Star City Blog

Featured Business: Straw Sticks & Bricks

By Marcus Scheer

In a state where many spend their days growing green plants, Jen Carlson and Josh Shear are in the business of selling ‘green’ products. Since 2001, the couple has specialized in providing green, environmentally friendly building materials to the Midwest. After personally discovering the difficulty of finding green products in the area, they created Straw Sticks & Bricks.

Before starting the business, Carlson and Shear wanted to build a straw bale home— an environmentally conscious creation with  walls that are several feet thick instead of inches, with the bales providing the necessary insulation. However, eight years ago, they had to search extensively to find any green building materials.

UNL Professors Take a Stand Against Ross Budget Cuts: Shouldn't Lincolnites Do the Same?

By Francis Davis

When is enough enough?  That’s a question a few prominent University of Nebraska professors are asking themselves about the proposed $50,585 budget cuts to the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. It’s also a question that all Lincoln residents who value independent, daring, and thought-provoking filmmaking should be asking themselves as well. 

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman recently announced the reduction to the Ross budget as part of an effort to make up UNL’s  $3.7 million budget shortfall, and while any reasonable person can appreciate UNL’s efforts to reign in spending during these difficult economic times, cutting the budget of a cultural jewel like the Ross shouldn’t be an option.

Audio of Blog Talk Live on KZUM, July 28, 2009

By Dennis Kornbluh

Thank you to my guests, Mark Intermill of AARP and Jennifer Carter of Nebraska Appleseed, for appearing on the show to discuss health care reform.  Thanks also to co-host, Marc Kornbluh.

The audio for the program is broken into two segments below.  To hear the audio, click on the "play" button, which becomes visible when you hover over the file.

BTL_AARP_NA_28JUL09_P1 Part 1: 27:48

BTL_AARP_NA_28JUL09_P2 Part 2: 27:02

Special Olympics National Competition Begins August 1st

Special Olympics athletes from across the country will be competing in the 2009 National Invitational Golf & Softball Tournament to be held July 31- August 3, 2009.  Golfers will include163 athletes and unified partners, representing 20 U.S. Programs. 

Presenting sponsors of the 10^th Annual National Invitational Golf Tournament include the PGA of America, USGA and the PGA Tour. Supporting sponsors include the GCSAA and KPMG LLP.

Occurring simultaneously, there will be 160 athletes and unified partners, representing 14 state programs that will compete in the 1^st Annual National Invitational Softball Tournament. Presenting sponsors of the softball tournament include Moose International Inc. and the Amateur Softball Association of America.  

The LUX Hosts Annual Free Community Arts Afternoon August 2nd

LUX Center for the Arts will host its annual Free Community Arts Afternoon, Sunday, August 2 from 1-4pm.  This event is free and open to the public.

Community Arts Afternoon features hands-on art projects for children and adults, pottery demonstrations, outdoor mural painting and live music by local band, Kusi Taki. Volunteers from the Girl Scouts will assist participants with button making and a local henna artist will “tattoo” visitors.

Blog Talk Live on KZUM: Health Care Chat with AARP and Nebraska Appleseed

By Dennis Kornbluh

Last week on Blog Talk Live I spoke to Dr. Leslie Spry of the Nebraska Medical Association to hear his views on health care reform. Tune in Tuesday, July 28th at 6pm on KZUM 89.3 FM, to hear a continuation of the health care discussion.

This week our guests will be Mark Intermill, AARP Nebraska’s associate state director for advocacy, and Jennifer Carter, an attorney and Director of the Health Care Access Program at Nebraska Appleseed, a non-profit, non-partisan public interest law firm that works for equal justice and full opportunity for all Nebraskans.  Marc Kornbluh will be the co-host.

Two New Artist Exhibitions at the Lux in August

LUX Center for the Arts presents, Practical Fantasy, August 7-29.  Participating artists include:  Alma, Nebraska wood worker, Harold G. Adams, Hastings College glass department head, Tom Kreager and Nebraska Wesleyan faculty member and mixed-media artist, Robert Schwieger.  An opening reception will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, August 7.  

LUX Center Gallery Director, Stephanie Leach says, “This wood and glass exhibition will explore the contrasts of opacity and translucency, utility and form, and the formats of vessel and sculpture.” 

Arbor Day Farm Offers Year-Round Adventure and Fun for All

By Sarah F. Sullivan

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts,
as for that subtle something, that quality of air that  emanates from old trees,
that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.

-   Robert Louis Stevenson

Walking up the curving sidewalk towards the Arbor Day Farm’s Woodland Pavilion, I had a feeling deep in my stomach that it was going to be a good day. The rain that had pounded so fiercely during last evening had passed, leaving only sparing clouds and a thick humidity that hung low over the trees huddling closely near the Pavilion. The Arbor Day Farm, located in Nebraska City, rolled before me in a sprawling 260 acres that were once part of Arbor Day founder J. Sterling Morton’s estate.

Music & Mozzarella Closes Out the Season with 'The Littleague'

The Lincoln Children’s Museum invites you to experience the thrill of live music in a family-friendly environment with its outdoor summer concert series, Music & Mozzarella. Each free performance in the Music & Mozzarella concert series offers families a chance to enjoy the music of some of the most-talented children’s musical acts in the nation.

On Thursday, July 23 from 5:00 – 7:00 pm, join the Lincoln Children's Museum as they close out their Music & Mozzarella summer concert series with a performance from children's hip-hop group "The Littleague."

The Meadowlark Festival 2009: A Look Back at the Week

By John Cutler

Another Meadowlark Music Festival has passed and from first review it appears to have been a measured success.

Looking back, the concerts reflected diversity unheard of to date by Lincoln music lovers. A concerto for Alpenhorn? Subway music from Mexico’s “Metro Chabacano”? And how many of us have heard the piano masterpieces of Nikolai Medtner before the smashing triumph of young pianist Steven Beus Saturday night?

Add to that Zimbabwe native Edwin Mukusha’s bagpipe recital with Hebron native organist Adam Peithmann at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, which brought chills to patrons who enjoyed the church’s lovely resonance. (Mukusha’s “Amazing Grace” solo at the concert’s conclusion brought out the handkerchiefs for many.)