Ricketts Honors the Life and Legacy of John Gottschalk
December 17, 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) spoke on the Senate floor to honor the life and legacy of John Gottschalk, the former chairman and CEO of the Omaha-World Herald, who passed away last month.
“John and his wife, Carmen, were extraordinary people,” Ricketts said. “John led the Omaha World-Herald into the digital age and also spearheaded a number of the efforts to increase the technology. And it spread throughout the state of Nebraska, different communities. He made the Omaha World-Herald a standard for how a newspaper should be run. He himself was known for his integrity and his courage. He was never shy about being direct with a budding politician, to let that politician know when he believed that politician might have erred. And he was one of those people that cared about the community.”
TRANSCRIPT:
Senator Ricketts: “Mr. President, I rise today to honor a great Nebraskan and a great American—John Edmund Gottschalk.
“John Gottschalk was born in Omaha in 1943, and grew up in a small town in Nebraska called Rushville.
“He was a Boy Scout, and he went on to attend the University of Nebraska, majoring in political science and journalism.
“His father started the Sheridan County Star, and John worked there as well, getting his break into journalism and the newspaper business.
“In 1972, John bought the Sidney Telegraph in Sidney, Nebraska, and became mayor of the town of Sidney.
“And then in 1975, he joined the Omaha World-Herald as an assistant to the president.
“He eventually worked his way up to become the publisher and CEO in 1989, and he remained that until 2009.
“John and his wife, Carmen, were extraordinary people.
“John led the Omaha World-Herald into the digital age and also spearheaded a number of the efforts to increase the technology. And it spread throughout the state of Nebraska, different communities.
“He made the Omaha World-Herald a standard for how a newspaper should be run.
“He himself was known for his integrity and his courage.
“He was never shy about being direct with a budding politician, to let that politician know when he believed that politician might have erred.
“And he was one of those people that cared about the community.
“As I mentioned, he was a Boy Scout.
“He served as chairman of our local Mid-America Council of Boy Scouts, but also became national president of the Boy Scouts of America.
“He served as chairman for the Board of Governors for the USO.
“He cared about our veterans, wanted to make sure we were serving them.
“He cared about our military people.
“He also cared about the arts.
“He was chairman of the Omaha Performing Arts Center.
“He and his wife, Carmen, cared about people.
“Together, they fostered more than 100 infants awaiting adoption.
“John was an outdoorsman and a conservationist.
“He really was one of those people we would describe as a renaissance man.
“Running a fantastic business, giving back to the community, he was the kind of American that built this country.
“John passed away last month, leaving a legacy that is having a lasting imprint on our community of Omaha, the state of Nebraska, and indeed our entire country.
“I greatly admire John Gottschalk for the kind of man he was, the example he set for the rest of us.
“He will be greatly missed, and I will miss him greatly.
“Thank you, Mr. President.”