Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Every day, Laura Gamble sees the importance of Pender Community Hospital in the lives of her neighbors. The woman who drove an hour to deliver her first baby. The man in a mental health crisis. They rely on her northeast Nebraska hospital. "It's like an oasis on the hill," said Gamble, who grew up in the area and practiced as a nurse before becoming the hospital's CEO. The hospital is one of the largest employers in the 1,115-person town of Pender, Gamble said. It delivers more than 120 babies...
I’ve been reading a lot lately about the state of newspapers, not only locally, but across the country. While some outlets believe newspapers are dying, studies would indicate that’s simply not true. We may be rebranding ourselves, trying to report in different ways to varying demographics, but quality local news continues to be the best bang for your buck. Remember I said that because, in the next several weeks, we’re going to be talking about that buck. I’ve heard some rumblings lately...
The Advocate-Messenger earned 31 awards in the 2025 Better Newspaper Competition and ended in second place for the Allen & Linda Beerman Community Newspaper Sweepstakes Award, which includes weekly newspapers from all classes. The Stanton Register took top honors and the Aurora News-Register ended in third. SAM finished second in Division A, based on circulation and, in the digital sweepstakes division, SAM placed third. The paper picked nine first-place awards in categories, including building...
SCHUYLER – His eyes are tired from scanning the conveyor belt. His feet and back are sore after hours of standing in his steel-toed boots. His brain is fried from searching for faulty welding and chipped paint on the more than 1,000 metal pieces that whiz past him on the belt during the graveyard shift. Marco Gutiérrez has spent the past eight hours inspecting tiny parts that will become car seats in Ford F-150s and Chevy Malibus. Before that, he put in a shift at Panda Express, cooking ba...
Three new members – Keith White of Neligh, Bev Krutz of Orchard and Gary Arehart of Elgin – were elected to serve on the board of the Antelope County Historical Society at the organization's recent annual meeting. All three bring a strong interest in the county's history, with each having diverse experiences and interests. "We welcome these new members to our board," said Donna Hanson, Antelope County Museum executive director. "Their broad experience and love for Antelope County will go a lon...
Calling all spooks to the Antelope County Museum, Saturday, Oct. 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., for a Howling Halloween Party. It will be a spooky good time with treats and fun activities for all. There will even be a werewolf. So if you are not too scared, you can have your picture taken with him. The party is at the museum, located at 410 L Street in Neligh. Hot dogs, chips and water will be available for all attendees. “It will be a fun program for all ages. The kiddos may especially like seeing our spooky werewolf,” said museum exe...
One of the best yearbooks my students produced is based on the theme, "Everyone has a story." Like a typical yearbook, it is stuffed with photos and cutlines and articles, from bleed line to bleed line, placed on double-truck spreads. The difference from others we previously produced: We looked for commonalities among students that weren't school related. In that edition, students wrote about their peers who participated in non-traditional sports outside of the school day, like trap shooting...
We've all heard it, April showers bring May flowers. For Nebraskans it's May showers that have helped kick in the May flowers and we hope this just continues. We sure don't want more storms. We've lucked out where I live that iris stems stand tall and the winds haven't caused any damage. Others haven't been so fortunate. I guess that is why when a flower bud opens, we better enjoy the show. I look out my kitchen window and realize what a blessing it is to be able to view the flowers. Not only...
Their low, rumbling bellow first cuts through the silence of the Sandhills. Next comes the crunch of pointed hooves, trudging their way through tall prairie grasses. Then, the oohs of the out-of-towners watching – people up close and personal with the majestic thousand-pound mammals for the first time. This is Golden Prairie Bison, a ranch nestled in the Sandhills where Carl and Vicki Simmons raise a herd of 50 bison. Theirs is one of the dozens of bison ranches in Nebraska, one piece of an o...
Another year, another milestone. The volume number on page one's flag notes a flip of the calendar. This edition marks the beginning of what will culminate in our fifth year of publishing the "Summerland Advocate-Messenger." It's been a whirlwind. It's required late and/or early hours. It's meant hard work, occasional frustration and an intense amount of laughter. Plus, it's been some of the most rewarding work in which we've played a part. We believe in the power of community journalism, how a...
Agriculture, broadband connectivity and tax savings were key topics addressed during Gov. Jim Pillen's town hall meeting, June 28, in O'Neill. Pillen opened by telling the crowd of approximately 80 that his team strives to work for "all Nebraskans. "I can't stand politics. I can't stand politicians," the governor said. "The privilege I had in the first six months, it is unbelievable how many incredible public servants we have serving the state of Nebraska." One of Pillen's goals has been to...
Brad Anderson still remembers the night his wife forgot hail. He was sitting on the front porch of their Lincoln home as a storm rolled in. "...I hear LuAnne running down the stairs hollering 'there's something hitting the house!'" She poked her head out the front door. "I said 'it's hailing,' and she looked at me like 'What?'" Brad grabbed a stone and showed it to his wife. It's frozen rain, he explained. "She said, 'That's amazing. I've never seen that before. What's it called again?'" That's...
