It’s mid-February, and one of the best parts about gardening on the High Plains is that we’ll be doing it before too long! Once the ground starts to thaw, you can get some parts of your garden kicked into high gear by having seedlings ready to go as soon as you’re able to dig. Starting your seedlings indoors in late winter gives you a head start, and lets you start growing even earlier in the year, and we’ll talk more about other benefits in this week’s episode!

This is Glenda Shepard from Yucca Corners Farm in Stanton County KS. This is my Radio Readers BookByte for The American Dream by Shing Yin Khor. This is the second book in HPPR’s Spring Read of 2026 for the Radio Readers Book Club.

My name is Jewell Rodgers and I am the State Poet of Nebraska and this week we are bringing Gina Tranisi to the stage. Gina is a poet, educator, and lifelong Nebraskan. She is a grants manager with Fox Creek Fundraising and is proud to help nonprofits grow their financial capacity and do more good in the community.

This book is a great road trip! If you want to go down Route 66 and not leave your house, then this is the book.The author who is an immigrant and has lived in the United States for a number of years and has been a citizen now for at least four years first learned about Route 66 after reading The Grapes of Wrath.