1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Jo Sheets, Linked2Literacy: February, 11:00am

Episode Date: February 23, 2026

Jo Sheets, Linked2LiteracyAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's time to go one-on-one with D.P. Coming at you live from the heart of Lincoln America, a 93-7-the-ticket and the Ticketfm.com, sponsored by the Downtown Lincoln Foundation. Here is your host, Derek Pearson. It is, in fact, Monday. 11.4 in the city. Mother Nature, do your thing.

Do your thing. Turn the heat on for us. Be greatly appreciated. A Monday, boo. is appropriate. Thank you for hanging out with us for the next hour. Special show, lots of good things going on. Good to be back.

4024-6-4-6-8-5 is the Sartarter. Hand-Me a text line. Would it be a part of what we're doing? And you do. Hit us with a what's up on the text line, and we will include you in the show. Celebrating a couple of different things today. And we'll get into that here quickly.

but first two questions. Kind sir. Bach, how the heck are you? I ain't doing pretty good. I didn't slide around, slip, or fall or anything this weekend. So that was the main goal and I'm unscate so far. Well done, kind sir. And if you would, please, pay the bills. Pay the bills.

Yesterday's show is sponsored by Hamilton Telecommunications bringing you the latest quality technology and communication services since 1901, whether it's residential or business. Hamilton has the answers. Visit Hamilton-Tale.com for more info today. Thank you, kind, sir. Greatly appreciate you. It's a big week around here. The end of regular season for women's basketball,

the drive, that is Nebraska basketball and what's going on, the week in between, end of regular season for Nebraska wrestling and the Big Ten tournament coming up in two weeks at Penn State University. We will be out there covering that for you. All the tournaments, the state tournaments are about to fire up. We'll start with the young ladies and then get to the young men, Nick Sainert and crew will give you full coverage,

exceptional, top-level coverage of the high school state tournaments. There, shout out to all the folks who participated in the wrestling state tournament. Great weekend there as well. It is a special week indeed. Go Big Read. And it's a different brand because I had somebody reach out to me Friday about Go Big Read. And then they pointed out to me that there were other universities that were participating. So I thought it was just because the Husker Athletics had been a big part of this and Lincoln Food Bank, etc.

And of course, they included and have joined tag team partners with our wonderful mission, Link to Lilith. literacy, it's my pleasure. It's always a joy to sit next to Joe Sheets and talk about the good things going on. Joe, how are you? I'm glad. Just listening to your travels and coming back off another whirlwind, it's good to be sitting here next to you. Yeah, there's a few hours. I wasn't sure I was going to make it back. I was going to say, hey, Bach, I got something for you to do on Monday. But the universe worked together and got me back here. It's a, it's, it's a, it's, it. It's a big week, first of all, to give the folks the background with link to literacy and the mission that is literacy in getting books in the hands of young people.

Yes. I always like to start out talking about link to literacy with a question. It's a simple question. And it can be posed to your audience, your listeners today, causing you to think a little bit. But did you own books in your home as a kid? That is the great question. And I think I've had this conversation with you before that it was such a big part of my growth and the change of trajectory and direction to forward and up of education. And there were books because there were, I was blessed in that I had seven older brothers and sisters.

Yes. So books found their way into the house. And as a matter of fact, I was the, I was number seven of eight. And my hand got slapped a lot for going in my brothers and sisters book bag to kind of I can imagine that. To peak at the curiosity of the world beyond whatever grade I was in. So the books, that's what happened for me. Yeah. And I think the question is an important one for all of us to think about because we take it for granted. So many of us take it for granted. I would go down to our family room. I grew up in a little tiny house, but we have this great bookshelf. And Winnie the Pooh, this is the same book I held when I was seven years old. It's starting to get kind of ratty. But we take it for granted. And not everyone in our community has access to their own books or

even to a home library. And I think that's the key in describing what linked to literacy is about. The studies, the science behind it exists. It's real. And a part of wanting to be a part of this is that very thing that we can change lives in the simplest of what by giving people that feeding the natural curiosity that literacy allowed. Yeah. And if you don't have books at home, you're not as apt to just go grab one off the shelf.

So thank goodness for libraries. Thank goodness for schools. Kids get books in their hands. But to be able to have them at home where you can return to that book again and again. And then that starts to become your story. The kids see themselves in the pages of the book. And it becomes joyful reading instead of just assigned reading. And I was thinking about just bringing joy into our lives.

and I was thinking about the Olympics. And have you read the story about Alyssa Lou? Yes. She won a gold medal last week, I believe. And part of her story is that she had retired from skating at a very young age, and then she came back and she started skating because it was joyful. And she did it her own way with a new attitude. And I think when kids have books and,

their home, they start reading more for their own enjoyment. And we're trying to build up a community of joyful, confident readers at link to literacy. That joyful part is important because conditionally, without boundary and without purpose, books can become work. They become labor. They become, they can become stressful. They can become the thing that you look at and think, oh man I've got work to do our homework yeah it cannot be

always work it cannot be forced it can't be and so I remember my grandmother giving me it was that again a lot of kids don't go to public library yeah like we were old enough that we had to go to public library

but getting books in the house she brought there was a book animal farm and she used it to explain a lot of things. But in that book, there was curiosity about people. It made me look at animals different, but it gave me things to consider about people. And what kind of person I wanted to be.

