Whether we like it or not, we live by the calendar. Our schedules are dictated by the day of the week. We plan around what is already on our schedule. We look to see when we have days open to plan a trip or schedule a meeting.
When asked if we can attend something, the automatic response is “Let me check my calendar.”
The same holds true for a community. There are so many things going on that a calendar is a necessity. And good or bad, we have a lot of them.
The Gazette has a great calendar which lists everything from governmental meetings to area festivals. I think it is so important that it should be one of the first things listed on their website.
McCook Public Schools maintains its own calendar which is a necessity with the plethora of sporting and social activities the school oversees. The McCook Arts Council has a list of all the arts and culture events on its new website.
And the McCook Chamber of Commerce has maintained an online calendar for years, but just last week made it easier than ever to add an event by removing the login step to submit information.
Why is an online community calendar so important? Just look at what happened Monday during the McCook City Council meeting.
City staff and the council were working with the pool engineer to set a community meeting to discuss a new city pool. They settled upon Thursday, Aug. 5 at 7 p.m.
Unbeknownst to them, MNB Bank had already set their popular Hot Summer Nights Concert for that same evening at the same time. The band Soca Jukebox was booked. The venue at Norris Park was reserved. The promotional materials had been printed.
The city is now aware of the conflict and will likely - and hopefully - move the date of the pool meeting so that people can both enjoy a wonderful, free event in the park one night and have their own voice heard about the pool on another night.
The scheduling conflict just highlighted the need for organizations and individuals to use the community calendars already in place for several reasons.
The first is so things like Monday don’t happen where multiple events get scheduled at the same time or even on the same weekend.
I suffer from a severe case of FOMO - Fear of Missing Out. I hate when multiple events, especially within a community, conflict with each other and I must choose. I would rather support all the events and programs and projects that people have put time and effort into.
I realize everyone doesn’t want to attend the same events, but people shouldn’t have to choose to give up something because no one checked to see what else was going on.
Another reason for a strong community calendar is to show everything that is going on. Yes, I’ve already said that, but I mean we need to show everything that is going on to outsiders who may be considering moving to our community.
People want things to do. If they are considering moving to McCook or Southwest Nebraska or Northwest Kansas, they want to know what is going on.
If organizations list what they are doing, people - both local and visitors - can access everything going on, both to plan other events and to get excited about all the cool things happening.
Scheduling doesn’t just affect McCook. The Fourth of July and the last week of September are both examples of dealing with scheduling conflicts.
Culbertson is the king of celebrating the Fourth of July. And I am not just saying that because I help with the Freedom Run 5K and 10K road race on Sunday, July 4…but do sign up.
Culbertson residents put on a great event for all ages with a parade and games and swimming and a car show. No one wants to compete with that.
So Indianola has set their Fourth of July celebration for….July 3.
And McCook Christian Church has set their Freedom Fest celebration at the Red Willow County Fairgrounds for….July 2.
We can literally make a full weekend of celebrating the Fourth of July holiday thanks to all these communities’ hard work.
When the end of September rolls around, there are hard decisions to be made.
That is the standing date for McCook’s Heritage Days celebration. It is just traditionally the last full weekend in September and plans are already underway for the event.
Stratton Days are planned for that same weekend, as is Smokin’ on the Beaver in Atwood. All great, fun events to bring people together and celebrate their communities.
For our little part of the world to thrive, we know we must support our neighbors, so we travel to area festivals too which makes it difficult to then choose between staying in McCook or hitting the road. It’s a great problem to have and I hope all of them are a success.
Many of these events are now settled into their dates year after year. But as new events are added or meetings pop up, all of our communities would benefit from using, adding to, looking at, referencing regularly, emailing often and listing continuously on these calendars. We simply need to make it a habit to check our community calendars, as regularly as we do our own.
By creating all these events - and almost as important, just showing up - we are working toward making our communities even better places to call home.
Linda Graff named McCook Volunteer of the Month for December 2025
By focusing on what is important, we can make an even better impact in our communities.
After a 10-year hiatus, the McCook Holiday Home Tours return focusing on downtown upstairs apartments.
