Schoolyard Fight

by Deb Walters

Half of the non-partisan Omaha Public School Board’s twelve seats are up for election this year. Of the six expiring terms, two subdistricts have uncontested candidates and three subdistricts have two candidates, leaving only one subdistrict with a competitive primary – subdistrict 12.

West Omaha’s Omaha Public School subdistrict 12 has five candidates, three Republicans and two Democrats,...

Turning Over Rocks

by Matt Goodlett

Elisha Yellow Thunder has a very personal reason for her research into mining contamination impacting some of the poorest counties in the country, better known as the Pine Ridge Indian reservation.

Her daughter Laila Pettigrew seems like any other nine-year-old. She smiles a lot, her favorite color is green, she loves to draw and sketch, her favorite food is potatoes, and she wants to be a...

Legislator Versus Executive

by David Williams

Geography quite naturally plays a vital role in politics. When it came time for the respective campaigns to suggest site selections for The Reader to interview Nebraska State Senator Gwen Howard and Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing as they prepare to face off in a May 15 primary for the nod to challenge 13-year incumbent Republican Lee Terry in the 2nd Congressional District House race,...

The High Cost of Transportation

by Jessica Clem-McClaren

Just twenty years ago, getting from the outer suburban edge of Omaha to downtown only took ten minutes. Now, in the time it takes a travel mug of coffee to get cold, an Omaha commuter will still be battling traffic on a typical workday. Coined by the Omaha Chamber of Commerce as the “Twenty Minute City,” most commute times in Omaha range between 24-25 minutes one way, with higher numbers during...

Still Ban HAM from Sex Education

by Warren Francke

One sign-carrying protester proclaimed, “Sex Education isn’t necessary.” The next one added, “Sex isn’t necessary.”

They demonstrated in a cartoon that came with an in-depth look at sex education in Omaha 37 years ago. They caricatured groups opposing sex ed in schools.

Even at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1975, human sexuality course for doctors-to-be was only three years...

Every Child Has A Gift

by Deb Walters

The economic forecast for the Midwest, and Nebraska in particular, is sunny with a chance of profits. For many metro area teachers, this means more choices for a second job. For others it may provide an impetus to exit education altogether.

The money rebound hasn’t made its way into the pockets of local teachers. Last year, Nebraska’s Governor, Dave Heineman, signed a rob Peter to pay Pal law...

Building Community Through History

by Jessica Clem-McClaren

If you have ever participated in a neighborhood cleanup, donated to save a historic building in your area, or traveled to a city just to enjoy its history, you are a member of a specific group. You may not even know it.

These are the acts of Local Preservationists.

According to research from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, there are now 15 million Local Preservationists in the...

The Young and the Talented: Omaha’s Design Innovators

by Jessica Clem-McClaren

On the eve of international designer Bruce Mau’s keynote speech at this year’s Young Professional Summit, The Reader contacted almost two dozen senior designers, professional associations and organizations to find a sampling of the some of the best young design talent in Omaha.

The six designers featured here have traveled the world to become among the best in their field,  from landscape...