Working Together to End "Nothing to Do Here"

Working to end the statement: Nothing to do here

One of my goals is for someone in McCook to never say “there is nothing to do here” or “nothing ever happens here.”

I realize everyone has different definitions of “things to do” but even if a particular project or specific event isn’t your cup of tea or floats your boat, there is always something going on here. When we say “McCook is on the Move,” this ranges from projects in the pipeline to events which have been created over the past few years.

For example, the City of McCook just received nearly $500,000 from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development’s Civic and Community Center Financing Fund toward the ballpark project. When that land is developed on the north edge of McCook, not only will there be more softball and baseball games taking place in our community but there will be greenspace for soccer and flag football practices that doesn’t require navigating the goose droppings at Barnett Park.

Not to mention that the project addresses the housing shortage in our community, the infrastructure extensions creates new opportunities for expansion in the area and offers up retail space for new businesses, which so many lament that McCook is missing.

It may seem like we are just talking about a few more softball teams visiting our town when the ballpark project is complete. In reality, the new complex could be transformative for McCook and hopefully switch the narrative from “nothing happens here” to “Do you know how much is going on this weekend?”

While those projects are down the road, we have things taking place today which are transforming our community and creating things to do.

McCook also recently received a $100,000 grant from the Nebraska Arts Council for the McCook Creative District, which geographically covers downtown McCook but serves the entire town using arts and culture as an economic driver for the community.

While the long-term goal is to hire a coordinator for the creative district, the short-term goal is to highlight the artistic events and programs already in place as well as add to the offerings in McCook.

For example, the McCook Creative District has taken the lead on the Lied’s Arts Across Nebraska program, which visits McCook nearly every year.

On Monday, April 14, the musical group, Take 3, will perform at the Fox Theater at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Billed as “Where rock meets Bach,” Take 3 will also be visiting the students in the morning for conversations and questions in a more personal setting. Why is this a big deal? This group also happens to be performing at the Lied Theater in Lincoln on the prior weekend but we get to have them come to us.

As a bonus, there isn’t even a charge for the concert because of generous donors covering the cost of the tickets. Very few communities can say they have national and international artists performing at their local theater much less at no cost.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the McCook High School drama department will also have their final performance of “Alice in Wonderland” on April 14. They open the play on Saturday, April 12, at 7 p.m. plus two shows on April 13 at 2 and 7 p.m. so plenty of opportunities to catch the young thespians.

Decisions on what to do will have to be made but no one can say “there is nothing to do here.”

And this does not even get into the McCook Creative District’s Third Thursdays, which kick off in May with Valmont as the host and run through October every month on the third Thursday in downtown McCook. Look for more information about the Third Thursdays soon but if you would like to be involved or participate, please reach out on the Creative District website.

Finally, if there is something you would like to see here that isn’t already taking place, reach out to others to figure out how to make it happen. It may be someone who has done something similar in the past. It may be someone who knows where to find the funding needed to move the project along. Or it may be someone with connections to get the event in place.

By collaborating and connecting together, we can work to make sure that no one says “there is nothing to do here.”

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