“Back in the saddle again.” You know, there’s a part of me that is sad that I missed the entertainment career of the late great Gene Autry. It’s difficult to find a terse word said about the icon of the mid-20th century.

Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers share a special connection to the land and water they use to grow the food that feeds the world. They cultivate the rich soil of the Great Plains and graze cattle across the rolling Sandhills. Many families have worked the same land for generations. It’s their work ethic and stewardship that have helped make Nebraska number one in the nation for agricultural production per capita.

I was sitting in my beach chair on vacation soaking up the sun when I overheard the couple next to me sounding concerned. They were throwing out lots of big medical terms but were very confused and said that they did not understand anything that they read on this MRI report. I turned to them, apologized for eavesdropping, and introduced myself as a physician. I offered to “translate” what the radiologist report said, and they gladly accepted.

If you care about sustainability, I have good news: There are proven ways to make traditional energy better for the environment. Gasoline mixed with ethanol has been shown to burn cleaner than normal gas, and corn-based ethanol lowers gasoline’s greenhouse gas emissions by 46%.

Last week, the Legislature wrapped up one of its most productive sessions in history. With almost 700 bills under consideration, Senators and I successfully worked together to control spending growth, deliver tax relief, invest in broadband infrastructure, and expand educational opportunities among several other key priorities. Here are a few of the highlights from an historic legislative session that helped move our state forward the Nebraska way.

My last conversation with Grandpa was over the phone. He was sick and dying. I was 1,200 miles away in residency, learning how to be a family physician. I was not going to make it home in time to see him one last time.

Memorial Day began in the years after the Civil War, when it was originally called “Decoration Day.” At the first official celebration of this holiday in 1868, then-Congressman James A. Garfield, who would become our 20thpresident, said in a speech at Arlington National Cemetery that those who gave their lives for our country “summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens.”

Through the years, the Good Life has been forged by pioneers and entrepreneurs in search of opportunities. They put down roots and built welcoming communities that created great jobs for families looking to make a new start. Along the way, Nebraska’s love and respect for law and order has made our state great. Our state motto is “equality before the law” – and we live by this principle by fairly and consistently applying the law to everyone.

We all know the feeling. You ate too much, and now your stomach is letting you know about it. Or maybe you ate some junk food, and now you don’t feel well. How is it that another slice of pizza one moment seems like exactly what we want, but later we realize it was not what we needed?

As most of you are reading this we will be on our last day of the One Hundred Seventh Legislature, First Session. We pushed ourselves hard at the end to pass as many priority bills as possible. As most of you know the legislature works in a twoyear cycle and we’re in the first session, so that means that all of the bills that were introduced this year that were not either signed into law or IPP (killed) will be back next year. The 2022 session will be our short session and we will only meet for 60 days beginning in early January and ending sometime in later April.