Last year, the McCook Community Foundation Fund Advisory Committee reviewed and revised its vision statement. It’s pretty simple and straightforward: Making McCook an even better place to call home.
In other words, McCook has a lot of great things going for it, a lot of tremendous assets already in place, a lot of great people working to make our community thrive and grow.
But we can’t rest on our laurels, we can’t continue to do the status quo because that is actually going down hill, we can’t continue to just do things “because that’s how we’ve always done it.”
Instead, we need to step it up a notch. We need to make what we already have even more appealing. We need to invest in our community and make what we already have even better. We need to appreciate what those who came before us have done and build upon their accomplishments.
For example, this past weekend I helped coordinate the fourth annual Michelle’s Memorial Triathlon. (Chris Schaben did the majority of the work and deserves huge kudos for all the hours he puts into the event.)
Triathlons, which involves swimming, biking and running, is a fairly niche activity, drawing people who don’t mind some mild chafing since you hop out of the swimming pool onto a bicycle, soaking wet. In other words, the event draws people not only from McCook and Southwest Nebraska, but from across Nebraska as well as Kansas and Colorado.
There is nothing like an out-of-towner to remind you of the good things in your community, things which we take for granted, things which we overlook, things we may notice until someone else brings it to our attention.
The triathlon is held at Kelley Park in McCook, utilizing the McCook City Swimming Pool, the road next to the hospital (just coincidental) and McCook’s walking trail. After the race, several of the participants came up to me to thank us for hosting and commend all the assets we had used.
Although the McCook city pool can be downright cold and climbing out without a ladder takes hurriclean strength especially after a 500-meter swim, we are able to accommodate a lot of swimmers and water walkers all at once. And we have a great city pool staff including the lifeguards who got up so bright and early, especially TJ Renner, Emily Tjindal and Kora Keslin.
While we appreciate the pool we have and are looking forward to hosting hundreds of swimmers in a few weeks, that should not stop us from building an even better pool to serve our community’s needs. A new aquatic facility would make McCook an even better place to call home.
As for the bike portion, there is nothing we can do to assuage their minor gripes: the wind and hills, except embrace the fact that McCook actually isn’t flat.
The runners and walkers then took off on the walking trail, which winds through Kelley Park and down to East 11th Street. The trails we have are great. Trees provide shade on portions. There are benches along the way to rest. Exercise equipment alongside the trail adds to the allure.
But it is a relatively short trail system. Just as you are getting your heart rate up, you’ve reached the end. And the trail does not get you safely across town on foot or bike.
An expanded walking trail would make McCook an even better place to call home.
Do these improvements bring more jobs to our community? Does it improve the housing situation in our community? Not directly, but they do improve the quality of life and may be the deciding factor of whether a young family decides to make McCook their home.
As Abraham Maslow (better known for Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) said, “You will either step forward into progress or you will step backward into safety.”
If we want people to choose to stay, live or return to our community, then we need to make these improvements; we need to make these investments; we all need to take the steps 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.
