A novel got its author run out of Lincoln. Nearly a century later, the city is giving the story a second chance.

A new theatrical adaptation of Mari Sandoz’s “Capital City” is set to premiere at the Lied Center in Lincoln.

By Tynan Stewart, Flatwater Free Press

It was the summer of 1940, and Mari Sandoz was done with Lincoln. 

The Nebraska-born author, who had lived in the capital off and on since 1919, denied her upcoming move to Denver meant she was “running away,” telling the Omaha World-Herald she was relocating to research her next book. But Sandoz also admitted that, yes, she had been getting angry phone calls for months. She had been hissed at and spit on in public. Someone had even slipped a threatening note under her door. She later described the contents to a reporter: “‘Better lay low. You’re the next candidate for a concentration camp.’”

The harassment started shortly after the publication of Sandoz’s second novel, “Capital City,” in 1939. The book, which satirized the politics and society of a fictional Midwestern college town that closely resembled Lincoln, sold poorly but aroused the ire of her neighbors with its scathing depiction of a citizenry sympathetic to fascist movements in Europe.

“Sandoz was essentially run out of town for writing this book,” said Karim Muasher, an actor and theater director.

While Sandoz never moved back to Lincoln, her novel will soon have a second shot in the Star City thanks to Muasher and his co-artistic director, Carrie Brown. Their New York-based theater company, Animal Engine, is producing a stage adaptation of “Capital City” that will premiere at the Lied Center on April 9. Muasher and Brown, along with their occasional collaborator Jay Dunn, wrote the script, designed the set and will also star in the production.

The Lied approached Animal Engine a few years ago to commission a Nebraska-focused work. Sandoz, as a historically significant Nebraska author, was a clear choice, and eventually they settled on “Capital City.”

“We were just completely taken by how relevant and modern the book felt,” Muasher said. “It really felt like it was written in the current day.”

After premiering in Lincoln, Animal Engine’s production of “Capital City” will also visit Fremont, Falls City and Auburn as part of the Lied Center’s Arts Across Nebraska program, which aims to increase access to the performing arts in the state’s rural areas. The center is also working with the Lancaster County Youth Services Center to stream a performance for incarcerated kids and to organize an in-person Q&A with the artists.

INFO BOX: Upcoming performances

April 9-12 – Lied Center, Lincoln

April 14 – Fremont Opera House, Fremont

April 16 – Prichard Auditorium, Falls City; 7:00 PM

April 17 – Auburn Public Schools Central Office Auditorium, Auburn

More information at www.liedcenter.org/education/arts-across-nebraska

Jane Schiermeyer Hansen, director of education and community engagement at the Lied Center, said the performing arts center tries to prioritize works with a connection to Nebraska whenever it can.

“I think Nebraskans are really interested in Nebraska stories,” she said.

Is ‘Capital City’ really about Lincoln?

Technically, the novel that ruined Sandoz’s reputation in Lincoln isn’t set in Lincoln — or even Nebraska, for that matter.

The story actually takes place in Franklin, a fictional city in the imaginary state of Kanewa, a portmanteau of Kansas-Nebraska-Iowa. Sandoz, who was known for conducting intensive research for her books, studied multiple state capitals in the Midwest, including Des Moines, Topeka and Jefferson City. Her fictional capital also has aspects seemingly borrowed from Omaha, such as an annual coronation of upper-class socialites as “the emperor and empress of the land of Kanewa” — possibly modeled on a similar ceremony organized by the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben.

“She had no one capital city in mind, but wanted to reveal what she saw as a trend in the capital cities of the Middle West, towns that produced little, that had little commerce, but lived off the state capitol and the adjacent university — parasites, just as Washington, D.C., seemed to her the archparasite,” wrote Helen Winter Stauffer, a longtime University of Nebraska at Kearney professor, in her biography of Sandoz, “Mari Sandoz: Story Catcher of the Plains.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msNHusaDuAE 

Despite Sandoz’s repeated assertions that “Capital City” was allegorical and not modeled on any single location, some Lincolnites didn’t believe her. A 1939 review in the Nebraska State Journal observed that the book contained “many men and women who will be recognized, rightly or wrongly, by many readers.” It also didn’t help that Sandoz borrowed one of Lincoln’s most distinctive landmarks — a capitol building with a “high white tower.”

Brown, who grew up in Lincoln and studied theater at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said she immediately recognized the setting.

“When I read it, there was, like, no doubt in my mind,” Brown said. “This is not an amalgamation. This is just Lincoln. There’s nothing about the city that isn’t Lincoln.”

‘Rhyming with the present day’

Although the backlash to “Capital City” was ugly and excessive, it’s not hard to see why some residents resented Sandoz. It wasn’t just the novel. As she was planning her move to Denver, Sandoz told a reporter: “I don’t like Lincoln, and that is no secret. But I didn’t like it 20 years ago.”

Sandoz was also an unapologetic liberal, sympathetic to the labor movement and the poor, while Lincoln was at the time decidedly conservative. (Lancaster was one of only two counties in Nebraska that voted for Republican Herbert Hoover in the 1932 presidential election.) “Capital City” is a harsh portrayal of both local and state politics and ends with the election of a demagogic far-right governor who declares martial law and deploys the National Guard, though most of the populace is too preoccupied with a college football game to notice or care.

Lincoln’s political leanings have shifted in the decades since, if not its obsession with football. But many of the novel’s themes still feel timely.

“We were really excited by the historical time period and by the parallels that we can find between the late ‘30s and now,” Muasher said. “They say that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes, and this book is definitely rhyming with the present day.”

Muasher said the story’s association with Lincoln is ultimately a positive thing for local audiences, and he hopes people who have read “Capital City” will come out to see the play.

“What you’re gonna see on stage is actually inspired in part by the place that you live in,” Muasher said. “The fact that it’s a historical piece I think is gonna dull some of the hurt feelings.”

