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Rural healthcare is better — a lot better — than you think

“One thing that stops people from leaving crowded urban cities for a life in rural Nebraska is the misperception that the quality of healthcare is somehow diminished,” says writer Jennifer Chick.
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Choreographing a Swedish Christmas

“Beginning in December, when I was growing up, my mother and her family members marched to the tune of Christmas Past in the Swedish tradition of Grandmother Anna Johnson.”
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Quasquicentennial makes for a big year in Eustis

Eustis, a town of about 450 in Frontier County, is just finishing up its year-long Quasquicentennial celebration — which they called the Q 125 — and according to resident, community leader and photographer Don Brockmeier, Eustis had a very full year of events celebrating “the good old days”. more...

The second bird made the day

Opening day of the pheasant season was unusual because there was a steady wet snow coming down with flakes about the size of a nickel. more...

Spreading out: a modest plan to save the cities and repopulate rural America

Since the earliest mud-hut villages, cities have grown almost continuously until today vast megalopolises like Tokyo, New York, Mumbai and Mexico City comprise tens of millions of souls each and massive urban complexes covering hundreds of square miles. And it’s not over yet. more...

Voyage through a valley's heart

One of the main things writer Pat Underwood discovered on her recent canoe trip down the Republican River was the quiet. "There is an almost total hush around us as soon as we pass the first rapids and glide the canoe into the main channel," she writes. "It sounds as if we have entered a sacred place, and perhaps we have. more...

Slanted barn takes final bow

The slanted, weathered old barn had been the heart of the farm it rested on for over a century; and for the community of Silver Creek, Neb., it was a landmark for giving directions to visitors unfamiliar with the area. Then one day the barn had its last straw. more...

New grain handling facility is just one sign that Benkelman is a town on the move

When passing through Benkelman on U.S. Highway 34, there's no way you’re going to miss seeing the concrete grain elevators which are rising on the southwest corner of town. They're huge. more...

Words of wisdom: Dr. George Garlick reflects on living in rural Nebraska

Nebraska Rural Living’s Betty Sayers recently had the privilege of interviewing Curtis leader and benefactor Dr. George Garlick in preparation of the Curtis-Maywood profile in this edition. His words eloquently express the value of a rural place to be and become in a modern world.more...

Buy yourself a little piece of Nebraska history at Wauneta's Roller Mill

Wauneta Roller Mill is one of the few—if not the only—small town flour mill still in production in the state. As an added distinction, the Wauneta Roller Mill was named to the National Register of Historic Places on March 12, 2008. more...

Fake mine, fake mining company provide funds for Peckerneck Horse Trail

It started as a primitive, barely accessible and little used horse trail on the south side of Harlan County Lake, yet it was recently described as one of the finest riding experiences in the state of Nebraska. more...

A few good reasons to start a business in a small town

As the country continues to work its way through the Great Recession,” writes Nebraska Rural Living Editor Phil Soreide, “one can’t help but be exposed to interviews with desperate job-seekers. But in thinking about the millions of people affected, I can’t understand why more people don’t consider quitting the job search and spending their effort on owning their own job.” more...

Harlan County tests its wings in nature-based tourism

Residents of Harlan County, Nebraska, know spring is just around the corner when the American White Pelicans return from their winter feeding grounds to take up temporary residence at the Harlan County Reservoir.
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Emmet couple share their love of “gentle giant” Clydesdales

If you'd like to take a step back in time, when life moved at a slower pace, or if you'd just like to blow some of those cobwebs out of your mind and get a “fresh air life” start on the year, I'd suggest a leisurely, open air horse-drawn wagon ride pulled by Kelly Kloppenborg's team of majestic Clydesdale horses.
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Commuting takes its toll in dollars, gasoline, lost time and souls

So, how are you feeling about your commute? For millions of Americans, it’s a twice-a-day slog, often lasting an hour or more, lost in the stultifying rhythm: stop-creep-slow-creep-stop.
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Grandpa was wry, funny, hardworking...and very Nebraskan

My grandfather was larger than life when I was a child. While he stood six feet tall, he must have been a late bloomer. He was the smallest boy in his family when he was in high school.
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Santa’s helper busy in Loomis workshop

Santa has a little extra help this Christmas from the hands of toyman Bob Pafford. Pafford, 71, has been tinkering with toys and other wooden furniture for more than 15 years.
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La Herradura is a rural success story, American style

“Whenever I interview someone for a story, I'm never exactly sure what the real story will be,” writes Joy Richter. She thought this story would be about a restaurant, but it turned out to be a story about “opportunity and gratitude; struggles and success.” more...

