It was 45 years ago.
January 31, 1979.
The day I first spoke in to a radio microphone.
It was at KRNU Radio.
KRNU was the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s campus station. KRNU was located on the south side of the second floor of Avery Hall. A dark-red brick building that snuggled with the southeast stands of Memorial Stadium.
The broadcast professors labeled our program “Kaleidoscope.”
You remember that colorful toy we played with as kids.
A kaleidoscope offered a little bit of everything.
So did KRNU Radio.
That is what this column is offering you today.
A little bit of a lot.
Or, a kaleidoscope, if you will.
• Let’s start with the State High School Wrestling Tournament.
Five Box Butte County wrestlers qualified for the big show in Omaha. One wrestler, Theron Miller of Hemingford, came home with hardware. Theron placed 4th in the Class D, 215-pound division.
• Husker Mens Basketball: After a week’s rest, NU beat Penn State in Lincoln on Saturday morning, 68-49. Nothing like a Big Red victory before lunch! NU plays at Indiana tonight (Feb. 21) at 6:30 pm MST. The game will be telecast on BTN.
• Husker Women’s Basketball: The Big Red traveled to Columbus, Ohio and got spanked by the second-ranked Buckeyes, 80-47. Saturday afternoon, NU rebounded and beat Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana, 77-65.
• Husker Baseball: NU played three games in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas over the weekend. NU beat Baylor, 4-1, and then lost games to Texas Tech and Oklahoma. NU allowed the winning runs for Texas Tech and Oklahoma to be scored in the 9th inning of each game. The Huskers will play a four-game series against Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, AZ, February 22-25. NU’s first home baseball game is March 8.
• This is a Public Service Announcement only. I am starting to see ads pop up on facebook concerning obtaining a passport. Be careful. While they may be legitimate sights, the fees you pay may be astronomical. I have had one person tell me that she paid $60.00 just to get a form. The forms are free at the District Court office. I had another person tell me she and her husband paid over $700.00 to get two passports expedited. Two adult expedited passports at the District Court are $450.00. $380.00 to Uncle Sam and $70.00 to Box Butte County. Regular service passports (books) are $165.00 for adults, age 16 and over and $135.00 for children 15 and younger. Passport cards for limited travel are $15.00 for children and $30.00 adults. Give our office a call at 308-762-6293 for more information. The District Courts in many of the surrounding counties also work with passport applicants. Their fees are the same as BBCO.
• Recently, I had a friend ask me to consider running for the Alliance City Council. While I appreciate her feeling that I am City Council worthy, it wouldn’t be legal. According to Nebraska Statute 32-604 (4) “No person serving in a high elective office shall simultaneously serve in any other high elective office, except that a county attorney may serve as the county attorney for more than one county if appointed under subsection (2) of section 23-1201.01.” — In other words, I cannot serve as Clerk of the District Court and serve on a City Council or School Board.
Talk to me again in either two or six years.
• As you know by now, my Kansas City Chiefs won their third Super Bowl in five years on February 11. Then on February 14, at the Chiefs Super Bowl rally at Union Station, gun fire resulted in one death (as of this writing) and twenty-two people injured. A dispute between two young thugs resulted in the insanity.
• In response to the shooting, Jim Rose of KFAB Radio in Omaha said it best: “We’re losing our boys. Are we teaching strength, commitment, humility and courage to protect and defend? We put them in sports and equate success with playing time. So, when the coach taps a different kid, we shop for a new team. We’re teaching our sons that sports are not about team, but how much do I get to play. The strong male is an endangered species. Radical feminists declare that men are a nuisance. Confused boys become weak men who lack confidence and cannot overcome life’s challenges and resenting, not respecting, women. Single parents shack up and tell the kids that they do not count. Then, if they act out, they get shipped off to somebody else or get pumped full of medication. We talk about bringing back great American manufacturing. Let’s start by bringing back great American men.”
• By the way, a kaleidoscope on Amazon.com sells for roughly seven dollars.