Week Jan. 24 – Jan.

Week Jan. 24 – Jan.

The Red Willow County GOP will meet on January 25 at Bedore Barn, 3 miles north of McCook, NE. The doors will open at 6:30 for coffee and the business meeting will begin at 7:00. It is nearing the time for the annual county Convention so dates and details will be presented. Several items of business will be discussed. All are welcome. For information call/text 308- 350-3155. Multi-county GOP groups will come together on January 29, 2022 at Bedore Barn to host some special events. The Nebraska Audit Chat group will present a live zoom presentation concerning voter integrity past/present/ future. Also, a documentary entitled “Mind Polluters”will be presented. Several area residents have previewed the documentary and want to make it available to the public. The time of each presentation has not been finalized. Some of our gubernatorial candidates have visited the area and others are making plans for a visit. It is hopeful that a date will be set soon for Charles Herbster to visit the area. Breland Ridenour will be presenting an evening live stream the night of January 29. Details are available on his website.

We’ve had some cold days, but we’ve certainly had some really nice ones, especially considering that it’s mid-January. Our 6” or so of snow is gone except for a few sheltered areas. Time for more? Snow isn’t pleasant to deal with but we do need the moisture.

McCook, Nebraska—In case it has not been apparent, Community Hospital, like all hospitals in the United States has been challenged by the state of healthcare in the nation, according to Troy Bruntz, President & CEO. “I would say that in my 18 years we have never been busier for this long of a period of time. We are shortstaffed and our staff is tired and facing burnout.”

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled on January 13 to uphold the Biden Administration’s mandated vaccination rules for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) healthcare workers. In November 2021, Health and Human Services Director Xavier Becerra announced that to receive Medicare and Medicaid funding, participating facilities must ensure their staff are vaccinated against COVID-19.

Lincoln, Neb., Jan. 18, 2022 - The Testing Ag Performance Solutions (TAPS) awards ceremony culminated the program’s fifth year of farm management competitions on Saturday, Jan. 15. The TAPS program was created by University of Nebraska educators and specialists, as an innovative way of connecting producers to industry professionals and offering a way of testing out new, advancing technologies through farm management competitions facilitated in North Platte at the West Central Research, Extension, and Education Center.

Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department (SWN- PHD) reported nearly twice the number of COVID-19 cases last week than the week before. More than 250 people tested positive last week, with many more having symptoms but not getting tested. There were 72 cases reported in one day, which is just under the record from November 2020 of 77 cases reported in one day.

100 Years Ago January 19, 1922 The Community Club took up the matter of providing sufficient clean ice to last the community through the summer. F.C.

25 Years Ago January 9, 1997 The City of Beaver City was awarded a grant in the amount of $12,775.00 from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality Litter Reduction and Recycling Grant Program. Funds will be used for the purchase of a plastic granulator to make the recycling of plastic easier and more marketable.