State’s largest round barn seeks a new purpose in Red Cloud

Preserving history isn’t about the bottom line. It’s about ensuring that artifacts will be here to educate and entertain the next generations. That’s why Liz Rasser, her husband, Ron, and her son, Cal, with his wife, Stacy, are renovating the Starke Round Barn near Red Cloud. more...

Axtell man is building a carousel…one carving at a time

In 2005, Brad happened to see a clip on television highlighting a company in Ohio that not only refurbished old carousel carvings and carousels, but offered classes on carving. After talking to them on the phone several times, Brad drove to Ohio to learn how to carve. more...

Fallstreaks

Amy Speace is a singer-songwriter living in Nashville, but playing occasionally at the Bieroc Café in McCook. Traveling to Nebraska for a scheduled performance, a missed flight left her in Memphis without enough time to get to Omaha and still make the drive to McCook. But this is Nebraska, and when you have a problem, you call a friend. more...

Burton's Bend Music Festival is foot-stomping good time

Burton’s Bend was the name given to the first permanent settlement in Furnas County, at present-day Holbrook. Burton’s Bend also lends its name to the Burton’s Bend Music Festival, a lively, quirky, two-day event where amateur musicians rub shoulders with the pros, and everyone has a foot-stomping good time. more...

Concerts on the Creek series is pure delight for chamber music lovers

Chamber music is, by definition, intimate. And no matter how much you spent on your home sound system, there’s no recording in your collection that can match the experience of a live concert. more...

Summer Honors program brings world-class education to rural students

Some might think that students in larger cities always get the best education. After all, urban students have diverse museums, expansive libraries, and large universities practically next door; they simply have more opportunities at their fingertips. more...

50 editions later, Nebraska Rural Living is going strong

This is the 50th edition of Nebraska Rural Living. And while, granted, it’s not our 50th anniversary, it’s still a milestone worthy of reflection. We’ve covered a lot of ground. more...

Businessman-farmer finds solace, relaxation, release in producing art

As a child, Mike Sughroue used art as a way to retreat, to stay out of trouble and to deal with emotions. “I’ve been painting or drawing probably my whole life,” Sughroue, 57, of Holdrege said. “It was just something to keep busy and keep me out of trouble.”more...

An entrepreneur's challenge - The Orleans Hotel

You could imagine Ernest Hemingway in a place like this. The dark wood staircase, the ornate brick and ironwork, the dining room with bentwood chairs, the huge old gas stove in the kitchen. In most ways that matter, the Orleans Hotel hasn’t changed since its heyday.more...

The Idea of Things

Betty Sayers’ search for migrating warblers led her to St. Mary’s Catholic Church in the Village of Orleans. “The architect grasped the prairie landscape and the courageous, hopeful and stubborn people who made their life and living on it,” she writes. more...

For single mom, wagon and buggy restoration is a rewarding hobby

Writer Annette Van Buren never forgot a wooden sleigh she saw once on a trip to Kansas, so when she saw a similar one in an ad for a local auction, she had to go - and when she came home, she had a new hobby. more...

Resourcefulness

During the late 1990s, while living at my in-law's farm, I had many occasions to observe my father-in-law, Marvin Richter, toil for hours, even in his advancing years. more...

Leaving home to grow, coming home to GROW

Janell Anderson Ehrke believes it is good for young people raised in small towns to go out into the world to gain broader experience and education. She believes it can be even better when they bring those things back home and put them to work for their community. more...

You can take the girl out of Nebraska

I have been gone from Nebraska for many, many years, and one would think I would get it out of my system. But I haven't. more...

Holdrege's Christian Orphan's Home is an important piece of songwriter's history

Jon Chandler's western novels, songs and poems share an historical perspective about the American West and the value of the frontier spirit.more...

