LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Over the summer months, many kids are looking for ways to fill their time, and add a little money to their pockets. One popular way to do that is babysitting. After a clinic on Monday, more than two dozen kids in Lincoln and Lancaster County are now better prepared to do the job.

The Building Better Babysitters clinic was hosted by the Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County to teach kids between the ages of 10 to 15 what they need to know to be successful. Participants learned crucial skills like CPR, how to change a diaper and how to create a babysitting kit.

“I have babysat a few times,” said Lucy Pflanz, a babysitting trainee at the clinic. “And I hope that I hope that this class would help improve my skills.”

Pflanz said she aspires to start her own babysitting business, and clinics like this help to better prepare her for any situation that might arise.

“It was nice learning how to like, deal with like a temper tantrum and that kind of stuff,” Pflanz said. “Because I know some kids who can get really big blowouts.”

For others, it’s not their first time attending the clinic. For Josie Branch, it’s about following her passion.

“I’ve told my mom so many times, when I grew up, I want to be, like, I want to teach people how to like babysit,” Branch said.

Hayley Jackson Perez, who taught Monday’s clinic, said with babysitting being a popular summer job, teaching youth how to babysit, and how to keep kids safe is important.

“What we’re seeing is that more adolescents are babysitting, and that more families are utilizing them,” Jackson Perez said. “And so again, we’re just trying to give the adolescent skills, and then really kind of looking at babysitting as a business.”

When those skills are utilized outside of the classroom and continue to grow, Jackson Perez said it can lead to long lasting impacts.

“To give children the opportunity to work with young children to say, this might be an experience that I want to have, especially when we think about the teaching shortage and education,” Perez said. “If we could get more people interested in teaching and working with young learners, it’s going to benefit our entire community.”

Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County will hold it’s next Building Better Babysitters clinic on July 30.

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Josh Caron aided Nebraska baseball to a Big Ten title this past spring. Now, his junior season helped push him into the Major Leagues.

Caron, the junior catcher for the Huskers, was selected in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball draft on Monday afternoon by the Seattle Mariners. Caron became the seventh fourth-round selection in Nebraska history.

He also earned a historic title, becoming the highest-selected Husker catcher since 1985 when Bill McGuire was picked by the Mariners at No. 27 overall.

Caron, a Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year semifinalist, was named the Big Ten Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as he pushed the Big Red into a conference championship despite falling in the first game.

The junior was only one of two catchers nationally to hit at least .300 at the plate, smashing six home runs in the conference tournament alone. He totaled 16 home runs on the season, including 65 RBI and 46 runs for the Huskers in 2024.

Nebraska continued their impressive draft streak dating back to 1992, in which the Huskers have had a selection in 30 of the last 31 drafts excluding the shortened 2020 draft.

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STANTON, Neb. (KOLN) – A man was seriously injured after a lawn mower accident in Stanton on Saturday.

The Stanton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a lawn mower accident in the area of 11th and Douglas streets around 10:50 a.m.

The sheriff’s office believes a 63-year-old man lost control of his riding mower and it plunged with him more than 30 feet down an embankment into the Maskenthine Creek. The mower landed on its side in the water, the sheriff’s office said.

The man was transported by Norfolk Fire and Rescue to Faith Religion Health Services to be treated for his injuries.

The sheriff’s office said alcohol use may have been a contributing factor in the accident.

A winch from a tow truck was used to remove the mower from the creek.

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