A return to the Lied Center

This won’t be Animal Engine’s first time performing in Lincoln.

In 2023, the theater company brought its original play “Henrietta Solway,” which is based on the fiction of Willa Cather, to the Lied Center, kicking off the relationship that would lead to their current collaboration. Before that, Muasher and Brown visited the city for a high school tour with their show “Petunia and Chicken,” another adaptation of Cather’s work.

“I got to go back to Northeast (High School) and perform for my drama teacher, which was really cool,” Brown said.

Performing at the Lied Center is particularly special for Brown. Her family first moved to Lincoln in 1993 when she was 10, and she remembers the performing arts center as a formative part of her childhood. At the time, it was still relatively new, having opened in 1990.

“We had some family friends that lived in Lincoln, and the Lied Center was one of the first places that they pointed out to us,” she said. “In some ways, performing at the Lied Center is just as cool for me as opening up on Broadway.”

Last summer, Animal Engine visited Lincoln for a few weeks to work on the production of “Capital City,” and Brown found herself pointing out familiar places to Muasher and Dunn.

“If I hadn’t grown up in Lincoln, I don’t think I would have seen so much in the book as I did,” Brown said.

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

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The training will be held at Nebraska ESU 4, 2301 Dahlke Ave, Auburn, NE 68305. 8:00am – 5:00 pm on April 14. 

7.8 hours of Continuing Education Contact Hours awarded by Iowa Western Community College, Iowa Board of Nursing Provider #6.

This interactive session will provide participants with essential knowledge and practical tools to better serve those who have served. Key topics include:

The No Wrong Door approach emphasizes that every point of contact—whether in healthcare, education, social services, or the broader community—plays a vital role in connecting veterans and their families to the help they need. Participants will leave better equipped to respond with confidence, compassion, and competence.

This training is ideal for professionals across sectors, as well as community members committed to supporting veterans.

Cost is $20.00, payable at the door. Please email Jill Kuzelka at jjstnc@diodecom.net to reserve your spot

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Rather than scale back, The Falls City Chamber & Main Street chose to shift focus and resources towards a new community celebration. Organizers are excited to announce a brand-new 4th of July Celebration in partnership with the Falls City Area Jaycees and American Legion Post 102, commemorating America’s 250th Anniversary in 2026. This once-in-a-generation milestone provides the perfect opportunity for Falls City to come together in a meaningful and memorable way.

The main event will take place at the Jaycees Community Field south of Falls City and will feature Extreme Bull Riding presented by Double S Bull Company, followed by live music and a community fireworks display presented by the American Legion. Up to 36 bull riders are expected to compete for prize money, bringing high-energy action to the celebration. Family-friendly activities will also be part of the event, including mutton bustin’ and other interactive opportunities designed to engage spectators of all ages.

Organizers are committed to making the celebration a true community-wide event and are encouraging local organizations, businesses, and groups to join in by hosting activities, promotions, or special events of their own throughout the day. New ideas and partnerships are welcome, and those interested in participating are encouraged to contact Amber at the Falls City Chamber & Main Street office at 402-245-4228 to discuss opportunities.

Sponsorship opportunities will be available for the event, and the Chamber & Main Street is also accepting private donations to help support the community fireworks display. Tax-deductible donations may be mailed to the Falls City Chamber & Main Street, 1705 Stone Street, Falls City, NE, with checks payable to the Falls City Chamber.

Additional details about the 4th of July Celebration will be announced in the coming weeks as planning continues for what promises to be an unforgettable way to honor America’s 250th birthday in Falls City.

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By Sarah Baker Hansen 

Flatwater Free Press

The Reuben sandwich — Omaha’s own sandwich — is simple. Just five ingredients: bread, kraut, cheese, dressing and corned beef. 

Countless Omaha restaurants serve 100 versions of it at Irish pubs, high-end spots and your average bar and grill.

It’s partly because it was invented here. And it’s partly because the Reuben has a complexity of flavor that still has appeal nearly a century after a young Omaha chef first made it.

“It has everything. It’s got sweet, salty, savory, briny, crunchy,” said chef Paul Urban, who co-owns downtown’s Block 16 and has served a Reuben regularly off and on for years. “The Reuben gets a pass with everybody. It’s the perfect sandwich.”

So, it only makes sense that during the week of St. Patrick’s Day and the launch of the annual Sarah Baker Hansen and Flatwater Free Press food bracket, we decided to embark on a mini-tour of Reubens around town.

After all, the bracket this year is meant to pick the best sandwich in all of Omaha and Lincoln. It feels like we should start with the hometown sandwich. 

The lineup of Reubens I tried included two old faves of mine and two new-to-me versions I’d heard a lot about. And there was much variety among those four sandwiches despite their succinct list of ingredients.

The corner of 38th and Farnam is the most important spot to the lore of the Reuben, because it’s where the sandwich was invented. (I’m no longer trifling with those persistent and pesky claims that it was invented in New York City.)

Here’s the history, as I’ve written before: Reuben Kulakofsky was one of a group of men who played a late-night poker game at the Blackstone Hotel in the 1920s. Charles Schimmel, the hotel’s owner, was in the game, too. Each time they played, the men would reserve a few nickels and dimes from each hand and call down to the kitchen for a midnight snack.

Bernard Schimmel, one of Charles’ sons and a chef at the hotel, would bring a variety of meats and breads to the men, and they’d make their own sandwiches. Kulakofsky came up with a sandwich that everyone loved. The group called it the Reuben.

Charles Schimmel liked Reuben’s sandwich so much that he put it on the hotel menu. A listing from 1934 says “Reuben Sandwich, 40 cents.” (As far as we know, this is also the first-ever menu that features the sandwich, pre-dating claims that the sandwich originated at a New York restaurant.)

