WILSONVILLE - Just 15 days after the Road 739 Fire ran rampant across 35,000 acres of Gosper and Furnas counties, a wildfire that began in northern Kansas crossed into Furnas County south of Wilsonville Friday afternoon, igniting the countryside for a stretch of over 25 miles and burning 40,000 additional acres.

NORFOLK - For the thirdconsecutive year, the Southern Valley journalism team finished State Runner-Up at the NSAA’s Class C State Journalism contest. Elizabeth Meyers finished an individual champion in both Photo/Artistic Illustration and Column Writing while Shae Mitchell was state champion in Information Graphic.

Rural residents of the Plains of are always in tune with the weather. On a sultry summer evening when the wind shifts to the East, they don't need a weatherman to tell them a storm is on the horizon. On a clear winter night without a cloud in the sky, they don't need a forecas to know it'll be a bitterly cold start to the next day.

Optimists are people who hold a worldview that the glass is half full. They’re the same folks wh make lemonade when life hands out lemons and choos to believe that every cloud has a silver lining.

ARAPAHOE – Last week, Rich and Judy Breinig heard from one of their daughters that she had seen Governor Pete Ricketts on the local news in Omaha surveying the damage on their family farm that was caused by the wildfire that destroyed their home.

ARAPAHOE - Over 100 people attended a disaster assistance workshop on April 19, 2022 at the Ella Missing Community Center in Arapahoe. The event that was hosted by the USDA Service Centers in Dawson/Gosper and Furnas Counties was intended for farmers, ranchers and rural landowners that have been impacted by the recent wildfire in Gosper and Furnas Counties.

ARAPAHOE - Todd Eichenberger, First Central Bank Branch Co-President, says that anyone wishing to donate to those impacted by the fire may do so by sending a check for the Fire Victims Fund to the Arapahoe, Cambridge, or Edison branch offices.

Erick Lee is heading up a team of Furnas County volunteers (Sally Farquhar, Natasha Carpenter, and Molly Blickenstaff, and Greg Scheivelbein) who are accepting, moving, and storing household items for those who have lost their homes or experienced fire damage.

10 years ago Amber Metzger performed a solo during the music contest held Saturday for students in grades fifth through eight. The Arapahoe Tree Board is hosting Arapahoe kindergarten through fourth grades at the annual Arbor Day celebration on April 27.