Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Mike Klabenes, a Clearwater village board trustee who was elected as a write-in candidate in the November 2020 General Election, will step down from his position at the end of March. Klabenes told fellow officials, during the Jan. 10 village board meeting, he and his family will be moving to Neligh. Klabenes will also resign from the village’s planning and zoning board....
Nebraska State Senator Tim Gragert announced Sunday, he will not be seeking a second term in the Legislature in 2022. Gragert was elected to the Legislature in 2018. After winning the Primary Election in a crowded field of six candidates, Gragert went on to win the General Election and has represented Legislative District 40 since being sworn into office in January 2019. In announcing his intentions, Gragert said, "Serving the constituents of District 40 has been a great honor. I want to thank...
Merton L. "Cap" Dierks spent years serving as an advocate for agriculture and rural Nebraska issues, including education, wind energy development and the right to life. The longtime Ewing resident and former Nebraska legislator, died Friday, Oct. 22, from complications following a stroke, at Arbor Care Center, in O'Neill. Dierks was 89. His love of rural Nebraska began at birth, at his family's ranch, comprising six sections near Goose Lake, in southeastern Holt County. The ranch included a sod...
Late in the week of Sept. 6, and after considerable debate and negotiation, the redistricting committee introduced its bills outlining proposed new districts for the election of Congressional, Legislative, Supreme Court, Public Service Commission, Board of Regents and State Board of Education members. Our special session relative to redistricting commenced on Sept. 13. That same day, we began three days of hearings on those bills in Grand Island, Lincoln and Omaha, where many Nebraskans weighed...
The Legislature passed the budget bills this past week. Governor Ricketts has five days (not counting Sunday) to decide whether to sign the legislation. The governor has the authority to line-item veto specific items on budget bills, without vetoing the entire bill. Once the budget bills have been passed, other legislation that appropriates General Funds or results in the reduction of revenue to the General Fund, and all other tax expenditure bills, can be read on final reading. LB 2,...
Madeleine Grant and Brooke Wrage Nebraska News Service LINCOLN--Nebraska lawmakers continue to push for marijuana legislation this session. On Feb. 19, the Nebraska Legislature Judiciary Committee heard six bills relating to the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana. Substance possession penalties State senators are considering a bill to change the penalty for controlled substance possession. LB 287, was introduced by Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha to lessen penalties for possession of unusable amounts of controlled substances under the...
“If you’re going to talk the talk, you better be able to walk the walk.” A superintendent I worked for said this phrase during monthly faculty meetings too many times to count. I’ve been thinking a lot that quote - and how he leveraged the phrase to spur people to action. Since the November election, I’ve listened to grumbling about everything from political candidates’ qualifications to an overabundance of government overreach to a general dissatisfaction with public policy. Most conversatio...
Dear Santa, It is almost Christmas and I am feeling very excited! Some presents I would like to ask for this year are ukulele and a Mp3 player. To show you what I think of when we talk about Christmas, I drew you a picture of joy and Jesus' birthday. Merry Christmas! Love, Makenna Bergman Dear Santa, It is almost Christmas and I am feeling very jolly! Some presents I would like to ask for this year are OMG surprise, American Girl doll, Omari, a bouncy ball, and a fingerling. To show you what I...
Lisa Payne is relieved the 2020 general election is behind her. The Antelope County clerk and election commissioner jokingly described the stress of prepping for the election as about an 11 on a scale of one to 10. “I would say the stress is normal,” Payne said. “We are still finishing up.” She has seen many elections since she started working for the county clerk’s office in May 2005. Payne was elected as the county clerk in 2014 and took office the next year. She noted the 3,615 voters ou...
The Antelope County results are in for the 2020 general election. County clerk and election commissioner Lisa Payne noted 3,615 voters out of the 4,570 registered in the county cast ballots before and on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The people who turned out for the election voted for candidates who were running for positions at the local, county, regional, state and federal levels. "We counted 1,340 early voters, leaving 2,275 voting in person on Election Day," Payne said. "I did not hear of any problems...
The voters of Holt County have spoken by casting ballots in the 2020 general election. Important local races, combined with a battle for the White House, brought 78.6% of the county's registered voters to select their choices for leadership positions. County clerk and election commissioner, Cathy Pavel, said of the county's 7,144 registered voters, 5,615 voted. "Early voters totaled 2,163 and 3,462 individuals voted at the polls. Very busy all day with voting," Pavel said. Vote counts for local...
The village of Orchard's shop building went up in flames Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 3. Firefighters from Orchard and Royal responded to a call of a structure fire about 10 minutes before 4 p.m. The shop building is located directly behind the structure where the village office is located at 230 Windom St. Orchard Fire Chief Duane Risinger said the fire was "about two hose lengths away from the fire hall." An incident command vehicle from the Neligh Volunteer Fire Department also responded to the...
