Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Even though weather changes daily (and sometimes, minute to minute), it is a constant discussion point. It’s usually one of the few television channels I will tune into while working. Weather has been in the news a lot lately: the May 12 dust and rain storm that caused damage in the area, the nearly month-long days of strong winds this spring, the weekend storms. Sometimes, it feels like I am constantly checking weather notices and sharing updates on the SAM website and our social media c...
With the storm approaching, my wife texted me after work to come home right away. Within minutes, after I left the clinic, she called me again to tell me NOT to come home and to seek shelter immediately. At first, I thought I could make it home, but then the wall of wind hit and a tree fell onto the road in front of me. I turned around and another tree blocked the way. Then it got so dark. It was disorienting and I turned on my windshield wipers using the fluid to try to clear the dust and mud...
While traveling the Third District in recent weeks, I have been encouraged by the expertise and creativity our communities possess and sobered by the challenges we face. We have much to be thankful for, but there is also no shortage to the adversity we must overcome. After closely monitoring the recent severe wildfires across southern Nebraska, I joined Governor Ricketts, Nebraska National Guard Adjutant General Daryl Bohac and other local officials earlier this week to survey the devastation...
Owners of microbusinesses, sole proprietors, and farmers spend many hours developing plans and attending training sessions to educate themselves on operating a business and what to do in the face of adversity. A key component of their planning should include being prepared for a major weather event. As the seasons change, flooding becomes a concern in many parts of the country. The most common and costly natural disaster in the U.S., according to The Pew Charitable Trusts, flood-related...
Forgive George Barnes if he looks a little grim. That day in 1887, ol’ George had ample reason to mean-mug photographer Solomon Butcher, and homesteader life in general. The night before the family photo, it had rained. Hard. The rain had soaked the roof of their soddie. The decaying pole holding the roof had snapped. The whole thing had come down on itself, like a bad metaphor, ruining everything the family owned. The year before, George Barnes’ wife had died of an unknown illness. Barnes was raising three children by himself while he tri...
Farmers and ranchers struggle to recover financially from recent panhandle wildfires that damaged their crops and infrastructure along with forcing a relocation of cows and calves. Two wildfires burned more than 8,200 acres of pasture and cropland in Scottsbluff and Gering. The Panhandle of Nebraska is an open, dryland where fires easily start in canyons from wind and brush. More than 11,000 acres burned from wildfires this past year due to severe drought and heavy winds that caused brush to ignite. Wildfires often result in financial peril...
Imagine yourself in a blizzard so thick and cold and blinding that you could not see your hands right in front of you. Such blizzards were common 150 years ago on the upper Great Plains. Without much for houses and trees, the wind blew the snow with such force that the little ice crystals were more like little knives making it hard to keep one’s eyes open even if there was something to see. Thus, to get safely from the house to the barn, farmers often hung a rope between the two, to not get l...
A third-quarter drought plagued Summerland, as Neligh-Oakdale capitalized and downed the Bobcats, 58-34. The teams met Sept. 23 in Neligh. Mason Hoke completed five of nine passes for 25 yards. Ty Rix led receivers with three catches for 16 yards. Trevor Thomson led the rushers with 22 carries for 191 yards. Kendrick Schroeder carried the ball 14 times for 56 yards and Hoke picked up 50 yards on 14 carries. Colton Thiele led the defense with 11 tackles, including four solo takedowns and one...
Wessel J. Pelser, 30, of Bartlett appeared in the Madison County courtroom last week on Antelope County charges. Pelser pleaded guilty to two counts, driving under the influence of alcohol, first offense, a Class W misdemeanor, and speeding, 91 miles per hour in a 65-mph zone, an infraction. The Honorable Donna Taylor sentenced Pelser to 21 days in the Antelope County Jail, with credit for one day previously served; a $500 fine and revoked his driver’s license for one year on the DUI conviction, and a $200 fine for the speeding count, along w...
Hunters should expect to find pheasants in numbers similar or slightly higher than last year when the Nebraska pheasant, quail and partridge seasons open on Oct. 31. Pheasant counts were up 5% statewide, according to the July Rural Mail Carrier Survey. Notable increases were observed in the southwest and Panhandle. Quail counts during the July survey and the Whistle Count Survey were 14-16% lower compared to 2019. Populations seem to be recovering from losses incurred during the severe spring of 2019. Nesting conditions were favorable...
Antelope and Holt counties have been dealing with mostly dry weather for the past two months. The two northeast Nebraska counties recently saw already dry conditions worsen, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. "Abnormal dryness extended northward for both," said Nebraska State Climatologist Martha Shulski, who is based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "These areas missed out on rainfall that hit other parts of Nebraska the past few weeks." The dryness in Antelope County started in...
KAYLA BERGMAN Policy Associate Center for Rural Affairs Planting and emergence progress for both corn and soybeans are currently ahead of the five-year average across the Midwest. But, still fresh in farmers’ minds is the 2019 planting season, which was severely delayed due to record-breaking precipitation that led to flooded fields and excess soil moisture. According to USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, on June 2, 2019, corn-producing states had completed only 67% of planting. In addition, NASS reported the soybean-producing s...
A quiet third quarter from the Cyclones’ offense led to a 31-18 loss to Twin Loup. The teams met Oct. 11, in Sargent. Twin Loup struck first, as Colby Coons ran 15 yards for a score. The PAT attempt failed. The Cyclones answered when Houston Marino ran 63 yards to tie the game. OC’s PAT was unsuccessful. In the second quarter, Cooper Coons took a 7-yard run into the endzone, bumping Twin Loup’s lead to 12-0 after a failed PAT. Marino responded with a 30-yard run for six. Again, the Cyclo...
