Over the last four years, I have heard McCook Community Foundation Fund member Andy Long ask many times, “What can we do to bring our youth back to McCook?” Every time, he caught me off guard and I was never prepared to answer this question.
But four years of involvement in MCFF’s youth organization, Youth Change Reaction (YCR), has helped me consider how I can have an impact, the role of youth in our community and what the word “community” really means.
If you asked me at age 14 when I first joined YCR what the word “community” stood for, I would have said a community simply consisted of people and buildings. Why? Because as a youth in McCook, I never felt we were listened to or respected.
If you ask me now what a community looks like, I am going to smile and tell you, “McCook. McCook is the epitome of a community.” Why? Because as a youth in McCook, I feel like there are opportunities to be heard and respected.
Over the past four years, I have learned so much as part of YCR and still strive to learn more. My biggest takeaway from this experience is this: youth matters in our community.
Granted, youth don’t always make the best choices, but there are students who have a desire to make a change. The voices of youth matter. The ideas of youth matter. The feelings of youth matter. Without youth, our community would not be able to change and thrive.
So Andy, I am finally prepared to answer your question: What can we do to bring our youth back to McCook?
Listen
To bring youth back to our community, the community must have a passion for listening to the voices of the youth. From a youth’s perspective, we struggle to have our voices heard, to have our ideas accepted and to find the support it takes to come forward and speak out.
Guide
To bring about change, the community must work with the youth who have a passion for change and help guide them to make progress in our community. These youth are the ones who will shape McCook.
Our community will not always be the same. Businesses will open and businesses will close. Families will move in and families will move out. Friends will come and friends will go. But to leave McCook in good hands, community members must help train the youth of today to be the leaders of our community tomorrow.
Accept and Embrace
So often I hear, “I don’t want to come back, because there is nothing to do here.” There is never going to be a perfect solution for this, but accepting and embracing the different youth of our community might start a change.
McCook meets the lifestyles of families with parks, grocery stores, banks and civic organizations. But could you imagine how our community would grow and thrive if we had art centers for youth and adults? Perhaps an outdoor aquatic center that allows both older and younger youth to safely enjoy their summer days? How about a fun zone that allows small children to have after school resources and older youth to have an exciting place to meet with friends to play laser tag or jump in the trampoline park?
These projects are huge and would take years to accomplish but are possible if everyone worked together. It would also require the community embracing the different ideas and thoughts of the youth in our community. But that is what it will require to make future generations move back to their hometown.
I could continue on and on with the needs of our youth, but none of this is new. Honesty, even with these suggestions, our youth might never see why McCook is so important or have a desire to come back. However, having a passion to listen to our youth and a desire to seek change will be the best first step anyone can take.
I hope, desperately, the youth in our community can see how truly special and important our community is, but for now, I do - and so do my fellow YCR members. And that is a message we hope to spread. I may not be a big voice, but I am a voice on behalf of our youth.
We are ready to speak, to be heard and to help make McCook an even better place to call home.
Tesa Nelson is a senior at McCook High School and is co-president of Youth Change Reaction. She knows change takes time but hopes that she makes an impact now and in the future.
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.
