Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Charitable gaming in Antelope and Holt counties played out like a split deck this past year, with sharp town-by-town swings reshaping the odds, even as statewide wagering slipped. While Nebraska overall saw charitable gaming decline of about 2.6%, Holt County bucked the house with a sizable increase and a modest rise in keno play, even as Ewing's wagering dipped. Antelope County, meanwhile, followed the statewide slide, posting a roughly 4% drop overall as Orchard's surge at the keno counter...
A recycling program could return to Clearwater if village trustees decide to apply for a grant through FirstStar Recycling. The grant would fund a sectioned trailer for cardboard, newspapers, plastic milk jugs, and glass. The sole cost to the village would be to transport recyclables to the compactor at Neligh. During the Jan. 12 village meeting, chairman Kelly Kerkman said he supports recycling and he had given the idea considerable thought. "I'm more concerned about the headache the trailer...
LuAnn Schindler, publisher at the Summerland Advocate-Messenger, recently donated $100 to the Nebraska FBLA Foundation Trust. Schindler and her husband Scott also have a popular podcast featuring news from the Summerland Advocate-Messenger. Future Business Leaders of America is a national association for students in middle school and high school who are interested in business or business education careers. In Nebraska, more than 5,900 students in more than 150 high schools participate in the...
The Bobcat boys wrestlers brought home five medals and placed seventh at Saturday's Battle Creek Invite. Ethan Kester finished second in the 150 division. He opened with a pin over Bridger Krammer, Gretna East, in 1:10. In the second round, he pinned Adan Hoff of Madison in 1:34. Next, Kester pinned Barrett Koehler, Battle Creek, in 1:02. In the semifinal, Kester pinned Denny Reynolds, Logan View, in 1:28. Easton Hochstein, Cedar Catholic, pinned Kester in the championship match, in 4:57....
I’ve been thinking a lot about hands-on education. Recently, I read an article from the Daily Yonder, which focuses on stories from rural America, highlighting a newspaper in Wisconsin - the Pulaski News - which has been a student-run community newspaper for 80 years. When the former owner decided to halt publication, the local school superintendent opted to keep the newspaper operational by having students deliver the news. The journalism teacher serves as the editor-in-chief. Students r...
Summerland boys basketball finished last week 1-2. Coach Brett Kaczor said he thought his squad competed well. After leading most of the game, the Bobcats experienced a "tough loss to Creighton. It was another scenario that this group is going to learn from." Thursday's game against St. Mary's isn't indicative of how well the Bobcats played against a quality team, according to Kaczor. On Friday, the team finished with a quality win over LCC. "We found ourselves down early, battled back and held...
PROCEEDINGS VILLAGE OF CLEARWATER BOARD OF TRUSTEES JANUARY 12, 2026 The Board of Trustees of the Village of Clearwater met for a regular meeting Mon., Jan. 12, at 7 p.m., in the fire hall meeting room. Meeting opened at 7 p.m. Notice of meeting was given in advance by publication in Summerland Advocate-Messenger, was posted at US Post Office in Clearwater, Clearwater Market, and Cornerstone Bank-Clearwater and was given to board members prior to meeting. Public was informed of location of Open Meeting Act poster. Present: Kelly Kerkman,...
Everything's coming up roses - and daisies and carnations - in Ewing with the opening of This & That Floral. Owner Juliana Botha of Plainview said the shop officially opened Jan. 5 in the former Ewing School building. The business is located in the former science room at 416 N. Spruce St., Suite 6, a setting that now favors fresh cuts over test tubes. She discovered the space while visiting the Sunset Second Hand Store, also housed in the building. "I asked about possibly renting and decided...
Two rising country stars will headline the Clearwater Rodeo concert, set for June 27. Tyler Braden will headline the 2026 show. Hailing from Slapout, Alabama, Braden is currently based in Nashville, where he performs and writes music. His debut song, "Little Red Wine," brought success. He followed with two EPs, and his hit "Try Losing One," landed at No. 1 on Sirius XM The Highway's Hot 30 Weekend Countdown. In 2024, he launched, "Devil You Know," which has been streamed more than 335 million...
Two familiar faces will assume new responsibilities following a Jan. 8 statutory session of the Holt County Supervisors. 2025 chairman, Bill Tielke, told supervisors he wasn't interested in running for the position since he will not seek re-election. Darrin Paxton will serve as chairman of the supervisors for 2026. "I'm not sure if my feet are different sized than Bill's, but I have some big shoes to fill," Paxton said following the vote by supervisors. Dustin Breiner was appointed to chair the...
A cow owned by Todd Duhacek, of Ewing, was killed on Jan. 2, west of Ewing on US Highway 275. According to the Holt County Sheriff's Department, at approximately 1:40 a.m., a 1997 Dodge pickup, driven by Mason Shaal of Schuyler, was westbound on Hwy 275 when he encountered cattle on the highway and ditch. Dense for was in the area at the time of the accident. Shaal struck a black cow in his lane of travel. No injuries were reported. Several other cows were moved off the highway by neighbors in...
Caydence Schumacher finished with a double-double in a 43-42 Summerland win over Plainview, Jan. 6, at home. Schumacher scored 11 points and nabbed 10 rebounds. Belle Anson and Kanyon Allemang each finished with a dozen points, and senior Jenna Funk led on the boards, pulling down 14 rebounds. The Bobcats trailed by one at the half, but a tough defensive stance, which only allowed four Pirate points in the third quarter, helped seal the win. Statistics v Plainview Isabella Kester: 1s, 2to...