Student pride – and the graduation rate – are on the upswing at the public school on the Santee Native Reservation. School leaders trace that success to a new effort to teach students the tribe’s culture. For the first time, students are learning Santee Dakota history, language and customs – subjects long ago banned. The new cultural program has boosted attendance and helped the iSanti Community School in Niobrara hit a 100% graduation rate two years running, school leaders say. It hasn’t...
First of all, thank you for giving me the opportunity to address your group about the proposed planning commission changes. I thought we had killed this a while back and would not hear from the commission until they had a complete plan that had been thoroughly vetted. I have been on quite a few boards in my life. I can appreciate that you are doing what you think is best. I would ask you to consider an additional point of view. • I had a conversation at Elgin a few years back, that sounded like what I believe is happening again here, now. I w...
Sunlight lands different on the Nebraska Sandhills. As the giant orb breaks the horizon, the promise of a new day casts hues of yellow and orange against a cerulean sky. By midday, the sun's rays build in brilliance, a sign of growth and prosperity, land covered with promises of a brighter tomorrow. At dusk, pastel clouds paint the western sky with a warm glow. Even as lighter shades give way to darkness, glimmers of hope continue to peek through, offering encouragement. Look close enough and...
According to Nike, "The only one who can tell you 'you can't' is you. And you don't have to listen." Taking that advice, Randi Strunk, 39, of Minneapolis, originally from Orchard, has overcome that mindset and will participate in her third full Ironman race, Sunday, Aug. 7. The Ironman race will take place in Juneau, Alaska. The 140.6-mile race includes a 2.4-mile swim in Auke Lake, located near Mount McGinnis, a 112-mile bike ride along Glacier Highway to the final 26.2-mile run through the...
Madeline Tiger, a poet, wrote, "The instant of birth is exquisite. Pain and joy are one at this moment. Ever after, the dim recollection is so sweet that we speak to our children with a gratitude they never understand." After reading Leslie Jamison's "A Personal History of the C-Section," I contemplated Tiger's quote about the exact moment we usher a new life into the world and how the experience shapes our views. Jamison drives the point home while talking about undergoing a caesarean section,...
Volume three, number one. Man, woman and child: It felt good to type those numbers in the flag of this week's edition. Two years ago, Scott and I turned a vision into reality and founded the Advocate-Messenger and ColdType Publishing, LLC. It started like a whirlwind, and some days, it still feels like we're being carried from place to place via the wind, whether it's covering a community celebration, school event or a monthly board meeting. We look forward to telling the stories important to...
Allen Ginsberg wrote, “Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that’s what the poet does.” Poetry gives universal meaning to a singular effect, offers visual storytelling, complete with twists and turns. It is uniquely personal and open to the reader’s interpretation. I think that’s why I liked putting together poetry programs with my speech students. Finding the perfect blend of rh...
Memorial services for Donna Peterson, 80, of Neligh were Wednesday, Sept. 30, at the Antelope County Fair Building in Neligh. Burial was in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Neligh. Beyer Snider Memorial Funeral Home in Neligh handled arrangements. Donna died Sept. 21 at Antelope Memorial Hospital in Neligh, with her family by her side. Condolences may be directed to the family at www.beyersnidermemorialfh.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to the family in her name. ~~~ Donna Maurine (Damme)...
What is your why? Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook posed the question to University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduates during Saturday’s virtual ceremony. His question got me thinking. Okay, actually his entire 11 and one-half minute address got me thinking and has been on my mind all day. Why? Mindset makes all the difference in life. Coach Cook is successful, so why not apply his lessons? First things first: What is my why? What’s my motivation? What inspires me - and you - to become our bes...
American playwright Arthur Miller wrote, “A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself.” What happens when a newspaper quits talking? One community in Nebraska is discovering the effect of no longer having a local newspaper. When Coleridge residents received the Jan. 1 edition of the Coleridge Blade, a bold hammer headline stretched across the top of the page: Final edition. The paper, published for 131 years, was part of the Northeast Nebraska News Company, which owns new...
Once upon a time, having a job at a newspaper meant working in one of the most imposing buildings in town, inhaling the acrid aroma of fresh ink and the dusty breath of cheap newsprint and feeling mini-earthquakes under our feet every time the presses started to roll. For those of us old enough to remember those days, National Newspaper Week 2019 could be one big, fat elegiac nostalgia trip. Today, many newspapers are ditching the imposing buildings for low-rent storefronts and have outsourced the printing. Those could be the newspapers that...
Since we opened the Advocate-Messenger, Scott and I have fielded several questions about the inner workings of the newspaper, so after discussion, we decided to take this opportunity to respond. One of the first questions we were asked is if the Advocate Messenger is a legal newspaper. The answer is yes and no. We formed a limited liability company when we created ColdType Publishing and trademarked our name, so the business, itself, is a legally-operated business according to the State of Nebra...
