Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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One goal for 2026: Read more books. I finished three (gasp!) in 2025. That’s a far cry from the 50 to 60 books I read annually during my teaching years. My reading days began dwindling when I started working at the newspaper in 2013. The upside: I read a lot more newspapers and professional articles related to the media industry. I miss reading. I miss finding myself immersed in setting and characters and plot lines. I miss whodunits and true crime novels, my favorite genre, which began years a...
To borrow a line from “Seasons of Love” from Rent, “How do measure, measure a year?” The next verse of the song seems pretty accurate for a journalist: “In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee (or tea in my case), in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In 525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year in the life.” In the case of SAM, how do you measure which story or articles written throughout the year were simply the best? Should website page views be the determining...
After writing news articles for the past dozen years, it felt good to flex my creative writing skills and create the story on the front page of this week’s edition. When I taught, I spent considerable time fine-tuning my creative writing craft alongside my students. My preferred genre: poetry, although I did begin a young adult novel during that time. Some may think writing is writing. While the process remains the same, creative writing taps a different part of the brain, pulls from d...
Heartbroken. Almost 24 hours have passed since Husker volleyball’s season ended a week earlier than hoped for. I still feel the sting today, especially for the players and coaches who dedicate their time and talents to our state’s cherished treasure. On any given day, an undefeated team may lose. The loss hurts -- it requires peeking into windows dotted with unanswered questions -- but it does not diminish the spark and grit we fans have witnessed throughout the season. I’ve listened to comme...
I think my days of being super woman may be drawing near. After having knee replacement surgery on Dec. 4, and returning home on Dec. 6, I had a couple days to put this week's edition together. I'm not going to lie: it was a struggle. And here I thought I was invincible, could tackle any obstacle thrown in my path. I probably still can ... just at a slower pace. Working from a recliner is not like working at a desk. And, trying to stay awake between scheduled medicine intervals was tricky, but I...
Oh, the weather outside is … too damn cold. I don’t know how you cold-weather fans do it. Sixty degrees year-round? Fine by me. Sunny and seventy-five? Perfection. Ninety with clear, cerulean skies? I’d thrive. But this? As I get older — and as arthritis settles into places it has no business being — this is for the birds. You know it’s cold when I bail on a Husker football game early. In the past 20 years, I’ve left exactly one before the final seconds ticked away — a USC game during the Bill...
T-minus eight days and counting. By the time you read this, my surgery date will be closing in. A little more than two and one-half years ago, I replaced my right hip. The procedure went smoothly, recovery went smoothly and, by July, walking felt natural again instead of looking like I was auditioning for a hobbling contest. Within months, though, my knee — the joint I originally suspected was the troublemaker — flared up. Swelling. Lost motion. Grinding pain. Eventually, I couldn’t straighten my leg when I went to bed. After pushing throu...
If you’ve read this column in the past, you know I have a love-hate relationship with social media, especially Meta-owned products. The company’s lack of responsible fact checking alone is enough to make me cringe every time I scroll. The fact that the company fails to review advertising shouldn’t come as a surprise. Yet, when I read a recent report from Reuters, I was shocked by the company’s willful disregard for consumers, especially when it comes to those advertisements you find popping...
“Thanksgiving: When the people who are the most thankful are the ones who didn’t have to cook.” Author Melanie White nailed it with that line. By the end of most family gatherings, I’ve not only cooked and baked a majority of the dishes, but I’ve also drawn clean-up duty. No rest for the wicked, er, cook. Thankfully, Courtney has stepped up in recent years, and we now split the food prep. I don’t like turkey, so I leave that to Scott. He mans the deep fryer and somehow times it perfectly f...
When it rains, it pours. Right now, I would settle for a few sprinkles. The engine in my Kia is kaput. At least that’s what a highly-qualified mechanic told me. It does have approximately 200,000 miles. (The first Kia we owned racked up almost 375,000 before the transmission caused trouble. Scott hopes it’s just a sensor, the one the dealership’s mechanic said “could” mean the sensor needs replaced or could mean the timing chain and engine are failing. Looks like the second option is closer to...
When your children aren’t children anymore, when they’re almost 40, you still pray for their safety, for health and happiness, maybe even a better life than the one you provided. For the past six weeks, the number of prayers for daughter Amanda’s health - physical and mental - has increased. Since Sept. 19, Amanda has been in the hospital 35 days. Somewhere in that span, she ventured home for 36 hours, but her condition deteriorated and the doctor prescribed a return trip to the hospital. Originally, she was diagnosed with bronchitis. When she...
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the scene in Yellowstone, when Beth calls the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas and discovers they sell their own beef. No middle man. When she tells her dad, John Dutton, what she’s learned he responds, “No one can figure out the packer.” Maybe now is the time for cattle producers to figure out the packer - or the problem - in this case and eliminate the middle man. My husband, after reading this, will more than likely tell me I shouldn’t talk about selling beef or rais...
I hope on Wednesday, when this week’s edition hits the mail, this column has aged well. Matt Rhule isn’t going to Penn State. Now, he may get a call from the Nittany Lions’ athletic director, but I do not see him fleeing Lincoln for the likes of State College. Sure, he’s a former walk-on linebacker and a PSU grad, but the grass isn’t always greener near the Rothrock State Forest. Ask the current Central Florida coach how well it works to return as head coach of your alma mater. I listened...
