Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Was driving home from a fishing trip the other day when I heard the news – Pete Rose, probably the best hitter in the history of baseball, had died. When I played in high school, I used a "Pete Rose" Louisville Slugger bat. It was as thick as a telephone pole, and almost as heavy. But I was like a lot of people – we loved the way Rose played the game. All-out. Sliding head-first into the bases. Knocking down catchers in plays at home plate. And best of all, slamming hit after hit, and spr...
Hard to imagine, but in our deep-red state we now have a competitive race for the U.S. Senate. It's been a while since a Republican had to break a sweat to get re-elected to the Senate in Nebraska. Even former governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey – a widely known Democrat nationally – couldn't crack the GOP's grip on the state's two Senate seats. But here comes a regular guy and nonpartisan from Omaha, Dan Osborn. His long-shot run against two-term incumbent Sen. Deb Fischer has caught fire, ins...
At peace. That's how Jordan Larson felt back in Lincoln after her fourth, and likely final, Olympic Games this summer. Her journey to tranquility started well before Paris, before capping an unprecedented career with the U.S. national team by winning silver, even before returning to her alma mater to help coach a championship contender. "This last two years really has been a journey of pure reflection ... of healing," Larson said at an August press conference. "I'm soaking in the essence of...
Back in the day, the Omaha World-Herald provided me with a company car and the instructions: "Drive across the state and find some stories." It was obviously a more formal command than that, something like, "If you like your job, you'll write something interesting." It was an incredible adventure in various vintages of Ford Taurus'. On the road, you realize that there are fascinating stories – sometimes tragic and sad, sometimes heart-warming and uplifting – in every corner of the state. You rec...
Many have tried, and few have succeeded in expanding the state’s sales tax base by taxing things now exempt from taxation. But that is where Gov. Jim Pillen is venturing in his pursuit of property tax relief. His initial plan, which failed to win approval in the state Legislature this spring, would have imposed new taxes on a host of items that could be labeled “low-hanging fruit.” I mean who’s going to get upset if we start imposing taxes on edibles infused with hemp, those slot machine...
Let's face it, Nebraska has high property taxes, the seventh highest in the country according to the Tax Foundation, which tracks such things. "Lots of land, not a lot of people," has always been the catchphrase, which translates into a higher burden of property taxes. But I almost fell out of my chair when Gov. Jim Pillen proposed, initially, to raise the state's sales taxes by two cents to achieve property tax relief. Never did I imagine that a conservative Republican governor would propose a...
One of the great, unsolved mysteries in the state has been why the beloved Trev Alberts left his alma mater to become athletic director at Texas A&M. Alberts was an All-American football player at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, then eventually became athletic director at the school after a successful stint at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Seemed like a match made in heaven, and a job Alberts would hold for many years. But then, suddenly, it was over, and Alberts was trading Husker...
TAYLOR – Bailley Leibert walks into civics class and plops her sunflower-print backpack onto an empty table. The 15-year-old rummages for her notebook and colored pens. Around her are enough chairs to seat 10 students. But today, and every day, there are nine empty seats. It's just the ninth-grader and social studies teacher Ken Wright – an unintentional private lesson for the only freshman in this school. At Loup County High School, Bailley is the sole member of the class of 2027. The cla...
Since we're writers, we, at SAM love lists. Trust us, we keep and use them every single day. But, how does one determine which articles should be at the top of the yearly list? In the past, we've based it by reader count from our website. This year, we're still relying on reader count, featuring the top-read article by month. We wrote nearly 2,000 articles in 2023 and, while some of our favorites don't appear on the list, we're sure these are a newsworthy representation of the Summerland region....
SUBMITTED ARTICLE The 2022- 2023 SkillsUSA season has officially come to an end. Summerland’s chapter president, Faith King, stated that the national qualifiers finished the year strong, upon their return from the National Skills and Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, at the end of June. Although it was previously announced that recent Summerland graduate, Faith King, would qualify for a spot among the top 10 in the nation, her exact placings were not known until this past week. In the prelim rounds, King earned fifth place among all c...
