Stories from Wednesday, April 15, 2020

McCOOK, Neb. — The Republican River Fitness Series is on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, with crowd sizes limited to less than 10. This forced the cancellation of the first two races of the season. The Shamrock Shuffle was scheduled for March 28 and the Run 4 UV was supposed to make its debut on the fitness series recently...

McCOOK, Neb. — Don’t feel bad because McCook National Bank’s top two strikeout pitchers from 2019 are “mowing ’em down” for money this spring. “We have like four lawns done today and we started around noon,” seniors Konor Rakes and Jordan Chauncy confirmed about a Tuesday working for Double D Lawn & Landscaping. “We figure we’ll get real busy soon and start around 8 a.m.”...

The 62nd annual Shrine Bowl football game scheduled to be played June 6 in Kearney has been postponed to mid-July because of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. North head coach Mark Macke of Lincoln High said both coaching staffs for the high school all-star game had a Zoom meeting with Shrine Bowl officials on Tuesday night and were informed of the change...

Elna L. Banzhaf March 18, 1937 - April 12, 2020 LEXINGTON, Neb. — Elna LaRee (Knappert) Banzhaf of Eustis passed away Sunday, April 12, 2020, at Plum Creek Care Center in Lexington at the age of 83. Elna was born in the farm home of her parents, Edward J. ...

CAMBRIDGE, Neb. — Cambridge’s boys were more than ready to host the Medicine Valley Invitational after weather moved it from McCook on April 15, 2019. Coach Jimmy Blex’s boys responded with numerous titles and high places en route to 146 team points...

McCOOK, Neb. -- Every dollar counts. Every dollar which is spent locally. Every dollar which flows into a local business. Every dollar which a local consumer can use to buy groceries or a pair of shoes. All those dollars add up and will make the difference in how a community continues through this crisis and then rebounds afterward...

Lorri Sughroue Associate Editor McCOOK, Neb. — The recent break-in at the McCook High School may have been done by current or former students. That’s because they seemed to know exactly where to go and where not to go, said McCook Schools superintendent Grand Norgaard at the regular school board meeting Monday night...

Dear Rural Nebraska, I am reaching out to you in an effort to plant a seed. I am urban and mostly African-American. During this stressful period of disease and viruses, I’ve had the time to realize more so who I am and who you are. I have discovered that you and I have so much in common, while ridiculously separated by distance, sometimes color, sometimes race, sometimes political persuasion, my reflection has taught me the truth of the matter. ...

Internet “experts” will argue with the analysis to no end, but COVID-19 is now claiming more lives per day, about 2,000, than heart disease or cancer, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. And, despite theories that we need to mingle to develop “herd immunity,” the coronavirus is proving deadly because it spreads so easily, transmitted by those who have not yet had, nor may never have, symptoms, endangering the lives of the elderly and those with fragile health...