Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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I know the old saying: April showers bring May flowers. I also know we need showers month after month, but I don't like being held in the house by rain showers. It's May and I want to play outside. I do want the rains but have never figured out the happy medium, as to when it is to rain when needed, so I can be outside. If it rains at night, it's muddy during the day. Hmm, what to do? I suppose those rainy days are the times to look out the kitchen window while I dig into indoor chores. Or, I...
It’s been said that each fingerprint is unique. I contend a person’s handwriting tells a similar story. Dad’s handwriting - beginning to appear a bit shaky - is the quintessential teacher script: perfectly formed letters looped together in an orderly vertical cadence. Mom’s handwriting featured precise strokes, making it easy to read. Each capital letter, a flourish of serif elements and wide spacing. Even my children’s handwriting is distinct. Cassie’s resembles groupings of thinly-form...
GLADYS GODINEZ Community Organizer Center for Rural Affairs Meatpacking plants across the state have become COVID-19 hotspots, and the struggles faced by the people working inside are apparent and alarming. Our friends and neighbors are being asked to risk their health, safety and lives without vital protections on the job, which is endangering our food supply and our entire communities. People continue to be asked to work shoulder to shoulder without critical protections and they are getting sicker and sicker as a result. The spread of...
By now, all registered voters in Nebraska should have had the opportunity to fill out an application for an early (absentee) ballot. That application should be mailed to your county’s Election Commissioner, which for most folks reading this will be your county clerk. Once you have your ballot, please be sure that it is received by your county offices by May 12. I’d like to take this opportunity to encourage all of you reading to exercise your Constitutional right to vote. I won’t use this space...
All I really needed to know about gardening I learned from my grandparents. Gardening is hard, yet rewarding, work. Planting seeds, caring for tender plants, watering daily and harvesting require patience. You learn to adapt, sometimes you try new things. The end result, though, is worth the time. My Wausa grandparents grew rows of green beans, cucumbers, potatoes and a lot of sunflowers. I remember a few tomato plants, too, although I do not remember Grandma cooking a lot of tomato-based foods....
Kate Hansen Policy assistant, Center for Rural Affairs The deadline for Nebraska farmers and ranchers to apply to the Conservation Stewardship Program is quickly approaching. Interested producers should apply by May 29 and be aware of new safety procedures in place due to the coronavirus. Administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, CSP is a working lands conservation program that offers financial and technical assistance for producers to enhance conservation on their operations. Nebraska leads the country in both new and renewed...
Recently, a friend shared a video with me they were required to watch for class. With little explanation, I clicked the link, which directed me to a Ted Talk titled, “Why does it take so long to grow up today?” The video begins by spewing statistics comparing milestones young people experience from today to 50 years ago. Marriage, children, education and other relatable milestones are compared in the video. As expected, ages where these milestones are reached from 50 years ago to the pre...
MATTHEW ADELMAN National Newspaper Association president We need to get through this time and tighten our belts, just as we have through two World Wars, terrorist attacks and other epidemics Newspapers in the United States have traveled rough seas to the First Amendment freedoms we enjoy today. From the colonial Stamp Act through wartime censorship to today, when thousands of newspapers were slammed with the public health emergency known as COVID-19, people who work for newspapers have never had completely smooth sailing. Now most of the...
Henry David Thoreau wrote, “When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest of times, and to the latest.” The quote has been on my mind lately for a couple reasons. First, I like music. It powers me through the day, well, music and a strong glass of brewed iced tea. Our graphic designer, Jenna, has a beautiful voice and she sings almost every day. It never fails ... it will be Tuesday afternoon, deadline looming near, and she’ll break out in son...
JESSICA CAMPOS Women's Business Center director Center for Rural Affairs As of Thursday, April 16, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that the Paycheck Protection Program had reached the maximum loan limit authorized by Congress, just 14 days after small businesses were first able to apply. The program was created as part of the CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, which included $377 billion in relief to small businesses, with $350 billion of that allocated to the PPP. Congress is debating a proposal to add $250 billion to...
On May 12, vote yes twice to approve the LB840 Economic Development Program Plan and LB840 tax in Ewing. What is LB840? LB840 authorizes the village to collect and appropriate local sales tax dollars, if approved by the voters, for the community to use for economic development purposes. The LB840 program is locally controlled. It is run by a local citizens’ advisory committee that makes the decisions on where the funds should be spent and what businesses should be assisted. Who Benefits from LB840? LB840 provides numerous benefits to individual...
The other morning, a Cheshire cat moon hung in the sky. Its typically upturned smile cast sideways - resembling a frown - brought thoughts of 9/11 to mind. A similar-looking moon floated in the sky as twilight neared on that September evening in 2001. The world turned upside down that day, chaos on Earth. The ancients believed celestial elements mirrored what was happening on firm ground. If they are correct, on Sept. 11, the heavens cried at the destruction occurring on U.S. soil. Are the heave...
