LINCOLN — Three years ago today, our little online news experiment started because local reporting giants Paul Hammel and Cindy Gonzalez and retired editing great Cate Folsom got the itch to try something new.

I initially thought they were crazy when they told me what they were doing. You’re doing what? Working with States Newsroom to start a nonprofit news outlet in Nebraska? How will people know where to find you? How will you get paid?

Sure, I took the call from Cindy, inquiring about who else they should hire. She was my cubicle neighbor when newspaper economics forced me back into the reporting ranks after years of editing and opinion writing, much of it under Cate. 

Starting with experience

I had worked with all three of them for more than a decade at the Omaha World-Herald. Paul was the first reporter to humble me as a young buck, covering the proposed low-level nuclear waste storage facility in Boyd County. When he walked in, it was over.

Sources who had made time to talk to a young kid then working for the Lincoln Journal Star stopped talking to me and walked over to chat with the reporter they knew from decades of telling great stories. He did the same for us, sometimes writing five or more in a day.

Cindy was the same covering business. She was the first choice for getting a story right and telling it well. She is why the Examiner started with a bang, breaking the story that major insurance company Mutual of Omaha was moving its headquarters downtown, to the site of Omaha’s main library, as part of a series of major new investments in the urban core.

What you need to know about her is that she was the first woman and the first woman of color to cover the City Hall beat at Nebraska’s largest newspaper. She fits Nebraska’s pioneering spirit better than most.

I helped, too, as a guy who had covered City Hall, county government, crime, courts, prisons and politics. But what I will always remember is how the founders of this place got me to leave a job I loved in television news.

The original four

Cindy and Paul called me on FaceTime from a table at Billy’s Restaurant, the Lincoln staple for people with business at the Capitol. The Examiner’s offices are right above the eatery. 

Paul said, as he always does, “Hey big man. We’ve got three drinks ordered and only two people sitting here.” Cate had already called and discussed the possibility of me leaving Omaha’s KMTV and joining them that January of 2022.

They sealed it with that little nudge. This place – the Nebraska Examiner – rose on a foundation of people who like each other and love the news. The originals built its reputation on fast and accurate coverage, plus scoops.

I still remember something Cate said before www.nebraskaexaminer.com went live, about the fear of starting from scratch and wondering if anybody would read it. Now we are a first stop for people who want to know what’s happening in state government and politics.

Cate retired this December, and she left me some big shoes to fill. She was the best editor most of us have had, and as the new editor of the Examiner I feel responsible for making sure the work we produce continues to do our talking. 

Paul is semi-retired. We love when he still writes for us. Our first intern, Jazari Kual, is doing independent multimedia work in Lincoln and Omaha.

And now we have a new generation of Examiners stepping up.

A new generation

Zach Wendling graduated from intern to legislative expert by showing us his depth of knowledge. He knows more about the Legislature and its processes than many will ever learn. He has worked with every senator in the past few years, and we hope he never stops.

Juan Salinas II, our soon-to-be political reporter, arrives late next month from Texas to carry on our tradition of cutting through the spin to tell you what’s really happening in Nebraska politics and why it matters to you. 

States Newsroom connects us, our readers and partners who publish our work with reporters and outlets on the ground in all 50 states, in addition to a team of national reporters, plus a bureau in Washington, D.C.

We’re three years in, but this is still only the beginning — if our readers and donors continue to support our work. We are working to grow our staff and do more reporting of substance. We hope you’ll help us do that by making a donation.

It’s a long way from a wild idea at Billy’s to our own little Politico on the Platte. Look how far we’ve come. Imagine the good trouble we might get into over the next few. 

Aaron Sanderford is the new editor of the Nebraska Examiner. He was most recently the Examiner’s political reporter.