’s likely to be deported.
@flatwaterfreep.bsky.social story from Jeremy Turkey and Emily Wolf.
flatwaterfreepress.org/he-aided-a-h...
He aided a human trafficking investigation in Omaha. Now, he’s facing deportation. - Flatwater Free Press
Two weeks before police and federal agents streamed into the New Victorian Inn and Suites to bust an alleged human trafficking ring, Eudis Cuéllar
flatwaterfreepress.org
September 4, 2025 at 2:03 PM
A Venezuelan man in Nebraska awaiting an asylum case helped the U.S. government bust up a giant human trafficking ring.
They arrested him anyway. Now he’s likely to be deported.
@flatwaterfreep.bsky.social story from Jeremy Turkey and Emily Wolf.
flatwaterfreepress.org/he-aided-a-h...
They arrested him anyway. Now he’s likely to be deported.
@flatwaterfreep.bsky.social story from Jeremy Turkey and Emily Wolf.
flatwaterfreepress.org/he-aided-a-h...
I’m interviewing Dean Baquet onstage on Sept 27 during FlatFest, the best journalism party in the Great Plains. We are 3/4 sold out…grab your tickets today, support the mission of nonprofit news and join the fun. flatwaterfreepress.org/events/flatw...
August 14, 2025 at 4:41 PM
I’m interviewing Dean Baquet onstage on Sept 27 during FlatFest, the best journalism party in the Great Plains. We are 3/4 sold out…grab your tickets today, support the mission of nonprofit news and join the fun. flatwaterfreepress.org/events/flatw...
Arts organizations across Nebraska are feeling the DOGE cuts. New one from our newest correspondent Tynan Stewart, who did really nice work on this one.
New at FFP: Federal funding cuts earlier this year landed like a half-million-dollar gut punch at Humanities Nebraska — one of at least a dozen arts and cultural organizations facing financial uncertainty in the state. 🔗 buff.ly/tzLIOHK
Story by Tynan Stewart.
Story by Tynan Stewart.
August 7, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Arts organizations across Nebraska are feeling the DOGE cuts. New one from our newest correspondent Tynan Stewart, who did really nice work on this one.
Valley is using public tax $ to build new neighborhoods with multi-million dollar homes & private lakes off limit to the city’s other residents.
It may have fueled growth in one of Nebraska’s fastest growing cities. But state leaders and experts think this use of tax increment financing looks fishy.
It may have fueled growth in one of Nebraska’s fastest growing cities. But state leaders and experts think this use of tax increment financing looks fishy.
New at FFP: They were “blighted” pits or open fields. Now they’re lakefront neighborhoods attracting new residents and supercharging property values in Valley. Millions in tax breaks made it happen. Years later, some wonder: was it a fair deal? 🔗 buff.ly/su8AiNs
July 30, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Valley is using public tax $ to build new neighborhoods with multi-million dollar homes & private lakes off limit to the city’s other residents.
It may have fueled growth in one of Nebraska’s fastest growing cities. But state leaders and experts think this use of tax increment financing looks fishy.
It may have fueled growth in one of Nebraska’s fastest growing cities. But state leaders and experts think this use of tax increment financing looks fishy.
Reposted by Matthew Hansen
It’s time for Nebraska’s best journalism party. It’s the 3rd annual FlatFest, a Sept. 17 afternoon and evening where we put journalism on stage – and give you the mic. Learn more, buy tickets and register here. 🔗 buff.ly/gtCb0nV
July 28, 2025 at 3:00 PM
It’s time for Nebraska’s best journalism party. It’s the 3rd annual FlatFest, a Sept. 17 afternoon and evening where we put journalism on stage – and give you the mic. Learn more, buy tickets and register here. 🔗 buff.ly/gtCb0nV
Reposted by Matthew Hansen
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
July 25, 2025 at 8:00 PM
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
Reposted by Matthew Hansen
What’s a Runza? Why do Nebraskans call it that? The answer goes back a few hundred years and thousands of miles from the first Lincoln restaurant. FFP reporter Natalia Alamdari explains our beloved pocket o’ meat. 🔗 buff.ly/oV5boL3
July 16, 2025 at 2:30 PM
What’s a Runza? Why do Nebraskans call it that? The answer goes back a few hundred years and thousands of miles from the first Lincoln restaurant. FFP reporter Natalia Alamdari explains our beloved pocket o’ meat. 🔗 buff.ly/oV5boL3
In the year 2000, there were exactly zero Dollar Generals in small town Nebraska. (Or really in any small town anywhere, I suspect.)
Today: There are 115 in small-town Nebraska alone.
Today: There are 115 in small-town Nebraska alone.
New at FFP: 25 years ago, you couldn’t find a Dollar General outside of Omaha and Lincoln. Now, they’re a fixture of small-town Nebraska — as local grocery stores continue to disappear. 🔗 buff.ly/XL9g8eU
July 11, 2025 at 5:26 PM
In the year 2000, there were exactly zero Dollar Generals in small town Nebraska. (Or really in any small town anywhere, I suspect.)
Today: There are 115 in small-town Nebraska alone.
Today: There are 115 in small-town Nebraska alone.
Bananas story out of Sarpy County, where the county attorney has filed a lawsuit against the county board — the board thar controls the county attorney’s purse strings.
The Sarpy County Board of Commissioners wanted him fired. His boss, the county attorney, refused. Seven months later, a top prosecutor accused of misconduct is being paid not to work as a legal fight continues, costing taxpayers at least $300,000. 🔗 buff.ly/Ai8phOO
July 3, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Bananas story out of Sarpy County, where the county attorney has filed a lawsuit against the county board — the board thar controls the county attorney’s purse strings.
Attention everyone: I think Carhenge, the weirdest tourism site in Nebraska, might be actually cool now? journalstar.com/life-enterta...
June 26, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Attention everyone: I think Carhenge, the weirdest tourism site in Nebraska, might be actually cool now? journalstar.com/life-enterta...
Sure sign of middle age: I have watched CBS Sunday Morning AND 60 Minutes today.
It’s the 20th Century Daily Double!
It’s the 20th Century Daily Double!
June 8, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Sure sign of middle age: I have watched CBS Sunday Morning AND 60 Minutes today.
It’s the 20th Century Daily Double!
It’s the 20th Century Daily Double!