For the three days, I hung out in Lincoln for the Nebraska State Swim and Dive Championships. Three days of a middle-aged woman among teenagers in skin-tight speedos, jammers and speed suits. My ego will be in check.
But I digress.
Swimming is unique in Nebraska sports in that there are no class divisions. There are no A, B, C or D distinctions to divide the teams. McCook is competing against every school in Omaha, Lincoln and across the state with a swim team. McCook is among the smallest schools - if not the smallest - with a swim team and remains competitive.
And to qualify for the state meet, swimmers must post not just qualifying times as set by the NSAA, but also post qualifying times which are among the fastest in the state compared to all the other swimmers. So to qualify is an accomplishment, although everyone who heads to the pool at the Deveny Center is not there just to compete but to be competitive.
In addition to celebrating these swimmers and divers, there are two reasons I bring this up.
The first is very personal since my husband, Jon Graff, is the head coach for the swim team. His assistant coach is Dan Burns. Both of these men are McCook natives and graduates of McCook High School, who chose to return to their hometown and raise their families.
Dan and Jon didn’t just go to school together. They also competed on the swim and dive teams growing up. As they have for many years, they are sharing their passion and expertise for the sport with younger people. In fact, this year they are both taking one of their own high school child to the state meet to compete.
So we are seeing one generation pass along their love of a sport and their high school and their hometown directly to the next generation. This is something that should be celebrated. As we look at the pictures of these state swimmers, are we seeing the next generation of coaches, teachers, workers, leaders, volunteers, city council members who will choose to return to McCook?
That leads to the second reason I bring up the swim team and yes, it’s personal again.
(I should have “pool” tattoo’d across my forehead because not a day goes by that I don’t talk about it.)
If we want to remain competitive in swimming on the state level, we must have kids who have a love of swimming to start with. They must enjoy being the pool just for fun, otherwise they won’t want to dedicate the countless hours needs to be competitive.
This means creating an environment - yes, creating a pool - where kids want to be, where they want to be for generations to come.
And building a pool isn’t just about having a competitive swim team.
We live among three lakes with a river which sometimes has water so kids need to know how to swim. Kids who know how to swim have the additional advantage of a job as a lifeguard. And it’s a lifelong sport…just visit the YMCA during lap time and you will see swimmers of all ages crisscrossing the pool.
The pool is just part of the big picture for our community which needs to be researched and considered as we try to build a place that our kids will want to return to. So ask yourself these questions:
Are we doing enough to encourage our young people right now to return to their hometown? Are we creating a welcoming environment that they want to be part of? Are we building a community that gets them (and us) excited to belong to?
Our young people, as well as other newcomers, should not be here because they don’t have any other choice but because they choose to, because they want to, because they know we are dong everything we can to make that happen.
***
I would personally like to thank everyone who attended McCook’s town hall meeting in February. It was great to see every chair filled, even if they were six feet apart. It was also great to hear such passionate, articulate, thoughtful ideas from so many people.
It was obvious that people care about this community and what to make it even better.
There was a lot going on last week, from basketball games to winter break, so if you haven’t had a chance to share your ideas, there is still time.
In fact, there is always time to share your ideas. You don’t need a town hall or a meeting to contact your representatives and let them know what your think and how you feel.
Look up your city council person’s email. Google your state representatives phone number. Find your school board member’s address.
They can’t make informed decisions if they don’t hear from their constituents to know what you want or think, so take a few minutes to reach out to them. It will take all of us reaching out and working tother to make our community an even better place to call home.
McCook's last hometown bakery closed this past week, leaving a void not just for donuts but for connections.
Many organizations and businesses in McCook offer the opportunity to recycle, reuse and repair items that may just end up in the trash.
Organizer for Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival and former librarian named Oct 2025 volunteer of the month.
McCook's Third Thursdays were created to get businesses and organizations involved and designed to create life-long memories for the community.
Long-time community advocate Barb Ostrum received the Sept 2025 McCook Volunteer of the Month award.