McCook restaurant’s vast cookie jar collection shifts to a holiday theme

Linda Thayer and Val Fuller's cookie jar collection started – as all collections do - with just one cookie jar. Linda was shopping one day in 1998 and noticed a charming cookie jar shaped like a goose. "Hey, I thought, that would be a cute item to display at the restaurant," she said. more...

Massacre Canyon saga is just one story in a rich Native American history in Nebraska

In 1873, a battle in what is now known as Massacre Canyon in southwest Nebraska occurred when several tribes were off their reservations at the same time to engage in their annual summer buffalo hunts. more...

NCTA: Why graduate with just a sheepskin, when you could have 100 cows?

Upon arrival at the University of Nebraska's College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis in 2006, Dr. Weldon Sleight realized the farms, ranches and rural communities of America's heartland were facing a troubling future.more...

Transforming nursing home into residence hall is a challenge for ex-Texan

At first glance, I stick out like a sore thumb. Usually in stiletto heels and dressed for corporate America, I now stroll the streets of my new home in Curtis, Nebraska on an adventure of morphing a former nursing home and assisted living facility into a state-of-the-art student residence hall called Aggie West. more...

Flowers from Mom

On the way to my brother's farm in Southwestern Nebraska, I sometimes stop in at a small town where my parents used to live. It's just about two miles off my route, and is worth the little step back in time that the visit affords me. more...

Minden sculptor never happier than with a pile of junk

With junk usually destined for a landfill, a petite woman wearing an oversized helmet and wielding a welding torch transforms rusted artifacts into artistic forms. Misty DeLashmutt’s profile of sculptor Sally Buss makes interesting reading. more...

Vintage Staggerwings, Aeroncas, and Stinsons fly in to Minden Fly-in

The runway had a slight rise in it, so from where I was standing I couldn’t see the aircraft that was starting. But I could certainly hear it; I knew it was one of the big radial-engine planes. The sound volume increased as the pilot advanced the throttle. The plane would be moving by now. more...

Small Town Dog Stories

Dogs and kids were part of the fabric of small towns when I was growing up in the late 1940s and 1950s. Dogs were on the school playgrounds, occasionally wandering into class. They rode in pick-ups and lay in the sun on front porches. There were no leash laws, but I don’t remember any vicious or mean dogs. more...

Looking for a juicy job? Nebraska grape harvest is a real experience

If you have found yourself intrigued by the help-wanted ads for temporary jobs picking grapes — appearing more frequently around Nebraska these days — my advice is to let your intrigue be your guide. Everyone should try this at least once in their life, because it really is interesting. It’s also fun. Truly... Well, okay, mostly. more...

It's time to stand up for small town living

Is it possible? Could the people of rural south central and southwest Nebraska, be role models for the rest of America? We have an opportunity to be just that, because you and your neighbors share a rare and increasingly precious way of life. more...

Practical philosophy is at the root of organic gardening

"The wisdom that comes with age should be that you finally learn how and especially why you need to manage things rather than trying to control them," says “Dr. Tom” Tomas. “I sure wish I had learned that in my teens or twenties," he added, shaking his head and laughing. more...

The Engagement

In September, Dale and his twin brother, Dean, turned 50. It’s a big life-defining moment and one that just begs to be celebrated with a party. Dale realizing that his family and friends wouldn’t let such a date go unnoticed, decided to get together with his brother and plan their own party before anyone else could. more...

‘Rural Renaissance’ reminds young and old of benefits of rural life

Rural Renaissance by John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist isn’t the first book about “going rural”, but it is an enjoyable, appealing account of one couple’s adventure in moving from a fast-paced, urban life style to a “simpler” (in their words) life in rural America. more...

A Nebraska mother-in-law

Karen Hayes never intended to live her life in Nebraska. She had plans, she had goals, she had an I.Q. But as she says, “Life works its own magic on your plans.”more...

McCook's Work Ethic Camp really works to put young offenders on a new path.

Life isn’t easy at the Work Ethic Camp. It isn’t meant to be. The offenders' days begin with a 5:30 wake-up call and conclude with 9 p.m. bedtime. In between, the time is filled with work assignments, education, treatment programs and behavioral training. more...