Summerland ended in third place at its Jan. 10 boys wrestling invitational, scoring 109.5 points. Ravenna claimed the team title, with 155 points, while Pender finished second in the 16-team field with 130.5. Ethan Kester took the top spot in the 150 division. He opened by pinning Evan Coufal, Howells-Dodge, in 1:19 and pinned Tyce Coufal, Ravenna, in 1:06. Kester battled Asher Uttecht, of Winside in the championship and finished with a 4-1 win. Jason Shaver finished second in the 215 division....
Doubles come naturally to Ryan Rifer, even his initials repeat. The Summerland senior made the symmetry official Dec. 30 at the Summerland Holiday Tournament, pouring in 36 points while hauling down 14 rebounds to set a school record in the single-game scoring category and tying the rebound record, a performance that doubled up the stat sheet and rewrote the program’s history in a single night. The multi-sport standout said he knew he was closing in on the scoring mark after a “hot first half,...
In addition to the monthly board of education meeting, members will attend a workshop, beginning at 3 p.m., Jan. 14,at the school. A data review and strategic planning will take place during discussion. Committees will also share updates. No votes will take place during the workshop. The regular monthly meeting will start at 7 p.m. Election of officers will take place. Committee assignments will be decided, and official designations, including legal newspapers and banking outlets, will be...
Parents of Bobcat boys' and girls' wrestling teams, as well as senior members of the squads, will be honored Friday, Jan. 9. Summerland will host a meet with Wauneta-Palisade at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Jan. 10, Summerland will host its annual Bobcat boys' wrestling invitational. Competition begins at 10 a.m. The Summerland Girls' Wrestling Invite will take place Monday, Jan. 12, starting at 1 p.m. The youth wrestling invite is slated for Sunday, Jan. 13, at 10 a.m....
We asked readers to complete a survey listing the top articles in SAM during 2025. These are the top five, based on readers' votes. 1. Hometown Hero: Summerland freshman uses SkillsUSA training to save infant's life As an eighth-grade student, Taelyn Nilson learned CPR and won a state title in Job Skills Demonstration at the Nebraska SkillsUSA Middle School Conference. In December 2024, Nilson used those skills to save the life of an infant who was staying in her family's home. January 15, 2025...
Summerland's girls basketball team controlled their destiny, Dec. 30, in the championship tournament. After jumping to a 15-2 lead over Winside, the girls cruised to a 49-38 victory. Winside's defense held Summerland to seven points in the second quarter, narrowing the margin to 22-20 at the half. But the Bobcats roared back in the third quarter, adding 19 points to the cause and finished with eight in the final stanza. Kanyon Allemang led the team with 22 points. Jenna Funk powered her way to...
No first-place medals came with Bobcat wrestlers, Tuesday, at the Newman Grove/St. Edward Holiday Invite. But two second-place awards, one third-place honor, and two fourth-place finishes were recorded by team members. Austin Mendoza claimed the silver medal in the 138 division. He worked his way through the championship bracket, picking up wins over Weston Patefield, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, by fall, in 1:10; a 16-1 tech fell, in 1:37, over Kody Bartling, Hartington Cedar Catholic, and an...
It took a bonus round for the Bobcats to keep the holiday tournament hardware at home. During four quarters of back-and-forth action, Summerland found itself knotted with Wakefield at 58 at the end of regulation, and relied on tough defense in the overtime period to earn a 71-66 win. Senior Ryan Rifer set two school records in the contest after finishing with a double-double. He ended with 36 points and 14 rebounds. Rifer hit six of 10 three-point shots, connected on two of three free throws and...
One goal for 2026: Read more books. I finished three (gasp!) in 2025. That’s a far cry from the 50 to 60 books I read annually during my teaching years. My reading days began dwindling when I started working at the newspaper in 2013. The upside: I read a lot more newspapers and professional articles related to the media industry. I miss reading. I miss finding myself immersed in setting and characters and plot lines. I miss whodunits and true crime novels, my favorite genre, which began years a...
After trailing Ainsworth by six at the end of the first quarter, the Bobcat girls basketball squad chipped away at the deficit and secured a 53-47 win in the opening round of the Summerland Holiday Tournament on Monday. The difference came in the final quarter, when Summerland applied tough defense and held the visiting Bulldogs to six points. Kanyon Allemang scored a dozen points in Monday's 53-47 win over the Bulldogs in the Summerland Holiday Tournament. Senior Caydence Schumacher finished...
Holt County employees who utilize the county's health insurance plan will see an increase in contribution amounts for single and family coverage beginning Jan. 1. During the Dec. 16 Holt County Supervisors meeting, officials approved increasing single coverage from $25 to $100, while a family plan will now require a $200 contribution, a $150 increase from this year's plan. The last increase in employee contributions occurred in 2006. Supervisors learned in October that insurance premium costs...
To borrow a line from “Seasons of Love” from Rent, “How do measure, measure a year?” The next verse of the song seems pretty accurate for a journalist: “In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee (or tea in my case), in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In 525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year in the life.” In the case of SAM, how do you measure which story or articles written throughout the year were simply the best? Should website page views be the determining...
Eleven Bobcats contributed points in Monday's 66-49 victory over Ainsworth in the first round of the Summerland Holiday Tournament. Ryan Rifer scored 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds to set the pace for the home team. Coach Brett Kaczor may have wondered how his team would respond after finding the game knotted at a dozen at the end of the first quarter. But Kaczor's crew came out shooting, taking control by halftime after adding 20 points. Tough Bobcat defense in the third quarter...
