This Saturday, the McCook swim team will host teams from four area towns during a swim meet at the YMCA, which means hundreds of visitors to our community for the day.
Over the weekend, several hundred additional visitors will descend upon McCook for the 24 ½ annual Buffalo Commons Storytelling and Music Festival.
Last weekend, golfers were everywhere during Community Hospital’s annual John Mullen Pro Am golf tournament. And more than three dozen two-person high school fishing teams competed at Red Willow Lake, bringing with them supporters and the actual owners of their boats, their parents.
From baseball games to camping and boating, equine events to arts happenings, there are many opportunities around the area for people to visit - or even consider moving - to our communities.
Because of our smaller sized towns, these events tend to have a bigger impact, both financially and psychologically. There is a certain sense of pride when you see all these out-of-town plates on Main Street, getting to experience what we get to experience every day.
Next month, McCook will host two major swim meets as part of the Plains Tsunami Swim League, which includes more than three dozen teams from three states.
On July 10, McCook will be hoping with shoppers during Crazy Days, while the swimming pool will be filled with hundreds of swimmers as part of a qualifying swim meet.
And then on July 17, anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 swimmers and their families and fans will descend upon the McCook City Pool for a day of competitive swimming.
For years, this final meet was hosted in Lexington, where they have a tremendous aquatic center with an 8-lane competition pool as well as a separate pool with water-slides and a zero-entry area. (But I’m not here to compare pools today; trust me, that will be a later column.)
Fortunately, McCook does have an 8-lane pool, the minimum needed to host such a large swim meet. We also have the hotels, the restaurants and the retail to support an event like this.
Organizers from the league were in McCook recently to prepare for the July 17 meet and their comments struck home. Organizers said the league felt welcomed in McCook, that it felt wanted, that it felt appreciated for being here. Whereas other communities might see the meet as a burden, we have an opportunity to embrace these types of events and make a significant impression on the community.
We can’t let these types of opportunities pass us by, from the dollars they bring to town to just exposing people to everything our community has to offer.
And while I am focusing on events and activities around our area, the same holds true for businesses.
If Mac’s Drive-In opened in Omaha, would anyone really notice? It would be among the dozens of restaurants in a one-mile radius. Yet, we all lamented when they had to cut back their hours, forcing us to have our home-made onion rings for lunch rather than dinner. Could you imagine the uproar if Mac’s shut its doors?
That being said, if we want these businesses to exist in McCook for the times when visitors are here, we need to frequent them with our dollars when visitors aren’t here. If we want these events to happen, community members need to step up, get involved and volunteer to make it happen. And perhaps most importantly, if we want these activities to take place in McCook, we need to have the infrastructure to host larger events to draw people to our area, whether it is a large ball complex, a new welcoming aquatic center or an updated convention center.
We have many opportunities to make things happen which can have a tremendous impact on our communities. All these events and activities, as well as thriving businesses, add up to make sure that our communities will be around for generations to come.
If we all work together to make these events and businesses successful, we can truly make an impact and we can make our communities an even better place to call home.
MCFF Summer Hometown Intern Natalie Roberts shares how her perspective on McCook changed over the past few months.
With the McCook Aquatic Center closing soon for the season, another tradition - Mr. Bill and his 25-cent snow-cones - will likely be coming to an end soon too.
McCook among five Nebraska communities in Revitalize and Thrive Program
Getting Outside of National Night Out Nearly everyone can tell you their last interaction with the police or the fire department. And unfortunately because of the nature of the organizations, it is usually not at a positive moment. My last contact with the McCook Police Department was just a few weeks ago, when I was pulled over on B Street in McCook…on my scooter. I pulled into the wrong lane when making a turn, which is illegal. But in my defense, it was an act of self-defense to just get through the intersection of East B and Sixth streets alive. Since the drivers haven’t seen a stop-light since Holdrege, cars and semis regularly run the traffic light, which makes me a wee bit vulnerable as I pass through the lanes. I got off with a warning but the true punishment were the texts throughout the day from everyone who saw me with my scooter and the police officer. Since most exchanges with police and fire are not on good terms, National Night Out was created to have an evening of positive interactions, to remind the public that the police and fire departments are just normal people, doing their jobs, looking out for their friends and neighbors, trying to create a safe community for everyone. National Night Out is designed to simply join your friends and neighbors for an evening of fellowship and fun. It is an opportunity to meet local law enforcement, creating safer and more caring neighborhoods. McCook is joining thousands of other communities across the country in hosting National Night Out, which typically takes place on the first Tuesday of August every year. Planned for Tuesday, Aug. 5 from 5:30-7 p.m. in and around Norris Park in McCook, the night includes a bike parade, a walk, awards for bike decorating, desserts and more. In other words, it is simply a block party to hang out. Numerous organizations have come together to make the evening possible. CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and the McCook Rotary Club are hosting a bike parade that starts at 6 p.m. Linda Maiden with