Columns

Every year I come up with a list of New Year’s resolutions and somewhere along the way I drop them one by one.

This year, I’ve decided to call them goals. Will that help me keep them longer? Who knows, but we can only hope.

I have learned that trying to set unreasonable resolutions (or goals) for yourself to accomplish in a year is almost immediately setting yourself up for failure.

Therefore, I’ve set goals, but ones that I won’t be too sad if I don’t fully accomplish within the year.

For example, I really want to get back into the habit of reading more. I miss reading and last year I read four books, which doesn’t seem like a lot but is a lot more than I’d read in previous years.

I’ve set a goal of reading 20 books this year, which is a lofty goal going from only reading four books to 20, but my true goal is to just read more each year.

In late December, we celebrated the arrival of Nebraska’s 2022 Silver Shovel. This prestigious national award recognizes states that have successfully attracted major economic development projects.

And it’s no coincidence that three out of the four Silver Shovels Nebraska has ever received came in the last four years alone.

That’s because, since 2015, our state government has operated under four pillars aimed at growing Nebraska: To develop our workforce, make it easier to do business in the state, control spending to reduce the tax burden on our families and businesses, and raise our international profile.

Together, we’ve made real progress in each of these areas. And while awards like the Silver Shovel are recognition of our shared success, what truly matters is the impact these efforts have on our students, workers, families, and communities throughout the state.

On Dec. 21, in consultation with Governor-elect Jim Pillen, Governor Pete Ricketts issued Executive Order (EO) 22-08 to continue to facilitate hospital planning and ensure additional healthcare workforce capacity in Nebraska. EO 22-08 expands the pool of healthcare professionals who are eligible to care for Nebraskans in specific fields of medicine.

Among its directives, the EO suspends various statutes to allow new healthcare providers seeking a license to begin practice under a time-limited provisional license while awaiting examination results, as long as they have completed all other requirements for licensure.

For these professions, the EO also defers requirements for face-to-face and direct, onsite training with a supervisor and defers requirements for in-person client contact hours as part of their training. Both allow for increased use of remote alternatives to complete training needed to obtain a license.

As I reflect on the last year and anticipate enjoying time with loved ones during the holidays, I’m filled with both gratitude and resolve.

As Americans, we have been granted an unrivaled heritage of freedom and prosperity which we now must secure for future generations.

I am deeply thankful for my family, the strong community with which we are blessed in Nebraska, and the country we call home. Despite the challenges we face, and the differences in our perspectives, the United States remains a beacon and destination for those longing for liberty and opportunity the world over.

As is my tradition, I’ve shared here one of President Reagan’s Christmas addresses. The following excerpt is from a speech he gave upon lighting the national Christmas tree in 1985. As they so often do, his words ring true today, capturing well the joy and goodwill of the holiday season.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all Nebraskans.

Here we are sandwiched between Christmas and New Year. Time to take stock of what we’ve been through as it impacts what lies ahead.

In case you were somehow fortunate enough to sleep through it, 2022 was an election year. A couple really rich guys and some others ran for the Republican nomination for governor to replace term-limited deep pockets Pete Ricketts who still managed to throw enough money around to have an influence.

Before you get all upset by that, remember that I have said before it isn’t illegal to spend his own money or the family money that way, it just doesn’t look good.

His money went to millionaire pig farmer Jim Pillen who won the primary. He was up against millionaire Charles Herbster whose campaign was almost derailed by allegations of sexual misconduct. In a last-ditch effort, the agribusinessman brought in the still-boasting former President Donald Trump to rally the troops. It didn’t work.

Dec. 12 marked eight years since I graduated from college, but it feels longer than that.

I’m reminded of my graduation from CSC every year thanks to Facebook memories, otherwise, to be honest, this day may have just passed by.

Not that I don’t treasure it, but at this time of year, we’re busy, and there’s more important things to focus on than what happened on Dec. 12, 2014.

I digress. Since it’s been eight years since I left CSC, you know what that means—yep, eight years that Clay County has had to put up with me. Some people more than others.

This past year, to officially mark my eighth year, felt like it was the busiest of them all.

Three 150th sections and larger-than-usual celebrations scattered in between our usual town celebrations; baseball games; the occasional meeting; and other here-and-there events left little room for much else this summer, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

As many of you know, this harvest season has been a tough one for Third District farmers. Arid conditions across Nebraska contributed to an expedited harvest completion and severely diminished yields.

Ongoing drought has taken its toll, and yields for crops such as corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and sorghum are expected to be down significantly from last year.

As consumers face record inflation at the grocery store and we’re seeing global food insecurity, we must do what we can to reduce barriers, not add them, for Nebraska farmers to feed and fuel America and the world.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, maybe Easter. Birthdays, anniversaries, funerals. We got together just as much for the camaraderie as for the chuck roast. We called it family dinner.

It was a time to sit down, face--to-face, and remember. Remember who we are and where we came from and how we got here. It was a time to plan and discuss where we are going. But we don’t do it anymore. Too busy with our lives and work, commitments, and obligations, too many excuses. Too much procrastination.

As a kid, I remember Sundays after church at Grandma’s house. The siblings, their spouses and kids, would gather together. Beyond the food, the fellowship would drain the afternoon. But family dinners aren’t happening a lot these days.

Now we watch the Reagan family gathering on a TV cop show and envy what that represents. Some of the best lines out of actor Tom Selleck’s mouth come during those dinners.

Eyes and ears are, in my opinion, one of the strongest attributes of someone that is in any type of news media. Within me, personally, what I do for a living is far bigger than just writing or covering activities and/or events.

I’ve never considered myself as a journalist persay, nope, I’m not even sure I’d call myself a “newspaper man.” Instead, I’m an observer of life and a listener in the same right. I’ve just always felt that you have to earn a “badge” to be a journalist.

Journalist sounds too “stuffy,” too important...It doesn’t fit me well, because it just seems far too professional for a middle aged—leaning closer and closer to an older—person. I think to be called a journalist, you have to earn “your wings” so to speak, and I’m just not sure I’ll ever earn those pervbial wings, mostly because the term journalist isn’t fitting of me.

Throughout my life I’ve attended many Veterans Day programs.

Whether it was during my school years or covering them for my college newspaper or the CCN, if I had been counting, well, I would have lost track by now.

This year I attended Harvard’s Veterans Day program, and the guest speaker was Rachel Dillman.

Oftentimes when I hear a speaker deliver a message at a veterans program, its about giving our thanks to those who have served and are currently serving, or something along those lines.

Which I will never tire of listening to. I agree wholeheartedly, we should give our thanks to the many men and women who have put their lives aside to give others the chance to live theirs.

On a very rare occassion, I do hear a speech from the perspective of what it was like for a veteran when they were deployed, and that’s exactly what Dillman gave everyone in the audience last Friday.