New postal stamp represents us well

The U.S. Postal Service got it right this time.

Gov. Dave Heineman and Secretary of State John Gale were scheduled to dedicate a new Nebraska stamp late Friday afternoon at the state Capitol.

The stamp, which will be sold as part of a 50-stamp set including five stamps each from each of 10 states, includes a Nebraska flag and a center-pivot irrigation system in action.

McCook, home to Valmont's modern center-pivot manufacturing plant, should take special interest in the stamp.

Those who know us mainly as one of the "flyover states" recognize center pivot irrigation from the green circles sprouting on the plains -- a scene repeated in the recent hit movie "Up in the Air."

But Nebraskans know water is key to life in the Cornhusker state -- from our name, taken from an Otoe or Omaha word for "flat water," to the current struggle to comply with the Republican River Compact.

The new stamp is an accurate representation of our state to those who don't know us -- and a good reminder to Nebraskans as well.