Today is Independence Day, the 4th of July. It’s a national holiday with government offices and financial institutions closed, and no mail delivery.  Double Q Country and KCOW are on their holiday schedules with no local news after the 7 o’clock hour

Governor Dave Heineman encourages everyone to have a happy holiday celebration, but to also remember the sacrifices it took to be able do so. Heineman recommends that everyone thank a veteran or current member of the military, and that they fly the flag.

3rd District Congressman Adrian Smith of Gering also hopes everyone takes time over the Independence Day weekend to remember the “sacrifices of those who gave their lives to protect our freedoms” because “freedom is not free.”

The 4th of July celebrates the passage and signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.  John Adams…one of the crafters of the Declaration and the nation’s second president…predicted it would be remembered by future generations with “fireworks, pageants, pomp, and parades.”

He was right, but also wrong. Adams thought the day of the celebration would be July 2nd…the day John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration. Instead we celebrate the 4th…the day the Declaration was first read to the public outside the building where Congress was meeting, today known as Independence Hall.