Nebraska Governor Under Fire for Dismissing Environmental Report Due to Journalist’s Nationality

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In a recent wave of controversy, Nebraska’s Governor, Jim Pillen, has come under scrutiny for dismissing an investigative report on environmental implications linked to his hog farming enterprise. The issue drew attention when the Governor referenced the journalist’s nationality during his dismissal of the accusations. The investigative journalist, Yanqi Xu, a 27-year-old of a nonprofit Nebraskan news outlet, The Flatwater Free Press, highlighted high nitrate levels in several hog farms owned by the Governor in a September article.

The report detailed a disturbing finding; 16 farms under Pillen’s ownership had recorded nitrate levels exceeding 50 parts per million, a value five times the federally recognized safe drinking level. The high nitrate levels have the potential to infiltrate the groundwater and present a serious environmental issue. Xu explained that the primary objective of the report was to prompt the Governor to shed light on the likely source and address this growing problem.


However, the Governor remained mostly unresponsive to Xu’s numerous attempts at seeking a comment. The article did feature a statement from Sarah Pillen, the CEO of Pillen Family Farms and the Governor’s daughter. Sarah committed to their stance on maintaining strong environmental stewardship of the land and assured that their 17-member team was tirelessly working to guard Nebraska’s groundwater and manage resources effectively.

Four days post-publication, a response from Governor Pillen came during an interview with Omaha radio station KFAB, albeit not addressing the environmental issues raised in the article. The governor dismissed the article entirely, highlighting the author’s nationality by stating, “all you’ve got to do is look at the author, author’s from Communist China – what more do you need to know?”

Xu, born and raised in China, has been in the US since 2017 for her master’s in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has spent two years in Nebraska and is devoted to Flatwater’s mission to capture the essential stories about Nebraska, focusing on the state’s nitrate levels for over a year before publishing the investigative report.

The Governor’s focus on her nationality has elicited a reaction from the journalist, who emphasized her professional commitment to Nebraska and the importance of the high nitrate levels to the state. The Flatwater Free Press has since responded to Governor Pillen’s remarks, contending that Xu’s nationality should not detract from the subject matter of her journalism.

Matt Wynn, the Executive Director of the Nebraska Journalism Trust, which also finances the Flatwater Free Press, condemned the Governor’s comments, highlighting Xu’s valuable contribution to journalism. As the week progressed, Wynn reached out to Pillen offering an opportunity to apologize, but the governor remained unresponsive.

The Asian American Journalists Association also made a public statement, backing Xu and denouncing any xenophobic or prejudiced remarks. On the other hand, Xu, who continues to stay focused on her professional obligations, asserted that she never intended to be a news story. Fervently, she hopes that the public spotlight returns to her diligent reporting from the farmlands of Nebraska to the desks of policymakers.