Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Sorted by date Results 782 - 806 of 1718
The scene begins with me walking down the hall of Monroe High School, Fairbanks, Alaska. The time: my freshman year at school day’s end, around the end of the first quarter. As I leave the classroom someone grabs my armful of schoolbooks, knocks me down and flees down the hallway towards the exit. After getting to my feet I got a good look at the culprit – he was someone with whom I had problems with his bullying me in the past. That day things would change permanently. Prior to that day I had s...
Americans like to say we did away with slavery in the 1860s. This is false. Before I present some facts I suspect many readers are not aware of, I state unequivocally that slavery is evil, reprehensible and an abomination to basic human dignity. Let my position on it be known before we look at uncomfortable truth. Some portray America as evil, founded on the backs of slaves. A nation that stands out among others as unique for its exploitation of African Americans. This view is also false. Yes,...
The time has come to formally call for the resignations of every member of the Nebraska State Board of Education, including Education Commissioner, Matthew Blomstedt. Each of the members of the Nebraska State Board of Education needs to resign because the board has failed to listen to the people of Nebraska, failed to adequately reform the sex education standards, and has failed to educate Nebraska’s students. Instead of doing what the vast majority of the people want and what is best for our s...
Earlier this summer, the ladies of Brand New Items and Coffee Shop took on the project of raising funds to help children at The Ark attend summer camp. The project started with an estimate, based on the average number of children who attend the weekly Tuesday meeting. Each Tuesday, children are welcomed at The Ark, a converted apartment in the Sioux Villa, for an evening of food, fun and bible lessons. The Tuesday gathering occurs throughout the year, with the exception of when holidays are on a Tuesday. The staff of Brand New Items encouraged...
Rarely do men and women seem free, even for a moment, from the evils that have plagued human beings for millennium: war, poverty, famine, slavery, racism, diseases, pestilence, and natural disasters. The U.S. armed forces first attacked the Taliban in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, and now, the twin wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are winding down after two decades, wars that have cut short many human lives and caused painful, debilitating injuries. On the horizon is a menacing conflict with China...
As the media teams with government officials to whip up panic about the latest Delta variant of Covid, new data was released over the weekend that indicates the hype is overblown. CDC and state Covid dashboards show about 164 million Americans have received a Covid vaccine. Of those vaccinated, approximately 125,000 have had a “breakthrough case” and gotten Covid. Take 125,000 and divide it by 164 million to get 0.00076 percent. Just 0.004 percent of that tiny percentage required hos...
Earlier this year I co-signed LB 643, a bill introduced by Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair to protect the rights of citizens and parents to choose for themselves whether or not to get vaccinated in the event that the government, a school or a business tries to impose a mandatory inoculation. Although the bill has failed to advance out of the HHS committee, I continue to believe that it is a fundamental breech of our individual liberty to impose a mandatory vaccination upon the American public. Yet,...
We’re only a month away from one of the most important annual events for our state—the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island. This year, the fair will run from August 27th through September 6th. It’s a great way to celebrate Nebraska agriculture, cap off the summer with family-friendly entertainment, enjoy amazing food, and connect with our rich heritage. Over the last year-and-a-half, Nebraska agriculture once again proved it could feed the world in the midst of the toughest circumstances. Our f...
“Middle Age Sports” aka softball is famous for the quote “Walk it off. You’ll be fine!” Sometimes that works, and sometimes that compounds the issue. The last time I heard that famous phrase eventually ended my recreational “career.” Likewise, it is a lesson of how much mental focus many games and sports truly require. Sometimes the simplest of processes can be derailed by not having the mental focus. The 2021 Olympics is a good example of that. We have athletes who are treated by royalty only...
A mantra recited often since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak is “follow the science.” Sadly, science has become politicized like nearly everything else these days, and the exhortation to follow it with religious fervor is now often paired with the recommendation to make those who question the “experts” pay a price for doing so. I’ve been actively involved in meteorology and other earth sciences for most of my life. That qualifies me to speak about matters relating to those sciences,...
Several years ago, when I was just starting this adventure called community journalism, I was taking pictures at a gymnastics event. The picture turned out decent, but I was a little nervous about having the right contestant identified. It was during the meet so I couldn’t just walk up to her and ask her name. Gymnastics is like golf at that point. There is a very revered process where an unusual sound or disruption in light could change the course of things. So I submitted said picture for p...
As we emerge from the pandemic and the economy begins to rebound, I’m focused on ensuring the industries that provide Nebraska jobs can continue to grow and thrive. The ethanol industry is one of those. Nationwide, it provides tens of thousands of Americans with good-paying jobs, and it indirectly supports at least 200,000 more. In Nebraska alone, the 25 ethanol plants spread across our state are able to produce more than two billion gallons a year, making us the second-largest producer of t...