And it took me to places that I could never, like the sound of music, I immediately became curious. What is this place? So that's the value in it. And then you said a thing, seeing likeness in it. seeing something in the book, look, everybody's heard the phrase, you have to see it to be it. That is truly the value of literacy. It allows you to take journeys to places you're never going to go.

Maybe you want to go to meet people that you've never met, to hear about cultures, and you're a foodie like I am, the idea that these books will make you curious about food and where they come from and why. Yeah, we have a book bridge program that link to literacy, and we're teaching parents and caregivers how to read to kids. And one of the pillars is actually a sensory. So how do you use your five senses when you're in a book? How can you see it and hear it and taste it and smell it and all the senses? So not only are we providing those books to children and families, but we're teaching caregivers and parents how to read so those kids can see it. themselves in the pages. I'm with Joe Sheets linked literacy. Joe, the science behind it says

getting the books in the hands of the young people and the families as early as possible. And I think sometimes that's missed too. That you will wait until preschool or kindergarten. And at that point, you've kind of determined the fate. Yes. What is ideal? What are we trying to do with these books and when? Yes. By having access. in their homes. Even when kids are so young, we have a grandson that's 17 months old. Last night I was with him. His sister and parents were away. And what I always do as a grandma is I go grab a book. So I sit with Jace on my lap. He doesn't know the words in the pages, but he can turn the pages. He can get used to them. And then as he grows older, like his three-year-old sister, then

it's already a habit. So the younger we can get those books into the kids' hands, then the more it becomes a habit. And they're going to learn to read. And statistics show if a kid isn't reading at grade level by fourth grade at a proficient or even a basic reading level, they are two to three times more likely to end up in a cycle of poverty or even in the justice system. And those are just facts. They speak for themselves. So early childhood literacy is important. And I didn't want, I, I was having this discussion a couple months ago, with an educator and they said, but it's also the connection that happens. Yes. Hearing parents' voices tell stories, leads to children being curious about it,

and then having older brothers and sisters, read those, sit down, time together, spent on a journey, builds connection. Do we miss that? Is that not, is that not, is that not spoken loud enough? I think so. I agree. It is so important, just like sports is a foundation for a child's future success. You know, kids learn so much when they're on a sports team. They learn leadership. They sometimes have to learn humility the hard way. They learn about that life's not always about them. Same way with books and childhood literacy. It's a foundation, just like sports. It's a foundation. And if you are surrounded, grounded in your family, and it just becomes a thing to do, whether your siblings are there or your

parents. But that's why it's so important for families to focus on this. With technology and tablets and iPads and TVs and screen time and phones, what we're missing sometimes is just hanging onto a book and then the community of sitting in a circle. Our founder, Kat Alci, talks about that's why she started linked to literacy in the chaos of a busy life. And you come home from work and your kids are there and you're kind of wanting to bring down the chaos in your family, sometimes just sitting down with a book and exchanging those words. And it's not about the technical reading skills as much as it is, the community of your family or caregivers. It was always, and from the text line, I'll read this so that it will get to,

the next point. Scott and Lincoln says many elementary kids do not have books at home to even practice their reading. If you have old books that are age appropriate that you want to get rid of, their places to contact, he suggests local elementary, but we would suggest some other things. What would you say to folks who have books, age-appropriate books, that may be their kids have aged out and they want them to reach other young people? What do you suggest they do? The one event we have every year to take books off people's hands is called wordstock, and that comes in late August. This year it's on August 22nd.

It's a Saturday morning at Antelope Park, and we had over 1,600 people last year. We take donated books, just the books that you're talking about, and we set up a bookstore for the entire community come in, and we set it up. There's fiction, nonfiction, kids books, teen books for all ages. and then other people in the community can come in free of charge and go shopping. They get a bag and they can fill that bag full of books and take them home. So hang on to the books if people are wanting to donate them.

And then we will be collecting those six weeks prior to the event in August. So stay tuned, follow us on socials, and they'll be able to find out about that. Kupsker says this. I was very blessed that I had friends and family who knew what I was interested in reading, mostly Civil War history and sports. But that's the thing, that find the thing that you care about, see that your like to see yourself in it, and then the curiosity leads you to the next thing.

It's always been, my mother used to tell a story that I learned to read because in a big family we had one TV back in the 60s, we had one TV. And we would have, with eight kids, you'd have to delegate time. Yeah. Well, in order to make sure that I got to watch sports on the weekend, when the TV guy, the old TV guy would come out in the Sunday paper, we would gather around the table and you could pick what shows you wanted as a priority. And you'd pick your time.

I learned to read so that I could tell when sports was on. I love that. Could pick. Hey, I want to make sure the Sunday football is on. I want to make sure basketball's on. I love that story. But that curious reading, once you learn to read, you don't unlearn. Exactly.