State Farm, a bicycle helmet advocate, will also be in Norris Park. The streets around Norris Park will be shut down to provide a safe area to ride, as well as more space to cruise around the block. Participants are encouraged to decorate their bike, scooter, roller skates or anything on wheels. This could mean streamers, pompom balls, markers or even the old classic - playing cards in the spokes of your wheels. Some supplies will be available at the park for use if you show up and realize you are the most underdressed person at the party. If your bike has an inch of dust on it, this is a great time to get it out, wipe it off and get it rolling. And if your bike needs minimal fixes like a flat tire or a brake adjustment, bike tools will be on hand along with myself and my hubbie, who know just enough about bike repair to be dangerous but did manage a 300-plus mile bike ride last week so we must be doing something right. But let’s say you don’t have a bike or biking isn’t your cup of tea? Then you are still encouraged to join the “Walk in the Park,” hosted by Community Hospital. Designed to encourage a healthy lifestyle, walkers will stroll around the park and the neighborhood at whatever pace you feel like with strollers and dogs on leashes welcomed. And perhaps most importantly, there will be a chance to meet members of the McCook Police and Fire Department, getting to see police cars and fire engines close-up in a non-emergency manner, always the best way to see them. And if the weather cooperates, there may be a fire hose, water and spraying involved. If you have been at the Culbertson Fourth of July parade, you know it is up to you to stay out of the line of fire if you want to remain dry. We all have excuses for why we don’t want to go out at night, especially after a long day at work. But National Night Out in McCook on Aug. 5 is a great reason to get out your bicycle and lace up your walking shoes. Hang out with your friends, get to know your neighbors and meet your first responders. That is what makes our communities just a little bit better.
Judy McCune named July 2025 McCook volunteer of the month
Joyce Anderson named June 2025 McCook Volunteer of the Month
Sharing our resources, such as books and bikes and even benches, help our community better for everyone.
For many years, McCook did just enough to get by but now there is a flurry of activity - with much more possible - which we should be celebrating.
Family Resource Center is using a grant from MCFF to support current and new projects.
It was fall of 2012. I was a senior in high school and preparing for the next chapter of my life, college. I was determined that I was going to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln for physical therapy. I also knew to go through undergrad and graduate school I was going to need a lot of scholarships or “student debt” would be my middle name. With that mindset, I ultimately decided not to play basketball my senior year to allocate my time to scholarship applications and a part-time job. It was a tough decision since I enjoyed playing basketball and being around my friends, but it was an investment toward my future. Flash forward to early spring, where I was absolutely blessed by being recognized as a recipient of numerous scholarships that alleviated a major financial burden! Leading up to that point, I was already active in community service projects. But upon receiving those scholarships, I was motivated to give back and say “thank you” for the investment in my education by others. I wanted to do something big, something that would impact the community. Through various conversations and research, I decided to bring back an iconic memory to many McCook natives, a drive-in movie. Through strong partnerships with many local businesses and volunteers, we held a drive-in movie not only my senior year but also my first two years of college, as I returned to help coordinate the project. During the three years of shows in McCook, we rented all the equipment from Dallas, but the dream was to build a permanent, non-profit drive-in for the community to use. However, as I progressed further in my new career of farming, my resources of time and energy were capped and the event sat idle. That is until a group of young, ambitious, and talented students picked up the lost baton. During numerous discussions, Youth Change Reaction members, otherwise known as YCR, shared that they wanted to complete a big project. Many ideas were tossed around, but when the idea of bringing back the drive-in movie came about, it stuck for two reasons: these young adults had memories of attending drive-in movies plus it would meet their goal of going BIG. In the process of picking up the lost baton, their journey into uncharted waters included raising $75,000, building partnerships with community businesses and organizations, and finding the proper equipment. It was truly humbling and at that point, because life really had come full circle. I was once a YCR member and had this dream nearly 10 years ago. But now these young adults went above and beyond in building McCook’s very own “Cars Under the Stars” non-profit outdoor drive-in theater. This project was a true philanthropic endeavor that not only will last for many years, but leaves a legacy, young or old, that we all play a vital role in our community. The power of community collaboration, teamwork, and dedication pulled off a tremendous feat and now our community has a long-standing asset to enjoy. I encourage everyone to take these philanthropic efforts exemplified by our talented youth and implement them into our communities. Embodying the mission of making our rural Nebraska community a better place to live and call home. Those efforts may not result in fulfilling the entire dream you have, but it may be planting the seed and laying the foundation for someone to pick it up. We all have our blessed talents. What are we doing to help move our community forward? What has someone done before you to help set the stage for you to improve? Is there a lost baton in your community that you can pick up and make better? *** Gavin Harsh is an original member of Youth Change Reaction, the youth organization for the McCook Community Foundation Fund, and now serves as a volunteer member on the MCFF Advisory Committee.
