Editor of the Flatwater Free Press. Scribe from Red Cloud. Champion eater of ice cream.https://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3mlnqf4kilk26If you needed a reminder about the flawed but undeniable powerhouse that is American govt funding, top US research universities and cutting-edge private companies. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/health/pancreatic-cancer-daraxonrasib-kras.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share12 May 2026 11:58 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlnqf4kilk26https://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3mcflloupt22vOn the origins of, and Nebraska’s undying love for, pairing chili with a cinnamon roll. [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Jan 2026 17:25 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcflloupt22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3maiwvt2fa222Really proud of this work from Yanqi, and thrilled with the @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social collab with the @nytimes.com to tell an important Nebraska story. [contains quote post or other embedded content]21 Dec 2025 14:35 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3maiwvt2fa222https://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3m7pzr5tmxs2cSuch 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. [contains quote post or other embedded content]11 Dec 2025 16:49 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7pzr5tmxs2chttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3m5ltp6ddqc2aInteresting story to read minutes after I paid $42 for two pounds of coffee beans. (Up roughly 20% at my local coffeeshop this year.) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/us/politics/trump-tariffs-food-prices.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare14 Nov 2025 14:00 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5ltp6ddqc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3m5hpifrfp22sOur little baby is getting so grown up [contains quote post or other embedded content]12 Nov 2025 22:34 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5hpifrfp22shttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3m3bpmfaydk2r“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.” [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 Oct 2025 02:29 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3bpmfaydk2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3m34lm2bigc2vLeft, 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. [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Oct 2025 01:34 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3m34lm2bigc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3m24wkva6hc25Important, heartbreaking story. https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2025/usaid-trump-malaria-hiv-drugs-death/01 Oct 2025 11:25 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3m24wkva6hc25https://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3lyxk4fipo22uWe deported a Russian who stood against Putin and his invasion in Ukraine back to Russia, where he’s now imprisoned. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/world/europe/trump-russia-war-deportations-vovchenko.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare16 Sep 2025 14:34 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyxk4fipo22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3lyigs33ms226A tale of two media ecosystems.10 Sep 2025 14:25 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyigs33ms226https://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3lxzcsfzeyk2gA 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. https://flatwaterfreepress.org/he-aided-a-human-trafficking-investigation-in-omaha-now-hes-facing-deportation/04 Sep 2025 14:03 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxzcsfzeyk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3lwersrxufc25I’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. https://flatwaterfreepress.org/events/flatwater-festival-2025/ [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Aug 2025 16:41 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwersrxufc25https://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3lvswz7eoxk2rArts organizations across Nebraska are feeling the DOGE cuts. New one from our newest correspondent Tynan Stewart, who did really nice work on this one. [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 Aug 2025 14:26 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvswz7eoxk2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3lv6wgsfb5k2cValley 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. [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 Jul 2025 15:22 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lv6wgsfb5k2chttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3ltpehdl2zk2iIn 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. [contains quote post or other embedded content]11 Jul 2025 17:26 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltpehdl2zk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3lt2zi6poec2jBananas 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. [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Jul 2025 15:16 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lt2zi6poec2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3lskbowdc4k2wAttention everyone: I think Carhenge, the weirdest tourism site in Nebraska, might be actually cool now? https://journalstar.com/life-entertainment/local/art-theater/article_f111d36f-1404-4f80-aa0d-8fd5a4701346.html26 Jun 2025 23:28 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lskbowdc4k2whttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3lr52eqqowk2tSure sign of middle age: I have watched CBS Sunday Morning AND 60 Minutes today. It’s the 20th Century Daily Double!08 Jun 2025 23:47 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lr52eqqowk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3lquli7ba6c2dIn Nebraska, you can usually transfer your kid to a nearby public school. Unless your kid has a disability. Then the school’s answer is often no. Important story from @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social and @the74.bsky.social, as reporters Jeremy Turley and Lauren Wagner team up. [contains quote post or other embedded content]05 Jun 2025 14:59 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lquli7ba6c2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/matthewhansen.bsky.social/post/3lqeeaduwts2bProud of Natalia. Proud of her hard, skilled work. Proud we have built a little nonprofit newsroom where skilled, hardworking journalists can tell these stories. [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 May 2025 04:07 +0000at://did:plc:u2dc6tackx5rmytuwtols7eo/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqeeaduwts2b