Accentuating the positives of teaching and living in the country

You just can’t beat country living. I was born and raised in the country. I love to go fishing, take long walks alongside a field, inhale the scent of newly plowed soil, or the sweet smell of freshly cut hay. I can train my Labs for next pheasant season, stake out my newest hunting spot, or grill up some steaks for family and friends. It doesn’t take much to make me happy. In my opinion, we have so many good things in rural Nebraska, so why do we have a shortage of teachers?more...

An outing to Pioneer Village museum just the ticket for inquisitive kids

My twin nine-year old granddaughters and I were trying to decide among the endless options of things to do on a dreary, gray, March day in central Nebraska. The ideas tumbled out in a rush of excited voices: We can make a pizza from scratch, do an art class in the basement, do a science experiment — something messy and gooey — and then one said, “Grandma, let’s go to the Pioneer Village tomorrow. We’ve seen it. We haven’t been there, and we’ve always wanted to go.”more...

Simple Beauties

What do you remember about growing up in Nebraska? Just because Taylor Lutz is a high school junior doesn’t mean she doesn’t have deeply personal memories associated with her childhood and adolescence. Her short essay, almost a prose poem, is a paean to growing up in rural Nebraska.more...

Paintings illustrate unique chapter in Nebraska history

Although WWII was not fought on American soil, by some estimates more than 400,000 German and Italian soldiers, merchant marines and others spent at least part of the war in more than 500 Prisoner of War (POW) camps in North America. One of these, Camp Atlanta, was built near the Phelps County town of Atlanta in south central Nebraska. more...

Looking for love in all the right places

Who could have thought how thoroughly my life would change? Just over three years ago I made the decision to move to a place I couldn’t even locate on a map if you’d asked me. At 43 I was just ready for a change. So, although content with myself and life in general I moved to Holdrege, Nebraska, based on little more than looking at a few places on the computer. And although the town, church and people won my heart, still something was missing. I’d never gotten over that childhood dream of finding Mr. Right.more...

Restoring the Republican River gets Nebraskans going with the flow

The once fast-flowing Republican River in southern Nebraska was choking to death, reduced to a slow, feeble trickle by an ever-increasing eruption of invasive vegetation in the stream bed. more...

A vegetarian in cattle country

Celery – I don’t like it. Not at all. Be it with raisins, peanut butter, cheese or whatever…it’s just not for me. Most people have no problem with my dislike of celery; in fact most people couldn’t care less.more...

The rancher may be quarterback, but branding is a team effort

Ranching is a team effort. The rancher may be the quarterback, but it takes a front line including the veterinarian, the well man, the local ranch supply store, the feedlot owner and a slew of others to ensure the goal line of raising beef at a profit is reached on a yearly basis. more...

Santa Claus Lane is a part of Christmas for generations of McCook residents

Talk about tradition. Every year since the late 40s or early 50s children in the McCook area have shared a Christmas tradition with their parents and grandparents. It's a simple thing, but it's a delight to behold, reminding people of all ages what makes the Christmas season special. more...

Bull Strong, Sheep Tight

I’m driving east in the Republican River Valley on Highway 6, a road traveled by the First People eons before automobiles. As I near the town of Cambridge, my eyes drift along the white highway stripe and I glance at a sign partially obscured by a brushy tree. I see words, large and bold in black and white, and they stick in my mind like a cockle burr on a sock. BULL STRONG. SHEEP TIGHT. more...

Building Nebraska one person at a time

In almost every small town, there are at least a few visionaries who see their town not as it is, but how it could be. While these advocates may be long-time or even lifelong residents, in many cases, the ones who are ready to roll up their sleeves and go to work are new to town – but not necessarily new to rural living. more...

What I learned in my first 60 days playing golf

In most people’s minds, golf is a term usually associated with either old men or Tiger Woods. People don’t generally think of teenage girls having anything to do with golf. I know I didn’t...until that fateful day when I first stepped out on the golf course. It may sound horrible, but I am accustomed to being good at things, so stepping out of my comfort zone and doing something new is not something that appeals to me!more...

Willa Cather country is ideal setting for Nebraska birding adventure

Willa Cather was one of the most eloquent writers about the beauty – even majesty – of the Nebraska prairie and the Republican River Valley, and somehow, starting this adventure at the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie seems the right thing to do.more...