Bernard Schimmel wrote the recipe down the exact way he made it in the kitchen at the Blackstone. The Junior League of Omaha preserved his recipe and instructions and later published the recipe in one of its charitable cookbooks. That recipe is similar to what the Cottonwood Hotel – the renamed and reopened hotel where it was first made –  uses today, though they have made some upgrades.

Inside the Orleans Room, one of Cottonwood’s two restaurants, executive chef Brandon Kalfut uses a typed version of the Reuben recipe, which the hotel still has. Tender beef brisket gets vacuum packed in brine for a month, then cooked for at least 12 hours. The pickled cabbage gets its own salt bath. The Russian dressing is made from scratch. The dark rye bread comes from Omaha’s Rotella’s Bakery.

The $16 sandwich employs just a hint of mustard — an inclusion that departs from the original recipe — that works to balance the heavy richness of the rest of the ingredients: shaved corned beef, tangy sauerkraut, Gruyere cheese (instead of the traditional Emmental) and creamy Thousand Island dressing, all grilled to a perfect sear on pumpernickel rye.

I had a hard time even detecting the mustard, and may not have known it was there had it not been listed on the menu. The cheese, like the original selection, is understated and melts wonderfully, sinking into the meat and onto the bread.

Across the street is the Crescent Moon, where for decades the kitchen has put out what many, including this writer, consider to be one of the city’s best Reubens. The corned beef inside a Reuben comes primarily in two styles: chunks or slices. The Moon is, and always has been, in the chunky camp.

I think the Moon Reuben, $13.99, is still quite good, though, over the years, I think it has gotten saucier than it used to be. In fact, I might call it a touch too saucy these days. In several bites of the sandwich, served on a thicker slice of marble rye, the kraut and dressing overwhelmed the briny tang of the corned beef. When you do get a chunk of corned beef, it’s good. 

(Have a favorite Reuben? Vote for it, and your favorite sandwich in seven other categories, in this year’s SBH and Flatwater Free Press Food Bracket.)

Across town at Sean O’Casey’s Pub, off 144th and West Center, the Reuben is a double-decker situation, with an extra grilled slice of marble rye in between layers of sliced corned beef and what feels like a higher ratio of melted Swiss cheese. The kraut and Thousand Island are more restrained in this version, which is $12.99, and the corned beef is plentiful. 

Fun fact: Every Thursday, the kitchen puts out a corned beef, cabbage and potato dinner, in case you have that craving all year long.

The final Reuben we tried was at Paddy McGown’s, an Irish pub near 45th and Center Streets. For the pub version of the sandwich, this one is killer: Hot, melty and stacked with meat. I appreciate that here, the meat is the star of the show, and outweighed both kraut and cheese. I also have to recommend the bar’s version of a Reuben egg roll — a dish that first popped on my Omaha bar food radar a while ago, but one I’d not tried until writing this story. The filling has all the classic Reuben flavors stuffed inside a super crispy roll with a side of tangy Russian dressing for a dipper. Sounds weird. Tastes great.

Urban said St. Patrick’s Day marks the high point of Reuben season at Block 16, and that beloved Omaha joint puts time and effort into the sandwich to celebrate. The restaurant brines corned beef for 10 days, rests it for a day, then braises it in beer for about 12 hours at low temperature.

They slice it – no shredding here – then finish it on the flat top for a light sear. The goal is “melt in your mouth but not fall apart,” Urban says, preserving a slight bite while ensuring tenderness. The kitchen cooks cabbage with salt pork, braised pork, onion, garlic, vinegar, plus bacon for a smoky finish. Together, these techniques, he said, give the sandwich depth.

“It’s not healthy,” he said, “but that’s not really the point.” 

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

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The Falls City Fire Department, Falls City Rural Fire, Falls City Ambulance, and Falls City Police, responded to a structure fire shortly after 6:00 p.m. on Friday to 2616 Hiland Ave. The owners Merle & Sara Veigel, had just returned home after being gone not less than two hours and found the smoke detectors going off and the house completly full of smoke. Both departments responded with a total of twenty-five firemen who donned SCBA’s, as they made entry though the garage walk-in door with two attack lines working their way into the home as heavy fire was found on the south part of the 1^st floor office area.  A five-inch water supply was laid from the hydrant two blocks north. Exhaust fans were deployed to pull the smoke out to reduce the heat which had built up in the second floor, windows were open and thermal cameras were used to detect any fire spread. A Nebraska State Fire Marshal was called and arrived around 10:00 p.m. The fire remains under investigation by him and appears to be electrical in origin. Falls City Utilities were called to assist at the scene. No injuries were reported and firemen remained on the scene until after 11:00 p.m. and released the property back to its owners who were in contact with their insurance company to determine its loss.

-Jon McQueen, Public Information Officer for FCFD.

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“Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half, as you only have about two minutes to safely get out,” said Vanessa Valdez, Regional Communications Manager for the Texas Gulf Coast Region. “Every second counts when there’s a home fire, and the sooner an alarm alerts you to a fire, the sooner you can get to a safer place.”

Home fires are most of the disasters that we respond to every eight minutes in the U.S. Day and night, we provide comfort and address people’s urgent needs like food, lodging and recovery support.

SMOKE ALARMS When turning your clocks forward this weekend, test your smoke alarms and replace the batteries if needed. Visit redcross.org/fire for more information, including an escape plan to create and practice with your family, or download the free Red Cross Emergency app by searching “American Red Cross” in app stores.

• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas.
• Replace smoke alarms that are 10 years or older. Components such as sensors can become less sensitive over time. Follow your alarm’s manufacturer instructions.
• Practice your two-minute home fire escape plan. Make sure everyone in your household can get out in less than two minutes — the amount of time you may have to escape a burning home before it’s too late.
• Include at least two ways to get out of every room and select a meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home, such as your neighbor’s home or landmark like a specific tree in your front yard, where everyone can meet.

HOME FIRE CAMPAIGN SAVES LIVES Since October 2014, the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, working with community partners, has saved at least 2,577 lives by educating families about fire safety, helping them create escape plans and installing free smoke alarms in high-risk areas across the country. To learn more about the campaign and how you can get involved, visit redcross.org/homefires.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or follow us on social media. 

