By RONDA GRAFF

The red truck came to a sudden stop, parked diagonally across the parking spaces near the McCook Gazette but it was a Sunday night, so following the parking lines was not an issue. 

Out hopped several young people, phones in hand, as they dashed up to the newspaper building. Using my quick-whits - that used to be quicker - I deduced that they were headed for the new mural on the east side of the building. 

Sure enough, they were snapping a selfie in front of “Postcard from the Plains,” one of the new murals, which are part of the McCook Mural Mania project. After letting me snap a picture of them taking a picture, they piled back into the truck, likely headed to the next mini-mural as part of a scavenger hunt.

Organized by the McCook Creative District, the creation of smaller murals throughout downtown followed in the footsteps of the larger murals installed in McCook over the past few years.

The first mural, Ethereal Plains, was painted in 2023 and spans half a block along West First Street near C Street. Involving more than 100 community volunteers, along with professional and amateur artists, the mural celebrates the natural landscape, local heritage, and shared journeys of Southwest Nebraska. 

The next mural again spanned nearly half a block, this time along West D Street, just off Norris Avenue. Completed in early 2026, the evolution of nature occurs in the mural as you walk from east to west taking in the “Rhythms of the Heartland.” 

The large-scale mural includes several unique features, including both small and large butterfly wings to pose in front of for pictures, as well as painting on the ground, allowing you to again be part of the mural. 

And the “Rooted in Care” mural on Community Hospital’s downtown student housing building, the Roots, showcases the important role all health care workers play in our community. It also reflects hope and simply brings a bright energy with the sunrise - or is it a sunset? That is a debate for later.

These large murals are impressive, catching your attention as you drive or walk down the street. They also helped people understand the possibilities, bringing beauty and creativity to a McCook and helped launch the next phase of the murals - the Mural Mania Project. 

It cannot be overstated what an undertaking it was to create the larger murals. There is the logistics of erecting scaffolding to reach the tops of the buildings, purchasing and mixing massive amounts of paint to cover expansive areas and then there is prepping the area to paint, which is half the battle. 

Such immense mural are not within reach of most artists, so the McCook Creative District developed the Mural Mania Project, which made creating a mural more feasible and which has blossomed on the bricks downtown. 

It has also evolved into a scavenger hunt, where you are encouraged to visit all the murals. You can take a picture of the mural to capture its beauty and artistry, such as the “South Side of Home,” which manages to incorporate a literal bench into the scene or “A Life Collected,” which captures the beauty of the small things that are meaningful to each of us.

Or some of the murals are interactive, whether it is pretending you are blowing bubbles at “The Breath of Joy” on the north side of ACE Hardware or posing with a mock cut-out form in “Family” near the train depot. 

While the artists of each of these smaller murals worked with the McCook Creative District, they were able to develop and design the mural that spoke to them. And now all of us get to reap the benefits of these artists’ creativity. 

You can use the McCook Chamber’s Explore McCook app to find the scavenger hunt. Just look for the Mural Mania link under “Play and Stay” and then input your own pictures at the murals and answer questions about each location. Or postcards are available around the community with the location of each mural to help guide you from site to site. 

Whether you visit a mural individually or try to experience them all in one day, McCook Mural Mania is a great way to explore downtown McCook, learn about local history and gain an appreciation for the tremendous artists we have in our community.