McCook, NE

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McCook Art Guild serves as hotspot for creativity, collaboration



MCCOOK, Neb. (KOLN) - A 100-year-old building houses the McCook Art Guild. It’s one of the many guilds that are a part of the Association of Nebraska Art Clubs - where culture and history collide from all parts of the state. “This town has always been art culture - even from the beginning of McCook,” said John Clesson, one of the founding members of the McCook Art Guild. Artists started the guild in 1963. Since then, it’s grown to about 50 members, but the founders knew they weren’t the only artists in the state. The McCook Art Guild helped form the Association of Nebraska Art Clubs, also known as ANAC. The organization holds conferences, and artists submit pieces to a traveling show that makes its way to 13 guilds throughout the year.

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Curtains rise at dawn for Prairie Chicken Dance Tours in McCook



McCOOK, Neb. (KOLN) - As Carol Schlegel drives south of McCook, Horned Larks dart past her headlights. But they’re not the birds she’s looking for. The real stars of the spring show are Greater Prairie Chickens.“They’re a native Nebraska bird that’s been doing the same thing in the same place for over 100 years,” Schlegel said. Schlegel takes visitors to a place called the “lek” - where male prairie chickens court and compete for mates. A private landowner lets the McCook/Red Willow County Visitors Bureau take tours to watch their mating dance. Groups sit in repurposed stock trailers with interiors that are only illuminated by red light, which is less distracting to birds.

[Coyote]

McCook Creative District builds on town’s strong ties to art



MCCOOK, Neb. (KOLN) - Historically, McCook has always been a place where creatives can make and appreciate art with a theatre, museum, a library and even an art guild. These places are just a fraction of the community’s creative district. McCook received the distinction from the Nebraska Arts Council in October of 2023. “It was a natural fit for McCook because McCook has an unusual amount of arts for a rural community,” said Matt Sehnert, the McCook Community Foundation chair and McCook Arts Council board member. It took over two years and many volunteers to make this happen, including the McCook Arts Council, the McCook Community Foundation fund and the Graff Charitable Foundation.