Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 1 - 19 of 19
There's a map tacked up on the wall in Kameron Runnels' office – squared lines and small text showing who owns what pieces of the Santee Sioux reservation. Six of the squares, big chunks of land, are labeled the same: "school land." Runnels, the tribe's vice chairman, said he always wondered what exactly that meant. Two of the squares are colored in green – land the tribe pays the state almost $65,500 per year to rent and farm, even though it's within reservation boundaries. When Nebraska was...
Adam D. Lorenz, 33, of Springfield, South Dakota, faced the Honorable Kale Burdick via Zoom from a South Dakota Department of Corrections’ facility on July 2, to be sentenced for two Class 3 misdemeanor counts of unauthorized use of financial devices, committed in February 2023. Burdick sentenced Lorenz to 10 days in the Holt County Jail on each count, to be served concurrently and concurrent to sentence he is currently serving in South Dakota. He is ordered to pay $158.87 restitution to Julie Tielke and was taxed $60 costs. Lorenz pleaded g...
Three defendants recently faced the Honorable Kale Burdick in the Holt County courtroom in O’Neill for driving under the influence of alcohol. Avery A. Dilsaver, 43, of O’Neill faced Burdick June 11 for sentencing on a DUI charge, a Class W misdemeanor committed in the city in December 2023. Burdick placed Dilsaver on probation for nine months, fined him $500 and ordered him to serve two days in the Holt County Jail, with credit given for one day previously served. The jail sentence was suspended until June 21. His driver’s license was revok...
"It's our 36th year and we want to spend it someplace fun and rider friendly," said Charlie Schilling, with Tour de Nebraska. This year's route, scheduled for June 25 to 30, includes the communities of Bassett, Sprinview, Ainsworth and Valentine and will total 265 miles. The first leg of the trip is a 61-mile jaunt from Springview, heading east and then looping around to Bassett. On day two, riders will travel 56 miles to Ainsworth and will have an option to travel a 93-mile route, which...
Almost four decades ago, two coaches - one from the east coast, the other from the land of the Cornhuskers - formed an alliance. Maine and Nebraska would become as thick as thieves. Despite the large differences between the two states, a friendship was pinned down and has lasted for years. Lincoln Southeast wrestling coach, Mick Pierce, and Maine's, Wally LaFountain, a wrestling official from Maine, met in the 80s during a wrestling trip to Europe, according to current Maine coach Brian Cote....
Guests at northeast Nebraska state park areas were treated to some improvements in 2022, with more set to be completed in 2023. The following is a roundup of those improvements and projects: Summit Lake State Recreation Area Summit Lake State Recreation Area near Tekamah saw aquatic habitat and angler access improvement projects completed to improve the fishery and guests' experience. The west and south sediment basins were excavated to restore them to their original capacity and prevent...
The Legislature passed nearly 100 bills during the first three days of this past week. We will now recess for several days, thereby giving the Legislature the opportunity to override any potential governor veto prior to adjourning sine die. Governor Ricketts has five days (not counting Sunday) to either sign or veto the bills. He also has the option to let the legislation become law without his signature. Bills passed include all five bills that I introduced this year, in addition to one...
A new event center and lodge at Niobrara State Park, a new boat launch near the village of Niobrara and expanding the Weigand Marina at Lewis and Clark State Recreational Area, are one step closer to reality, as the Legislature gave first-round approval to LB 1023 on a 29-4 vote. LB 1023 carries out the recommendations of the State Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability (STAR WARS) Special Committee, of which I am a member. The bill also includes funding for road...
A decision on a perpetual easement for the Graham Crowe Ranch, LLC, in northeastern Holt County, will be revisited at 10:30 a.m., during a March 16 meeting of the Holt County supervisors. Supervisor Don Butterfield, of Atkinson, made a motion to table a decision, Feb. 28, following a public hearing which lasted more than 90 minutes. "I need to have a little time to mull this over," Butterfield said. Chairman Bill Tielke said it's unfair to make a quick decision. "Don, I'll agree with you. This...
The Legislature has passed the midway mark in this 60-day legislative session. The priority bill designation process is also complete. From this point on, generally only bills with priority status will be debated by the Legislature. Every senator gets to select one bill as their priority bill, every committee can pick two and the speaker is authorized to designate 25 bills as speaker priority bills. I selected LB 925 as my priority bill and it received first-round approval this past week on a...
On Thursday, Jan. 13, Governor Ricketts presented his final State of the State Address to the Nebraska Legislature. The governor emphasized his message over the past eight years has been to Grow Nebraska. He reported this has happened, despite floods, fires and a global pandemic. He touched on his priorities for this year, which include tax relief, strengthening public safety and investing in natural resources. He endorsed legislative proposals to accelerate the phaseout of taxing Social...
One of my family's favorite "comfort food" recipes most likely won't be in any of your cookbooks. For what it's worth, it isn't in any of mine either. It's a dish affectionately called "soupy taters," and my grandmother was making it more than an hundred years ago on her farm along the Niobrara River near Sparks, east of Valentine. It's pretty simple: Bacon or stew beef (I've made it with both), potatoes (duh), green beans, chopped onion, beef broth and salt and pepper. That's pretty much it. I...
SEN. TIM GRAGERT The Legislature gave the budget bills second-round approval this past week, making only minor adjustments. After the budget is passed, the speaker plans to schedule taxation and spending measures. The session is more than two-thirds complete, but we still have many significant issues to discuss. As introduced, LB 406 focused on flood-control infrastructure projects along the lower Platte River. Senator Mike McDonnell, the primary sponsor of LB 406, has offered an amendment to...
Foresight. Summerland senior Rafe Grebin relied on it prior to Friday's Central Valley Invite. "I knew I needed to pick up at least three wins without any losses to even up my record so that I am seed-able for subdistricts," he said. Once he saw the bracket for the 126-pound division, he realized he wasn't going to get as many matches. He looked at the eight-man bracket and that's when he knew what he needed to do. "At that moment, I realized that I needed to win the tournament. I had to go 3-0...
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...
Six Holt County supervisors listened as nearly 50 citizens presented testimony last Friday afternoon. A public hearing regarding TC Energy's application for a pipeline construction permit was held in the district courtroom at the Holt County courthouse. Pipeline opponents, from elementary students to 90-year-old grandparents, packed the courtroom, filling approximately 100 seats, and spilled out to the second-floor hallway. Speakers were called in order of sign-up, which had begun in the morning...
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...
Two Bobcat wrestlers returned home with medals from Friday's Central Valley Invite in Greeley. Freshman Alex Thiele earned the bronze medal in the 113-pound class, while Alex Arroyo, a sophomore, ended fourth at 145 pounds. Summerland ended 10th in team standings, with 61.5 points. Neligh-Oakdale won the team title, scoring 165 points. Wood River ended second, with 135. Rounding out the top 10 were Palmer, 127; Tri County, 115; Hi-Line Cooperative, 92; Weeping Water, 77.5; High Plains Community,...
Seats in the Holt County supervisor’s chamber at the courthouse in O’Neill were all occupied and additional chairs were taken in, when the leaders met Monday. Many audience members voiced concerns, during the 10 minutes set aside for public comment, regarding TransCanada’s route across the county, as well as a new transmission line that will also cross the county. Diane Steskal of Stuart presented a letter to the supervisors, signed by herself and her husband, Byron Steskal, regarding the proposed Keystone XL pipeline route. She read the letter...