Bittersweet memories: reflections of a “hunting widow”

Most kids learn blue, red, and yellow first. Kamden learned green and orange. Not a surprise when your daddy is a hunter. Tonight my four boys and I pile into the red Ford pickup and head out to watch deer on the river. Kamden is two, Carter is five, Kade is seven, and Michael is 34. There’s a lot of testosterone at my house. The only estrogen here is from me and our black lab, Trey. more...

What does it take for people to make the move to a small town?

If you’re one of our growing community of readers, you know that Nebraska Rural Living is about celebrating the things that make the rural lifestyle appealing: safe neighborhoods, good schools, affordable housing and a relaxed, uncongested lifestyle that lets you know – and care about – your neighbors.more...

Living off the land - Rural Nebraskans get the benefit of buying, selling and “eating local”

In ancient China, as the story goes, they had a curse disguised as a blessing: "May you live in interesting times." Interesting times challenge us, they test us, and occasionally they can even bring out the best in us. And the times we are living in are nothing if not interesting.more...

Box turtle study uncovers “rhythm of life” on Platte River island

Biologist Mark M. Peyton's job, in part, is to make a regular assessment of the wildlife on Jeffrey Island, a 4500-acre habitat area. On a recent expedition, his "pup" sniffs out its first two ornate box turtles, and it doesn't take long before they're, well, doing what comes naturally. more...

A city boy’s first country Thanksgiving

One brisk fall day, I walked into the house and noticed the answering machine light blinking. Play. “Mom, I’m bringing John home for Thanksgiving. Okay?”more...

Derelict opera house transformed to center of community pride

Everyone agrees that the decision to renovate the Minden Opera House has been good for the town. Who could argue? Completed in 2000, the $2.7 million renovation resulted in a versatile facility of stunning beauty, a place for concerts, movies, plays, dances, weddings, meetings, art exhibits, even Husker football on the movie screen.more...

Golf courses of the Republican River Valley

There are many breathtaking views along the Republican River. The rolling hills and valleys are perfect for some of the most stunning golf courses in Nebraska. Nestled in the Republican River Valley are ten golf courses that are an excellent excuse to get into nature and enjoy a relaxing game of golf.more...

Kiplinger Arena is fulfillment of a dream for McCook cowboy

Picture six full-sized basketball courts, placed side-by-side in rows of three. Then imagine the courts being lifted up and placed inside a building with sidewalls spiraling high into the sky. By taking this mental leap, you are experiencing what it's like to step inside one of the largest indoor equestrian arenas in America's Great Plains. more...

My son's first Husker game

Making the 165 mile trip from Holdrege to Lincoln on a football Saturday is one of my favorite things to do. This day was extra special as my seven year old son was accompanying me full of excitement and anticipation of his first trip to Memorial Stadium. Leaving town I had the choice of driving our comfortable van or driving the much more economical 1992 Ford Festiva that had been totaled by hail several years earlier. Being the tight wad that I am, of course I chose the Festiva. After all the focus was on football, not on how we looked... more...

Notes of a novice birdwatcher

For most of my life, my skill of identifying various species of birds has lain dormant. I could pick out a robin, a crow, a Canada goose and an ostrich fairly reliably, but most of the rest of the avian world I classified as “LBBs” meaning alternately “little brown birds” or “little black birds”. more...

Concert promotion has grown into unusual hobby for Holdrege couple

Those of us who are not necessarily blessed with musical talent can still participate in music in ways that go well beyond just singing with the radio in the car. Take, for example, the case of Tim and Bev Rehm of Holdrege. Tim and Bev are great fans of live acoustic music and had gone to concerts and folk festivals for years.more...

A southwest Nebraska craftsman makes a living as a traditional "cooper."

Thomas Jefferson imagined the future America as a continent full of independent farmers and artisans, but today such people are the exception. In some ways, Jim Gaster of Indianola is a throwback to Jefferson’s day, leading a rural life while practicing the traditional craft of coopering. In other ways, he and his wife, Marilyn, are tech-savvy Internet entrepreneurs connecting to a global market.more...

Fire and ice: Interest in hockey heats up Nebraska

Ice, cold weather and falling down all have something in common. They torment the population of the Midwest every winter, of course, but they are also the elements of a sport gaining interest and excitement in Nebraska — hockey.more...

