Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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Grit and determination. Readiness to help at a moment’s notice. Willingness to work long and hard. Steadfastness in the face of difficulty. These are the qualities that define us as Nebraskans. And we saw them on full display last month as our state battled the worst fires in a decade. On the evening of April 22nd, 16 fires broke out throughout Nebraska. They were brought on by a combination of drought, low humidity, and gusty winds. These dangerous conditions caused the wildfires to spread q...
The winter after the great Fairbanks flood of the previous year was memorable. Mother Nature was not finished with us. She must have known that I would soon be leaving Alaska for good and she wanted to make sure I would remember what it was like. I’ve read stories of blizzards on the Great Plains, but nothing I have read, or experienced since has come close to the one that hit Fairbanks in 1968, my last winter in Alaska (except one I experienced in Kansas in 1954). At the time I was working i...
Hunters and photographers buy a high-powered telescope or zoom lens so they can draw a good ‘bead’ on their target. Now that some primary voting and ‘plank pushing’ has taken place, it is time to get to know the candidates, the platform planks they stand on and their proposals to defeat Marxist Agendas. Do not trust mainstream or social media. Listen, and look deeper. Uncover the true patriots for 2022. “Study to show yourself approved”. II Timothy 2:23; Psalm 127:1 Notoriously, Mid-Term el...
Today starts with another life lesson from cycling. Balance and performance are related, and, odd as it might sound, staying grounded. Over time, I’ve had my share of falls. I relaxed too much on a quiet road, the road surface suddenly changed, or a mechanical issue. Any one of these could have a rider greeting the road surface quickly. And depending on the conditions, said rider would return home with a few battle scars, some that will follow him for the rest of his life. Ultimately, it all c...
In recent days, I have re-read David L. Lindsay’s novel, Body of Truth. In it, he describes a cruel and gruesome civil war that terrorized the people of Guatemala for 36 years, from 1960 until 1996. It was the federal government, then run by a series of generals, who attacked the poorest of its citizens. A United Nations report, dated March 1, 1999, declared that, “An estimated 200,000 Guatemalans were killed during the civil war, including at least 40,000 persons who disappeared.” David L. Li...
While traveling in the Third District in recent weeks, I have been encouraged by the expertise and creativity our communities possess and sobered by the challenges we face. We have much to be thankful for, but there is also no shortage to the adversity we must overcome. After closely monitoring the recent severe wildfires across southern Nebraska, I joined Governor Ricketts, Nebraska National Guard Adjutant General Daryl Bohac, and other local officials earlier this week to survey the...
The big news last week was the leaked draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court, suggesting the high court’s intention to overturn the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion nationwide. Although the leaked opinion piece does not represent the high court’s final decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, it does suggest that at least five of the justices will side with the State of Mississippi in that case. Overturning Roe v. Wade would not m...
Nebraskans have long been strong supporters of the right to keep and bear arms. Nearly 85 years after it was enshrined in the Second Amendment at the federal level, Nebraska’s leaders chose to make our stance on gun rights crystal clear. Article I of the Nebraska Constitution proclaims that “the right to keep and bear arms for security or defense of self, family, home, and others, and for lawful common defense, hunting, recreational use, and all other lawful purposes...shall not be denied or...
One candidate in the 2022 Nebraska Gubernatorial Race stands above all others. Jim Pillen will best serve as our next Governor. He was raised on a small town farm in Platte County, Nebraska. After playing football for the Huskers and earning a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine, he became one of the largest pork entrepreneurs in Nebraska. Jim Pillen will fight federal overreach, provide new property tax relief, and limit spending. He will stand up to anti-agriculture regulations, value agriculture land fairly, and ensure competitive markets. Mr....
New research from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation shows that people who aren’t enrolled in college view cost as the greatest barrier. It’s not that folks don’t see the value in higher education, or that they question whether additional credentials would advance their careers. Among those who have never enrolled in college as well as those who enrolled at some point and paused, the perceived cost of tuition and fees was cited far more frequently than other factors. That should concern us for a...
Why did the chicken cross the road? Probably to get to somewhere where it’s still safe from the bird flu. The avian (bird) flu has come to Nebraska. The bird flu has been especially bad in the eastern part of the state. Millions of birds are currently being euthanized in Eastern Nebraska. Nebraska has already experienced seven outbreaks of the bird flu this year. Most recently, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture discovered an outbreak in a flock of 2.1 million chickens in Knox County. W...
Since the trend of buying bottled water, the phrase “I never had to pay for that when I was young” surfaces occasionally. That same can be said about free speech. Who would have thought “free speech” comes with a price tag. I suspect some people are still reeling in shock. The unlikely rebel has changed sides, by perception at least. There’s this belief, assumption maybe, that if your bank account is several times the average worker you’re some variety of narcissist with little interest in...
