Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 101 - 124 of 124
It’s application time for one of the biggest youth agriculture outreach events in the state—the Nebraska Agricultural Youth Institute. This year, NAYI is celebrating 50 years of bringing together high school students to learn more about Nebraska agriculture, network with agriculture leaders and discover careers available in agriculture. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture sponsors and assists with coordinating NAYI every year. The institute will be held July 12 through 16, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s East Campus and will follow a...
A farm cooperative that serves customers in a 30-county region of northeast Nebraska has pledged its support to improvements in agriculture facilities currently underway at Northeast Community College in Norfolk. Farmers Pride, headquartered in Battle Creek, has pledged $50,000 to the Nexus project at Northeast to build a new veterinary technology clinic and classroom building and other facilities on the Acklie Family College Farm. "Many of our employees and customers have graduated from...
North Central District Health Department reported 38 new cases in the district Jan. 4, including: seven, Antelope; 0, Boyd; 0, Brown; one, Cherry; six, Holt; 0, Keya Paha; 15, Knox; nine, Pierce and 0, Rock. NCDHD has received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and is proceeding to disperse vaccine to Phase 1A partners, as outlined in the Nebraska COVID-19 Vaccination Plan. As of Dec. 31, 784 north central Nebraska residents received the first dose of the vaccine. NCDHD will notify the public as the district transitions to each phase. The speed of...
For those who have served in the military, agriculture can be a rewarding next move. Veterans who have gotten involved with farming after retiring from the military have found possibilities they hadn't previously imagined. Caring for plants, animals and the land can be an antidote to PTSD, an avenue to channel a strong work ethic and skill set and a chance to reach new horizons and connect with new and supportive networks. But, how does one get started? Many resources exist for veterans...
While the apprenticeship model has been instrumental for decades, the current system applies to more than the typical occupations that often come to mind - plumbers, electricians and linemen, among others. Apprenticeships have greatly expanded in the last decade to include more non-traditional occupations in areas that include healthcare, information technology (IT), advanced manufacturing, and engineering. The United States Department of Labor currently has 1,349 approved occupations that...
Antelope County may need to weed out candidates depending on how many applications it receives from people wanting to replace a longtime employee. The board of commissioners received a letter of resignation from county weed superintendent Bruce Ofe during its meeting Tuesday, Oct. 13, in Neligh. The Oakdale man plans to retire from the full-time position Dec. 31 after more than 40 years of working for the county. "I'd be willing to stay that long so that if you get somebody hired, I could help...
I remember a story my mom used to tell about her coworker, Opal, and Opal's two little boys. One night, Opal asked the boys what they wanted for supper. One of the boys, about 4 or 5 years old, scrunched up his face and said, "Let's have ... let's have ... let's have ... POP TORN!" That answer became a joke in my family for years because I never met anyone who liked popcorn more than my mom. Popcorn was often her choice for supper. But it wasn't just popcorn my mom liked - she liked the butter...
Don and Rachel Linquist invite people to be curious about their cattle company. The couple own and operate DH Longhorn, a Page-based business that provides pasture-raised Texas Longhorn beef from their ranch to people’s tables. “The ranch-to-table process is just that – right from our ranch/pasture to our customers’ tables,” Rachel said. The beef is dry aged for three weeks at Wausa Lockers and inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Our beef goes into the locker right from our pa...
People who want to enjoy an agricultural field day that will feature a variety of topics will soon will have the chance. A demonstration field day will be held 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the Bazile Groundwater Management Area’s soil health site near Creighton. To find the soil health site, people will need to travel two miles south of Creighton on Nebraska Highway 13, turn east onto 870 Road and travel three-fourths of a mile. The outdoor event, during which social distancing will be...
A couple of weeks ago, a lifelong friend and I took a road trip through Western and North Central Nebraska. We checked out Chimney Rock, the Scotts Bluff National Monument, Toadstool Geologic Park near Crawford and the Niobrara River near Valentine. Social distancing was not a problem. The first night of that five-day trip we spent in Oshkosh, where I grew up and where my travel companion and I met on her third birthday. Her family was new to the neighborhood, her mom was looking for enough...
The Nebraska Department of Agriculture reported Tuesday Nebraska citizens have received unsolicited packages of seeds in the mail in recent days. "Our team has, and will continue to, work with USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service on any reports received in Nebraska," department personnel reported on its social media accounts. Individuals who receive one of these packages should not open it. The seeds should not be planted, either. Anyone receiving a sealed seed packet should keep packets...
CENTER FOR RURAL AFFAIRS On June 26, U.S. Reps. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, and Abigail Spanberger, Democrat from Virginia, members of the House Agriculture Committee, introduced a companion bill to the Growing Climate Solutions Act, H.R. 7393. The Senate bill, S. 3894, was introduced by Sens. Mike Braun, Republican from Indiana, and Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in early June. The bill would standardize the agricultural carbon market and was referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. “These bills come at a critical t...
