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Past Union President, Now Running for Sheriff, Was Deemed to Have Used Excessive Force. Then Omaha’s Police Chief Stepped in.

by Chris Bowling October 18, 2022April 21, 2025

This story is a collaboration between The Omaha Reader and Flatwater Free Press. Sgt. Aaron Hanson, a former president of Omaha’s police union, used excessive force when he kneed an already-handcuffed Omaha man, the Omaha Police Department’s Safety Review Board unanimously decided in 2018. The board recommended a low-level punishment. But that punishment never happened. […]

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The Reader is a Finalist for Five National Journalism Awards

by Reed Moore May 29, 2023

The Omaha Reader is up for five national journalism awards from the Association for Alternative Newsmedia, including recognition for three stories reported and published in collaboration with local, state and national newsrooms. The Association for Alternative Newsmedia is a national organization made up of more than 100 independent news organizations throughout the country. The Reader […]

Awards

Local and Independent Online News Awards 2021 2021 Best Solutions Project of the Year (Presented by Solutions Journalism Network) Winner: “The Fight to Change Social Studies in Nebraska,” which demonstrated how people saw inequities in the state’s education standards and materials, and why they needed to change. Great Plains Journalism Awards 2021 (Winner) Business Feature: Chris […]