The Good Life?
Note the question mark.
Hi,
Quick question: What's Nebraska's state motto?
I have no idea what you said, but there's a strong possibility that at least one of you answered, "The Good Life."
If so, congratulations! You're wrong.
The state motto is actually “Equality Before the Law," which has a really interesting history tied to the emancipation and enfranchisement of enslaved people in the late nineteenth century. But "The Good Life," a tourism slogan that's been around since at least the 1970s, is such an integral part of the state's self-image and marketing that a lot of people would probably make that mistake. It's also possible that's just a story I'm telling myself to excuse the fact that I recently made this mistake when brainstorming ideas for this newsletter.
All of that's a preface to the following announcement: I've previously teased the rollout of This Week In Lincoln posts that are exclusive for paid subscribers, and it's finally happening! I'm launching a new column that riffs on our state's non-motto. It's called The Good Life?
Note the question mark.
The concept is simple: I'll be keeping track of stuff that's happening in Nebraska (with a particular focus on news related to Lincoln because obviously) and when something interesting comes across my screen, I'll ask: Is this representative of The Good Life, or nah?
Here are my extremely scientific guidelines:
- Is it cool and based? The Good Life!
- Is it depressing, humiliating, and/or absurd? Not The Good Life!
My goal is to make this slightly more entertaining than a simple news roundup. While my commentary may not always be insightful or informative, I promise to make it not-boring, and I reserve the right to be exceptionally snarky about news that falls in the second category.
I'm not putting a paywall on this first column so current free subscribers can see the type of thing they'd be paying for. But future posts in this series will be exclusive to paid supporters! All other posts, including the weekly event calendars, film reviews, coverage of Lincoln's music scene and anything else will remain free to everyone. Consider this a special treat for people willing to financially support the newsletter.
~ Ty
P.S. Please send me things I should write about in this column. My email is tynanstewart@proton.me
The Good Life: Gage County says no to data centers (for now)
Furious opposition to data centers has seemingly unified the country, and it's a pleasant change from the previous trend of communities mobilizing to stop renewable energy projects. Ever since the Flatwater Free Press broke the news about the astronomically energy-hungry data center that Google wants to stick in Nebraska, local resistance has been building. The most recent development is the Gage County Planning and Zoning Commission's decision to support an 18-month moratorium on the construction of data centers in the county. (The commission doesn't have the final word; the county board of supervisors still has to approve the measure.)
I'm sure there are some sad souls in Gage County that, in theory, support the vague promises of "economic opportunity" used to justify this kind of project. But seemingly none of them felt strongly enough to show face. Chase Porter of Courier Nebraska was there covering the four hour marathon meeting and captured this testimony from a resident of Cortland, which feels like a good summary of public sentiment:
“We’re told that if we don’t say yes to these centers, that we’re driving away the future. But that’s a false choice,” she said. “We are being asked to drain our aquifer so that a chatbot can write a poem or so that a president can make an AI image of himself as Jesus.”
Not The Good Life: Nebraska is a cool place, but not for these reasons
Our state is, sadly, participating in Trump's fucked-up national state fair, an orgy of corruption masquerading as a celebration that's brought to you courtesy of ExxonMobil, Palantir and United Airlines. That fact alone is probably enough to warrant a spot here.
But what transformed this news item into comedy gold was our governor's remark that Nebraska's booth at the “Great American State Fair” would be enough to lure back former residents — many of whom are young educated professionals — who have fled the state in search of a better good life.
“Any Nebraskan that goes in, whether they’ve not been back, they grew up or were born here, they go in and they go, ‘Holy cow. I’m moving back to Nebraska. I miss it so much,’” Pillen said. “Or, anybody from anywhere say, ‘This is a cool place, and that’s all because of the people.’”
Among the Nebraska businesses participating: Union Pacific, Werner Enterprises, Tenaska, and Valmont Industries.
And frankly, I can't think of anything more likely to win over disaffected ex-Nebraskans than this list. I mean, Werner Enterprises? A trucking and logistics company??? Holy cow!
Not The Good Life: A fourth straight year of tuition hikes
The fact that the Nebraska Board of Regents is raising tuition by 4.25% is grim news but only part of the story here. I want to add some historical context. I think we all realize the cost of higher education has spiraled far beyond any reasonable limit. (I mean, all education should be free but that's a different discussion.) But how bad have things really gotten?
First, let's hear from NU System President Jeffrey Gold:
“As a first-generation student who literally went to college without two nickels to rub together, I understand as well as anybody how important it is to maintain the affordability of higher education,” Gold said in a meeting that resulted in a less affordable higher education system. “But I will tell you this, it has never been more important to maintain quality access for Nebraskans to support the future economy and the quality of life that all of us here in Nebraska enjoy.”
Gold also called the tuition hike a "modest inflationary increase." Okay then. Let's talk about inflation.
Gold graduated college in 1974. That year, the cost of tuition at UNL averaged $555 for in-state students. If you adjust for inflation, that'd be about $4,000 today. Last year, an in-state UNL student would've paid $11,100 in tuition and fees, which means costs have far, far outstripped the pace of inflation.
So whatever Gold did to scrape together the nickels for his education over 50 years ago wouldn't work today!
Not The Good Life: The obliteration of beloved local businesses
I don't have anything funny to say about this. The abrupt shuttering of Zipline and the impending closure of Das Haus — during Pride Month! — just sucks. Even if you personally never frequented either business, their loss still diminishes our community as a whole.
There's an ongoing GoFundMe to potentially save Das Haus. I hate to be pessimistic, but the goal is $140,000 and unless the campaign somehow goes viral and generates national attention, I doubt we're gonna get there. It's sitting at just under $8,000 right now.
Not The Good Life: Please for the love of god don't do this
If you have cool historic photos of lost places in Lincoln, please don't mutilate them with AI! Send them to me instead.