Under my picture, the headline:

Murder Victim Was Stabbed

(that's me, lower left)

Police Continue To Investigate Hastings Murder

Another murder to cover. They're always a tough assignment, personally, and professionally. This one has more personal connections than most, as well.

Here are the murders I've covered, that I remember
- Little Diana Molina, two year old beaten to death
- Amie Barnett, killed by her estranged husband
- Sword Slaying supect Chris Decker killed Ken Skidmore with a sword
- La Movida shooting where the guy (Gabriel Contreras)
- Marsha Montano murdered outside her home
- Bruce Carlson killed his wife
- There was the Burkhardt guy
- Lopez / Espinoza killed Kendall Wertz in GI
- Ruiz-Medina convicted of murder iN GI
- Oh, there was Willa Caster in Kearney, I covered the trial
- There was the so-called mercy killing Hebron with the Ohlrich man who killed his wife who supposedly had cancer but didn't really
- Who could forget the most notorious, Jose Sandoval, from one of the deadliest bank shootings in US history
- Louis Conover Jr. in Hastings killed his parents
that would make this at least #14, and I may be forgetting some, sadly.

I'd like to think I do a good job of getting these stories right. That's seems silly to say, as a journalist should get it right, but many don't. Many don't understand the legal proceedings, and also make stupid mistakes that cost credibility. I don't think I do.

i'm a winner of the ap broadcast awards three times over this year.

i took second for videography for a piece on disc golf (and I'm not even a full time photographer). i'm pretty proud of that

i also took second for spot news, for our coverage of an incident where a woman threatened police and they had to shoot her

plus i think i took honorable mention for agriculture, for a story at husker harvest days, the nation's largest working farm show.

i think i can now truly say i'm famous, now that i've been featured on the Nebraska Department of Agriculture website :)

nothing like a staged photo of reporters interviewing someone.

who thinks i should book these guys for the soulstice festival?

me me!

well, my tv station finally launched it's website today.

finally.


nebraska.tv

guess who's going to be a movie star? Well, not me, but I was roped into trying out for an indepdent film, aptly titled independence - by Baby Lion Productions, LLC

the casting director is a co-worker, so I helped with auditions, then they made me audition. it wasn't too bad. I wouldn't be surprised if I get a bit role or part as an extra.

here's what I'm doing "open whatever you listen to music in and hit random and list the first
15 songs that play, no cheating to look cool... ;)"

1. Andy Hunter - Amazing
2. a Paul Harvey rest of the story on mp3
3. Fold Zandura - Silverlight
4. Pegtop - 13
5. Sesame Street - Techno Mix
6. Sixpence - There She Goes (acoustic)
7. GI Joe - Cartoon Theme Song
8. U2 - Stuck in a Moment
9. U2 - Numb (Soul Assassins Mix)
10. INXS - Need you tonight
11. The Violet Burning - Lost without you near me
12. Echoing Green - Defender
13. Echoing Green - Story of our Lives
14. Evanescence - Going Under
15. BT - Knowledge of Self

have i told you lately how much i love Soulstice the festival i'm currently booking bands for? if you live anywhere near nebraska (iowa, kansas, south dakota, wherever) please consider coming!

and tell your friends for crying out loud!

Dan Kimball, author of The Emerging Faith, and the website Vintage Faith has some interesting things to say about "consumer Christians"

"it seems that the modern church has focused only on the problem of fixing sin... yet heaven is not necessarily the goal post-seekres are thinking of... instead, emerging generations are connecting with the idea of living in tune with Jesus, placing yourself under God's reign and being a participant in the kingdom now"

I've been thinking that for years. Simply praying the prayer so you have a check next to your name in the big ol' book in heaven isn't really the whole reason for faith in Christ. Sure, it's a big part of it, but isn't part of it also because we want to be part of a story bigger than ourselves? We want to be part of a community, a "kingdom" that's not of this world?

we just completed our annual youth group texas trip. take a look at the pics. it was a lot of fun. more comments to follow :)

This article points out 'Abstaining' Teens Still Get STDs.

Duh.

I think most of those True Love Waits type campaigns where teens in church pledge not to have sex don't work. Why? Because it's sin management, it's behavior control. It's everything but telling kids why they should wait. Do kids understand, truly, why they should wait? I don't think most do. I think they just sign these pledges thinking it's cool. What kids need to know is, as the youth pastor I work with points out, you can't just turn sexuality off like a faucet, and turn it on when you get married. That's why this approach doesn't work. If kids realize however that they are valued, and that their heart is valuable, and it's worth protecting, then that makes a difference. But it's not going to be easy. It's still a struggle.

theIndependent.com: AP Top Story

despite what this story says, nebraska is set to get eight new wal-mart super centers. is it just me, or is that too much?