10/20/21 • Nebraska vaccine data • Nationwide case trends
‘Thriving, Not Just Surviving‘
Every first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m., neighbors from all corners of South Omaha put on their masks at the Salvation Army Kroc Center or turn on their Zoom cameras to join a meeting. The residents come from upward of 35 neighborhood organizations, but collectively they are one force: the South Omaha Neighborhood Alliance, or SONA.
Story by Bridget Fogarty, Report for America Corps Member. Published in The Reader.
Reed Moore’s Daily Rundown
Happy National Day on Writing
Today’s news encourages everyone to turn that blank page into a poem, journal entry or short story: A federal grand jury indicts Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, community members have concerns about a North Omaha church being turned into a residential treatment center for teens, and an Omaha woman is on the road to recovery after being shot at Standing Bear Lake, just days after passing the bar exam.
Harper’s Index Facts of the Day
- Factor by which Americans would prefer working four-day, forty-hour weeks to five-day, forty-hour weeks: 3
- Portion of Americans who think their productivity would improve or remain the same if they worked four-day weeks: 3/4
Source: YouGov
Around Omaha
- A North Omaha church is being turned into a residential treatment center for teenagers battling mental illnesses and substance-use disorders. Community members have concerns.
- Three days after passing the bar exam, Omaha native Shantel Thompson is shot at Standing Bear Lake. According to her law school mentor, Thompson is “resilient” and on the road to recovery.
- “We’re used to being in there 12 hours a day. Now we’re out here”: Get an inside look at what the Kellogg’s strike looks like overnight with this 3 News Now video.
- As the weather gets colder, you can help local kids stay warm with a $20 donation.
- Want to get vaxxed this week? Click the following URL into your browser to view local vaccine clinics: https://fox42kptm.com/news/local/douglas-county-covid-19-vaccine-clinics-the-week-of-october-18.
- Around the Omaha zoo: A baby giraffe is given the name Arthur, and two elephants are pregnant.
Around Nebraska
- Two state senators are trying to get a special legislative session to ban businesses from mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for employees.
- A federal grand jury indicts Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. The Republican congressman is charged with scheming to falsify and conceal information from federal investigators looking into allegedly illegal contributions made to his 2016 campaign. Here’s how Nebraska political insiders are responding.
- Check out the latest on the witness-tampering case involving NU Regent Jack Stark and former Husker fullback Willie Miller.
- KIOS interviews Flatwater Free Press executive director Matt Wynn. The Reader frequently publishes journalism from Flatwater Free Press, the state’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom.
In Your Local Government
A group home to provide health care for youth involved in the justice system gets approval during Tuesday’s Omaha City Council meeting. The City Council also debates agreements with private contractors to oversee snow removal this winter. The Douglas County Board of Commissioners recognizes the 135th anniversary of South Omaha’s incorporation as a municipality and receives a COVID-19 update.
Read local government reporter Anton Johnson’s full article for The Reader here.
Reed Moore’s Thing To Do:
Road Show
Omaha’s favorite peripatetic British artist Steve Joy wanders back in town with Traces, an exhibition of recent work at the Garden of the Zodiac Gallery.
Art feature by Kent Behrens. Published in The Reader.
As the delta variant spreads through the community, remember to get fully vaccinated and mask up — even if you’re fully vaxxed — before going to art shows.
Find more art content here, and check out local guides on our Things To Do page.
The Daily Funny
Click the image to see the full comic from Ted Rall.
