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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We’re less than a month away from our state’s biggest annual celebration — the Nebraska State Fair. From August 26th through September 5th, Nebraskans from across the state will gather to share all that Nebraska agriculture has to offer. It will be the 153rd time we gather for this time-honored tradition. Last year, the State Fair attracted more than a quarter-million attendees to Grand Island, including visitors from 10 countries and 43 states. This year, we’ll be ready to welcome even more gu...
The role of religion in our public schools has taken center stage once again. In June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Joseph Kennedy, a football coach in Bremerton, Washington, had a constitutional right to pray with his players on the 50-yard line after high school football games. Coach Kennedy had been fired from his coaching job for doing this very thing under the rationale that he was imposing his religious beliefs on the players, but our nation’s highest court disagreed. The U.S. S...
“These [words of God] are seeds sown in good ground: those who hear the Word, accept it, act on it and bear fruit some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundredfold.” Mark 4:20. Faith-SEED is over and above the tithe for a specific vision or dream. Ask for seed to sow. 2 Corinthians 9:10. Sow any percentage of NET increase. Choose the time, place and purpose. God is looking for your plan. Every seed has a harvest date. Genesis 9:22 “While the earth remains, seed-time and harvest ... shall...
Earlier this month I wrote an article on how the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services has been unable to account for $10.5 billion in State expenditures. $10.5 billion is more than the State’s annual budget for two whole years. One of the major players in this accounting fiasco has been the Nebraska Department of Labor. So, today I would like to show you some examples of how the Nebraska Department of Labor accounts for the way it spends your taxpayer dollars. On April 28, 2022 C...
In the early days of World War II, 1939 to 1940, the Nazi German war machine advanced across eastern Europe, until its soldiers stood on the outskirts of Moscow, deep into the Soviet Union, poised and ready to attack the Russian capital city. However, the Battle of Moscow stalled when the Soviet’s Red Army found sufficient strength to initiate a counter offensive, at Joseph Stalin’s insistence, that pushed Germany’s 9th Army west, some distance from Moscow. The counter-offensive worked for a...
Over time I’ve heard people criticize different restaurants on their first day out. The food wasn’t right. The delivery was slow. The lights were too soft. We’re all good at fifth-quarter criticism. The media is good at that. For as humbling as it is, being human means mistakes happen. We owe it to the restaurant, retailer, or media office, the chance to correct mistakes. That chance isn’t always available when the supplier of those services are removed from the discussion table. Small towns a...
This month, I issued a proclamation declaring July 2022 as “Victims of Communism Month” in Nebraska. This is the second year in a row that I’ve issued this proclamation as a way to highlight the atrocities committed by Communist governments. There’s no clearer example than the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), whose regime is a human rights abuser to its own people. In recent years, the CCP has ruthlessly crushed dissent in Hong Kong. It has committed genocide against ethnic Uighurs. And it is o...
“These [words of God] are seeds sown in good ground: those who hear the Word, accept it, act on it and bear fruit some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundredfold.” Mark 4:20. Faith-SEED is over and above the tithe for a specific vision or dream. Ask for seed to sow. 2 Corinthians 9:10. Sow any percentage of NET increase. Choose the time, place and purpose. God is looking for your plan. Every seed has a harvest date. Genesis 9:22 “While the earth remains, seed-time and harvest ... shall...
Earlier this month I wrote an article on how the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services has been unable to account for $10.5 billion in State expenditures. $10.5 billion is more than the State’s annual budget for two whole years. One of the major players in this accounting fiasco has been the Nebraska Department of Labor. So, today I would like to show you some examples of how the Nebraska Department of Labor accounts for the way it spends your taxpayer dollars. On April 28, 2022 C...
It is often noted by counselors that one of the most important parts of life is finding importance. There is Robert Fulgrum’s book “What on earth have I done with my life?” There is the thought that in some definitions of depression, the client feels life is meaningless. What if here, like many other chapters in life, we overthink the equation? What if the challenge is finding your niche? I’ve traveled. Compared to some I’m still in the starting block, and in other stories I could write boo...
Reducing the number of people who return to prison is a key goal of any criminal justice system. In Nebraska, more than 70 percent of those discharged in 2019 have not returned to the custody of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) – a significant benchmark. Recidivism is typically measured in three-year increments. Based on just released data, Nebraska’s recidivism rate has dropped to 29.8 percent. This is the third year in a row that recidivism has trended downward in Nebraska. In comparison to publicly available data for...
Every fall, spring, and summer, my office provides some outstanding college students with the opportunity to intern in Washington, D.C. or at one of our state offices. These internships give students the chance to learn more about public policy, our system of government, and constituent service. This summer, I welcomed four interns to our D.C. team. These college students are all from Nebraska, and over the last 8 weeks they have done important work on behalf of the state. I am always delighted...
