-Isms: Views on life in rural America

Wow, we at SAM are embarking on our fourth year of publishing a weekly newspaper.

Seems like only yesterday when a group of us huddled around our dining room table to put together the inaugural edition of the Advocate-Messenger. The next day, Scott and I stood outside The Office, took a deep breath, waited for the first edition’s arrival and opened the door to a major opportunity. We knew it would be a life-changing experience. Trust me, we haven’t been disappointed.

That was an exciting - and a bit nerve-wracking - day. During the past three years, we’ve experienced a few obstacles. The successes though, they outweigh any obstruction placed in our paths. One constant: our mission has never changed. We believe in the communities comprising the Summerland region and we will continue to share stories about the people and places, good times and bad, which tell a collective story about life and love and opportunity in rural Nebraska. If you have an idea for a story or a photo opportunity, contact our office at 402-485-2101 or email [email protected].

This birthday may not be a milestone for this family-owned publication. Yet, in an age of dwindling print papers, when large corporations are gutting newsrooms at a swift pace and even digital readership is declining nationally, according to a Pew Research Center study, we feel fortunate our venture continues to grow. It’s because of readers and subscribers like you we are able to provide accurate news in a 24/7 news cycle. We thank you for choosing SAM to be a part of your local news lineup.

With that said, there are times we may not be the first to break a story. Sometimes, we are waiting for facts before going to print or posting online. We prefer to present accurate information instead of having to issue a retraction because we failed to secure correct information or we made an assumption that isn’t truthful.

In the past three years, we’ve covered important stories, like the Summerland School bond and Keystone pipeline fight with Holt County landowners, highlighted existing and new businesses, navigated life and loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, recorded births and weddings and deaths, shared “the thrill of victory and agony of defeat” and acted as community watchdog while covering countless meetings.

We’ve written personal features, like Scott Leisy’s and Barb Roland’s and Misty Nilson’s cancer journeys, Marvin and Maxine Haswell’s (then) 70-year wedding anniversary, Brad Thoendel’s experience as a student teacher, Bill Kruger’s classic car caper, Julie Olivan’s quincenara, Rachel and Dan Linquist’s venture raising longhorn cattle and Terri Hergert’s Santa collection.

We’ve interviewed SkillsUSA, FFA, 4-H and one-act cast members who shine in their respective activities at the local, state and national levels.

We’ve photographed and recorded volleyball players clinch a district title, football players, moments after defeat, congratulate the victors, wrestlers score a reversal in the final seconds of a match, cross country runners fall before crossing the finish line, high jumpers graze the bar before it drops to the mat.

Sure, our print edition is one component of our business. We reach audiences in a variety of ways whenever and wherever news happens. We continue to adapt to our diverse readership, offering an E-edition. We’re developing audio and video packages for select stories. We share additional photos, videos and/or news links on multiple social media platforms. If there’s news, we make every attempt to document it.

As we kick off our fourth year, we want you to know how grateful we are for our subscribers and advertisers. Thank you for believing in us and letting us tell your story.

A huge thank you to our co-workers. Whether you are a community photographer, freelancer, part- or full-time staff member, we would not want to be on this journey with anyone else. Your dedication and ideas keep us energized.

The belief of being local - and reading local - is important now, more than ever. This is our history, the chronicle of our daily lives, that future generations will look to. We’ll continue to record it precisely.

Cheers to year four.