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Incumbents are denoted with an asterisk. Partisan offices are identified by party affiliation.

The Richardson County Commissioner District 1 seat is up for a four year term. Shawn Fouraker, Republican, has filed for the position. District 1 serves the portion of Falls City Ward 2 lying south of 22nd Street and all of Falls City Wards 3 and 4.

Candidates who have filed for countywide offices include Kimberly L. Riggs*, Republican, for county assessor, Samantha Scheitel*, Republican, for county attorney, Mary L. Eickhoff*, Republican, for county clerk register of deeds, Kerry K. Fritz, Republican, for county clerk of district court, and Amanda Bartek Ramsey*, Republican, for county treasurer.

Two candidates have filed for Richardson County sheriff. They are Rick Hardesty*, Republican, and Nicholas C. Aitken, Republican.

Robert Tichy*, Republican, has filed for county surveyor.

School Districts 56 and 70 each have three positions up for election this year, with up to six candidates to be considered for nomination at the May 12 primary and then voted upon at the November general election.

Candidates filing for School District 56 four year terms are Cassondra A. Goff*, Teresa Olberding*, and Anthony S. Johnansen*.

Candidates filing for School District 70 four year terms are Neal A. Kanel*, Heath Finke, David A. Mezger*, and Ashley Shupp.

Municipal races are also on the ballot in Falls City and Humboldt.

In Falls City, four candidates have filed for mayor. They are Kenny Killingsworth, Kevin Malone, Dennis Miller and Mark A. Galaska. Incumbent Mark Harkendorff withdrew his name from the race on Thursday, Feb. 26.

Candidates filing for Falls City Council are Don Ferguson* and Mark Lowe for Ward I, Sean Nolte, Terry Kermoade and Robert D. Olberding for Ward II, John Nixon for Ward III, and Rick Lemerond and Bing Bindrum for Ward IV.

In Humboldt, candidates filing for mayor are Jan Wilhelm*, Ted B. Schuler, James Cherry and Kevin Burnison.

City council candidates in Humboldt include Jaymie Nolte* and Barbara J. Dettmann for Ward I and Richard Davis* for Ward II.

Two seats are also up for election on the Falls City Airport Authority for six year terms. Candidates who have filed are Dave Mullins* and Brandon J. Keithley*.

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Flatwater Free Press

Samantha Nieman began visiting the cannabis store Plant’d Farma and its next-door cocktail lounge, The Garden, after gravitating away from alcohol. She still wanted to enjoy the social scene and events she often found centered on drinking.

Here, at a sleek bar counter in Omaha’s Old Market, she can pick from a rotating menu of handcrafted, photo-worthy drinks that echo classic bar staples, like margaritas or old fashioneds, but ones made with non-alcoholic, THC-infused spirits instead of alcohol. 

These THC-infused cocktails are one of many options Nieman can get at Plant’d Farma, which also offers other hemp-derived cannabis products like vapes, gummies and colorful prepackaged drinks.

“I don’t want to miss out on experiences, but the bars and stuff that do offer an alternative, like Plant’d Farma, that keeps me on those goals,” Nieman said.

Nebraska doesn’t allow sales of marijuana for recreational use and has no state-licensed dispensaries, although its voters overwhelmingly approved legalizing medical cannabis in 2024. The state’s slow rollout of a medical cannabis program has faced criticism for its restrictive nature and frequent delays. 

At the same time, more and more Nebraska businesses are selling hemp-derived cannabis products — often with THC levels that can produce the same psychoactive, intoxicating effects as marijuana.

THC-infused beverages in particular have become mainstream in Nebraska restaurants, bars and stores — including in major retail chains like Total Wine & More — where seltzers, lemonades, sodas and flavored waters come with a THC option. 

A pivotal piece of the 2018 Farm Bill reclassified hemp and legalized it on a federal level — making the THC drinks now served across Nebraska permissible if derived from hemp even though marijuana is illegal. But that may change later this year with a federal ban of intoxicating hemp products set to take effect in November.

The Platypus and Tiny House Bars, sister spots in Omaha’s Little Bohemia neighborhood, began selling THC drinks around six months ago in response to the high demand, managing partner Megan Malone said.

With eclectic wallpaper and cozy lighting, both bars offer an extensive selection of THC-infused products such as craft cocktails, canned beverages and gummies.

“Nebraska’s youth really is looking for alternatives to alcohol and just wants to feel some sort of progress,” Malone said.

This trend is not unique to Nebraska. Sales of THC beverages topped $1 billion nationwide in 2024, with that market expected to balloon to more than $5 billion by 2035, according to estimates by Whitney Economics, a cannabis and hemp business consulting and research firm.

It comes at a time when cannabis use in the U.S. is growing rapidly, outpacing daily or near daily alcohol-consumption, while the number of people in the U.S. who reported drinking alcohol hit a record low last year.

Jeff Dingman, the technical sales manager at SC Labs, a cannabis- and hemp-testing company, has heard firsthand how brewers have been saved by incorporating hemp beverages into their businesses.

In the past year, he said, the number of brewers he works with has grown from a dozen to around 100. 

“The largest portion of our hemp business is beverages at this point,” Dingman said.

Christopher Lackner, who founded the Hemp Beverage Alliance around three years ago, said his group has since expanded from eight to 375 members. 

Hemp comes from the same cannabis plant species as marijuana. The 2018 Farm Bill defined hemp as separate from marijuana if it contains no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. Anything above that is considered marijuana. 

Delta-9 THC is one of the most abundant and well known of the hundreds of compounds that naturally exist in cannabis.

THC works by binding to receptors throughout a person’s brain and central nervous system, so the “high” feeling impacts everyone differently — the euphoric effects some people experience could easily cause an anxious or negative response in someone else. 