One of America’s greatest civil rights heroes is from Nebraska. Yet nationally, almost nobody knows about him. As Nebraskans, we’re changing that by telling Chief Standing Bear’s story. In the 1800s, Chief Standing Bear’s tribe — the Ponca — peacefully hunted and farmed on land in northeast Nebraska along the Niobrara River. In 1868, the federal government signed a treaty with the Sioux tribe, mistakenly granting them much of the Ponca’s territory. This led to conflict between the two tribes ove...
Mark 14:44-46 “And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, Judas went straightway to him, and said, Master, master; and kissed him. And they laid their hands on him, and took him.” When you think of the disciples of Jesus, which one do you think of first? The impetuous Peter (Luke 22: 50), or perhaps “the Disciple Jesus loved” (John 13: 23). Very likely, many think of Judas,...
On July 13, a public meeting was held on a proposed Creative District in downtown Sidney. The discussions included, why are people moving to Sidney, what can be done to promote more curiosity of downtown, add more growth, and bridging the gap between the highways and downtown Sidney. We need to move past the stage of, “we tried it before and it didn’t work,” and ask the question of why didn’t it work, and what can be done differently. Sidney, and Cheyenne County overall, has history streaming through it. The rails that once fed into “Sinful...
Seeking the Kingdom as in Matthew 6:33, teaches that Father God gives and we receive according to our faith (believing that what He says, He will do). “Come, now, let us reason together, says the Lord. If you be willing and obedient, you will eat of the good of the land, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.” Isaiah 1:18. “Reverence of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (also wisdom).” Proverbs 1:7. Father God is determined to show heirs of His Promise immutable evidence that by Jesus...
On June 26, 1284, officials in a German town called Hamelin hired a musician to rid the town of its rats. The “rat-catcher’s magical flute” hypnotized the rats that followed the piper out of Hamelin’s gates and into the Weser River, where they all drowned. Although the story is based upon verifiable historical facts, it has since passed into folklore, as a fairy tale once told by the Brothers Grimm. One can only wish for as simple a solution as a magic flute to drown and destroy all forms o...
I wonder if there’s been many studies on the psyche of society overall? We, collectively, want freedom, but only if approved policies favor our perspective of life. Person X expects to have the freedom to do Activity Y. Resident B objects to Activity Y because it doesn’t line up with his or her views. Ironically, on some platforms Person X and Resident B are on a level playing field. They can turn off or walk away from the conflicting point of view. Some of the conflict is the social viewpoint i...
On July 9th delegates from across the state gathered in Kearney, Nebraska for a convention of the State Republican Party. While I did not attend this year’s convention, I was not saddened by the results. Conservative delegates from Lancaster County implemented a well-designed coup to oust party chairman, Dan Welch, and install their own county party leader, Eric Underwood, as the new chairman. While Welch accepted his removal with poise and dignity, the hostile take-over was a long time c...
As a Nebraska State Senator, I serve on the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee. The Appropriations Committee is responsible for deciding how the State spends its money…well, to a certain extent, anyway. The Appropriations Committee prepares the State Budget, but state agencies are supposed to keep track of how they spend the State’s money. The job of appropriating the State’s money is never an easy task, but in recent years it has become a nearly impossible task due to the way the executi...
“They overcame by the Blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony and they did not cling to their old lives.” Revelation 12:11 Kingdom Plenty is accessed by prayer, but merging into debt freedom requires understanding how God’s Kingdom works. It is a cycle of sowing, reaping, giving, receiving. God is the Giver. We, His designated receivers! Matthew 6:33 “Seek ye, first, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (whatever you need/desire) will be added unto you”. His ‘hot...
I was watching a replay of sorts, a talent contest, when one of the contestants said “you can’t wait until life is perfect to feel happy.” It is a very insightful challenge for so few words. It is akin to the cycling challenge: “Wait for perfect weather and you will never ride.” But what constitutes happiness, or did she really mean contentment? Can you be more, or less, happy depending on your circumstances? If so, happiness is an emotion that varies with your situation. You’re happy when...
In 1937, the Nebraska Safety Patrol was formed to address the rising problem of crashes on our state’s roads. Eighty-five years later, that organization still stands—now known as the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP). Their mission to help keep our communities and citizens safe hasn’t wavered. But they continue to adapt the ways they carry out that mission to meet the needs of Nebraskans. As we celebrate 85 years of the NSP, let’s recognize all they do for our state. They keep us safe on the roads, pr...
Jeremiah 30: 2 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.” Over the years I’ve found myself hurrying throughout most days and finally realized I was missing some very important parts of my life by trying to accomplish too many things. I once heard said, “A journey is not only about the destination, but also about the trip.” For many years, I’ve believed life is about the experiences we have. During those years, the accumulation...
Winston Churchill is credited with one of the shortest, but most challenging speeches of the time. He didn’t cheer on the fighting men of the United Kingdom. He didn’t talk down the German advancement. He was speaking at Harrow School in 1941, his alma mater. The remarks he is still known for are: “ never give in, never give in, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to conviction of honour and good sense.” Death of a child is a chapter in life that leaves the parents constantly asking the...
