Gov. Jim Pillen is facing criticism for comments he made in September about a Nebraska reporter who found that multiple Pillen hog farms had nitrate levels far above the legal drinking water limit.Ìý
The storyÌýwasÌýwritten by Yanqi Xu with the Flatwater Free Press and republished by the Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World-Herald, among other news outlets. It revealed that 16 of Pillen's farms recorded nitrate levels at least five times higher than what is considered safe to drink. Consuming high levels of nitrate has been linked to a variety of health conditions, including thyroid disease, birth defects and cancer, according to the report.
When asked about the report a few days later on a KFAB radio segment, Pillen said he hadn't read the report, but attempted to discredit it by targeting Xu's Chinese nationality.Ìý
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“Number one, I didn’t read it. And I won’t,†Pillen said. “Number two, all you got to do is look at the author. The author is from communist China. What more do you need to know?â€
Pillen's comments were the subject of by Flatwater's Executive Director Matt Wynn. In it, Wynn defended his reporter and explained why he felt the comments were offensive.Ìý
"Had Governor Pillen spoken to the facts Yanqi found, I wouldn’t be writing this now. Elected officials deserve the chance to respond to findings. We offered every opportunity for him to do so before we ran the story. He declined them all," Wynn wrote.
Pillen did not respond to additional opportunities to comment over the last week, Wynn said. Pillen's office also has not responded to a request for comment on Tuesday from the World-Herald.Ìý
Xu has lived in the United States since 2017 after growing up in China. For the past two years, she has worked for Flatwater Free Press, an independent, nonprofit news organization based in Omaha. Wynn said Pillen's comments marked the first time someone has tried to write her off based on her origin.
Wynn praised Xu's skills as a journalist, listing previous stories she wrote detailing a contentious recall fight in Alvo, examining overtime in Nebraska's prison system, and reviewing low attendance records of the state's Board of Parole.Ìý
"She’s whip smart," Wynn wrote. "She’s pit bull stubborn. She’s a courageous reporter, a remarkable reporter."
In response to his column, a number of local journalists and others took to social media to defend Xu and take issue with what Pillen said. Several called Pillen's comments racist, and called for him to apologize and take back his words.Ìý
"Governor Pillen needs to apologize and do something to address the racism that is in his heart. This is deplorable," state Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.