KATIE ANDERSON Nebraska News Service Property tax relief is on the agenda for the 17-day legislative session later this month, but opponents argue that the proposed property tax relief plan will hinder school district spending and taxing authority. State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, chairwoman of the revenue committee, is leading the charge to get a property tax relief package passed when the Legislature resumes on July 20. “We have a property tax crisis more severe now in agriculture but moving toward suburbia,” Linehan said. “If you b...
The Nebraska Department of Agriculture recently announced student delegates selected to attend this year’s Nebraska Agricultural Youth Institute. Alyssa Moser, of Clearwater, has been tabbed as one of the delegates. In its 49th year, NAYI challenges its delegates to learn more about the agricultural industry and careers available to them in their future. To slow the spread of COVID-19, this year’s Institute will be held virtually. NAYI is coordinated by NDA and the members of the Nebraska Agricultural Youth Council. “NAYI is the longest runni...
The Nebraska Department of Agriculture and Legal Aid of Nebraska are hosting free farm finance clinics in June. The clinics are one-on-one, not group sessions, and are confidential. The legal and financial clinic gives farmers a chance to meet with an experienced ag law attorney and farm financial counselor. Clinic staff specialize in legal and economic issues related to farming and ranching, including business planning, estate and transition planning, farm loan programs, debtor/creditor law and other relevant matters. It is an opportunity to o...
Chinese philosopher Confucius is credited with the saying, "Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life." What happens when someone veers from a chosen career path? How do decisions made during high school affect future career skills? Approximately 115 area students, including Clearwater and Orchard underclassmen, discovered answers to those questions during an interactive career exploration simulation called Connecting the Dots, Tuesday, at the Antelope County...
Last year, I introduced and prioritized LB 243, which created the Healthy Soils Task Force. Since the bill’s passage last April, the governor has appointed 14 members to the task force, representing production agriculture, agribusiness, natural resource districts, environmental organizations and academic experts in the fields of agriculture and natural resources. In addition, the director of the department of agriculture serves on the task force, along with representatives of the Agriculture C...
After a successful 2019, educating over 700 farmers at five hemp farmers forums in Clatonia, David City, Pilger, York and Syracuse, Midwest Hemp Forum announces the first event of 2020, the upcoming Feb. 21 Neligh Hemp Farmers Forum, hosted by the Neligh Office of Economic Development and Antelope County Ag Society. Learn from farmers currently growing hemp, local harvesting equipment experts, professors, processors and other hemp experts. The Neligh Hemp Farmers Forum will be taking place from...
The United States Department of Agriculture gave the okay to Nebraska Department of Agriculture's hemp plan, Tuesday. Applications for licenses for the 2020 growing season will begin Monday, Feb. 3. "Now that NDA has an approved state hemp plan in place, we can begin issuing licenses for the commercial cultivation processing, handling and brokering of industrial hemp in Nebraska," said NDA Director Steve Wellman. According to the plan, officials will issue 270 licenses to hemp growers, 30 to...
It's official. Thursday morning, the state committee for the reorganization of school districts approved dissolution of Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard Public School districts and the formation of the Summerland school district, effective June 6, during a 29-minute public hearing at the Nebraska Department of Education in Lincoln. The reorganization plan passed 4-0. Committee member Gerry Osborn was absent. Nebraska Unified School District #1 Superintendent Dale Martin told the committee... Full story
A recent New York Times article, "Farm Country Feeds America. But Just Try Buying Groceries There," by Jack Healy, nailed what happens when a community loses its grocery store. The article shares the story of Winchester, Illinois, whose only grocery store shuttered. After fundraising efforts, similar to a grassroots movement we experienced in Clearwater, a community-owned grocery store opened; however, members were unable to land a produce supplier. Now, the store sells produce and baked goods...
Four days after tabling a proposal to purchase land for a new sewage lagoon, the Clearwater Village Board of Trustees met in special session, Sept. 30, and approved an agreement to purchase 116 acres for $3,879.31 per acre from Midwest Personnel Management, Inc. Regina Krebs, of Clearwater, serves as president of the corporation selling the property. During a special meeting on Sept. 26, Village Chairman Steve Hankla said grant monies from the United States Department of Agriculture will be...
The atmosphere in the supervisors’ room at the Antelope County courthouse in Neligh became a bit explosive for a while last Thursday morning. A special Aug. 22 meeting of the county commissioners had been set, exclusively, for budget discussion. However, an item for setting the date of a special recall election was added to the agenda by Lisa Payne, county clerk. As the meeting began, Tom Borer, commission chairman, asked for a motion to remove the item from the agenda. Dean Smith complied, offering the motion. “I think we should wait for the c...
Agriculture is integral to Nebraska’s history. The Homestead Act of 1863 allowed U.S. citizens to earn ownership of lands in the west, including Nebraska, provided they improve and farm the land for five years. Four years after the Homestead Act, in 1867, Nebraska earned its statehood with help from these new farmers and ranchers. This dedication to agriculture never diminished, and to this day, one out of four jobs in Nebraska is related to agriculture. This is especially true for Nebraska’s Third District, which has once again been named the...