We need to celebrate our young people while they are here and encourage them to return.
While some like myself appreciate a rainy day, others dread them for a variety of reasons. We need to be empathetic as interact with others.
MCFF Fall Grant Deadline is Oct. 1. Complete list of former recipients on MCFF website
With so much going, it is time for a “This, That and the Other Thing” column, where we will cover several topics, not very deeply but hopefully with a sense of humor as we clean up and prepare for a busy week in McCook. *** McCook again made state and national news this week for ice. This time, it was in the form of hail that pounded the community for hours upon hours. Conversations this week begin with “where were you….?” or “how many windows did you lose?” And while they may be legitimate and are offering their services, it is like vultures with all the roofing repair and dent removal businesses which have descended upon McCook following the storm. As city officials noted, do your due diligence with any company doing repairs for you and follow the old adage, which is old and still around because it’s true: If something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is. And one last note on the storm, we need to be careful what we ask for. As storm after storm approaches McCook and then splits in two to go around the town, we finally got one to roll right over us. The storm liked McCook so much it slowed down and just there. I was in Lincoln during the storm and trying to determine when I would drive home. I thought the weather app had frozen or the radar was broken because every time I looked, the storm was still sitting over McCook, doing its damage. I guess we can be thankful the next time a storm seemingly just goes around us. *** We are in the thick of McCook’s Heritage Days celebration. Congratulations to all the Heritage Days Royalty, which was announced at the MNB Bank Mixer this week. A special shout-out to Bill Donze, better known as Mr. Bill and his wife, Kathy, who were honored as royalty for their impact in McCook. As many know, Mr. Bill is fighting cancer and the prognosis isn’t good. The chances of him selling snow-cones and candy out of his van next summer near the McCook Aquatic Center are not good. One judge of his impact was the response to my column about Mr. Bill a few months ago. The post was shared thousands of times, viewed nearly 70,000 times with just as many comments by people sharing their fond memories of Mr. Bill. So when you see Mr. Bill riding down Norris in the convertible this weekend in the Heritage Days parade, send extra prayers and well-wishes to the man who has brought so much joy to so many kids - and adults too - over the years. *** Continuing on the Heritage Days theme, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the McCook Rotary Club is tossing all egos and formality out the window this weekend. As the president of the McCook Rotary Club, I invite everyone to at least watch, if not participate, in the Rotary’s first inflatable costume relay race on Saturday as part of the festivities in Norris Park. These are those giant, blow-up costumes you usually see around Halloween. The first costumes were usually T-Rexes but now there is everything imaginable available as a design. With the idea for the race originally conceived by Melanie Goodenberger, she has purchased everything from corn on the cob to a cowboy riding a chicken. This is a fund-raiser for the Rotary Club with a cost of just $20 for a team of four to participate in the relay race. But it is also a chance to giggle, perhaps make a fool of yourself and just have fun. Come to the park Saturday afternoon for the Wiener Dog races and stay for the Rotary Relay races. While the dogs will already be close to the ground, the relay race participants will likely just end up on the ground. *** With so much going on in McCook this week, I debated whether there should be another activity the next week but the response has already been great for the Lied’s Arts Across Nebraska’s next production in McCook. Hosted by the McCook Creative District, the Omaha Street Percussion ensemble will perform at the Fox Theater on Wednesday, Sept. 24. There is a matinee showing at 10:30 a.m. but I will be up-front…we are testing the capacity of the Fox with every seat already claimed with students. If that is the only show you can make, please come and we’ll find you a seat but it may be those up in the rafters. Otherwise, please plan to attend the 7 p.m. show on Sept. 24. And even better, there is no cost thanks to the Kimmel Foundation and the Friends of the Lied. This is a busy week and a busy weekend but this is a great opportunity to sit back and enjoy a fun, entertaining evening of live music.
Most likely, we aren't going to be good at something at the start. But that shouldn't stop us from trying.