Nieman said the THC drinks tend to make her feel light and relaxed. 

Malone said customers who drink THC beverages tend to become mellow, while higher use may make people tired. In her experience using the beverages, she has found them to be easier than other THC products in terms of controlling the dosage. 

Andrea Holmes, a professor at Doane University who holds a doctorate in organic chemistry, said any beverage product tends to be more efficiently absorbed into the body than edibles. Holmes is also a partner at Kind Life Dispensary in Lincoln.

This means THC beverages are processed more quickly and often affect a person faster than edibles, but their effects likely won’t last as long as edibles’ effects. Smokable THC products tend to have a quicker onset and duration than both.

Even though the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the hemp plant — which is regulated by the Department of Agriculture during production — there is no federal framework for end products like THC drinks, Lackner said. 

“If you could, imagine that flour is completely legal but the (Food and Drug Administration) hasn’t ruled on what to do with bread,” he said. “You know, that’s the challenge.”

These regulatory gaps have drawn national scrutiny in recent years over consumer safety concerns. A little-noticed provision included in the bill passed last year to end the longest federal government shutdown in history would essentially redefine hemp and ban all intoxicating hemp products currently on the market.

This would mean the THC products lining the aisles at places like Total Wine & More and drinks served at Nebraska bars and restaurants would suddenly become illegal come November.

But it’s possible the landscape will change before then. An amendment introduced to Congress in January would delay the ban by two years — giving the industry time to push federal regulations for these products rather than a full stop. 

Some states have already adopted their own regulations around hemp products, including bans, age restrictions and labeling and testing requirements.

In Nebraska, state lawmakers have introduced bills to either ban or regulate intoxicating hemp products. None have passed, meaning there are few requirements to ensure product safety or age-based restrictions beyond what the businesses themselves establish.

Malone said she has received zero guidance or regulations for rolling out her bars’ THC products, but that a ban seems like a step backward. 

She said she finds it strange that offering these alternatives in bars is viewed negatively, especially with all the known adverse health effects and risks of alcohol consumption. Many of her customers seem disappointed at the possibility of these options disappearing, she said.

Most states have no permit process licensing people to sell hemp-derived THC beverages, said Marshall Custer, a Denver-based partner in the Husch Blackwell law firm who co-leads the firm’s cannabis practice. 

Beyond the federal definition of hemp, “there’s almost nothing out there. It’s really just ‘best practices’ that guides what you’re supposed to and should not sell,” Custer said. “There is absolutely increased liability for selling these products … it’s still an intoxicating product, not dissimilar from anything that you would buy at a state-regulated marijuana dispensary.”

Hemp beverages are generally made in large-scale batches without sampling or testing protocols, which creates huge potential for variations across products, said Dingman from the cannabis- and hemp-testing lab service.

And in most states, testing standards for hemp beverages are left to the manufacturers or brewers themselves, Dingman said, who can choose whether to test them for things like solvents, pesticides, contaminants or other byproducts.

“There’s a lot of potential to have heavy metals or pesticides still show up at that end product,” said Nate Decker, the co-owner and co-founder of Plant’d Farma. 

To verify a product’s safety before sale, Decker said he checks whether vendors are providing legitimate certificates demonstrating that the products have been properly tested, or they test the products themselves.

BOX: People concerned about what’s in hemp products should check for Certificates of Analysis that show the product has been tested for things like heavy metals, pesticides or other contaminants — and to verify the certificates through the products’ QR codes.

Jeff Dingman, the technical sales manager at SC Labs, a cannabis- and hemp-testing company, said customers should look for businesses that are transparent about showcasing product test results with legitimate QR codes. The codes, he said, should scan back to the website of the lab that issued them. Any missing or nonactive QR codes should be a red flag for users. 

For THC-infused cocktails, customers can ask what THC spirits are being used. Popular THC beverage brands like Nowadays have their Certificates of Analysis listed on their website.

Last year, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers sent cease-and-desist letters to companies and stores across Nebraska in an effort to combat the sale of THC products.

Suzanne Gage, the director of communications for the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, said in a statement that Hilgers “is concerned about any consumable products that contain THC” as these products have not been approved by the FDA, and that anyone selling these products “operates at their own risk.”

The legal backing of these cease-and-desist letters remains unclear without state-specific legislation governing hemp products. 

In late January, Gov. Jim Pillen issued an executive order targeting the sale of THC products, calling on state agencies to review any regulatory authority to restrict them. 

Laura Strimple, Pillen’s spokesperson, said in an email, “this Executive Order accounts for all THC products being sold for human consumption.”

Decker, however, said in an email that he doesn’t think Pillen’s order will directly affect his business because the order specifically references synthetic THC products, which Plant’d Farma doesn’t sell. But if the November ban goes into place, or if future state or federal regulations were enacted, it “would require us to either shut down or pivot entirely into a different business model.”

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

By Emma Croteau

Flatwater Free Press

Samantha Nieman began visiting the cannabis store Plant’d Farma and its next-door cocktail lounge, The Garden, after gravitating away from alcohol. She still wanted to enjoy the social scene and events she often found centered on drinking.

Here, at a sleek bar counter in Omaha’s Old Market, she can pick from a rotating menu of handcrafted, photo-worthy drinks that echo classic bar staples, like margaritas or old fashioneds, but ones made with non-alcoholic, THC-infused spirits instead of alcohol. 

These THC-infused cocktails are one of many options Nieman can get at Plant’d Farma, which also offers other hemp-derived cannabis products like vapes, gummies and colorful prepackaged drinks.

“I don’t want to miss out on experiences, but the bars and stuff that do offer an alternative, like Plant’d Farma, that keeps me on those goals,” Nieman said.

Nebraska doesn’t allow sales of marijuana for recreational use and has no state-licensed dispensaries, although its voters overwhelmingly approved legalizing medical cannabis in 2024. The state’s slow rollout of a medical cannabis program has faced criticism for its restrictive nature and frequent delays. 