The 2022 Legislative Session will go down in history as one of the Nebraska Unicameral’s finest. In just 60 days, the Legislature passed record tax relief, made critical public safety enhancements, and invested in generational water resource projects. As if this wasn’t enough, Senators also allocated $1.04 billion of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. Here are some of the highlights of this historic session. Tax Relief The crowning achievement was tax relief. Heading into this sess...
Who do you trust to tell you the truth? Would you know the truth if you heard it? What is the difference between “disinformation” and a “different point of view or belief”? Your answers to these questions will have a great deal of influence on who and what you believe in. We are hearing a great deal from certain characters in our federal government and mass news media about “disinformation”. They are so distraught over what they call “disinformation” they want to instigate (yes, I know what tha...
It may be said that time and chance happen to everyone. James 1:8 says it differently, “… a double minded man (who says one thing, does another) is unstable in all his ways…” And, there are those who discern the times and chance (gamble) all they are and all they own, for the greatest of all commodities: FREEDOM. Long before the U.S. Declaration of Independence was signed, a Continental Army formed. You know their names: John Adams, Ben Franklin, John Glover, John Hancock, William Lee, Paul Re...
Isaiah 66: 13 “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” My mother was eighty-three years old at the time. That would have made the year 1994. She was still active; driving, going to church, going to stores and anywhere else she wanted. And to say her mind was in better shape than mine would have been an understatement. Dad had died 10 years previous. Mom was born in 1911 and would come up out of her grave and have words with me if she kne...
I came across some stats the other day that, if remotely accurate, are astounding, shocking and demand action. Fasten your seatbelt and prepare for a jolt. According to this info it takes 21 to 35 days for a Russian oil tanker to get to a US port to be offloaded. It takes between 35 to 60 days for a tanker from the Middle East to make the same trip. It takes about 10 hours to load a tanker and up to 24 hours to unload if it has to wait in port, and to get to an unloading dock can take up to 3...
Last week the 107th Legislature came to an end. This year was the shorter 60-day session. For the past four years I have served on the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee; however, this year proved to be the most difficult year so far. What made this year so difficult was that the Appropriations Committee had to appropriate $1.04 billion of federal funds from the American Recue Plan Act (ARPA). In previous years the number of bills assigned to the Appropriations Committee never surpassed 5...
I’ve heard on many occasions that tragedy proves the value of your friendships, relationships. A little more than 23 years ago an entire community had to quickly define itself when Columbine High School took its place among schools that had experienced a bloody rampage and loss of life. As the headlines unfolded, there were countless tears and hugs of support from friends and likely from people who felt the pain and offered their support to those directly connected with the incident. They didn’t...
In Nebraska, we know the importance of good stewardship. Our farmers and ranchers responsibly cultivate the land so future generations of Nebraskans can continue enjoying the Good Life for years to come. It’s why, nearly one hundred years before Earth Day even began, J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day right here in Nebraska City. Our farmers and ranchers are the original conservationists. Ag producers play a major role in our responsible stewardship of land and water. They use innovative p...
Maritime disasters can happen during either war or peace, but either way the loss in terms of human lives hits hard. A bomb, an explosion, a torpedo, a missile, an iceberg, no matter the cause, each translates into a statistic, the number of men and women whose lives were cut short. On February 15, 1898, the American battleship, the Maine, exploded in Havana, Cuba’s harbor, killing 260 U.S. Navy sailors. Americans blamed the Spanish, who owned and controlled Cuba then, but no one since has d...
Humility (getting together with God) is a step of that exposes, to us, what others already see in our character. Humility also serves to halt deception. Is this truth or lies? Truth has a ‘golden tone’ which emanates from a pure heart. This voice activated cry grabs God’s attention. Then, He tweaks the desires of the heart into who He created us to be. At age 15, the V.F.W. Auxiliary President, my mother, asked young ladies to sell Buddy Poppies in support of veterans. Enrollment was slow. My op...
As the weather warms up this spring and summer, thousands of Nebraskans are planning to visit our state’s many national treasures and other historic sites. From Homestead National Historic Park in Beatrice to Scotts Bluff National Monument in the Panhandle, Nebraska has so much to offer. One of my favorite places to visit is the Niobrara National Scenic River. I grew up in Lincoln, but after I married my husband, Bruce, we moved to his family ranch in Cherry County. My adopted hometown of V...
This will be my last column in the Sidney Sun-Telegraph for a while. Next week my wife and I will close the sale of our farm near Gurley, and we’ll be off to a new beginning in Belle Fourche, S.D., where I will become pastor of the Christian Life Center. It’s going to be necessary to focus my attentions on the move, my family, and my new job until at least June of this year. I’ll then reach out to the editor and we’ll discuss whether a return to these pages will be possible. I wrote my first c...
Ever since I became a State Senator six years ago my number one priority has been to give Nebraskans meaningful and significant tax relief, especially property tax relief. The second session of the 107th Legislature is scheduled to end sine die on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Therefore, today I would like to assess the status of tax relief efforts in Nebraska this year. The Nebraska State Legislature missed its best opportunity for meaningful and significant tax relief by failing to advance...