A mountainless man finds a home on the plains

The nearby Rocky Mountains were not the only rugged aspect of Josh Gill’s life in Denver. Between the fast-paced lifestyle and the high cost of living, there were a lot of things about the city life that were pointing him in the direction of something simpler for his wife and daughter.more...

100 mile race at age 65? Jim Wheeler says you can do it, too

At age 65, many adults think about slowing down. Not Jim Wheeler of rural Franklin in south central Nebraska. In the 2007 Silver Run, Jim finished first in his age group in the 10K. That race was a mere warm-up for the Buffalo Springs Triathlon that he finished a few weeks later. He raced the half triathlon, which means he ran 13.1 miles, biked 56 miles and swam 1.2 miles – all in 100-degree heat.more...

Two Short Poems: 'The Farm' and 'Pick Up Trucks'

Dark brown earth; life too me
stalks of corn; furrows between
fields of bales; waiting to be moved
Meadowlarks singing; goldenrod swayingmore...

How 'social capital' is helping preserve and add vitality to rural small towns

Since the 1980s, the demise of small towns on the Great Plains has been predicted by academics and pundits – but almost all of those small towns are still here. What happened?more...

New grocery store in town is cause for celebration

In many ways, a grocery store is as vital to the identity of a small town as the school is. Both contribute to the vitality of a community by drawing in people from the outlying areas; both are usually large and visible; and when either a grocery store or a school is shuttered, it sends a shiver through the spine of a town.more...

E-Bay ad turns software programmer into small-town newspaper publisher

Bob Willis is an unlikely newspaperman. In the 1990s, Willis developed software for a large company in Scottsdale, Arizona, his hometown. During the technology boom at the end of the last century, Willis’ company was sold to a software developer in Denver, Colorado. When he was offered a position with the new firm, Willis moved with his family to the Mile High City.more...

Where dreams take flight: a pilot discovers Nebraska

“When I’m flying nothing else is on my mind,” says pilot Elisa Tyson. “I focus on the task at hand. When the plane lifts up, my troubles fall below me.” more...

Two short essays: First Thunder Storm and For a Moment

At 0100 my shift has finished and I walk home through the dimly lit streets.  Every once in a while I notice a single light on in a house as I pass by.  This is a quite town at night.  Far off at times you can hear the train whistle.  That seems to depend on which way the wind is blowing.more...

Why Nebraska - A Personal Experience

The country lifestyle required a bigger adjustment than we first thought. Even though the cost of living is less than in Phoenix, gas prices have nearly doubled since we moved to Nebraska, and we didn’t imagine how many miles we’d drive to handle to our business needs,  meet with friends, and  visit members of our church congregation.more...

Why small towns still reflect life in TV’s ‘Golden Age’

My daughter was flipping through the channels on the television the other day, and I saw a few minutes of the old Andy Griffith Show...more...

Birding adventures abound along the "Chicken Dance Trail"

Even if you can’t tell a waxwing from a warbler or a grebe from a grosbeak, there’s fun to be had along the Chicken Dance Trail.more...

What the 'Good Life' means to me now...

Rural life is not for everyone. And that’s fortunate, because if everyone from the cities started living rural, we wouldn’t be rural anymore!more...

Where else but in a small town?

“Salt of the Earth.” Those were the words used to describe Lela Russell Monday morning at her funeral in Curtis. Lela’s service was a crowded affair with a large group of people gathering to honor a life spent in service.more...

10 Good Reasons to Move to a Small Town...

Not troubling to lock your bike in front of the library is just the first one. Read on for 9 more. more...

The 1-Finger Wave

And no, It's not that finger. The wave that means you're almost home... more...

You Grew up in Rural Nebraska if...

Many of my readers may have been asking themselves what it is like to have grown up in rural Nebraska. For those who have wondered, here are some clues.more...

A Nebraska Bed and Breakfast Story

The story of Bed and Breakfasts in Nebraska is an example of a perfect synergy of entrepreneurship and the preservation of Nebraska's heritage.more...

It's nicer in Nebraska

I recently returned from a two-week vacation in Nebraska. When I tell that to friends on the East Coast, they ask, "Why there?" This is their shorthand for a longer question, which is "What's in Nebraska, if anything?"more...

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