Nebraskans for Shoemaker, the campaign to elect Attorney Frank Shoemaker to the 44th District seat in the Nebraska Legislature, has announced a Listening Tour across the district. The Listening Tour is intended to facilitate an in-depth discussion of challenges facing Southwest Nebraska and will replace four debates to which Shoemaker challenged his opponent. Shoemaker issued the challenge on August 1, 2006 and his opponent did not respond.

The Listening Tour will closely follow the schedule laid out in the August 1 debate challenge. The first listening meeting will take place September 26 at the Imperial Community Center and will focus upon agriculture and water. A second listening meeting is scheduled for October 10 at the Zorn theater in Benkelman and will be dedicated to health care. The third listening meeting, held at the Bieroc Cafe in McCook on October 17, will focus upon education and the last, held on October 24 in Arapahoe at the Ella Missing Center will discuss economic development. The Imperial, Benkelman and Arapahoe events will begin at 7:00 p.m. The McCook event will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Of the Listening Tour Shoemaker said, “Twice, I requested that my opponent meet to discuss the challenges facing Southwest Nebraska and he never responded to our campaign. We have scheduled this Listening Tour to listen to the concerns of the voters and he is welcome and invited to attend. I guarantee that if my opponent does attend, he will be treated with dignity and respect and he will be given a fair opportunity to express his views.”

Frank Shoemaker is a practicing attorney and farmer who was born in Cambridge, Nebraska, attended Cambridge Public High School and graduated in 1967. In 1971, Shoemaker graduated from Doane College, Crete, Nebraska with a Bachelor of Arts in History and was a member of the United States Peace Corps from 1971 to 1973, living in Ecuador, South America. Shoemaker graduated with a Juris Doctorate from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1978 and sits on the board of directors for Pinpoint Communications in Cambridge, Nebraska. Shoemaker is seeking election to the legislature in the 44th district on a platform that emphasizes the importance of quality education, a reasonable system of taxation and a realistic approach to water issues. Shoemaker’s campaign web site is located at www.nebraskansforshoemaker.com.