The State of NPR

Dusk in the Sandhills of Northwest Nebraska

We realize, but often do not appreciate just how vast and empty many areas of the American West are. Viewed from a jet plane window at 30,000 feet, the landscape is impressive; but from ground level, it is daunting.

Having traveled the 1000 miles along Highway 83 - from Antler, ND to Laredo, TX - several times, I have a firsthand appreciation of how open this marvelous land is. Close to 1/3 of the trip’s route lies in what I have come to call the state of NPR. You are traveling through the state of NPR when you push the scan button on your car radio and it spins like a Las Vegas roulette wheel, stopping only once each cycle, at the precise same spot, 88.9, home on the dial of National Public Radio.