Rural communities across Nebraska have struggled with population loss for decades. The last census indicated that, of the state’s ninety-three counties, sixty-nine had lost population between 2010 and 2020.

When you turn on your television to watch the local news, scroll through your phone, log in to social media, or even just swap gossip over a cup of coffee in the morning, there is a lot to see, listen to, and learn.

By the time you read this, state senators are expected to be trudging back to Lincoln for a special session on property tax relief. The word “trudging” reflects the general distaste senators have for special sessions, which disrupts the lives of these part-time, underpaid ($12,000 a year, plus all you can eat and drink) lawmakers.

Anyone who has ever had older siblings knows that in life there is a pecking order, and often that order never changes. Sure, there are moments— like when you are nine years old and it’s your birthday, so your parents let you ride in the front seat—that the pecking order is relaxed, but for the most part, no matter how old you get, things stay the same.

Every candidate for governor always promises two things – to cut property taxes, and eliminate the “waste” in state spending. Both of those pledges are awfully easy to make—and play well on a television ad—and much harder to achieve.

I am told—I do not have experience in this area—that, as a parent, one of the experiences you dread is getting a phone call in the middle of the night. While I can see that a parent’s worry would only be exacerbated by having the phone ring in the wee hours of the morning, the truth is, whether you have kids living their best life in this world or not, there is nothing that can instantly snap you out of your slumber like the phone ringing while you are fast asleep.

“When there’s a will, there’s a way.” That was a phrase that surfaced regularly at the end of state legislative sessions. It referred to the hope that bills that appeared dead might be resurrected.

When I was a little kid, my grandma had a big book of illustrated children’s stories, among which was the folktale “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” As a little guy, I loved that story. Mainly, because the idea of a king prancing around naked, unbeknownst to him, was comical.

On Saturday, when I woke up, I found the type of site that no one wants to discover on their bathroom floor in the morning. A puddle.

Back in the day, a small, “trial balloon” would be sent aloft to discern wind speed and direction before a balloon carrying people was launched. Folks were rightly concerned about rising into the heavens blindly, without knowing if a catastrophic whirlwind was aloft.