As a member of various community boards, sporting organizations and volunteer government positions, Nikkila has seen the pride and commitment Kearneyites have to their community.

And, as an understudy to Stan Clouse, who retired as mayor this year to become a state senator, Nikkila has learned a lot about leading the next generation of community leaders by doing things the right way. Kearney’s way.

Nikkila explains that the “Kearney Method” is about supporting good ideas, checking your ego at the door, and not worrying about getting credit for your progress. Doing things the Kearney way puts community first, and that’s a big reason why Kearney is among the best towns in Nebraska, Nikkila said.

He believes maintaining Kearney’s positive, can-do attitude is one of his biggest challenges.

Nikkila, 44, has served as a Kearney city councilor since 2013. As council president, he serves as ex-officio mayor and leads the city’s five-person elective body, which includes several new figures following the Nov. 5 election.

Although Nikkila ran for office, two other veterans – Clouse and Councilman Bruce Lear – decided not to run again. As a result, voters re-elected Nikkila and supported two newcomers to city government: Kurt Schmidt and Kearney school board veteran Alex Straatmann.

Nikkila, Schmidt and Straatmann join Council Vice President Randy Buschkoetter and Tami James Moore.

Nikkila, a Kearney native, and her wife, Miriam, a nurse at Heartland Surgery Center, have a daughter who is in her senior year of high school and three sons in fifth, eighth and 10th grades.

Nikkila is Executive Vice President of 50CAN, a nonprofit education advocacy organization based in Washington, DC.

“We work with school boards on legislative and educational policies. We don’t work in Nebraska, I just live here,” said Nikkila, whose job occasionally sends her to Washington.

He said his work with 50CAN was flexible. He doesn’t anticipate his work will conflict with his duties as mayor, although Clouse has devoted a lot of time to unofficial activities, including hosting numerous conferences and meetings in Kearney.

A 1998 graduate of Kearney Catholic High School, Nikkila said his college experience at Hillsdale trained him to examine and question his positions on political issues.

“Hillsdale was a place where you delved into things,” he said. “Students debate issues the way they should be debated.”

Nikkila serves or has served on various community boards. They include the Rowe Sanctuary Stewardship Board, Kearney Area Community Foundation, Buffalo County Community Partners and the city Board of Adjustment.

He led the recent push to build a new track and field and football stadium at KCHS, where Nikkila coaches track and field and cross country.

Among her hobbies, Nikkila is a runner, bird watcher, nature photographer, and insect enthusiast. He helps maintain a website about butterflies and moths, and he is well known in Kearney for his online articles after council meetings.

“A lot of butterflies are colorful, so they’re popular insects,” he said of publishing information for scientists about butterflies.

Nikkila spoke about the Kearney City Council and her priorities as Mayor.

He said he believes council members, as a whole, bring a useful variety of knowledge and skills to municipal government.

“What I like about the board we have now is that we get along really well. We don’t all hang out in the same social groups, but we all have different people that we listen to and talk to,” he said.

Nikkila described how he contributes to council discussions.

“I love asking questions and challenging assumptions, and I am deeply committed to transparency. I don’t get offended easily. My goal is to bring people together, even in difficult situations. Finally, I still have young children in school and I have an idea of ​​what our families need and want,” he said.

Nikkila said it was important for him to question his assumptions. “I try to be introspective first. I make sure my understanding is correct before dealing with others. It drives me crazy when we don’t question things.

As an elected official, Nikkila does not hide her curiosity. “I often have to ask myself why we do something. I want to know what they are doing and why. I don’t have a plan to change everything, but I want to be introspective.

Along with more in-depth discussions, Nikkila wants to promote transparency within Kearney city government. “If I have so much trouble talking about a subject, I shouldn’t have voted for it. I’m not offended that people want us to do better. What bothers me is when people question their intentions.

Nikkila’s top three priorities are: 1) Following in the footsteps of the people who created Kearney’s culture to move things forward; 2) Stay on top of taxes while preparing for a rainy day; 3) Cope with growth.

“I want us to at least have a conversation about a freeway exit on the west side of town. And then there is housing. We need to find a way to generate more housing in our community. We also need to act fairly when it comes to housing. We must create an environment conducive to growth.

Nikkila listed several of her priorities. At the top of the list is maintaining strong leadership, a challenge that is becoming evident on many levels, he said. “The first thing is people are talking about doing it the Kearney way. There is a ton of leadership turnover. It’s quite intimidating,” he said.

“What are Kearney’s three most important assets? » he said. “Our culture and how we nurture our leaders and community members is an important part of our success. Then there is geographic location and economic diversity. We have so much to do that we, as board members, have to be careful not to screw it up.

Nikkila said it was a huge honor to be mayor of her hometown. “What I like about Kearney is that it’s small enough that you know people, but big enough that you don’t know everyone.”

After 12 years on the council, Nikkila said the mistakes he made led him to not speak up during important discussions.

“There were many times I didn’t trust my instincts and I should have spoken out more. Part of that means having the courage to stand up to people. These mistakes taught me not to be afraid to speak up and disagree. There’s a lot of disagreement, but we just shouldn’t do it in a disruptive way.”

One of Nikkila’s responsibilities is to chair board meetings. He said the weight of that responsibility became clear after his first swing of the gavel. “There were nerves involved. How the meeting went is in your hands.