Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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LINCOLN — In the past five years, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has weathered $75 million in cuts. Cuts to staff. Cuts to university libraries. Cuts to colleges that have taught UNL students for more than a century. But the pain from those cuts, spread over years, likely will be dwarfed by what's to come, as the state’s flagship university moves to slash $27.5 million by the end of the calendar year. The total, announced by Chancellor Rodney Bennett in early August, represents nearly 6% of UNL’s state-aided budget. It exceeds the budge...
Austen Baack rediscovered his love of books while chopping fruits and vegetables at the back of a grocery store. As a young kid, Baack was a voracious reader. But that changed in his teens. "I was SparkNotes-ing everything," he recalled. "I hardly read anything in high school." Then, after graduation, Baack found himself working eight-hour shifts at Hy-Vee. He started listening to audio books to navigate the monotony of the job. "And that reignited my whole love for reading." He carried that...
Nebraska is slipping into a "two steps forward, one step back" trend when it comes to supporting women in science, technology, engineering and math fields. In 2023, women held a little over a quarter of STEM jobs in the state. That's a slight increase since 2015 and puts Nebraska marginally ahead of neighbors like Iowa, South Dakota, Colorado and Kansas. But the improvement came with bad news: In 2015, Nebraska women in STEM earned around 86 cents to every dollar made by a man. In 2023, that dro...
When Gerri Peterson was wrapping up her college degree, she had no idea she'd soon be running a newspaper. "My dream job fell into my lap," she says. After graduating in December, she spent six months shadowing the retiring publisher of the Hooker County Tribune in Nebraska. By the time she was 22, she wasn't just reporting the news-she owned the paper. In Louisiana, Craig Franklin had a different path, but a similar sense of calling. He'd been connected to the Jena Times in Louisiana most of hi...
How often do you spend $2.50 on a 20-ounce pop or $2.59 to satisfy a sweet tooth? So why hesitate to pay just over $1 for quality local news? It costs about $2 to produce a single copy of SAM each week-a true bargain in today's economy. Since the Advocate-Messenger launched in July 2019, printing and mailing costs have soared. That doesn't include time spent covering events, writing articles, designing ads, or meeting with advertisers. On average, each issue includes 10 pages, with four in full...
The Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park near Royal is planning a Fossil and Artifact ID Day for Sunday, Aug. 3. Shane Tucker will be on-site to identify rocks and fossils visitors bring into the park that day. Tucker is a paleontologist with the University of Nebraska State Museum. For 30 years he has been criss-crossing the State of Nebraska, identifying and rescuing fossils from roadcuts and road construction projects, all while sharing his vast knowledge of Nebraska's fossil treasures w...
We appear to be done bombing Iran, and to be back to helping Ukraine repeal invaders from Russia. Plus, it looks like the trade war we started is going to raise our cost of buying coffee from Brazil and beer from Mexico. Great, huh? So maybe it's time to talk about something really important – corn sweat. We're entering the peak of corn sweat season, when the thick, green fields of corn that blanket eastern and central Nebraska start to emit their highest levels of moisture. It's called "evapotr...
Over the past 25 years, Dollar General stores have become a fixture of the retail landscape in rural Nebraska. Now, there are 142 chain "dollar" stores - 115 of them Dollar Generals - in Nebraska towns with a population smaller than 10,000. OAKLAND - If you drive down U.S. Highway 77, you won't see the grocery store that has managed to keep afloat in this town for more than 100 years. It's five blocks off the highway, on Oakland's main drag. What you will see is a bright yellow sign, beckoning...
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Barta Brothers Ranch Field Day will take place on Wednesday, July 16, offering a full morning of research updates and an optional afternoon tour focused on prescribed fire, grazing strategies, and livestock management. The event is free to attend, and lunch is provided. To help with meal planning, register by Friday, July 11, by contacting Mitch Stephenson at mstephenson@unl.edu or 308-632-1355. This year’s program includes: • Research updates on prescribed fire, patch-burn grazing, and rangeland production...
Chris and Sandy Moser of Clearwater announce the engagement and upcoming marriage of their daughter, Alyssa Marie Moser, to Cole Jackson Kalkowski, son of Chris and Marsha Kalkowski of Omaha. The bride-elect is a 2020 graduate of O'Neill Public High School and a 2024 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agribusiness and is currently employed as a preschool teacher at Bubbles & Blocks Child Development Center in Lincoln with plans to attend...
This will be Mandi Sedlak's fourth time competing in the U.S. Adaptive Open, one of the sport's major championships for physically and mentally impaired adults. In Mandi Sedlak's world, everything seems to fit. Even in her worst moments. It's true of her golf game, her husband, her career and the prosthetic leg connecting these threads. The Kearney native will be relying on the list's last item when she competes in the U.S. Adaptive Open at Woodmont Country Club in Maryland July 7-9. It will be...
The multimillion-dollar project, mostly paid for by Nebraska ratepayers, will feed the energy needs of Jigowatt, which already demands the most electricity of any customer in Stanton County. Justin Kennedy had long envisioned more than a cornfield when he gazed at the plot of family land a half-mile from where he grew up. It was "the perfect setup" for building his dream retirement house in rural Stanton County. He long ago planted a shelterbelt across the dirt road, hoping the trees would one...