Registration is currently being accepted for the Nebraska Senior Games, scheduled to be held from Aug. 3 to 6, in Kearney. Men and women, age 50 and over, as of Dec. 31, are eligible to participate. Events include: golf, 5K and 10K road race, table tennis, pickleball, tennis, swimming, badminton, disc golf, racquetball, basketball free throw and hot shot, horseshoes, track and field, bowling, cycling, swimming, cornhole and more. Early registration deadline is Thursday, June 30. The final...
An Oakland native will fill the junior/senior high principal's position next fall. Zach Rosenboom will make the move to Summerland after serving as the social studies teacher at Tekamah-Herman Public School since 2014. For the past three years, Rosenboom served as activities director for the Tigers. He started his teaching career at Dorchester Public School and spent two years there. He has coached at the junior and senior high school levels and served asn an AAU coach. Rosenboom told the...
A large population of women have grown up with opportunities to compete in sports. Others, however, haven't had the same luck. Moms, aunts, cousins and grandmas faced struggles of not being given rights because of their gender. Up until 1972, women were discriminated against; but this changed for good when Sen. Birch Bayh pushed for and President Nixon signed Title IX into law, preventing discrimination based on sex, giving women the right to participate in sports at the high school and collegia...
In 1972, Congress passed Title IX, part of the education amendments of 1972, and President Richard Nixon signed it into law. Prior to its passage, few opportunities were available female athletes. In 1972, approximately 30,000 women participated in collegiate athletics. High school programs weren’t much different. According to History.com, 295,000 girls participated in high school sports in 1972. Title IX was established to correct imbalances between women’s and men’s athletics. Now, more than 2.6 million females participate in sports at the h...
Nebraska News Service As Pat Mooney walked around the dugout, he overheard Kyle Kubat. “Never have and never will,” Kubat muttered. Kubat was pitching in the Nebraska Class A American Division State Legion baseball championship against Papillion La Vista South. Creighton Prep won the game 10-1 and Kubat did not disappoint. He pitched eight innings, struck out 12 and added a home run to boot. After the game, Creighton Prep head baseball coach Pat Mooney asked Kubat what his pregame phrase meant. “He told me this team has never beat me and never...
Nebraska football's rich history is intertwined alongside that of college football, and its home stadium is, too. Ground broke on the first iteration of Memorial Stadium April 26, 1923, about 33 years after Nebraska football played its first game. The 31,080-seat stadium was ready in time for the following season, hosting Nebraska's 24-0 victory over Oklahoma in the stadium's inaugural contest in October 1923. The rest is history. Nebraska has sold out 382 consecutive games at Memorial Stadium,...
The City of Kearney Park and Recreation Department is currently accepting registrations for the Nebraska Senior Games. The Games, for people 50 and older, are scheduled for August 5 to 8, in Kearney. Events include: bowling; 5K, 10K, 20K and 40K cycling; folf, 5K and 10K run; horseshoes; swimming; table tennis; tennis; track and field; badminton; free throw and hot shot basketball; pickleball; disc golf and cornhole. The Nebraska Senior Games is a member of the National Senior Games...
Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” I was reminded of the quote during Sunday’s town hall meeting in Orchard. The quote isn’t specific to our local communities. No, it’s a question worth asking no matter where you call home. But, the premise of King’s words - the notion that volunteering and making an impact in another person’s life - is what sticks out. Sunday’s meeting reinforced the meaning. It’s one of the great...
The Orchard advisory school board approved several policies when three members and Principal Cathy Cooper met last week at the school. Board member Nathan Schwager was absent. The policies included several to align activity policies in the three schools forming the Summerland Bobcat cooperative, Orchard, Clearwater and Ewing, along with changes recommended by the state school board association. Several statewide changes deal with electronic nicotine delivery systems, alternative nicotine products, tobacco products, look-alikes and products...
Mark you calendars for Saturday, Aug. 24. The Summerland Lady Bobcats will open their inaugural season at the Bill Marshall Volleyball Classic. The Bobcats are slated to face Axtell, at 10 a.m., at Grand Island Central Catholic. A second match will begin at noon against Schuyler Central. The EPPJ Lady Wolfpack will also participate in the tourney. The Wolfpack will face Palmer at 10 a.m., at Grand Island Northwest, follwed by an 11 a.m. match against Pender. The fourth annual classic features a...
