Meghan O'Brien

About Me

Hi! I'm a recent graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with bachelor's degrees in journalism and English. Most recently, I served as a Carnegie-Knight fellow with News21, an award-winning, national reporting initiative based at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. I previously held the role of managing editor at The Daily Nebraskan and worked as a news reporting intern at Nebraska Public Media and the Lincoln Journal Star.

Read More

My Latest Work

Upheaval •

Trump’s immigration crackdown spurs farmer reform, farmworker fear

SHOSHONE, Idaho — Just east of town, a road cuts through sagebrush and fields of cows toward Donley Farms, where Darren Taber manages the multigenerational operation. The Sawtooth Mountains rise in the distance, marking the northern edge of the Snake River Plain — the backdrop for Taber’s work.
As the Magic Valley wakes up, the 900-cow dairy is already in motion. Taber has owned Donley Farms for more than 25 years. These days, he focuses on crop and management decisions — planning pesticide spra...
Nebraska News Service •

Dental care in Nebraska prisons lacking

Ahmed Almusa didn’t think much about his teeth as he was growing up. He first went to the dentist when he was 6, after his family arrived in the U.S. from Iraq as refugees.Twenty years later, Almusa was sentenced to an 11-year prison term after a possession and distribution of cocaine conviction. As part of the routine prison intake process, Almusa met with a dental hygienist who cleaned his teeth. During the cleaning he learned it would be difficult to get future cleanings, care for cavities or...
Nebraska Public Media •

Opioid reduction program paused after funding cut

The federal government pulled back funding last week for a program that addressed the current opioid crisis in Nebraska.The Nebraska Hospital Association had been using the funding, which came from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to partner with more than a dozen hospitals across the state to reduce the number of opioid prescriptions given to patients after they had surgeries.The program, which began in August, helped the NHA connect with physicians and nurses to e...
Nebraska Public Media •

Many Nebraskans are struggling to find dental coverage, even with more dentists accepting Medicaid

When Jade Doremus moved to south central Nebraska with her daughter, change was on the horizon. She was settling in to a new town and her 4-year-old was beginning preschool.“We were preparing her for kindergarten. So, it was very nerve wracking, because I was a little hesitant on if I wanted to send her to school, but as a single mom, I need to,” Doremus said. “I did make the decision to send her to preschool, and she absolutely loves it, and just seeing her grow and become the little young todd...
Nebraska Public Media •

Rural Nebraska health centers awarded $600,000 to improve care access

The philanthropic arm of Nebraska Blue Cross and Blue Shield called the Nebraska Blue Foundation awarded $600,000 to Project Access, a program by the Health Center Association of Nebraska which supports Federally Qualified Health Centers in the state.FQHCs, or community health centers, primarily provide health care to underserved populations, including behavioral health and dental care. The grant will support four rural FQHCs in Columbus, Gering, Grand Island and Norfolk.Jay Warren-Teamer, execu...
Nebraska Public Media •

Finding mental health services can be hard for new Americans. Bilingual therapists hope to change that

“We have a lot of need here, and there’s a shortage of therapists,” Gomez said. “There is a great need for our Hispanic community. However, there’s a lot of barriers.”The land is a huge barrier for people to access the mental health help they might need, Gomez said, but fear plays an even bigger role for some. It’s something she calls “Hispanic pride.”“We have been trained that we either go to faith or we go to family,” Gomez said. “I think seeking counseling is like saying you don’t have faith,...
Nebraska News Service •

Nebraska organizations encourage new Americans to vote

This year’s election brings Nebraska voters conflicting ballot measures and a new voter ID requirement, two factors that could cause confusion. Some voting advocates said this confusion gets compounded for new citizens voting for the first time.“Voting has very specific language, even for people who speak English as their first language. Sometimes those ballot measures can be really confusingly worded,” Dylan Severino, the immigrant legal fellow at the ACLU of Nebraska, said.”It's even tougher i...
Nebraska News Service •

Midwest Chingona Fest builds a community of empowered women in Nebraska

Fabiola Lomeli and Julia Carrillo, both of Omaha, co-founded the Midwest Chingona Fest in 2022, running a few dozen vendors out of Stinson Park in Omaha. Attendees of previous years described the event as packed. So, when the founding duo had the opportunity to expand, they took it.“We took a big risk this year because we saw potential in it, and I think those around us saw the potential,” Carrillo said. “Many of these vendors that are here today are the same ones we've had last year before, the...
Nebraska News Service •

‘Making a difference:’ Free rural tutoring program extends reach to hundreds of schools

When Layla McIntyre saw the first time a student experienced a lightbulb moment in front of her, she said she knew she wanted to pursue teaching.“If it's just as simple as regrouping in a math problem. If I'm able to help a student understand that concept and make it click in their brain, it really helps me because I feel accomplished, and that's very rewarding for me on an emotional level,” McIntyre said.Now, she’s a junior elementary education major at Peru State College and a lead tutor throu...
The Daily Nebraskan •