If you’re reading this column, thank you. More than likely, you value community newspapers and understand the role a newspaper plays in defining and reporting on daily happenings, capturing a snapshot of what makes a community click. This week, we celebrate National Newspaper Week. The theme - Embracing Local Journalism for a Better Future - sets a foundation. First and foremost, we’re a print product that examines what does and does not work within a community, a camera focusing on the hea...
Sometimes, you need a good laugh. After last week - filled with school activities, work obligations, and family medical emergencies - I needed something to smooth the chaos and soothe the calm. I found it in a TV show, “The Paper,” a mockumentary spin-off from the creators of “The Office.” The show is available on Peacock, a streaming service. Most days I am the lone SAM staffer in Clearwater’s building, appropriately dubbed “The Office.” Yet, the mundane crises created during the show, like di...
During last week’s strategic planning committee meeting at Summerland Public Schools, a theme in the focus group I was part of centered around letting students know that returning home after the post-high school experience is a possibility worth considering. Give it the old college try. Maybe a technical career is in your future. Perfect, either way. Just remember, when you graduate, you’re welcome to come home and extend roots already established here. While I agree with young adults con...
What’s the best thing about a reunion? The wait in between. (Ba dum tss!) Okay, maybe not. But this summer was full of reunions—mini and mega. First up: a gathering with my mom’s siblings and cousins in Tilden. Then a Schindler shindig back at the farm. And most recently, the Class of 2005 from Lutheran High Northeast pulled me into their get-together. At the Fields family gathering, the food table groaned under the weight of sweet treats. Ten desserts—overkill or perfection? Depends how str...
When Humphrey Bogart quipped, “A hotdog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz,” he didn’t stand in line for nearly an hour at Saturday’s Husker home opener against Akron. To be transparent, Scott and I didn’t either. But, if Saturday is any indication, the updated concession stands are either a hit or a miss. I’ve read several accounts of disgruntled fans opining about missing the Tunnel Walk or wading through an overcrowded concourse because of the number of fans wanting food and/or...
Are you ready for Christmas? Me, either. I ask because I recently discovered it takes 10 months for the average Nebraska household to save enough greenbacks to afford the winter holiday season. Oh crap. My family is in trouble. In a perfect world, I would select gifts throughout the year, hole them away in a closet, and bring the pile out to place under the tree in December. Except, this isn’t a perfect world, and I’m usually 10 steps behind when it comes to the holidays. Last year, I han...
“What happens on social media stays on Google forever.” It’s a lesson I reinforced during a conversation with a 20-something-year-old recently. The individual said he/she was concerned about how a post they were in was being perceived, and was unhappy how friends and some not-so-friendlies were reacting. If you think your content is only being shared with friends, think again. Even if an account is private, it’s easy for someone to screenshot a post or image and share it with others. The fir...
It’s a good thing I’m a clothing hoarder. Scott will definitely disagree with this statement, but since Y2K clothing is en vogue again, I’ve got it made. Camisoles with lace trim. Check. One dresser drawer full, in a rainbow of colors. Boot-cut jeans. Check. Four pairs in varying washes. Tiered skirts. Check. Several hanging in the closet. A certain pink skirt remains a favorite (even though I haven’t worn it for a hot minute) because it always brought good luck. Baby-doll tops and denim d...
A week ago, six column ideas were whirling and, while I’m still working out the language kinks in some of them, this one has been on my mind. Husker football season is only a few weeks away, it’s one of my favorite times of the year. Someone asked me this question recently and I’ve been kicking it around, replaying games, hoping to select one key moment. I finally decided my answer to this question, and I’m wondering if die-hard Husker fans will agree. Let me know. So here’s the question:...
Isn’t the mind a wonderful thing? Or is it a curse? Six column ideas have been occupying space in my mind since last Friday and none of them have surfaced with enough fodder to be meaningful. So, I’m going to keep letting those ideas brew for another week - and gather a few more facts - and get them sorted out for next week. Some days - or weeks - are like that ... a jumbled ball of thoughts that need organized. By next week, everything will be clear ... and in print....
Arthur Miller wrote, “A good newspaper is a nation talking to itself.” I like the idea of conversation generating from the newspaper, especially from items on this page. In college, my journalism prof, Sharon Behl Brooks, stressed how editorial (or commentary or opinion ... whatever label you pin on it) presents a point of view, sparks discussion and, at its core, prompts critical thinking. The editorial page of the Advocate-Messenger does that and presents a wide range of thoughts. On the com...
While reading Paul Hammel’s “All Things Nebraska” column, I had to chuckle — and wonder how many of us spent our youth detasseling corn. Hand raised, even if only for two summers. If you’ve ever walked those long rows, ripping tassels out, you know about corn sweat. That suffocating heat made early mornings rough. Add a layer of center pivot water, and you’ve got the perfect mix of hot and humid. Detasseling meant climbing on a school bus before sunrise, long-sleeved shirts soaked in dew, and...
