Opinion/Editorial

The recent passage of LB 753 has created a serious threat to education across the state of Nebraska.  LB 753 allows Nebraska citizens who owe taxes to the state to deposit their tax liability into a fund that will be distributed to private schools.   LB 753 is bad policy for both Richardson County Public […]

On Saturday afternoon, Husker fans, football was back, albeit for just a brief moment, but it was great to see the scarlet and cream on the field at Memorial Stadium. To be perfectly honest, the game was just something that got in the way of something that should have happened years ago, the honoring of […]

Nebraska State Senators reconvened Tuesday, January 17, in Lincoln. Senator Julie Slama introduced several bills into this year’s session. Her Legislative Bill 212 relates to roads. LB212 would require the Department of Transportation to plan, design, and purchase rights-of-way for U.S. Highway 75, asking it to be expanded to four lanes down through to the […]

By Nikki McKim The Kids are Not All-right, EVERYWHERE. I hate to say it, but the bullying isn’t just at Humbold Table-Rock Steinauer. It’s everywhere. It was at Dawson-Verdon when I was in school 20 years ago (though nearly not as bad because we didn’t have social media yet) and it’s in your child’s school […]

A bit of history about Nebraska State Sales Tax. January 1984, Nebraska dropped sales tax on food. State sales tax at that time was four percent. Falls City had no city sales tax.  From January 1984 to 1990, the Nebraska state sales tax was 4 percent. In 1990, the State rose by 1 percent for […]

STATEMENT FROM MICHELLE KEITHLEY Charles W. Herbster’s Executive Assistant comes forward to tell her side of the story about the Elephant Remembers dinner in 2019. The campaign is also presenting the precarious timeline of these “accusations.” “I wanted to wait until after the rally to put out my statement and thoughts on what is happening […]

By Brian McKim In a not-so-surprising turn of events, the Nebraska Cornhuskers lost for the third straight game and the fifth time in six contests. The Big Red are currently 1-5 in the Big Ten and just 3-6 overall. Nebraska will have to win out against Ohio St., Wisconsin, and Iowa to become bowl eligible.  […]

This week I hit my sixth month of suffering from Parosmia and phantosmia cause by COVID I had in November 2020. Nearly half of people with COVID-19 who took part in one study reported Parosmia about 2.5 months after their initial infection, and it continued for at the very least six months! According to some, […]

It’s been one year. I can’t wrap my mind around this whole thing. It still feels so surreal—people wearing masks to do everyday things like getting groceries and gas, losing loved ones, getting ill, staying ill. Or missing out on social interaction, family, or friends.   With this past weekend’s State Basketball in Lincoln, I […]

I’ve kicked around the idea of writing a series on local residents and how they’ve been affected by COVID for a few months now. I often read stories about people around the world being affected in negative ways and in some instances, some good ways. It always makes me wonder how some in our community […]

By Nikki McKim This year the Richardson County Fair is doing things a little different. They’re doing a one day only fair instead of their usual four night, three day event. When COVID-19 hit, I, like many other people, mistakenly thought that maybe this thing could be tapering out by fall. When it became apparent […]

By Brian McKim Who needs some good news?  Go ahead, raise your hands. I know, I know, we all do.  Well, here is a little bit of good news.  Our local high school sports teams are on the cusp of beginning the fall season, and so far, it looks like a go. Softball, volleyball, cross […]

It was announced last week that many major league baseball clubs would cease paying their minor league players that are still under contract.  The Kansas City Royals have decided to take a much different path than most teams.  Not only are the Royals going to continue to pay the players, but they also will not […]

Recently I received my child’s ESU4 health screening results in the mail. After reviewing the results and literature as it pertains to children as young as three years old, I have a number of concerns and seek to ensure they are formally noted. Firstly, the proven ineffectiveness and dangers of utilizing the BMI scale; secondly, […]

What a shame we can’t even decorate outside for Fall without some careless person stealing your decorations. We had not just one, but five pumpkins stolen in front of the Richardson County Museum this past weekend. We decorated on Friday and by Monday morning they were gone. Stolen right under the big lights of the […]

Much as been written about Braniff International Flight #250 which crashed in Tony Schawang’s soybean field northeast of Falls City the night of Aug. 6, l966, killing 42 persons. In my estimation it has to be the biggest news story ever emanating from the Falls City area. It went around the country and internationally on […]

It’s overdue time to toss a bouquet to the Auxiliary of  Veterans of Foreign Wars Post l765. Auxiliary member Sherry Maddox organized and ran the entire show on Veterans Day. She had great help from her Auxiliary sisters. Members and helpers put up and took down the flags around the Courthouse Square, which they also […]

The “Days of Yore” column a couple of weeks ago noted that several county men had been inducted into their college’s Halls of Fame.” Mentioned were Larry Stednitz, Falls City, football, in Midland Lutheran College; Don Overfield, Humboldt, football, Chadron State College, and Doug “Hoot” Gibson, Falls City, Peru State. Afterward it came to my […]

I know that I have mentioned this before.  Helen Thomas, who died recently at the age of 92, was married to Doug Cornell, who grew up in Falls City, the son of Dr. and Mrs. L. L. Cornell. Dr. Cornell was an osteopath with an office on the second floor of l602 Stone Street. As […]

The recent death of Charles Schlicker ended one era of old Company B of the l34th Infantry, Nebraska National Guard. So far as I know he was the last of about 100 Falls City area Guardsmen who were called into federal service on Christmas week of l940 when war clouds were on the horizon. It […]

Last Friday Oklahoma was inundated with another round of tornadoes. Through the weekend we learned of a mother and her child being sucked out of their car and killed as well as veteran storm researchers Tim Samaras, his son Paul and Carl Young. Every life lost is as valuable as the last but Tim Samaras was a face a lot of us came to know and respect.

Several weeks ago the Journal ran a photo/story about a dilapidated crate which Louie Fritz of Verdon had found when he was dismantling an old shed. It had been sent by J. L. Lord, USS Henderson, Fleet Post Office, San Francisco, CA. to Vera Lord, Box 343, Falls City, Nebraska. Louie wondered how it wound […]

Some bits and pieces. The May—June issue of “Nebraska Life” has an excellent feature story with the headline, “Broadcaster Lance Schwartz Covers Nebraska.” Lance is the son of our Hank and Marcia and films and interviews people on “Lance’s Journal,” which is on Lincoln TV station l0-ll on Sunday and Wednesday evenings’ news. He does […]

The Sweet Sixteen Louisville-Duke basketball game in Indianapolis and the emotion which took over the arena when Louisville’s Kevin Ware suffered a horribly broken leg quickly reminded me of what probably was the most emotional ending to any state basketball tournament game ever played in the UNL Coliseum. On March 11, 1939, Falls City High […]

This is some turning back the clock stuff. A couple of years back when Del and Shirley Bowers were living here, just for kicks Del and I decided to make a list of all of the eating places in the Falls City of yesteryear we could remember. I ran across the list the other day […]