At the same time, more and more Nebraska businesses are selling hemp-derived cannabis products — often with THC levels that can produce the same psychoactive, intoxicating effects as marijuana.

THC-infused beverages in particular have become mainstream in Nebraska restaurants, bars and stores — including in major retail chains like Total Wine & More — where seltzers, lemonades, sodas and flavored waters come with a THC option. 

A pivotal piece of the 2018 Farm Bill reclassified hemp and legalized it on a federal level — making the THC drinks now served across Nebraska permissible if derived from hemp even though marijuana is illegal. But that may change later this year with a federal ban of intoxicating hemp products set to take effect in November.

The Platypus and Tiny House Bars, sister spots in Omaha’s Little Bohemia neighborhood, began selling THC drinks around six months ago in response to the high demand, managing partner Megan Malone said.

With eclectic wallpaper and cozy lighting, both bars offer an extensive selection of THC-infused products such as craft cocktails, canned beverages and gummies.

“Nebraska’s youth really is looking for alternatives to alcohol and just wants to feel some sort of progress,” Malone said.

This trend is not unique to Nebraska. Sales of THC beverages topped $1 billion nationwide in 2024, with that market expected to balloon to more than $5 billion by 2035, according to estimates by Whitney Economics, a cannabis and hemp business consulting and research firm.

It comes at a time when cannabis use in the U.S. is growing rapidly, outpacing daily or near daily alcohol-consumption, while the number of people in the U.S. who reported drinking alcohol hit a record low last year.

Jeff Dingman, the technical sales manager at SC Labs, a cannabis- and hemp-testing company, has heard firsthand how brewers have been saved by incorporating hemp beverages into their businesses.

In the past year, he said, the number of brewers he works with has grown from a dozen to around 100. 

“The largest portion of our hemp business is beverages at this point,” Dingman said.

Christopher Lackner, who founded the Hemp Beverage Alliance around three years ago, said his group has since expanded from eight to 375 members. 

Hemp comes from the same cannabis plant species as marijuana. The 2018 Farm Bill defined hemp as separate from marijuana if it contains no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. Anything above that is considered marijuana. 

Delta-9 THC is one of the most abundant and well known of the hundreds of compounds that naturally exist in cannabis.

THC works by binding to receptors throughout a person’s brain and central nervous system, so the “high” feeling impacts everyone differently — the euphoric effects some people experience could easily cause an anxious or negative response in someone else. 

Nieman said the THC drinks tend to make her feel light and relaxed. 

Malone said customers who drink THC beverages tend to become mellow, while higher use may make people tired. In her experience using the beverages, she has found them to be easier than other THC products in terms of controlling the dosage. 

Andrea Holmes, a professor at Doane University who holds a doctorate in organic chemistry, said any beverage product tends to be more efficiently absorbed into the body than edibles. Holmes is also a partner at Kind Life Dispensary in Lincoln.

This means THC beverages are processed more quickly and often affect a person faster than edibles, but their effects likely won’t last as long as edibles’ effects. Smokable THC products tend to have a quicker onset and duration than both.

Even though the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the hemp plant — which is regulated by the Department of Agriculture during production — there is no federal framework for end products like THC drinks, Lackner said. 

“If you could, imagine that flour is completely legal but the (Food and Drug Administration) hasn’t ruled on what to do with bread,” he said. “You know, that’s the challenge.”

These regulatory gaps have drawn national scrutiny in recent years over consumer safety concerns. A little-noticed provision included in the bill passed last year to end the longest federal government shutdown in history would essentially redefine hemp and ban all intoxicating hemp products currently on the market.

This would mean the THC products lining the aisles at places like Total Wine & More and drinks served at Nebraska bars and restaurants would suddenly become illegal come November.

But it’s possible the landscape will change before then. An amendment introduced to Congress in January would delay the ban by two years — giving the industry time to push federal regulations for these products rather than a full stop. 

Some states have already adopted their own regulations around hemp products, including bans, age restrictions and labeling and testing requirements.

In Nebraska, state lawmakers have introduced bills to either ban or regulate intoxicating hemp products. None have passed, meaning there are few requirements to ensure product safety or age-based restrictions beyond what the businesses themselves establish.

Malone said she has received zero guidance or regulations for rolling out her bars’ THC products, but that a ban seems like a step backward. 

She said she finds it strange that offering these alternatives in bars is viewed negatively, especially with all the known adverse health effects and risks of alcohol consumption. Many of her customers seem disappointed at the possibility of these options disappearing, she said.

Most states have no permit process licensing people to sell hemp-derived THC beverages, said Marshall Custer, a Denver-based partner in the Husch Blackwell law firm who co-leads the firm’s cannabis practice. 

Beyond the federal definition of hemp, “there’s almost nothing out there. It’s really just ‘best practices’ that guides what you’re supposed to and should not sell,” Custer said. “There is absolutely increased liability for selling these products … it’s still an intoxicating product, not dissimilar from anything that you would buy at a state-regulated marijuana dispensary.”

Hemp beverages are generally made in large-scale batches without sampling or testing protocols, which creates huge potential for variations across products, said Dingman from the cannabis- and hemp-testing lab service.

And in most states, testing standards for hemp beverages are left to the manufacturers or brewers themselves, Dingman said, who can choose whether to test them for things like solvents, pesticides, contaminants or other byproducts.

“There’s a lot of potential to have heavy metals or pesticides still show up at that end product,” said Nate Decker, the co-owner and co-founder of Plant’d Farma. 

To verify a product’s safety before sale, Decker said he checks whether vendors are providing legitimate certificates demonstrating that the products have been properly tested, or they test the products themselves.

BOX: People concerned about what’s in hemp products should check for Certificates of Analysis that show the product has been tested for things like heavy metals, pesticides or other contaminants — and to verify the certificates through the products’ QR codes.

