Stories from Thursday, June 23, 2016

William "Willie" A. Heier June 25, 1932 - June 21, 2016 GRINNELL, Kan. -- William "Willie" A. Heier, 83, died Tuesday (June 21, 2016), at Grinnell. He was born June 25, 1932, to parents, Michael and Marianna (Kuntz) Heier. He grew up in Park and Grinnell, Kan. He graduated from Grinnell High School in 1951. He served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956 and was honorably discharged...

Kenneth "Ken" Mark Johnson Aug. 29, 1959 - June 17, 2016 BIRD CITY, Kan. -- Kenneth "Ken" Mark Johnson, 56, died Friday, June 17, 2016, at his residence in Bird City. He was born Aug. 29, 1959, in St. Francis, Kan. He was a computer technician and farmer...

Carl K. Wilkinson Oct. 7, 1945 - June 22, 2016 SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Carl K. Wilkinson, 70, departed this world to join his Lord and Savior in Heaven on June 22, 2016, in San Antonio. He was born in Saybrook, Ohio, on Oct. 7, 1945, to Kenneth and Katheryn (Proctor) Wilkinson...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The Red Willow County Fair is just around the corner, starting July 20 through July 24. The annual event is jam-packed with five days of fun and entertainment at the Red Willow County Fairgrounds. Check out the insert in today's newspaper for a schedule of events, as well as information on entering items into the open class competition at the fair...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Lt. Governor Mike Foley joined Christine and Kevin Grooms from American Agriculture Laboratory Inc., and officials with the City of McCook and State of Nebraska, for a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday evening in honor of the newly-expanded business that now occupies the former ALCO building...

IMPERIAL, Neb. -- Meeting in Imperial Wednesday, the Mid-Plains Community College board of governors approved second reading of an identity theft prevention policy and a number of bids related to the Valentine Extended Campus. The identity theft prevention requires procedures to be put in place to prevent such theft...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The number of commercial passengers flying out of the McCook airport is increasing weekly, according to airline officials. Boutique Air CEO Shawn Simpson said his airline boarded 25 to 35 passengers the first week of operations, followed by 45 the second week and 60 during week three...

McCOOK, Neb. -- MNB's 18th Annual Hot Summer Nights concert series returns to Norris Park in McCook this summer with an impressive lineup featuring The Innocence and island rock sensations Soca Jukebox. The concert series will kick off on July 28 with McCook musicians Oscar and Stephanie Montes opening the show followed by The Innocence who return after their last appearance at Hot Summer Nights was cut short due to rain. ...

GENE O. MORRIS McCook Gazette McCOOK, Neb. -- For the wheatgrowers of Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas, there is some really good news ... and there is some really bad news heading into the final few days before the Harvest of 2016. First, the good news. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- While the thunder cracked, the lightning flashed, and the hail pounded, close to 50 area farmers clustered inside Randy Peters' spacious seed production building last Friday evening, hearing a pre-harvest update from plant breeders and seed company representatives...

Nebraska is sometimes derided as a "flyover state" for politicians seeking votes from the major population centers on the coasts, but it hasn't always been that way. Summertime brings reminders of earlier times when trappers, "49-ers," longhorn drovers and travelers on the Mormon and Oregon trails spent long days traversing our loess hills on the way to their final destination...

Mother's Log: Wednesday, during the summer. Woke up at 5:02 a.m., thanks to Hubby's alarm. Woke up again at 5:12 a.m. thanks to Hubby pressing snooze. Tried to go right back to sleep after he left but instead pondered some life altering thoughts like "should I wash my truck today, but I haven't checked the weather forecast so what if it rains?" and "I wonder that other black softball sock is, I gotta find that by Friday" and other very important questions that need answered before 5:30 a.m. ...

OMAHA, Neb. -- United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Gregory J. Rhoadarmer, 46, formerly of Eustis, Nebraska., was sentenced in Lincoln, Nebraska, to 63 months in prison by United States Senior District Judge Richard G. Kopf, for receipt and distribution of child pornography. After his release from prison, Rhoadarmer will serve a period of five years on supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender...

McCOOK, Neb. -- McCook split a juniors and seniors doubleheader Wednesday with North Platte at the Jaycees Comples. The First Central Bank Juniors Red scored five runs in the third inning for a 7-4 win over North Platte. The McCook National Bank Seniors lost 16-6 to North Platte...