With summer coming to a close, I have been spending my time visiting with Nebraskans and traveling our state. The conversations I have at meetings, community events, roundtable discussions, and tours of local businesses are invaluable to me as I work on federal policies to improve the lives of people in our state.

The kidneys may be called the Rodney Dangerfield of the body, as they often “don’t get no respect.” The National Kidney Foundation estimates that one in three adult Americans are at risk for kidney disease, yet these organs are mostly ignored unless they develop stones or stop working.

Twenty years ago, the United States suffered the terrorist attacks of 9/11. No one old enough to remember that day will ever forget it. It was surreal to watch the Twin Towers collapse and heartbreaking to see images of first responders covered head to toe in dust, searching through the debris in Manhattan.

I can think of no better way to experience Nebraska than through a visit to our state fair. From the tractor pull to the incredible food and the project showcase run by 4-H and FFA, the Nebraska State Fair brings the best of our state to Grand Island for 11 days each summer. It was a pleasure to visit this year’s fair and talk with many Nebraskans while taking in all the fair has to offer.

This summer I attended the celebration of life service for Dr. Rick Holm, the original Prairie Doc who founded this newspaper column, a radio show and a television show now entering its twentieth season. He died from pancreatic cancer in March of 2020 during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic and thus there was no public service at the time.

Over the past year, Nebraska’s economy has been booming, creating more and more great opportunities here in the Good Life. We currently have the lowest unemployment rate in the nation at 2.3%. That equals our state’s lowest rate ever and is less than half of the national unemployment rate of 5.4%. According to Local Area Unemployment Statistics from the Nebraska Department of Labor, 92 of our 93 counties have an unemployment rate at or below 2.7%. Statewide, our manufacturing employment is above pre-pandemic levels and has reached its highest point since the Great Recession (October 2008).

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought on a great number of changes in everyone’s lives, but perhaps the biggest for my family has been the increased reliance on online shopping. We don’t just pack up and head to Lincoln when we need to go to Scheels.

I recently saw a patient I hadn’t seen in more than 18 months. This patient had previously come to me somewhat routinely for arthritic knees. Together, we constructed a conservative treatment plan to help increase activity and prolong the life of those knees. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic put a dent in our plan. Prior to the pandemic, this patient had been a borderline diabetic with some other medical comorbidities. Upon their return, we found a lot had changed. The patient had gained 30 pounds, decreased activity, and could not move about very well. We had to revise our plan based upon the patient’s current condition. I have observed, over the last few months, this scenario is not unusual.

Energy reliability and independence are pillars of our country’s national security. A reliable power grid has helped our nation build the world’s largest economy, and our focus on developing domestic sources of energy has made our country’s fleet of automobiles and airplanes less dependent on overseas oil. Earlier this year, U.S. News and World Report ranked Nebraska #3 nationally for power grid reliability and #8 overall in their energy category which “tracks the reliability of power grids, renewable energy consumption and the price of electricity.”

Sunday night, BTN had one of those quick marathons of classic games, this time highlighting Nebraska. They played the Huskers’ bowl games from ‘94, ‘95 and ‘97.