Jeff Dingman, the technical sales manager at SC Labs, a cannabis- and hemp-testing company, said customers should look for businesses that are transparent about showcasing product test results with legitimate QR codes. The codes, he said, should scan back to the website of the lab that issued them. Any missing or nonactive QR codes should be a red flag for users. 

For THC-infused cocktails, customers can ask what THC spirits are being used. Popular THC beverage brands like Nowadays have their Certificates of Analysis listed on their website.

Last year, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers sent cease-and-desist letters to companies and stores across Nebraska in an effort to combat the sale of THC products.

Suzanne Gage, the director of communications for the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, said in a statement that Hilgers “is concerned about any consumable products that contain THC” as these products have not been approved by the FDA, and that anyone selling these products “operates at their own risk.”

The legal backing of these cease-and-desist letters remains unclear without state-specific legislation governing hemp products. 

In late January, Gov. Jim Pillen issued an executive order targeting the sale of THC products, calling on state agencies to review any regulatory authority to restrict them. 

Laura Strimple, Pillen’s spokesperson, said in an email, “this Executive Order accounts for all THC products being sold for human consumption.”

Decker, however, said in an email that he doesn’t think Pillen’s order will directly affect his business because the order specifically references synthetic THC products, which Plant’d Farma doesn’t sell. But if the November ban goes into place, or if future state or federal regulations were enacted, it “would require us to either shut down or pivot entirely into a different business model.”

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

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Village Board of Trustees and members of the ESU#4 filing deadlines are July 15, 2026 for incumbents and August 3, 2026 for non-incumbents.

Receipts from the treasurer of the respective political sub-division for the payment of filing fees must accompany the filing form when filed in the office of the Secretary of State or County Clerk before the filing will be accepted. National, State and County offices require that a statement of financial interests, NADC Form C-1 be filed by the candidate by March 2, 2026 to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission before the candidate’s name will appear on the ballot.

For further questions and information regarding the upcoming 2026 Primary Election, please call the Richardson County Clerk’s Office at 245-2911, Ext. 3.

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Flatwater Free Press

Kati Stauffer’s family moved in the 1990s from eastern Iowa to Lincoln to open a restaurant serving honest Midwestern cooking. Hot beef sandwiches. Pork tenderloin. Rhubarb pie. But they quickly realized they needed to offer two seemingly unrelated items as a combo.

“Someone gets in the mood for it and they come in for it,” she said. “They say, ‘I just had to have chili and cinnamon rolls today — please tell me you still have rolls left!’”  

The pairing is still a fixture on the Stauffer’s Café menu, but it’s much more than just a diner thing — you’ll find it in school cafeterias, at high-end Omaha restaurants and at Husker tailgates. The unofficial season tracks almost perfectly with the non-daylight saving time months — from the first heavy coat for a football game to when the last of the blackened snow is melting in the Walmart parking lot.

In the social media age, regional foods have traveled far from their borders. Today, all over the world you can find Oklahoma smashburgers, NOLA gumbo, San Francisco Mission-style burritos and L.A. french dips. There is Nashville hot chicken in Saudi Arabia, Maine lobster rolls in Paris and Detroit pizza in China.

So why hasn’t Nebraska’s famous dish gotten in on this action and made it to the coasts or beyond? Why aren’t there viral videos about hot NYC spots with blocks-long lines of 20-somethings waiting to get their hands on Nebraska chili and cinnamon rolls?

For a dish that has barely made it out of Nebraska, the pairing of chili and cinnamon rolls exists thanks to surprisingly globe-spanning ancestry. Ancient Mesoamericans cultivated the predecessors of every chile pepper in the world today; ethnographer/priest Bernardino de Sahagún first documented the Mexica’s chile stews with frogs, worms or axoltls. Cattle that other 16th century Spaniards introduced to what they had renamed Nueva España led to chile con carne, “a popular Mexican dish — literally red peppers and meat,” first referenced in print in 1857.  

Separately, the spice trade took cinnamon from Sri Lanka to the Roman Empire. The first recipes for cinnamon buns or “snails” appeared in 1500s Germany; immigrants brought the tradition to the U.S. two centuries later.

The first printed reference to chili and cinnamon rolls is from Indiana in 1905. The first school menu pairing chili and cinnamon rolls was in California in 1953. But these were likely random occurrences, says food historian Darcy Maulsby. “There’s no definitive answer to who was the first person or organization to serve the chili and cinnamon rolls combo,” she said. She suspects enterprising mid-century school cafeteria cooks deserve the credit.

In 1946, Congress passed the National School Lunch Act, and the USDA included chili in its “School Recipes for 100.” Greeley, Colorado, schools were the first to regularly serve the combo.  

The pairing became common across Nebraska in the 1950s. The chili and cinnamon rolls recipe at Omaha’s now-defunct Garden Cafe was from the owner’s lunch lady aunt. Author Marion Cronan paired chili and cinnamon rolls in her 1962 school cafeteria handbook. An alternative theory posits that loggers sparked the trend by pouring chili over cinnamon rolls for breakfast before a hard day of tree felling.

Although the combo’s precise origin is lost to time, Nebraska is the dish’s holy land, its ground zero.

Nebraskans have a fervent pride over their dish. “Pairing them together, I think you get that bold, Tex-Mex taste of chili and then all of the sudden you get the sweet taste of a cinnamon roll,” said Mike Honerman, a member of the team that won the last two annual North Platte chili cookoffs.

The combo remains a lunchroom staple at schools across the state. The Lincoln Public Schools serves it on winter Tuesdays; LPS Nutrition Director Andrew Ashelford says they dish out 5,000-6,000 servings per day.

People who move to Nebraska consistently convert to the C&CR tribe. Amanda Trost, who came from Indiana for college and stayed, is a true believer. “My core memory of chili and cinnamon rolls stems from the first Halloween I spent in small-town Nebraska having a family soup supper before trick-or-treating,” she told me. “Since then, I’ve never served it any other way.”

