News

Carrie Jones was sentenced to life in prison in Cedar County District Court for the First-Degree Murder of Gene Twiford in Laurel, NE. Carrie Jones was found guilty of aiding and abetting her husband, Jason Jones, in the First-Degree Murder of Gene Twiford. In addition to the First-Degree Murder conviction, she was also convicted of Tampering with Physical Evidence and Accessory to a Felony. The trial was held in Madison County after a change of venue was granted by the Court.

August 2025 Survey Results ata- Glance: For the sixth time in 2025, the overall regional economic index sank below growth neutral. For the 15th time in the past 16 months, farmland prices sank below growth neutral.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is seeking information on the illegal shooting and wanton waste of a whitetailed buck in Cherry County in north-central Nebraska. The deer was shot on November 14 or 15 at the McKelvie National Forest.

When someone escapes domestic violence, their journey to healing has only just begun. As physicians, you are often the first professionals to recognize signs of abuse and can play a pivotal role in connecting survivors to lifesaving resources.

Have you ever considered why some people can encounter an identical experience but the responses could not be more different? A flat tire could lead one person to rejoice in where it happened; on a flat stretch of highway with a good place to pull off the road to change the tire or when it happened; on a nice warm day instead of the dead of winter.

There’s something charmingly chaotic about Thanksgiving. Some of us are chopping onions with tears in our eyes — not because of the onions, but because Aunt Bernice is coming. Some of us are frantically cleaning a house that was perfectly clean until everyone got the memo to help. Others simply show up at 2:00 p.m. like Thanksgiving tourists, ready to hover near the pies. And yet beautiful things happen.

A serialized small-town mystery by BJ Roshone The Big Gobble Reveal! At sunrise Thanksgiving morning, the whole town gathered by the courthouse to see what The Gobbler had in store. And there i t was, a giant inflatable turkey perched on the lawn, wearing sungl a s s e s and holding a sign that said, “THANK YOU, VALENTINE!” Beside it hung a banner, “BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE VALENTINE HIGH SCHOOL AG CLASS—SUPPORTYOUR LOCAL FOOD DRIVE!” Turns out, every prank had been part of a fund raiser.

Sandhills Cowboy Hall of Fame Nominations are due by December 31, 2025. Time is quickly running out for the public to submit nominations for the 2026 Nebraska Sandhills Cowboy Hall of Fame. Nominations are due by December 31, 2025. Started in 2006, the Sandhills Cowboy Hall of Fame continues to honor the men and women who have made a lasting contribuion to the sandhills and our cowboy way of life.

We are nearing Thanksgiving and the Christmas Season. Truthfully, I am amazed at the number of people who work to make others find it hard to be thankful. You know the type. The neighbor who just knows that all the leaves in the neighborhood are yours through DNA identification, apparently, and you are thereby obligated to clean them out of their yard too. It seems they have an inherent hatred toward God’s beautiful, adorned trees and other plants during the fall season. I remember my grandfather told me once, after a particularly difficult conversation he had with a neighbor of the church my grandparents attended, who was upset about the bell ringing on Sunday mornings. My grandfather politely told the guy that the bell in the church had been ringing in the neighborhood since 1874, and it would continue to ring well past the lifespan of the grumpy neighbor and suggested the neighbor join him for church next Sunday.

Cattle sellers weren’t the only ones smiling at Valentine Livestock Auction recently. The Sandhills Cancer Fund was grateful to receive donations totaling $7,800, thanks to the generous donation of a handcrafted wood set, made by Swede Lolley of White River, which has become an annual event.