The next Miss Clearwater Rodeo will either be from Clearwater, Atkinson or Plainview. Kaylee Thiele, of Clearwater; Aubrey Blackburn, of Atkinson; and Jozlyn Anderson, of Plainview, will begin the journey toward the 2025 crown, Friday, June 27, at 2 p.m. Horsemanship competition will be held in the Gene Snodgrass Arena. Queen Coordinator Devon Baum said, "Horsemanship is a large part of obtaining and holding a rodeo queen title and holds a lot of weight with our judges." Contestants will...
On June 18, Gov. Jim Pillen appointed Jason S. Doele, of Norfolk, as district court judge in the Fifth Judicial District, which consists of Boone, Butler, Colfax, Hamilton, Merrick, Nance, Platte, Polk, Saunders, Seward, and York counties. Doele has been a partner in the law firm of Stratton, DeLay, Doele, Carlson, Stover & Stratton in Norfolk since February 2010. Before that, he was with the firm of Jewell, Collins, DeLay, Gray and Flood, also in Norfolk. Doele is licensed to practice in both...
A Celebration of Life visitation for James M. Blackburn, 78, of Neligh, was Monday, June 9, at the Neligh American Legion in Neligh. Beyer Snider Memorial Funeral Home of Neligh handled the arrangements. Jim died on May 31, 2025 at the University Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Condolences may be directed to the family at www.beyersnidermemorialfh.com The family has requested no flowers. In lieu of flowers or plants, a memorial in Jim's name may be given to Grace Lutheran Church, Pope John...
The 109th Legislature’s first session has adjourned sine die. As of the day of adjournment, the Legislature had passed 175 bills, excluding “A” bills, and one proposed constitutional amendment. Without going into my legislative accomplishments (that I will address in next week’s newsletter), I’d like to deviate from my normal newsletters and just provide my own personal assessment of how the Legislature did this session. In my mind, there were three major successes and one disappoin...
The University of Nebraska at Kearney announced students who earned a place on the dean's list for the spring 2025 semester. Students who are on the dean's list must have completed 12 credit hours or more of classes with a 3.5 grade-point average or better on a 4.0 scale. Local students named to the deans list include Adrienne Parker and Ryann Haburchak of Ewing....
As drought conditions continue to affect much of Nebraska, beef producers are being forced to make difficult herd and forage management decisions. To support producers navigating these challenges, Nebraska Extension will host a free webinar on Thursday, June 5, from 7:30 to 9 p.m., Central Time. The webinar, “Drought Management Tools, Expected Grass Production and Early Weaning,” will feature University of Nebraska–Lincoln specialists covering key management practices and decision-making strategies to help mitigate the effects of droug...
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln conferred 3,683 degrees during May commencement exercises. Degrees were earned by 3,593 graduates from 57 countries, 46 U.S. states and 250-plus Nebraska communities. Pinnacle Bank Arena hosted a ceremony for students earning graduate and professional degrees May 16 and two ceremonies for those earning bachelor's degrees May 17. Area students receiving degrees include: James Elijah Thiele, Clearwater,College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Bache...
A rarely discussed legal term is getting its day in the sun. "The rule of law" is the crazy idea that everyone in a democracy is accountable to the same laws and that everyone is entitled to their day in court (and to be represented by an attorney). The legal term took top billing in a recent episode of "60 Minutes" as well as in letters penned by a group of professors at the University of Nebraska College of Law and a collection of the state's legal groups. The professors' letter was directed...
Garrett Shadbolt grew up watching his dad chase dreams of saddle bronc stardom, but never had much desire to chase it himself - an interesting admission from the Nebraska native and current No. 7 bareback rider in the world. "I remember going to a lot of rodeos when I was little, but watching him didn't make me want to get into it," he said. Now, Shadbolt is forming new traditions with his young family. And as the lone Nebraskan to make it to the National Finals Rodeo in the last four years, he...
Each year the Upper Elkhorn Natural Resources District awards three scholarships to graduating high school seniors in the district. These are students who have chosen to pursue a career in a field related to agriculture, natural resources or the environment. This year's recipients are Gavin Whiting of Summerland Public School Loretta Scofield of O'Neill St. Mary's; Sydney Sybrant of Rock County High School; and, alternate Jameson Estill of Stuart High School. Whiting's parents are Ernest and...
As a school psychologist working for a small public school, I remember a teacher asking me to observe a student in her classroom. She expressed concerns about an elementary student's unusual behavior, lack of playing with classmates, lack of communication and even some unusual motor movements, including flapping her hands. This was in 2001, and I was experiencing my first referral for a student who would eventually receive an educational diagnosis of autism. At that time, autism was considered...
Jarod and Tamara Bearinger of Clearwater are pleased to announce the engagement and upcoming marriage of their daughter, Kierra Lynne Bearinger, to Joseph Matthew O'Brien, son of Edwin and Ruth O'Brien of Tilden. The bride-elect graduated from Clearwater High School in 2020 and attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, graduating in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science degree in education and human sciences. She currently teaches third grade at High Plains Community Schools in Clarks. Her fianc...
Molly Pofahl had big plans for the $370,000 in federal money awarded to the East Central District Health Department in March. They would use the money to provide cleanup for homes with high lead levels in Boone, Colfax, Nance and Platte counties, said Pofahl, the department’s chief public health officer. They could make it easier for people living in the district’s rural areas to get vaccinated. She planned to get training for her staff to better teach central Nebraskans about preventing infections. Lessons learned during COVID-19 informed the...
