From the editor: World-Herald content is free to all readers this Fourth of July weekend

Our newsroom staff is growing. Our newest hires — reporters and editors alike — are already delivering high-impact work on multiple topics. 

Our longtime staffers covering local news, culture and sports continue to show readers why they've engendered so much trust and goodwill over the years. 

Our Nebraska history essay contest, which we launched in concert with commemorations of America's semiquincentennial, has been a huge hit with readers. (More on this in a minute.) 

Our four summer interns have injected extra doses of energy — and good ideas — to the newsroom. 

All in, we're producing a higher volume of top-notch work than we've produced in years. 

That makes it a perfect time to make this announcement: This Independence Day weekend, visitors to Omaha.com will have free access to our journalism. The full-access period runs Thursday through Sunday. 

If you're not already a subscriber, it's a great time to explore the site. If you are a subscriber, we're grateful to you for supporting local journalism in Nebraska and western Iowa. And we'd be additionally grateful if you'd spread the news about our full-access period to friends, family, and anyone else who might be interested in sampling our newsroom's work. 

I can't do justice to all of the work that our journalists are producing in this relatively short column. I can call out a few recent recommendations: 

• What's life like as a detainee at Nebraska's ICE detention center in McCook? Grace Lewis explores the topic in conversations with three men who have been detained there. 
  
  
• What is a flash trash mob, and how are they making Omaha a cleaner place? Marjie Ducey has you covered in a recent installment of The Bright Side, our series of uplifting local stories. 
  
  
• What was it like for a Papillion-La Vista High School student to run and shoot hoops with a brand-new prosthetic leg? Luna Stephens shares the story of Avery Krause.
  
  
• Who were the raucous, overall-wearing fans cheering on the Husker softball team on NU's run to the College World Series? Justin Frommer introduces you to the "Bowlin Boys."

That's in addition to breaking news and coverage of Fourth of July celebrations throughout the Omaha area throughout the weekend. 

And it's in addition to those Nebraska history essays, which we began publishing this week online and in the Opinion section of The World-Herald print edition. 

Given the interest that Nebraskans have shown in writing and reading these essays, we're announcing today that the contest will continue throughout the calendar year. 

They'll run in the print edition, usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on our digital platforms — Omaha.com and The World-Herald mobile app. I'll call out some of the contenders in The Short List, my Monday-morning email newsletter. And we'll hold a reader poll so you can weigh in on which ones you find the most compelling. 

Want to enter the contest? Email your essay to opinion@owh.com and attach a headshot. The essay should be between 500 and 750 words and should answer a simple question: Which Nebraskan do you find the most inspirational? 

At its best, local journalism in Omaha and Nebraska helps a community understand itself. It informs residents about important decisions being made by public officials. It shines a light on problems that need attention. It celebrates accomplishments, captures milestones and tells the stories of the people who make our community unique.

This holiday weekend, we invite you to explore that work.

We hope you'll spend some time with us this weekend. If you find value in our journalism, we hope you'll consider subscribing after the free-access period ends. Subscriber support makes it possible for us to continue providing the local reporting, storytelling and accountability journalism our community deserves. Learn more about becoming a subscriber at omaha.com/subscribe. 

Thank you for reading.

Ben Doody is the executive editor of The World-Herald. Reach him at ben.doody@owh.com.