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 351 - 375 of 3098
In November 2021, the Sidney City Council approved contracting with Five Rule Rural Planning to conduct a blight and substandard study. In his report, City Manager David Scott said the City is now in the process of that study, and presented maps for the council's review. Scott said the last full blight study of the city was done in 1994. The Nebraska Department of Economic Development requires a blight study be conducted every 10 years, he said. According to Nebraska Revised Statute 18-2103,...
The Sidney City Council met in a work session June 6 to discuss renewing the City's ½ cent sales tax. In the work session, City Manager David Scott said the proposal was first brought before the city council in 2012, and approved by voters in November of that year. Scott asked council members how the tax revenues should be divided among city projects, if the tax is approved by voters. Scott stated that ten years ago, 50 percent of the funds went to street, 30 percent went to the pool, 12...
JUNE 19, 2022 (SCOTTSBLUFF) — Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol have arrested a New York man following a crash that claimed the life of a Scottsbluff woman late Saturday evening. At approximately 11:15 p.m. MT, NSP was called to a report of a fatality crash at mile marker 83 on Interstate 80. Preliminary investigation shows that a Dodge Caravan was traveling westbound when it was struck from behind by a truck tractor/semi-trailer. The collision caused the Caravan to roll, ejecting a front-seat passenger. That passenger has been i...
How does a person move from an idea, a dream, to a successful business? That is one of the challenges “E3” is researching. E3, Energizing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, evolved from Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (E2) with roots in Kansas. “e2 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems helps communities and regions connect, learn, and share best practices for building sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems across North America. With more than 25 years of field experience, particularly in rural America, e2 is the p...
Philosophers say you can't cross the same place in a river twice because the water is always moving. The same can be said about society, and the economy. It doesn't stand still. It moves forward or backward. When Cabela's was assumed by Bass Pro, the Sidney community changed. People outside of Sidney changed their view of Sidney. However, this isn't the first challenge Sidney has seen, and returned. The better question might be how to stay the course and move toward a positive future. A group...
JUNE 14 (SCOTTSBLUFF) — Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol have arrested a Chappell woman following an investigation related to purchases at the Deuel County Clerk’s Office. The case was initially referred to NSP by the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office. Investigators developed information that Polly Olson, 59, who serves as the Deuel County Clerk, had purchased more than $18,000 worth of personal items from various retailers using an official Deuel County credit card. An arrest warrant was issued for Olson on Tuesday, June 14. Troop...
Cheyenne County offers health insurance for its employees, but not all need or want the plan. In the June 6 meeting of the Cheyenne County Commissioners, County Clerk Beth Fiegenschuh proposed a cash-in-lieu program where employees who are insured by another option can choose a cash payment in place of the health insurance program. In place of health insurance, an employee who chooses to opt out will receive an additional $500 per month, taxable. Fiegenschuh stressed that employees leaving the...
The journey started about two months ago, more than a year before that with the planning. It is a monumental goal with several objectives, and more that developed as he made his way down the road. Gregory Maassen, a Dutch cyclist from Washington, D.C., decided to relive American history from a little less than a century ago, bring awareness and funding to a disease and along the way get a true education of America. Maassen is a senior executive manager of large regional and complex USAID...
LINCOLN – University of Nebraska-Lincoln student Paige Kniep didn’t know she wanted to return home until completing her Nebraska Community Foundation (NCF) Hometown Internship in 2021 – now she plans to build a life in Deshler. Kniep, who served as Deshler Community Fund’s Hometown Intern in 2021, said the experience was among many factors that inspired her to make the choice to return to Thayer County after college and start a business in her hometown. Her intern coordinator and the community made sure she knew she would always be welcome...
On Thursday evening, May 26, the Elevate Program hosted guest speaker Rhianna Brand, a suicide attempt survivor, to discuss and educate the community on mental health issues with the goal of elevating and enhancing knowledge, concerns and resources to combat suicide. The event started with Pastor Chad Rademacher of Holy Trinity Church in Sidney, and he gave a brief explanation of the program, and his involvement since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020 and the increased amount of isolation...
The Sidney City Council gave their approval for guidelines related to the Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund grant the City applied for. The City applied for a $500,000 grant, with the City committing $100,000 of matching funds. In August of 2021, the City completed an updated Housing Study. The housing study was done to assist in assessing community need and for future housing grants. The Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund (NAHTF) was established by the 1996 Nebraska Affordable Housing...
Suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States. In 2020, 45,979 Americans died from suicide, from an estimated 1.2 million suicide attempts. The elusive questions are what leads suicide, what can be done to stop it, and are we doing enough. On Thursday, May 26, Rhianna Brand, a suicide survivor, will share her story and her journey. Brand is a loss survivor, and a three-time suicide survivor. She has been diagnosed with Complex PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) and...
The room is deliberately dim. It's easier on the eyes. The duties from the outside appear to be simple, but can change at any give moment, or one phone call to the next. Responding to a moment of distress is more than calling 911 and waiting. It is the middle-man, the link between the incident and the first responders. It is how the dispatcher asks for information, how the caller relays the information to the dispatcher, and how the dispatcher communicates with numerous departments he or she...
