Stories from Tuesday, October 14, 2025

OGALLALA, Neb. — Blurry never looked better than when McCook senior lineman Trey Tiller blasted into Ogallala’s backfield Friday evening. Tiller’s timing was so good that an Indian screen pass sizzled directly into his facemask. “Oh yeah, it hit me in the mask,” he confirmed as his fun was only getting started...

McCOOK, Neb. - At Monday’s school board meeting, Superintendent Grant Norgaard announced plans to review and potentially revise the high school grading scale. Elementary parent Tasha Blomstedt spoke in favor of the change, emphasizing the importance of helping McCook students remain competitive in college admissions. ...

McCOOK, Neb. - Wading into a barn coated with decades of dust, a small circle of volunteers set out to give the Buffalo Bill Ranch’s photo collection the care it had long been denied. That was the topic of a talk by Marie Gertsch, an expert in the preservation of photographs associated with the Buffalo Bill Ranch Museum. ...

MCCOOK, Neb. – Time flies when you are having fun, and time has flown since the Big Give began in McCook, and it has been fun. The 10th annual Southwest Nebraska Big Give is less than a month away, with the one-day of giving planned for Thursday, Nov. 6...

This is a bit of a departure from my usual column and is a small portion of my family history. I hope that you enjoy. My dad, at about age six, lost his father due to medical inadequacy, no antibiotics, before 1920. His mother was a teacher and noted that dad and his younger brother tended to get into trouble in Lincoln during summer vacations. ...

Columbus Day arrived and departed with little fanfare this year, a reminder of the tension between history and how the story has been told in classrooms. That tension is rooted, at least in part, in how we first learned it. As mid-century students, we were compelled to memorize dates as if history were a row of fence posts: 1215 for the Magna Carta, 1517 for the Reformation, 1607 for Jamestown, 1776 for the Declaration, 1789 for the Constitution, and 1492 for when Christopher Columbus “discovered America.” That last entry was always a source of mild discomfort, because like the folkloric figures who bring gifts on holidays, the claim was so illogical on its face that we could only wink and move past it.. ...

GRANT, Neb. — Frewshman Addison Hauxwell won the SPVA championship for Chase County with her final cross-country time of 20:29.86 Thursday afternoon. Yet an even greater story was those Longhorn girls placing first overall with only eight total team points...

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Southwest senior Madelyn Tryon shot 108 on Monday and was tied for 83rd place at the Class C state golf tournament. Tryon hit par on holes No. 6 and 12 at Lake Maloney Golf Course but bogeyed or higher on the other holes. The tournament concludes today...

PAPILLION, Neb. — Coach Lynne Kinne provided these details: “On Friday, McCook Special Olympic athletes competed in the inaugural cornhole event at Papillion Landing. McCook had a great evening of competition bringing home a lot of hardware. In the 21 ft. men’s divisions, McCook’s Allen Holliday and Blaze Powers brought home the gold, winning both of their games by a large margin...

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Seniors Aaron Frank, Tysen Baker and Caleb Sughroue all went undefeated for the champion McCook tennis boys at Monday’s McCook Invitational. In other words, neither venue or date changes could deter the Bison. The home invite was moved to North Platte which accomodated all six teams after being rained out on its orignial date of Saturday, Aug. 30...

Eunice AnnaLee Corey Kehler, 88 of Grand Island went to her Heavenly home on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at Tabitha Prairie Commons. Service will be at 1 PM Monday at the First Presbyterian Church, with Reverend Kevin Geurink officiating. Burial will be in the Grand Island Cemetery...

Clairene Ann Brunkhorst, daughter of Ernest and Sophia (Haarberg) Brunkhorst, was born on April 24, 1935, and initially resided on a farm near Hamlet, Nebraska. She had four siblings, Ansel, Ivan, an infant brother, and Eulene Busking all preceding her in death. God’s eternal salvation was bestowed by His grace to Clairene in baptism in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit on May 12, 1935. She was confirmed in her faith on August 10, 1947...

John (Jerry) Brown 77, passed away October 11, 2025, at his home surrounded by family. Jerry was born September 8, 1948, to Bob and Phillis Brown. Jerry graduated from Cambridge High School in 1966, and continued farming with his father after graduation...