Commentary
Locals view painted sky during rare Northern Lights moment
Kurt Johnson
What better place to capture the colorful hues emitted by the aurora borealis than right here in Aurora. Wow. What a display!
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Seeing life anew through a grandparent’s eyes
Kurt Johnson
“He’s perfect.”Hearing those words from our youngest daughter gave my life new perspective late Saturday afternoon, when Blayke and her husband, Joe, gave us the most precious gift imaginable: our first grandchild — Arlo Van Froehner.
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Oh play me some organic music
Ron Burtz
It seems today many people are all about organic – organic foods on our tables, natural fibers in our clothing and authenticity in our relationships. And something really important to me personally is organic music. How do I define that?
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
New owner of local seed production company a good fit
Kurt Johnson
Hamilton County’s deep agricultural roots grew even stronger last week with the official ribbon cutting at Beck’s Hybrids, marking a new chapter for a long-standing seed production facility near Phillips.
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Huskers, Huskies both give fans reason to smile
Kurt Johnson
Finally, the script had a happy Husker ending, ironically not far from Hollywood.Faithful Nebraska fans stayed up Saturday night to catch the late show from UCLA, where our beloved Big Red was trying to win one on the road in a season suddenly filled with a giant question mark.
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Veterans Day honors unique brotherhood, service of many
Kurt Johnson
When two soldiers from different generations sit down and begin to trade stories, something remarkable happens. The years melt away. The details differ — different weapons, uniforms, and wars — but the emotion is the same.
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Try to leave no words left unsaid
Bekah Mead
It has been almost a year since I wrote a personal column for the newspaper. Although my pen has been silent, there has been ample time and room for thinking.If I had to sum up the last few months in just one word it would be “loss.
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Intro key in explaining what you do to others
Kelsey Bergen
I was recently reading an article from the Econ Dev Show called “How to explain what you do: So people actually get it,” which had the tagline: “It’s not you. It’s your introduction.
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Time to explain ANR's marketing campaign
Kurt Johnson
There is a lot of anticipation in the air for Friday’s opening-round playoff rematch between Aurora and Central City, though some of the dialogue this week took a detour down a path that had nothing to do with football, due in part to a marketing campaign by the Aurora News-Register.
Thursday, October 30, 2025
ANR workforce edition reflects courage in choosing new path
Kurt Johnson
Across Hamilton County, more people are proving that it’s never too late to start over.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025