News

During the week of January 4 - 10, 2026, the following arrests were made by the Valentine Police Department: • On January 7, at 7:15 p.m., officers responded to a complaint of an unruly customer in the 500 block of East Highway 20. A 39 year old Nebraska woman was arrested for Disturbing the Peace and Criminal Trespassing.

The Valentine Chamber of Commerce has rescheduled the annual Cork Thornton Ice Fishing Tournament for March 6-7..

The Valentine Area Arts Council is pleased to announce that local band, Rock River, will be performing on Sunday, January 18th, at 3:00 p.m., at the Valentine High School Auditorium. This event is free to the public. A free will donation will be taken at the door. Get ready to enjoy these talented community members!

The Sandhills were very dry last spring 2025. Looking back at the year in review, in the April 2, 2025 edition we remember the Dads Lake fire at Valentine National Wildlife Refuge which started Friday, March 28 . An estimated perimeter of 23,000 acres burned. The preliminary cause of the fire was that it was sparked by a UTV doing refuge operations.

It’s not surprising for a little frontier town to begin with a railroad, and that is how Cody, NE got its beginnings. The Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad were laying tracks through the Sandhills, after the Nebraska Legislature created and approved Cherry County April 4, 1883.

Wow!!! The winter has been rentless...with some record breaking high temperatures, and bright, sunny skies for the most part. Indeed, there were some cloudy days where the shadows weren’t chasing anyone around throughout the day, and a sense of relaxation crept in - aka naps!

Madison Gambill is the Sand Painters Art Club Artist of the Month for January 2026. Madison shares her art story: It was 2019 and I was in my ninth semester of college and I was so tired of homework filling up just about every evening of my life. I specifically remember turning to my friend Keegan and saying, “I can’t wait til we graduate and never have to do homework again. I want to find a hobby to get into. I think painting would be cool, I could see myself doing that.”

30 years ago From Midland News, January 3, 1996 High scoring Nick Larsen led the Valentine team with 23 points during the first game of the Rangeland Holiday Tournament against O’Neill. Larsen scored 23 points in the game, December 29 and then scored 11 points in the Consolation Championship against West Holt.

As we enter the new year, it’s a good time to look back on how 2025 treated our forage and grazing systems, and begin planning ahead for the 2026 growing season. Much of Nebraska saw variable moisture in 2025.

LINCOLN, NE~January 5, 2026 The goal of the GreatPlants for the Great Plains program is to assist gardeners in their quest to discover new or overlooked plants that deserve to be planted more. The 2026 GreatPlants of the Year were voted on by members of the Nebraska Nursery & Landscape Association (NNLA) -represented by nursery professionals, landscape designers and horticulture educators.