On January 27, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. signed his “Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.” In this order, President Biden set a “goal of conserving at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.” At the time of the signing, very little information was released by the Biden-Harris Administration. We only had the few paragraphs of text in the order and a short fact sheet from the Department of Interior stating “that only 12 percent of lands are perma...
In recent days a native Icelander named Egill Bjarnason published a book, “How Iceland Changed the World.” I wonder about that title’s bold claim, but nonetheless he writes well, is entertaining. He begins with the Vikings, and then steps forward, chapter by chapter, until he finishes in the 21st century. Along the way, he brings in plenty of fascinating details about the island’s towns, people, weather, government, and the Northern Lights, an enjoyable and readable geography primer. In his int...
Warning: this column contains references to sexual content some may find offensive. The Sidney School Board recently voted unanimously to reject the Nebraska Board of Education’s proposed Health Education Standards. Shortly thereafter, the Potter-Dix School Board did the same. I applaud these boards and their members for unanimously standing up and voicing concerns. I cheer the affirmations both boards made in their written resolutions stating that parents are the primary educators of their c...
Dear Editor, The Potter-Dix Board of Education wants you to be aware that the following resolution was unanimously passed by the members present at their meeting on July 13, 2021. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 17-0009 IN THE STATE OF NEBRASKA AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The Board of Education (the “Board”) hereby makes the following findings and determinations: (a) Parents and guardians are the primary educators of their own children, especially In matters of faith and morals, including sex education; and (b) The...
The popular definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. This popular definition of insanity describes what it is like to work with the Nebraska Department of Education. No matter how many times the people of Nebraska testify against the newly proposed education standards and demand that the old curriculum be reinstated, the Nebraska Department of Education continues to press forward with its own agenda. Despite the thousands of emails...
Over the past year, Nebraska has been enjoying rapid growth, creating lots of great-paying job opportunities here in the Good Life. We have the second lowest unemployment rate in the nation at 2.6%. That’s the lowest rate our state has seen since 1999. Right now, we have over 40,000 jobs available on the State of Nebraska’s jobs site: NEworks.nebraska.gov. These are some of the reasons why WalletHub recently ranked Nebraska as the #2 state in the U.S. to find a job. As we grow Nebraska for the...
At Nebraska Community Foundation, we say change happens along the lines of relationships at the speed of trust. New ideas are great, but positive change that sticks happens person to person, friend to friend. Good ideas aren’t enough – trusting relationships are key to cultivating positive change. The Hometown Interns program is our attempt to apply this logic to young people with options. This summer 19 college students are spending the summer in their Greater Nebraska hometowns, helping the...
Warning: Much of the following is capable of generating anger, frustration, nervousness, hot and cold sweats, and other adverse reactions to those of the left-leaning liberal political persuasion. To everyone else you may die laughing. Read on at your discretion. As stated in the previous Murphy’s Laws of Government & Politics #1, the quoted laws are from a lifetime collection of Murphy’s Laws I’ve acquired from numerous sources over several decades. Below are a few more of the laws from my co...
On Sunday morning, Richard Branson became the first billionaire in space when he rode Virgin Galactic Space Ship Unity to an altitude of approximately 53 miles, beating out private-sector spacefaring rivals Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. To be fair, Musk is wholly supportive of Branson and has reportedly purchased a ticket on an upcoming Virgin Galactic flight. Bezos, not to be outdone, plans a trip to space next week on a spaceship developed by his company, Blue Origin. And Bezos did graciously...
One of my favorite pictures was taken at a home construction. I was in another country, generally doing things the way they did things, when I saw an image that felt as much emotional or spiritual as it was physical. There before me was a window still lacking the frame and glass. In this area, the window offers protection as much as appearance. Looking into the half-finished building is another window, then a third. It was almost poetic. I can’t say one was any better than the other except t...
There is a necessary connection between economics and a republican form of government which gives rise to individual liberty. Whenever you alter either a constitutional republic or an economic system, the result is the loss of liberty. Milton Friedman understood this correlation very well when he said, “…a society which is socialist cannot also be democratic, in the sense of guaranteeing individual freedom.” Capitalism is an economic system designed for a free people. Capitalism puts an individu...
As America emerges from the Fourth of July weekend, there’s another important reminder this month of why we should cherish our freedom and liberty. July marks the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). CCP officials have already been holding celebrations to paint a positive image of their work on the world stage. While the CCP pushes propaganda on the anniversary of its founding, it’s important that Americans understand how the communist regime operates. To this end, I sig...
Warning: Much of the following is capable of generating anger, frustration, nervousness, hot and cold sweats, and other adverse reactions to those of the left-leaning liberal political persuasion. To everyone else you may die laughing. Read on at your own discretion. Much to my wife’s vexation I tend to be a collector of oddities. Among them I’ve amassed a rather large collection of Murphy’s Laws and other witticisms. Browsing through them recently I found several that are really appro...
