Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Sorted by date Results 1970 - 1994 of 3067
Nick Colgrove of the University of Nebraska's educational media department points out some benefits of broadband technology during a Power of Business presentation at WNCC on Wednesday. The event was a UNL Extension program and part of the statewide Nebraska Broadband Initiative.... Full story
Sidney is among the top ten places to live in Nebraska, according to a blog by Movoto, a real estate research website. Movoto conducted a study of the 31 biggest cities in Nebraska to determine which were the best places to reside. The rankings were based on amenities, quality of life, crime, tax rates, unemployment, commute time and weather. It ranked Sidney number eight on the list. The criteria that factor into quality of life include cost of living, median home price, median rent, median household income and student to teacher ratio....
When western Nebraska rancher Deb Fischer graduated from the LEAD program almost 15 years ago, she put the experience to use by becoming involved with the school board. Two years ago Fischer was elected to the senate. Yet LEAD director Terry Hejny is reluctant to tell of prominent success stories. The purpose of the Leadership Education/Action Development program is more fundamental. “When they finish, they go back to their communities and get involved—make their communities stronger,” he explained. The program provides training for Nebra...
Congressman Adrian Smith greets one of more than 400 Korean War Veterans from the state participating in the Heartland Honor Flight recently. Smith noted that "During a snow storm which kept many Washingtonians indoors, these Nebraska veterans were undeterred by the weather in the pursuit to see their memorial."... Full story
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission employees used a bird's-eye view of the rugged high country of the Pine Ridge last month to obtain more accurate deer population data for northwestern Nebraska. During five days in early February, Game and Parks staff members boarded a contracted helicopter and surveyed eight areas of the Pine Ridge Management Unit, which encompasses 429 square miles. The project marked first time Game and Parks has used a helicopter to survey mule deer. In all, staff members...
Hundreds of workers will travel to Sidney this summer to labor on the many construction projects soon to be underway. Both Chief of Police B.J. Wilkinson and City Manager Gary Person acknowledge that the presence of so many additional people in the community could pose some problems. Projects set for construction this summer include the new Sidney Regional Medical Center, many streets for new developments in the Interstate 80 area, as well as work on Fort Sidney Rd, Greenwood Rd and Toledo St., Cabela’s corporate expansion, The Ranch s...
Nebraska's current attorney general, Jon Bruning, believes he can make a seamless transition into the role of governor next year, if elected to that position. "I think this has been a very well run state under governors Heineman and Johanns," Bruning said during a stop in Sidney last week. "And I've worked right alongside both governors in my 12 years as attorney general. Experience matters. I will not need on the job training and I think that's very important in a state where Nebraskans are...
As of this month, the city of Sidney will finally receive one year of advanced notification before the state takes refunds out of the city’s local sales taxes. In the past, if companies qualified for sales tax refunds on projects, they would file an application from the state. The city received no information on this. Every month retailers collect sales tax and send it to the department of revenue in Lincoln. Then, each month the department of revenue sends a check for local sales tax to Sidney, sometimes with large refunds subtracted from the...
The Nebraska State Patrol will be conducting high visibility enforcement efforts over the St. Patrick’s Day holiday in an effort to crack down on impaired driving and reduce the potential for alcohol related crashes. Troopers and communication specialists for the Nebraska State Patrol will be putting in overtime hours beginning Thursday, March 13 through Monday, March 17. The overtime funding is provided thanks in part to a $15,620 grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety (NOHS). Special enforcement efforts will include high v... Full story
KIMBALL, Neb. (AP) - Local flooding and washed-out roads have prompted travel warnings from officials in Kimball County and other parts of the Nebraska Panhandle. Kimble County highway superintendent Dave Hottell blamed the mess on runoff from melting snow in his county and adjacent parts of Wyoming. "Most of the roads are a mess," Hottell said. "Roughly half of them are washed out and the other half are not in good shape." Some stretches of U.S. Highway 30 have been closed as well. Two teenage... Full story
Last week Cheyenne County District court ordered Pine Bluffs Gravel & Excavation to cease all gravel mining operations at property owned by Raymond and Teresa Kuehn on County Rd. 99 about seven miles west of Sidney. The gravel firm and the county have been at odds for around a year now over the company’s work on agriculturally zoned land where it operates a gravel mine. The case of Cheyenne County vs. Pine Bluffs Gravel & Excavating Inc. was tried on Jan. 16. The court issued its judgment on Feb. 28. In this civil case, Cheyenne County sought t...
Gubernatorial candidate Bryan Slone thinks his experience with tax reform and passion for small town Nebraska make him stand out from the crowd of Republican candidates hoping to succeed current Gov. Dave Heineman. "We need fundamental tax reform," Slone said. "I have the background and experience to make that happen." Slone decided to run because knows that his constituents are most concerned about tax reform. Slone worked in the Reagan administration for two years, laboring to draft Reagan's...
Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad introduced a bill to the Nebraska legislature that would lower student loan repayment obligations for attorneys who serve low earning clients in rural parts of the state. LB808 could provide public service attorneys working in communities with a population lower than 15,0000 with $6,000 a year in loan forgiveness, according to the Unicameral Update, the Nebraska Legislature’s official news source. The judiciary committee heard this bill on Feb. 21. Behind the proposal is a growing shortage of legal support in r...