You don't unlearn. It's like riding a bike. You don't become less curious. So it's Go Big Read Week. And the partnership with Husker Athletics, what's happening this week that folks should know about and would want to be a part of? So many exciting things. Yes.

Last night as I was reading a book to my 18-month-old, I was just having fun with knowing it was Go Big Read Week. And I said to Jace, I said, go big read. And he immediately went like this, like touchdown. He's so used to. hearing that. So he was just as excited as I was for this week. So today is Monday and we are partnering with Nebraska Athletics. And today on Monday, we have athletes going into Title I schools here in Lincoln and they're participating in story time. On Tuesday, it's Go Big Read in the public libraries. So we have,

we're partnering with gear and Walt and Isley. And between 10 and 11, you can go to any of those libraries, and we actually have the cheer and spirit squads and mascots going in. And then on Wednesday, it's Go Big Read in the community. So we're calling it Go Big Read together. And that is going to be an air park free book fair starting at 415. We'll be handing out free books at the Air Park Community Center. And then in partnership with the Food Bank of Lincoln, we'll be handing out free books at the LPS Food Pantry. That starts at 3 o'clock and goes to 5.30, and we'll have Husker athletes coming in and handing out books from 3.30 to 430. That's a new partnership we're really excited about, is with the food back of Lincoln.

And we were able to show up at a large food distribution last week. There were about 700 cars. And we were able to hand out hundreds of books to the recipients of the food. that were in line. We have made a commitment to the Food Bank of Lincoln to give at least 200 books every month. If there's anyone listening today that would love to help fund that project, we buy brand new books, we buy diverse books, we buy multilingual books. We had a lot of Spanish-speaking families, and we were lucky to have a lot of Spanish books that we could give them. So if anybody's interested in helping us provide even more books. So that partnership kind of deserves a shout

out. That's a new one for us to provide books to the Lincoln Food Bank recipients. So that's Wednesday. And then Tuesday is an exciting event where we are going to bring in the arts. And it is Go Big Read at the Sheldon Museum of Art. So starting at 5 o'clock for two hours, we're inviting, it's a free community events. So we're inviting everybody in at 5 o'clock, and they'll be able to take gallery walks. They'll be able to have art projects. Bring the whole family. We'll have story time with Nebraska athletes, and it's just going to be a fun evening where we're weaving together community conversations, art, and literature. And it's part of the House on Mango project that we've been working so hard on.

Ashley Larson and Kat Alci are kind of the brains behind that. And it has been coming to life with events at least once a month for the past several months. We're bringing the author to town in April. But the House on Mango Street is a beautiful novel with little short stories about different characters that shaped the author's life as she was growing up. So the House on Mangro Street will also be featured on Thursday night at the Sheldon. So just a big shout out for the Sheldon to allowing us to partner with them and with Nebraska athletics.

And then lastly, on Friday, it is go be greeted home. And we are encouraging families to just spend 30 minutes with a book with their children and then take some pictures or videos and then use the house. hashtag NE Go Big Read 2026. And we're going to get the whole community to just spend time at home reading together. So you can see that every single day we have so many fun things going on. And we're just so thankful, number one, to the ticket, to Nebraska Athletics, to the Food Bank of Lincoln. We have lots of partners to give a shout out to. I've got to look at my notes because I don't want to forget anyone.

Lincoln City Libraries has been partnering with us, Nebraska Department of Education, the Lincoln Housing Authority, and then, of course, the Sheldon Museum of Art. So we're very grateful. Go Big Read Week is up and going. And again, as my grandson would say, Go Big Read.

It is special, and it's part of why we're here and doing what we're doing, trying to get books in the hands of young people and give young people the opportunity to see these. themselves in these books, dream of a much bigger space. Bach, I would ask you that for your young son, are there books from his mother's hometown that maybe would be a ventures to the young man? Yeah, maybe. Haven't gotten any of those yet.

Yeah, well, that'll become a project for me, is to see if we can find some for your son. How old is he? He's four. Yeah, that's a good age to start getting excited about books. Yeah, and you can't do it. It's okay, Bach, you can read to him about the Boston Celtics. You can get him locked in early to do that. Joe, it is a pleasure always. Thank you for everything you do for this community on a regular basis. They say good people find good things and good things become those good people. Thank you for what you're doing through, whether it be to the Lincoln literacy, just for Lincoln in general, thank you. You're most welcome, and thanks for all you do as well, DP. Thanks.

Like any, go big read, 2026. You want to be a part of it. Take pictures. Go to the event. A Husker athlete will be there, books. And you can register as well through LinkedIn literacy to have your young preschooler receive books on a monthly basis. So lots of things going on with LinkedIn literacy, but it is Go Big Reweek. Joe, thank you. Thank you. Don't go anywhere. The celebration continues of a big week. Nebraska Wesleyan swimming and diving won a title and it was impressive. We're going to bring in the coach and celebrate, raise a glass to the P. Wolves. Well done.

Everybody, DP, Joe Sheet, bye. We'll be right back here on the ticket. Download our app by searching 93.7, the ticket in your app store. You're listening to one-on-one with DP on 937 the ticket and the ticket FM.com.