This past weekend, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t get at least a little bit sappy while taking pictures at the first of what I am sure will be many graduation ceremonies this month. I am not an overly sentimental person, but for some reason, graduation—likely because of the finality of the moment and the spectacle made at the end of such an important chapter in the graduates’ lives—is always a sad time.

As a kid, our grade school class was one of many that got to visit John Brown’s Cave in Nebraska City. There was a cool log cabin, the Mayhew Cabin, hewn from local cottonwoods before Nebraska became a state.

On my way home from work, I drive past Casey’s General Stores’ St. Paul location.

It doesn’t happen very often, but I imagine that like me, from time to time, many of our readers get that feeling in the pit of their stomach. That feeling that indicates that, at that very moment, they are part of a once in a lifetime moment.

When it comes to the whys and hows of state tax policy, it’s hard to beat public hearings of the Revenue Committee at the Nebraska Legislature. There’s a fascinating mix of folks testifying, from dark-suited corporate lawyers and accountants asking for tax cuts, to blue jean-wearing farmers wondering why property taxes are so high.

Since trading the title of city slicker for that of country boy nearly three years ago, I have learned a lesson or two during my time living in rural Howard County. The lessons have run the gamut, from learning that barefoot trips across the driveway lead to a lot of blood, to realizing that, sometimes, it is better to dodge the deer—and snowdrifts for that matter—than careen right into them.

Even in the best of times, farming is a precarious enterprise. There’s drought, floods, hail, wind storms, and pests of all kinds to deal with.

Spring has sprung in the Cornhusker State. Nowhere is that more evident than in the specks of color that have been emerging across the countryside in recent weeks.

In November, Nebraska voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative allowing workers to earn sick leave for personal or family needs. They also voted to legalize marijuana used for medical purposes.