Opinion

J.L. Schmidt has been covering Nebraska government and politics since 1979. He has been a registered Independent for more than 20 years.

J.L. Schmidt has been covering Nebraska government and politics since 1979. He has been a registered Independent for more than 20 years.

Pillen wants all hands on deck

Governor Jim Pillen wants all state government employees at their desks in their assigned departments beginning next month. He said the pandemic-era remote is over, although both empirical and anecdotal evidence nationwide show a workplace change that was pandemic caused has become the new normal.
Deb Fischer represents Nebraska in the United States Senate. Read her column in the Nance County Journal.

Deb Fischer represents Nebraska in the United States Senate. Read her column in the Nance County Journal.

Remembering a Nebraska icon

This week, we will celebrate the 150th birthday of one of Nebraska’s foremost literary icons: Willa Cather. Cather, who died in 1947, was born on December 7, 1873. One hundred and fifty years after that day, her legacy lives on through her poignant novels — including American classics “O Pioneers!
Rick Holtz is one of the co-owners of the Nance County Journal. Read his column each week in the newspaper and on the website.

Rick Holtz is one of the co-owners of the Nance County Journal. Read his column each week in the newspaper and on the website.

Christmas through the eyes of children

Growing up my family would always drive around and look at Christmas lights. My parents would load the three kids into the van and we would spend an evening driving all over northwest Indiana to see various elaborate decorative displays.
Loren Lippincott represents Legislative District 34 in the Nebraska State Senate. Read his column in the Nance County Journal.

Loren Lippincott represents Legislative District 34 in the Nebraska State Senate. Read his column in the Nance County Journal.

Bring the spiritual influence back

As lawlessness becomes more common within our country people try and look for places to place blame for our rising crime rate. Often the term “mental health” gets tacked onto wrongdoers as though it is something caught, like the common cold, and of no wrongdoing on the part of the person.

Letter to the Editor

Have you heard about the new contract extension for the University of Nebraska’s Athletic Director? If you haven’t, you might get a little overwhelmed by the numbers. I was surprised by the tremendous increase in salary plus the guarantee of future bonuses.
Beth Sparrow is one of the co-owners of the Nance County Journal. Read her column each week in the newspaper and on the website.

Beth Sparrow is one of the co-owners of the Nance County Journal. Read her column each week in the newspaper and on the website.

I was ‘Home Alone’

I felt a little bit like Kevin McAllister over Thanksgiving. If you don’t remember who that is, he is the kid from the “Home Alone” movies. My husband and kids went to Indiana to visit his family. The cat and I stayed home, so I could work. Like Kevin, I did laundry and bought groceries.
Alan Sparrow is one of the co-owners of the Nance County Journal. Read his column each week in the newspaper and on the website.

Alan Sparrow is one of the co-owners of the Nance County Journal. Read his column each week in the newspaper and on the website.

How do you react?

I enjoy learning word meanings. Sometimes the history of a word’s meaning is very interesting. One of those words is “amuse.” It comes from “muse” which means to “think” and “a” meaning “not.” So “amuse” means to “not think.” I think that fits.
J.L. Schmidt has been covering Nebraska government and politics since 1979. He has been a registered Independent for more than 20 years.

J.L. Schmidt has been covering Nebraska government and politics since 1979. He has been a registered Independent for more than 20 years.

It’s a desert out there Nebraska

Just when you thought the drought was bad, deserts have started popping up in Nebraska. Pick a topic: childcare; food; maternal health care. They have been discussed in the interim by lawmakers and deserve to be included among bills under consideration next session.
Tom Dean, MD of Wessington Springs, South Dakota is a contributing Prairie Doc columnist who has practiced family medicine for more than 38 years. He served as a member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.

Tom Dean, MD of Wessington Springs, South Dakota is a contributing Prairie Doc columnist who has practiced family medicine for more than 38 years. He served as a member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.

Medicare Advantage

TV is flooded these days with commercials encouraging everyone to sign up for Medicare Advantage(MA). What is MA and why are they doing this? First of all, a bit of history.
Rick Holtz is one of the co-owners of the Nance County Journal. Read his column each week in the newspaper and on the website.

Rick Holtz is one of the co-owners of the Nance County Journal. Read his column each week in the newspaper and on the website.

Will you still be thankful next week?

One of my favorite weeks has finally arrived: Thanksgiving Week! It’s easy to be thankful on Thanksgiving. Family gets together. There is a feast of great food. All of your blessings are so apparent. But what about on Friday? What about next week? Will you still be thankful?