Gomez Art Supply shines in its 20th year

As employee Luci Packard flips the neon sign from “NOPE” to “OPEN,” Lincolnites seeking art supplies make their way through a door that chimes as Packard welcomes them in. The rasp of Janis Joplin and eclectic guitar of Pink Floyd winds throughout the store’s shelves stacked high with varieties of paper, pens and everything else needed to complete an artist’s dream.Twenty years ago, Gomez Art Supply owner Peggy Gomez had opened for business in a different location — only a ten-minute walk from w...
Nebraska News Service •

University of Nebraska partners with community college to address teacher shortage, education deficit

A new program will connect Nebraska’s flagship institution with the state’s westernmost community college. Leaders say they hope the program will do more than just break down barriers in higher education.Across Nebraska, more than 1,000 PK-12 teaching positions have gone unfilled since school began in August.The shortage stood out to Troy White, an assistant professor in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications department. He’s based in the panha...
Nebraska Public Media •

‘A different type of health care’: A look inside Nebraska’s only rural emergency hospital

Rural emergency hospitals operate on an annual budget of $3.2 million from the federal government. All other revenue has to be generated by the hospital through services such as outpatient clinics.“You do have to have a wide range of outpatient services. That is where you're going to bring in that extra revenue to make everything happen,” Chaffin said. “Going REH, we've been able to kind of focus on that, and try to grow it.”It’s not a common designation. Nationwide, there’s less than 30 rural e...
Nebraska Public Media •

Two years after suicide-prevention hotline introduced, data shows Nebraska can improve

Two summers ago, the United States put a 24/7 suicide-prevention hotline into service. In Nebraska, calls made to 988 come through a system at Boys Town, which has been in operation for nearly two decades.“We had the infrastructure, and they spent a lot of time working to hire up for that and to be able to have people available to answer calls,” said Jennifer Sparrock, psychiatric emergency services manager at Nebraska Medicine. “What I hear from other states, we are doing well.”Nebraska scores...
Nebraska Public Media •

'A year in the making': Lincoln high school earns fifth place at National Speech and Debate Tournament

For half a century, Lincoln East High School’s speech and debate team has been a fierce competitor. Head coach Nick Herink and assistant coach Elle Barts both know the importance of dedication.Four years ago, membership dipped as it did for many extracurricular programs during the pandemic. It’s nearly quadrupled now, to about 80 competitors.The National Speech and Debate Tournament hosted more than 1,500 schools from all 50 states, two U.S. territories and seven countries. Four Lincoln East com...
Nebraska Public Media •

‘We are seen': Giving life to Indigenous languages in rural Nebraska

it was a personal journey for Palala Martinez, too. He has Mayan heritage but had lost the connection to that part of his background. But through work with an advisor, and after learning more about educational opportunities for students in rural parts of the state, he found Wakefield.It’s a town of about 1,500 people where Palala Martinez found a concentrated community of Guatemalans who spoke Mayan languages there. Two years ago, he began working with high school students in Wakefield.His first...
Nebraska News Service •

Domestic violence response services on Nebraska Native American reservations

Content Advisory: The following article addresses issues related to domestic violence, including descriptions of abusive behavior within intimate relationships. While the content is intended to raise awareness and foster understanding, Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is in need of support, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.More than four in five Native American people have experienced violence in their lives, and 97% of women who are vic...
Nebraska News Service •

‘Not a perfect world’: Prosecuting domestic violence in Indian Country

Content Advisory: The following article addresses issues related to domestic violence, including descriptions of abusive behavior within intimate relationships. While the content is intended to raise awareness and foster understanding, Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is in need of support, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or review a list of Nebraska resources here.Wathina Porter recognizes the all too familiar look on the faces of wome...
The Daily Nebraskan •

“A long-term problem”: Addressing sexual assault on campus

CORRECTION: This article was edited at 1:53 p.m. on April 26, 2024 to replace the word 'reported' with 'alleged' in the graph about the alleged rape at ATO.In recent years, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus has seen multiple reported sexual assaults. Though prevention and recovery resources are available for students year-round, the resources and programs are emphasized during April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.The Center for Advocacy, Response and Education at  UNL is dedica...
The Daily Nebraskan •

A portion of UNL student fees are paying for CAPS. Do they see its worth?

CAPS is a part of the fees that UNL students pay for, but most of the time, it is a service that goes unnoticed. CAPS wants to let students know that it is a reachable service for anyone on campus.A new student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is usually greeted with support in the form of acronyms: CAPS, CAST, OASIS, NSE — the list goes on. CAPS, or Counseling and Psychological Services, is working to make sure its services are accessible to as many students as possible.Outreach coordinato...
The Daily Nebraskan •

‘Natural camaraderie’: Women-owned businesses come together for holidays

At Tsuru, 114 N. 14th St., Matel Rokke rotates the stock of locally-made jewelry, fitting it onto shelves between small-batch sweaters and dresses and talking to every guest as if she were a close friend. Next door at A Novel Idea Bookstore, Cinnamon Dokken guides customers through shelves of political thinking, science fiction and children’s chapter books to take home the perfect read. Peggy Gomez, Dokken’s neighbor and owner of Gomez Art Supply, helps visitors find exactly what they’ll need fo...

Follow Me