In the last two weeks, it feels, in some ways, as though nothing has really changed, but in some ways, things seem to be changing by the minute. I reached out to some friends in the agribusiness and small business communities and compiled some information for small business owners relating to resources available to you. Businesses, including farms, with less than 500 employees, qualify for Paycheck Protection Program Loans, to keep employees on payroll, under the $349 billion Small Business...
A subscriber posed an interesting question this week. Amid COVID-19 concerns, how safe are everyday objects many of us take for granted? Can pieces of mail - more importantly- your copy of the Summerland Advocate-Messenger, transmit the virus? What about styrofoam boxes containing a carryout order from local restaurants? Take it one more step. What about foods we eat? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, data indicates it is highly unlikely any of these items carry the...
The Nebraska Legislature remains adjourned until further notice. However, just over a week ago, we reconvened for three days to approve an emergency request from the governor to help fund the state response to COVID-19. The bill appropriates $83 million toward medical needs, protective measures, equipment,and programs related to the virus. It passed unanimously. That’s a statement I can rarely make, especially in these polarized times. I am proud to say legislators from across the aisle came t...
Garden fairies are so fun if you have a little one with you in the garden. As I look out to an early spring garden, there isn't much color other than sprouts of green iris. The garden fairies haven't been to work yet. I like to share with young garden visitors the tales of garden fairies. We even have a tree with a door and windows for the fairies. My story is that garden fairies give the blooming flowers their color early in the morning. Now wouldn't that be something to see out the kitchen...
This is a love story, of sorts; a stream-of-consciousness gathering of thoughts and concerns, a song of praise for unsung heroes whose daily routines have been upended. Teaching isn’t an easy career to begin with. Sure, there are those people who think it’s an 8-to-4 job, with summer’s free and two weeks of Christmas vacation. What they don’t realize is, after staying in your classroom until 5 p.m., every day, you take work home - papers to grade, lessons to fine-tune, phone calls to parents...
“Being negative and critical is easy, showing positivity and maintaining a positive mindset is where the real work begins.” These were words I used in an interview at the beginning of the month. When applying for a promotion for an administrative role in residence life at college, I was asked how I would maintain motivation and help motivate my resident assistants for the upcoming year. Without hesitation, I responded with, “Maintaining a positive mindset ...” It was the core concept I relied...
The Legislature was called back into session March 23 to pass emergency funding relating to the spread of coronavirus. An amendment was added to LB 1198, a bill that originally sought to appropriate funding for the restoration of doors to the legislative chamber. LB 1198 had already received first-round approval. An amendment offered by the chair of the Appropriations Committee, Sen. John Stinner, struck the original content of the bill and replaced it with an appropriation of $83.6 million from...
Rural communities are showcasing resiliency by ensuring kids are fed during widespread school closures caused by coronavirus. With so many uncertainties surrounding us, where the next meal is coming from should not be one of them. This should especially not be a concern for growing young bodies who happen to be our rural legacy. In West Point, all students will be provided free breakfast and lunch while school is closed. Households pick up meals at regular bus stops in town and in nearby communities the school also serves. Other rural schools...
As I neared age 40, a wave of depression washed over me, sweeping me into an abyss of self-pity. When I look back at that time, life was a jumbled mess and saying I was unhappy was an understatement. On my birthday, I took a long look in the mirror and knew I needed to focus on positive elements of life. Too much negativity already existed in the world. I didn’t need to add to it. My personal present - a bitchslap to the face - worked. I started by focusing on gratitude, listing the little t...
Many unprecedented events have taken place over this past week. In my March 13 newsletter, I wrote about the Legislature giving first-round approval to the budget bills. Since then, COVID-19 has completely overshadowed everything else. Terms such as community spread and social distancing have become part of our daily language. The Legislature postponed its session, beginning March 17, until it is safe and necessary to call members back into session. However, the speaker may call us back in soon...
CODY SMITH Policy Associate, Center for Rural Affairs After a lengthy fight during the 2019 Iowa legislative session, a unique coalition of agriculture and environmental groups joined forces with MidAmerican Energy, the state’s largest investor-owned utility, to negotiate a consensus agreement to expand solar energy in Iowa. A year later, the product of these conversations was signed into law—creating a gold standard for solar energy across the nation. This agreement—Senate File 583—protects investments in solar energy from farmers, small b...
By now, you’ve more than likely seen photos on social media or in other media outlets showing bare shelves in grocery stores. Those photos give the appearance that America is running out of food (and toilet paper, but that’s another issue). Those photos lead to unnecessary panic and anxiety. While a picture is worth a thousand words, those photos don’t tell the whole story. Ask dairy farmers and meat producers. The food supply chain isn’t empty. In many cases, a large surplus of goods is stoc...
COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, has begun to dominate the headlines. To say that events are unfolding rapidly on a global, national, state and even local level, would seem an enormous understatement. We are in uncharted waters, with many unknowns. But the goal needs to be to reduce the spread and impact as best we can, in order to protect the most vulnerable among us. That means adhering to the recommendations of our experts on issues such as hygiene and social distancing. Besides the obvious...
