Columns

1. The fattest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference.

Born in the 1930s and early 40s, we exist as a very special age cohort. We are the Silent Generation.

Fire departments from Oconto, Callaway, and Eddyville were called to a house fire south and east of Oconto on Jan. 6.

Amidst the focus on the looming budget shortfall, there is some good news to share. Nebraska recently received notification that we have been awarded $218.5 million through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, the eighth largest state allocation nationwide! This five-year national initiative aims to modernize rural health care delivery across America. Governor Jim Pillen has called it a once in a generation opportunity to Make Rural Nebraska Healthy Again, with implementation beginning in 2026 through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The program addresses challenges including provider shortages, geographic distances, food insecurity, and an aging population in a state where nearly 95 percent of counties are classified as rural or frontier.

I have a dream. Chances are, when you hear or read those words, you think of the famous speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr. But the truth is, we all have dreams. And as you read this, I am preparing to see one of my biggest ones come true.

As a kid we always talked about digging down straight through the earth to China. Well, China isn’t exactly on the opposite side of the earth from where we live. We are at 40.9* north latitude and 100.16* west longitude. If we were to burrow straight through the earth, we would come up in the Indian Ocean about 2,000 miles south and east of Perth, Australia.

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are holidays that have changed a lot for me over the years. Back in my 20s and early 30s, New Year’s Eve was a time to party - which usually meant I spent most of New Year’s Day not feeling so hot.

Why I Love Nebraska When it’s Christmas time in Nebraska, and the gentle breezes blow, About 70 miles an hour and it’s 52 below. You can tell you’re in Nebraska, ‘cause the snow’s up to your butt, and you take a breath of Christmas air and your nose holes both freeze shut.

A couple of weeks ago, I shared my dilemma of Christmas shopping for grown children and grandchildren, and asked for feedback. One reader was kind enough to take the time to offer her advice: “We give ours the gift of meat. We get a hog/steer and get it butchered. Good food for the freezer. You could always do grocery gift certificates as well; who can say no to food?”

With the next legislative session rapidly approaching, we have been tirelessly working on the agenda for 2026, and my focus includes continued work to keep our communities safe for families and protect individual rights, foundational to our constitutional freedoms. Over the past year, Nebraska has witnessed a deeply troubling rise in domestic violence.