General election results, from Nov. 3, 2020, for Antelope County, include: President Tilden 1st: Trump/Pence: 87 Biden/Harris: 15 Jorgensen/Cohen: 0 Write-in: 1 Tilden Precinct: Trump/Pence: 101 Biden/Harris: 9 Jorgensen/Cohen: 1 Oakdale: Trump/Pence: 152 Biden/Harris: 18 Jorgensen/Cohen: 3 Neligh P: Trump/Pence: 154 Biden/Harris: 10 Jorgensen/Cohen: 2 Neligh 1: Trump/Pence: 234 Biden/Harris: 21 Jorgensen/Cohen: 2 Neligh 2: Trump/Pence: 163 Biden/Harris: 21 Jorgensen/Cohen: 6 Brunswick:...
Local races in the 2020 general election may pique voters' attention this year. Holt County voters have until Friday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m., to request ballots by mail or fax a request to vote early in this year's election. Individuals may request a ballot in person by Nov. 2, at 5 p.m., at the Holt County Clerk's office in O'Neill. Holt County Clerk Cathy Pavel said 1,900 early voting requests have been received, as of Tuesday morning. All early voting ballots must be received by the county...
Antelope County residents who want to request ballots for early voting in the 2020 general election soon will run out of time to do so. The deadline for requesting ballots by mail or fax a request to vote early in this year's general election – scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3 – is 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23. County residents who want to request ballots in person to vote early, must do so by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at the county clerk's office inside the courthouse in Neligh. All ballots for early vot...
Discussion and debate has always been a part of rural America. From coffee shops to the local co-op, rural residents aren't afraid to show their loyalty for one candidate or another, share their thoughts on the issues of the day and voice their distrust of the government. Sometimes opinions can spur disagreement and raise tensions. But, in the end, most of us will agree to disagree, shake hands, and go about our day. Lately, this seems to have changed. The divisive politics of Washington have ma...
Facing a fierce public outcry, the U.S. Postal Service is “suspending” its sudden cost-cutting moves — tossing out high-speed sorting machines, uprooting collection boxes, reducing Post Office hours and eliminating carrier overtime — that have slowed mail delivery and threatened the on-time delivery of mail-in ballots for the presidential election. That’s all to the good, but it’s important to understand that the changes to USPS that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the current administration...
The purchase of a refrigerated semi-trailer and the county fund it was paid from were among matters of contention at the Antelope County commissioners' meeting last week. All five commissioners, several other county officials and others were present in the courthouse meeting room May 5 and the meeting was shared electronically via Zoom. Some of those present were asked to step into the hall at one point, when more than 10 were observed in the room. Jared Reimers addressed the commissioners...
A Holt County supervisor recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference. Bill Tielke, chairman of the county supervisor board, was notified in January that he had been appointed to the association's Environment, Energy and Land Use Policy Steering Committee. The committee is responsible for matters pertaining to air, water, energy and land use – including such things as water resources/management; stormwater; pesticides; a...
The process may be a little different for the May 12 Primary Election in Nebraska, but registered voters in the state will still have the opportunity for in-person voting. During a recent press conference, Governor Pete Ricketts announced the primary election will continue as scheduled. Ricketts emphasized that fulfilling the state's duty to carry out elections is vital to the health of the democratic republic. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen confirmed polling sites will be open for...
UPDATED: APRIL 1, 2020 @ 8:04 P.M. North Central District Health Department, in communication with state officials, have signed the NCDHD counties, including Antelope, Boyd, Brown, Cherry, Holt, Keya Paha, Knox, Pierce and Rock, into the Directed Health Measures, effective April 1, at 10 p.m., through May 11, unless the order is extended. Please read the Directed Health Measures in full carefully, they can be found on the Department of Health and Human Services website at htt...
The Nebraska Primary Election is May 12, 2020. Holt County received a lot of interest in filing for offices, but due to auto-advance rules, all local school board races, county supervisor district six, city races, airport authorities, Natural Resource Districts, Nebraska Public Power District and Northeast Community College races will not appear on the Primary Election ballot. These races will appear on the General Election ballot. Holt County voters will be voting on the president, Senate and Congress representatives. Local issues that will...
One of the bills that I introduced this session was LB 770. It authorizes a free lifetime park permit for disabled veterans. This past week, LB 770 was advanced from the Natural Resources Committee on an 8-0 vote. I designated it as my priority bill and the Legislature gave it first-round approval on a 38-0 vote. Under LB 770, a veteran would be eligible for the free permit if they are a Nebraska resident, honorably discharged, and rated 50% or more service-connected disabled or 100% disabled, n...
Antelope County District 2 Commissioner Eli Jacob will have a challenger for the seat he currently fills. Donald Lallier, of Orchard, has filed for the position, according to Antelope County Deputy Clerk Denise Kurpgeweit. Incumbents have until Feb. 18 to register for re-election. Non-incumbents must file paperwork by March 2. The Nebraska general primary will be May 12....
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...