But we must acknowledge that at least two neighboring states also claim the chili and cinnamon roll as their own. The Des Moines Register implied a small-town lunch lady in Iowa created it. The dish is the Kansas subreddit’s official meal. Top it with melted cheese and some call it “Kansas Crème Brûlée.” Wichita’s baseball team temporarily adopted the Chili Bun as its mascot.

I spent a week messaging every person who commented positively on any Facebook or Instagram post referencing chili and cinnamon rolls; the footprint looks suspiciously like the Oregon Trail, although many Pacific Northwest school districts have since stopped serving C&CR. Richland, Washington, School District’s Dawn Trumbull says due to USDA regulations requiring 50% whole wheat dough and a “downswing in home-style meals,” she now offers it to students once every five weeks in the fall and winter.

When Nebraskans go online or out of state and discuss the chili-and-cinnamon roll pairing with the uninitiated, the believers instinctively know how to sell the combo: It works because the hearty, salty and spicy mesh perfectly with the sweet, creamy and squishy. But there’s actually deeper science backing this up: The roll’s sugar and butter cool the burn of the chili’s capsaicin, while the chili’s salt and spice amplify the cinnamon’s perfume, according to Nik Sharma, America’s Test Kitchen editor-in-residence.

“Both dishes share aromatic molecules … which create an underlying bridge of warm, woody notes,” he told me. “The chili’s fat-soluble flavor compounds dissolve into the butter of the roll, tying everything together. It’s the same molecular logic behind mole poblano or spiced chocolate — heat meets sweet, and both taste bigger.”

The tentacles of Nebraska C&CR are beginning to spread. Now there are chili and cinnamon roll burgers, patty melts, bierocks, pizza, handpies, ice cream and popcorn. There’s a chili cinnamon roll, a cinnamon roll bowl with chili in it, and a C&CR to celebrate Yom Kippur.  The Chilibon has been an off-menu combo at Wendy’s restaurants nationwide since last year.

Yours truly even once C&CR’ed a Bunny Chow, a classic South African dish that itself is a mashup of Indian and Afrikaner traditions.

Nebraska-based fast-food chain Runza has done its part to take the tradition further afield. Since 2007, it has offered C&CR at all its restaurants, which are also in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas and South Dakota.

The combo actually sells the best in Scottsbluff/Gering, Runza spokesperson Becky Perrett told me. 

Cornhusker football coach Matt Rhule called it “life-changing.”  Nebraska native and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has proselytized for it. The closest C&CR made it to going viral was when celebrity chef Alton Brown tried it. 

State leaders recognize the potential in using C&CR to expand the Nebraska brand. The Nebraska Beef Council’s Adam Wegner called it “exactly the kind of hidden gem food trend that can catch national attention.”

“People love a dish with a backstory,” he 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 comforting, practical and 100% heartland.”

Visit Nebraska’s Jenn Gjerde said she has highlighted it in online content because it’s like Nebraskans themselves: “Warm, welcoming and a little unexpected … When something like this takes off online, it creates buzz you can’t buy.”

One obstacle to the chili and cinnamon roll combo becoming nationally recognized is confusion around how to eat it. I see seven categories of C&CR eaters:

* The Rip-and-Dippers scoop the chili with part of the roll they’ve pulled off.

* The Fonduers break off smaller pieces of roll, stab a fork into one and dip the forked roll into the chili.

* The Croutoners tear up the roll into bite-sized pieces and mix them into the chili.

* The Alternators bounce back and forth between spoonfuls of chili and bites of roll.

* The Pour-Overs place a whole roll into a bowl they then fill with chili.

* The Dinner-Then-Desserters consume all their chili before moving on to the roll.

* Finally, the Bowl Cleaners eat most of the chili first but then wipe whatever is left with pieces of roll.

In the Dinner-Then-Dessert camp is Dallas resident Ryan Busboom, who remembers eating the combo “about once a month” at Malcolm High School. “Once I started on the roll, I was done with the chili,” he told me.

Brian Kurbis, who grew up in Omaha but now lives in Thailand, agreed: “The standard sequence of savory meal before sweet dessert was respected.”

Some Nebraskans steadfastly regard dipping as an unpardonable heresy. Self-described “naturalized Nebraskan” Ryan Boyer says in York, “Most people I know eat a few bites of chili before taking a bite or two of the cinnamon roll.” Jeremy Hosbein grew up in Bellevue and Papillion “breaking the cinnamon roll into pieces and then throwing it in the chili.” Committed dipper Vanessa Romano, who grew up in Omaha, says the key is a chili with a “thicker consistency so the cinnamon roll bite doesn’t get too soggy.” Suzy Ernest remembers dipping as a child in Sidney: “Sometimes, you’d put a large part of the roll in to get soaked (if) there was enough liquid.”

Another problem is that when people merely first hear about C&CR, they are disgusted. “It came from those Midwest heathens,” “Nope — straight to jail” and “What kind of savage does this” are printable Reddit reactions. East Coast chili and cinnamon roll bigwigs are skeptical of our flyover ways. Chef Armando Litiatco of NYC “cinnamon roll empire” Sunday Morning had never heard of the pairing. “My initial reaction … That’s odd. But the savory, salty and sweet could be nice. But that’s odd. But the cinnamon against the chili, maybe. But that’s odd.”

Vida Ali’s iconic D.C. restaurant Ben’s Chili Bowl serves four types of chili on dogs, burgers or nachos or in a bowl “with some crackers or cornbread.” With a cinnamon roll?  “Hmmm.  Only in Nebraska! But somehow, I’m intrigued,” she told me.  

Many Nebraskans realize they are outliers in eating chili with cinnamon rolls. “It’s something that other people hear of and think, ‘That’s weird,’” said Kati Stauffer. “It’s tough for us to have a place of pride when it comes to food. This is kind of our food identity.”

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

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