While many people think volunteering is for older residents, serving your community has no age restrictions. And young people can regularly be found lending a hand or offering their services in their hometown. The November 2025 McCook Volunteer of the Month recognizes one of many young people are working to make their community an even better place to call home: Grady Riemenschneider. Currently a senior at McCook High School, Grady volunteers with a wide variety of organizations and groups. As a four-year member of the McCook Community Foundation Fund’s Youth Change Reaction, Grady serves as the ambassador for the youth group’s “Cars Under Stars,” the outdoor movie theater at the Red Willow County Fairgrounds. At nearly every showing, he can be found operating the projector and setting up the parking lot, as well as passing along his knowledge to the next ambassador. In McCook’s FFA program, Grady has held officer roles the past four years and is currently the chapter vice president, organized the chapter banquet in 2025 and coached for the conduct of chapter meetings. Along with serving as the president of the Driftwood Feeders 4-H Club, he assists with setup, tear down and fundraising for the dog show and helps fellow members train their dogs. Grady steps in to help and lead at local events, including Prairie Plains CASA’s Kick in’ It Up for CASA and the Cajun Broil; the Edward Jones Alzheimer’s Walk; operating sound boards for various groups; and Feed the Farmer. And he has served as a youth leader at McCook Christian Church for elementary youth since approximately 2018 as well as stepping up to ensure the ag program ran smoothly during a teacher’s maternity leave Upon request from his mother about some of Grady’s activities, Sharleen noted that he is the “Chief Household Operations Officer: first responder for Mom’s to-do list, go-to chauffeur and caretaker for his favorite sidekick (a.k.a. his nephew), and the family’s unofficial event planner who somehow keeps everyone together without a clipboard.” The McCook Philanthropy Council recognizes a volunteer every month who is doing good work in McCook and Red Willow County. If there is a volunteer in the community who should be recognized, please contact the McCook Chamber of Commerce at 308-345-3200 or visit McCook Volunteers on the McCook Community Foundation Fund’s website, mccookfoundation.org to complete a nomination form. The only requirement is that the nominee must be a resident of McCook or Red Willow County but please have information about the nominee along with where and how they volunteer in the community. The volunteer honoree is selected monthly by the McCook Philanthropy Council.
With the holiday's nearing, MCFF member and Mayor Linda Taylor reflects on the many things to be thankful in McCook.
The names of those people who have made a generational impact on McCook and Southwest Nebraska is a long list. Many of them are working day-in, day-out right now to make their mark on the community. And then there are those people who no longer call McCook home but still make an impact long after they are gone. Allen Strunk is one of those people. Allen passed away on Nov. 1 at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada but he never lost the love of his hometown. Born and raised in McCook, Allen was a member of an already well-known family, Harry and Arlene Strunk. The Strunks started and published the McCook Daily Gazette, with the motto, “Service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy in this world.” A saying that was so important that Harry had it etched at the top of his downtown newspaper office on Norris Avenue. That sense of service was passed along to Allen, who continued to serve his community as he took over leadership of the Gazette. I didn’t know Allen personally until he came back for visits years later. Even though my first job upon arriving in McCook was at the McCook Daily Gazette and Allen had turned over the publishing reins to Gene Morris many years prior, the Strunk legacy loomed large. He was instrumental in the building of the then-new YMCA, moving the facility from downtown to its current location next to the McCook High School. He was a key player in the new hospital, again moving from one location to a new expanded space. And McCook Community College benefitted his involvement in an expansion. Those projects continue to impact McCook today. And the support didn’t stop just because Allen retired from the Gazette and left McCook. There are programs the Strunks are involved in that benefit McCook and Southwest Nebraska. The Strunks continue to support Santa Claus Lane, which is overseen by the McCook Chamber of Commerce. And which after a few years of decline is seeing a resurgence of enthusiasm and nostalgia for the decorative holiday pieces lining Norris Avenue. Allen funds the annual McCook Area Outstanding Teacher award, which provides a financial prize to several teachers every year. And Allen recognized the work of the McCook Community Foundation Fund, providing a donation several years ago so that he could see its impact while he was still alive. This has led MCFF to consider how they will recognize and remember Allen for years to come. Because of his belief in service to his community, this could mean more recognition for the countless volunteers who keep our community thriving. It could be a day of community service, to see how many people can come together to make something happen. It could be a celebration for all the great things happening in our community. During Allen’s memorial service this past week in McCook, his step-daughter-in-law read the poem, “The Dash" by Linda Ellis, who published it in 1996. It reflects on the meaning of the dash between the birth and death dates on a tombstone. The dash is a reminder of everything that happens between the moment a person is born and the moment a person dies. The dash emphasizes the importance of how one lives their life during that time. The dash prompts a person to think about living, rather than worrying about dying. Ultimately, the dash is where all the good - and the bad - happens. And Allen Strunk made the most of his “dash,” both in his community and within his family. We can’t all run a newspaper. We likely aren’t going to etch our favorite saying into a building. But we all need to consider how we are paying the “rent for the space we occupy in this world.” And we can all make a difference in our hometowns, whether we currently live in them or even if we haven’t stepped foot on the main street in years.
Everyone feels a need to be needed and it is shown through the Big Give and Meal Kit Giveaways
SWNE Big Give reaches new heights thanks to enthusiasm of organizations, individuals and businesses
Food pantries are seeing an increased need, which means the community must step up with donations of food and time to help those who struggle to put food on the table.