After living through six gunshot wounds and a rocket propelled grenade attack in Afghanistan, Col. Tom Brewer, a 36-year veteran of the armed services, plans to take on Congress. Brewer hopes to bring a new perspective to the U.S. House of Representatives, by representing Nebraska's third district. An abundance of downtime due to an injury launched Brewer's interest in politics and ultimately his decision to run against Adrian Smith, who currently represents the third district. After Brewer was...
Not too spicy, not too sweet-just Knicely Done. It was a warmhearted roast, fitting for Omaha television's Mr. Nice Guy, John Knicely. And nice guys finish first in friendships. A sellout crowd-including college classmates, golf buddies, fellow church members and professional colleagues – filled the Press Club on Feb. 21 to see the longtime WOWT anchor honored as the OPC's 140th Face on the Barroom floor. Knicely is a 1970 graduate of Sidney High School and is the son of Jack and Jan Knicely o...
The city of Sidney would not be what it is today without the contributions of Dick Cabela, co-founder of Cabela's, who died at his home on Monday morning. The company has undoubtedly been a major contributor to Sidney's continued success. Cabela's was founded in 1961 when Cabela bought $45 worth of fishing flies to sell in his father's furniture store in Chappell. Customers at the store had little interest in the flies, so Cabela decided to sell them by mail order. Cabela's wife, Mary Cabela...
Cabela’s expects to begin construction on The Ranch, its local housing development as well as a headquarters expansion this year. At the same time, the corporation also plans to expand its retail presence nationwide. Last week Cabela’s announced plans to build three new stores. Cabela’s expects to open a store in Ammon, Idaho in spring 2015. This 42,000 square foot store is the company’s third in the state and will serve the Idaho Falls area. The store is expected to employ around 90 workers. Customers at this store will be able to make on...
Four suspects wanted in connection with several rural burglaries in Cheyenne County were arrested Thursday in Edgewater, Colo. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for a home in Dalton where it was known that two of the suspects, Sean Gdowski and Martika Biggart, were residing. Authorities sought the warrant after allegedly finding some items linked to at least one recent rural burglary in trash from their residence. Law enforcement executed a search warrant on their residence on Jan. 29, according arrest warrant affidavits. Officials repo...
Vorachit Luexayachak, 40 of Iowa, was sentenced in Deuel County District Court last week for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver or distribute, a class three felony and operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest, a class four felony. Judge Derek Weimer sentenced Luexayachak to 48-72 months incarceration. Luexayachak took Nebraska State patrol on a 40 mile chase through Cheyenne and Deuel counties in November of last year. This chase ended in his arrest and the discovery of almost 60 pounds of marijuana in his possession. When a...
SIDNEY (BUSINESS WIRE) – Cabela’s Incorporated (NYSE:CAB) announced that Richard N. Cabela, Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus, passed away today at his home in Sidney. He was 77. Dick, along with his wife, Mary, and brother, Jim, founded Cabela’s somewhat inadvertently in 1961 when he purchased $45 worth of hand-tied fishing flies while in Chicago on a furniture and housewares buying trip with his father for the family’s Chappell, Neb., furniture store. With the flies not moving off the store shelf, Dick came upon the idea of selling them th... Full story
Bridgeport – A team from Sidney High School will represent the Panhandle for the Nebraska Envirothon Contest near Alda, Nebraska on May 3. The first place team comprised of Karson Langley, Jessica Campbell and Logan Uhlir earned the state berth on Tuesday, February 4 at the contest held in the Prairie Winds Community Center. Fifty nine students competed in the split regional contest. Schools represented included Sidney, Gering, Bayard, Gordon-Rushville, Creek Valley, Garden County and Chadron a...
Ev Tarrell earned the Cabela's Founder's Award, presented during a Feb. 3 ceremony. Tarrell created the company's industry-changing Zonz Camo line. In attendance at the event were the company's board of directors and executives. The Founder's Award is the most prestigious honor presented by Cabela's.... Full story
Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska is offering Health Insurance Marketplace enrollment assistance in the Sidney area. Trained Certified Application Counselors will be on hand to assist area residents by on Friday, Feb. 14 and Sat., Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Community Action Partnership facility located at 2241 Illinois Street in Sidney. Assistance is by appointment only. If you have questions about your eligibility or to make an appointment, please call 1-877-977-3906. Please mention you are seeking assistance in...
At Monday’s meeting, the Sidney school board officially approved a resolution for a $16.95 million bond election for a new elementary school to be held during the May 13 primary. In a special bond election held Sept. 10 of last year, a school bond set at nearly $16 million was voted down by a narrow margin of 105 votes. The bond would finance a new K-4 school, consolidating three of the system’s current schools, the oldest of which was originally constructed in 1929. The school board cited difficulty with installing new technology in the old...
Belinda Westfall, principal of North Elementary informed the school board that 2nd and 3rd grade students had improved significantly on standardized tests in vocabulary comprehension and fluency in preparation for NeSA testing. NeSA, or Nebraska State Accountability, tests the proficiency of students in various subjects statewide. “So we’re on our way to our NeSA test and just trying to up the ante on all of those,” Westfall said. Meanwhile 8th grade students recently finished their NeSA writing exam, in which they had to complete a descr...