The normal casual start of a Thursday morning was briefly interrupted last week when a group of motorcyclists entered Sidney from West Highway 30. The interruption of normal was not an invasion, but rather an attention-grabbing method for a social issue: the mental health of children. Volunteer motorcyclists rode across Nebraska from May 18 through May 21 for the 15th annual Pony Express Ride, an effort to raise awareness about children’s mental health. The ride will finish at the Nebraska S...
On May 9, downtown Sidney's typical traffic of workers busy in the duties, the lunch crowd hurrying to their favorite menu and people out for an afternoon walk were suddenly interrupted by the site of numerous trucks, busses and RVs making their way into town from the west. The blaring horns and American flags flying proudly told observers this was not a random lineup of vehicles, but a deliberate assembly. The Peoples Convoy stopped for the night at Sapp Brothers where an assembly was held....
A few months ago, Kevin Howard announced his retirement as tourism director for Cheyenne County. After extending his exit date by more than a month, Cheyenne County has a candidate to step into his shoes. She is known from several positions in the county, many of them in a service capacity; from carrying on the Tin Roof Sundae tradition to firearms and restarting a coffee shop, and her involvement with the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce. Kendra Mitchell was confirmed as the next Tourism...
Jim Hansen, Company Outreach Coordinator for Sandhill Global, was at Adams Industries in Sidney on Friday for the unveiling of the new Mobile Pantry for Table of Grace. Sandhills Global partnered with Adams Industries to build a Mobile Pantry to service households in need in the Panhandle. Hansen said Sandhills Global's employees were donating money and time to Table of Grace in Sidney, which helps over 500 families in Cheyenne, Kimball and Garden Counties with food and basic supply needs....
Cheyenne County voters chose the next Clerk of the District Court. With all 10 precincts reporting, 696 voters cast votes in favor of Mindy Wiegand, and 662 votes were cast for Debra Hume. "I am humbled and amazed to have been elected your next Clerk of the District Court. I am honored to have earned your support and your confidence. Words cannot express my gratitude to all of you who have supported me," Wiegand said. "I will continue to serve the citizens of Cheyenne County to the best of my...
The Sidney City Council recently approved a land purchase by Table of Grace. The property is a 3.2 acre tract on east Elm Street at a cost of $21,440. The agreement calls for $1,000 to be deposited in escrow and the balance to be deposited on the date of closing on the property. In his presentation to the City Council, City Manager David Scott said Jim Hansen of Sandhills Global secured a donation to construct a new Table of Grace facility in Sidney. After researching the several locations,...
The Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners faced a decision that resulted in a vote, then a move to rescind the vote and vote a second time. A regular meeting of the board of county commissioners became a debate over state authority versus local control when the commissioners met as the Board of Equalization May 2. At issue was two tax list corrections related to 2019 homestead exemptions. County Assessor Melody Keller said the during the meeting of the Board of Equalization that the two Tax Lis...
On April 30, Sidney businessman and inventor, former city councilman, and former newspaper owner Robert “Bob” Van Vleet died at the age of 87. Van Vleet was born in Redfield, S.D. After graduating high school, Van Vleet enlisted in the USAF at Aberdeen, S.D. and entered the service in 1952. Basic Training was at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. He spent three months at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, then a brief stop at Camp Stoneham, San Francisco, Calif., in 1953, prior to his...
Sidney voters will to choose between five candidates for three seats on the Sidney City Council. The ballot has Paul Strommen, Brad Sherman, Marva P. Ellwanger, Brandon Bondegard and Tony Jones as seeking city council seats. There are three four-year terms to be decided and one two-year term created with the resignation of Joe Arterburn. City Manager David Scott said recently the deadline to apply for the two-year term is July 15 of this year. Ellwanger was appointed to fill Arterburn's seat...
The city of Sidney is in a dilemma, a conundrum if you will. When Bass Pro purchased Cabela's, real estate became a buyer's market. In many instances there was a house or more on nearly every block with a for sale sign. That was then. Since that time, the housing market has tightened and prices have increased. The dilemma is the city is also seeking economic development, which is a challenge without housing for the potential workers, and the existing residents of the Sidney area. In the April...
The United States missile defense system that dots the rural terrain north to Montana and North Dakota, including western Nebraska, and Colorado has been in the ground and at the ready for several years. Some of the systems have been in place since the 1960s. The United States Air Force has decided now is the time to upgrade the system. The question is what that will mean for local residents. The new system, the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, named the Sentinel, is the Air Force's program to...
F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. – The U.S. Air Force is holding town meetings and community engagements in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska to inform the local public and landowners about Ground Based Strategic Deterrence activities planned in their areas from April 18 to 27, 2022. The Air Force has started the process of determining real estate and utility easements needed for the new intercontinental ballistic missile system expected to break ground in 2026. During these meetings, the Air Force will explain the new GBSD system mission and p...
