Opinion

September is Healthy Aging Month, a time to celebrate the journey of growing older and to emphasize the importance of nurturing our physical and mental well-being as we traverse the golden years. In this era of increasing life expectancy, it’s essential that we view aging as an opportunity to flourish rather than as an impending decline...

Much has been written about the current state of electronic news media. Critics on the right complain about “the mainstream media” or, more directly, “liberal media.” On the left, pundits are more apt to generalize all conservative outlets (Newsmax, The First, Blaze, etc.) simply as “Fox.” The generally agreed view is that nearly all contemporary broadcast news tends to be opinionated and politically polarized. It’s one of the few things on which both left and right can agree...

Become a hero, donate blood, blood products Dear Editor, This is an Open Forum our son wrote in 2002 to encourage people to volunteer platelet donations. It is being reprinted in memory of Russ, who passed away Aug. 23, 2023, from cancer. Lucile Banzhaf,...

As I write this it is the birthday of my beloved US Air Force. Created in 1947 it has served our nation well. Happy Birthday. Well, I received the dreaded pink postcard in the mail this week telling me that my City taxes will be going up. That was not a surprise because inflation continues to weaken the dollar and many of their expenses keep going up as well. ...

Every year, on National Voter Registration Day, citizens across the United States are reminded of the profound impact they can have on their democracy. In Nebraska, Secretary of State Bob Evnen encourages every eligible resident to seize this opportunity and register to vote. His message is clear: Every vote matters, and every registered voter in Nebraska matters...

Where political matters are concerned, I have grown accustomed to reading about problems and situations that are entirely out of line with my personal experience. I can usually chalk those disparities up to regional differences or political calculations. Those don’t bother me, but I become concerned when financial news doesn’t reflect my reality...

We can all agree the climate changes. We call this the change of seasons and they happen every year, to one degree or another. We can expect cold and snow in the winter, heat and severe thunderstorms in the summer and a wider variety of weather in the spring and fall. Some things rarely change yet many whip up a frenzy when natural disasters inevitably occur...

Flooding in China, Libya and Brazil, fire in Hawaii, an earthquake in Morocco — they’re all happening somewhere else, but those of us living in Southwest Nebraska know they can quickly become a reality. Even an earthquake isn’t completely out of the question, and neither is any other man-made or natural disaster in our area...

INDIANOLA, Neb. — I’ve always told our kids that I should write a book someday because it seems that things happen to us that never happen to anyone else.  I attribute this to not ever having the correct equipment or supplies needed to do the things that we need to do every day. ...

It is official. McCook and Southwest Nebraska is the recipient of one of the largest financial gifts in recent memory. Jim Lee, a 1954 McCook High School graduate, left $5 million in donations to several non-profit organizations including the McCook Community Foundation Fund, the Community Hospital Health Foundation, the McCook YMCA, the McCook Educational Foundation and the Overland Trails Council, which oversees the Boy Scouts in Southwest Nebraska...

A bit of perspective to COVID here. As you dear readers know your old columnist is no medical doctor but here is a brief sketch of what it was like to experience the modern version of the disease, the virus we call COVID 19. The first symptoms of our experience, as Grannie Annie followed me a couple of days later, was a listless feeling of runny nose and uncomfortable chest and lungs. ...

Now that LB 77 has become effective, Nebraska has statewide constitutional carry for law-abiding adults. In order to make Nebraska a constitutional carry state, I knew that my bill had to also include state preemption of local gun control schemes. The preemption language in my bill was as clear as we could make it. ...

EDITOR’S NOTE: Helen Ruth Arnold was a retired teacher and long-time contributor to the Gazette’s Open Forum columns, even after she moved into a Trenton nursing home. After her death on June 17, 2023, at the age of 91, we received 16 letters from her. We will publish them as time and space allow in honor of her memory...

I have forgotten the exact wording, but about a week ago, a post on social media challenged readers to state a belief that may be unpopular but true. A friend of mine took the bait and answered with the insightful thought, “Nationalism is not patriotism.” I immediately agreed, of course, but the statement nagged me over the weekend because there are two distinctly different connotations of the word “nationalism,” and I wasn’t 100% certain of his intent. ...

Drive by the site of the old McCook swimming pool across from the college on M Street and you will see is a giant hole in the ground and some piles of dirt. That is a good thing. After nearly a decade of meetings, dozens of plans, a successful election (and with a pandemic in the middle), the new City of McCook outdoor swimming pool is finally moving forward. That is a good thing...

I was recently contacted by a Nebraska resident who complained about my support for the Convention of States (COS) initiative. They argued the process was illegitimate and dangerous and could lead to a run-away convention wiping out our beloved constitution, etc. Over the years I have devoted a number of these weeklies to this topic, so here goes...

Spring or fall are seasons we like to call “lost jacket” times of year. That windbreaker feels great in the morning, but by afternoon, we’re wishing we were wearing a T-shirt. The calendar may say fall, and indeed, evenings can get a mite chilly, but the recent heat wave proves just how hot it can get in September...

Last week I had an interesting encounter at our local airport. Just outside the walk-in gate I noticed the Captain for our Fed Ex aircraft in conversation with a gentleman oh about sixty some years in age. The Fed Ex gent seemed a bit reluctant so I stepped up to introduce myself. “Hi I am Dick Trail a local flight instructor.” as I extended my hand. The other gentleman stated “I am Bill from Arizona”. It might not have been Bill but that will do...

“Constitutional carry” is now the law of the land in Nebraska and many other states, but carrying a deadly weapon isn’t a decision to be taken lightly or made on a whim. It’s also not a right that applies everywhere and in every situation. Yes, there are reasons one might want to add a pistol to the list advocated by Adam Sandler — phone wallet and keys...

EDITOR’S NOTE: Helen Ruth Arnold was a retired teacher and long-time contributor to the Gazette’s Open Forum columns, even after she moved into a Trenton nursing home. After her death on June 17, 2023, at the age of 91, we received 16 letters from her. We will publish them as time and space allow in honor of her memory...

Is it just me, or is the sun coming up a bit later? I don’t know that summer has fully let go of its grip yet, but we’re getting closer. I’m one of those people who would take 100 degrees over ten any day of the week, and ten-degree weather is on the way...

I come from a family of volunteers. My father, Leroy Leibrandt, served on the Red Willow County Fair Board for 42 years. My mother, Lois, worked the open class building at the fair, spent years as a volunteer at the McCook YMCA teaching water aerobics and volunteered many hours at the Helping Hand thrift store...

INDIANOLA, Neb. — During wheat harvest one year, I was driving a wheat-colored Thunderbird to town when a gal pulled out in front of me and totaled our car. Two of our kiddos and I were fine, but it was very hard on our bank account.   A year or so later was when I had the accident while hauling hogs to town. ...

County-wide law enforcement? We could only hope An opportunity to save tax money that probably won’t happen. You may have noticed that our McCook Chief of Police is departing in the near future. It would be a wonderful opportunity to convert our entire police force to the Red Willow County Sheriff’s Department. ...

EDITOR’S NOTE: Helen Ruth Arnold was a retired teacher and long-time contributor to the Gazette’s Open Forum columns, even after she moved into a Trenton nursing home. After her death on June 17, 2023, at the age of 91, we received 16 letters from her. We will publish them as time and space allow in honor of her memory...