Stories from Friday, February 21, 2025

Peggy Louise Tomlin Jan. 8, 1934 - Feb. 16, 2025 PAPILLION Neb. - Peggy Louise Tomlin was born on Jan. 8, 1934, in Lincoln, Neb., the daughter of Elmer Lee and Marguerite L. (Flowers) Sedam, and passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones at her home in Papillion, Neb. at the age of 91 years, 1 month and 8 days...

James ‘Jim’ Koetter Dec. 11, 1937 - Feb. 18, 2025 POCATELLO, Idaho —James ‘Jim’ Koetter, 87, passed away on Feb. 18, 2025. Jim was born in 1937 to Art and Mary (Lepper) Koetter at the family farm home north of McCook, Neb. The youngest of six, he grew up on a diversified farm which raised corn, wheat, pigs, chickens, and also had milk cows. ...

95th birthday The family of Delores Abbey of McCook is requesting a card shower in honor of her 95th birthday on Saturday, March 1, 2025. She was born in Union Country, S.D. Her family includes her husband, the late Don Abbey; 3 children, Randy and Debbie Abbey of Keller, Texas, Kathy Wallen of McCook and Kent and Susan Abbey of St. ...

50th anniversary The family of Jon and Brenda Donohue of McCook, Neb., is requesting a card shower in honor of the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday, March 8, 2025. They were married March 8, 1975 in Stratton, Neb. Their family includes children, Lindsay, Laurie, Shannon, and Tyler. They have three grandchildren Ava, Molly, and Emma. Cards of congratulations will reach them at 71917 Cornhusker Drive, McCook, NE 69001...

After 27 years of enjoying the little house sparrows that lived in my huge pine tree, watching them rush to the feeder or splash in the bird bath, I went to fill the bird feeder, and it was still full. Not being the most observant person in the world when I’ve got a list of items to take care of, I failed to notice that their little faces weren’t peering out from the pine needles to see what treat I had left. ...

McCOOK, Neb. The more Harold Callahan finds out about Sen. George Norris, the more impressed he is. Since starting as the new manager in December for the Sen. George Norris State Historic Site, he’s been diving into the history of the man who served a total of 40 years in Congress and was instrumental in bringing public power and electrification to rural areas...

McCOOK, Neb. - In a community call hosted by the McCook Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, 38th District Sen. Dave Murman took a moment to discuss the competing bills regarding the question of daylight saving time. Murman said, “It seems like it's about 50/50 between people who like standard time and people who like daylight saving time, but almost everybody doesn't like changing clocks.”...

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska Tourism has announced grant awards totaling $749,077.32 in the combined application cycle of the Community Impact and Visit Nebraska Marketing Grant programs. Included in that amount is $7,500 awarded to the McCook Economic Development Corporation for “App My Community” project...

BROKEN BOW, Neb. - An explosion at the Broken Bow Municipal Power Plant early Thursday morning caused widespread power outages as the region faced extreme cold. According to an official statement from the City of Broken Bow, the explosion occurred at approximately 6:17 a.m. at the facility on South B Street. Two city employees inside at the time sustained minor injuries and were transported to Melham Medical Center for evaluation...

McCOOK, Neb. — Weather permitting, work will progress to the next phases on Feb. 24, on the bridge project located west of McCook and east of Perry Grain on US-6. Work will continue on the bridge located at reference post 82.59 on US-6, one mile west of McCook, while a separate crew will begin work on the bridge located at reference post 81.21 on US-6, two miles west of McCook, according to the Nebraska Department of Transportation...

Sterling Wells and "Teddy," named after Teddy Roosevelt, take a walk Wednesday afternoon, with temps at a relatively balmy three degrees compared to the below zero temperatures earlier in the day. Wells said the only reason he was out on a walk is that Teddy loves the snow. "He's an Australian Shepherd but I think he identifies as a Husky because he loves the snow so much," he said...