Called to Serve, Called to Lead At its very core, the John Gottschalk story is a Nebraska story. It embodies values true Nebraskans cherish. Character - Compassion - Duty - Ethics - Leadership These form the professional, personal, and public tributaries of this newspaperman from Rushville. Professional, personal, and public may appear to be separate currents flowing downstream from the Sandhills to Sidney to Omaha. But they're not. The indefatigable pull of his life merged them into a single remarkable river.