Stories from Monday, December 14, 2020

Nebraska is closing out the Big Ten schedule on Friday afternoon and on the road. The Huskers' "Champions Week" matchup is a 3 p.m. kickoff at Rutgers on Friday, the school announced Sunday afternoon. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network. Steven M. Sipple: Bummer city as Nebraska loss takes another large bite out of fan optimism...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Illinois fired coach Lovie Smith on Sunday with a game left in its ninth consecutive losing season. Smith became Illinois’ first Black head football coach when he was hired by athletic director Josh Whitman in March 2016. The longtime NFL coach went 17-39 in five seasons at the school...

McCOOK, Neb. — Recaps from the Cattle Trail boys’ tournament consolation finals on Saturday: Third place Hitchcock 51, Arapahoe 30 The Hitchcock County Falcons (3-1 record) zoomed to a 19-1 lead through one quarter of this consolation final Saturday afternoon...

McCOOK, Neb. — Recaps from the Cattle Trail girls consolation finals on Saturday: Third place DC-S 42, Decatur Comm. 23 Senior Maggie Lutz was doubly dangerous and classmate McKinzie Baney’s 16 points led the Dundy County-Stratton victory. Lutz denied the Red Devils with 13 rebounds while adding 12 points as DC-S finished on a 16-5 surge. She shot 100 percent (five for five) at the free-throw stripe...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- With an evolving digital landscape and a rise in misinformation, many newspapers around the country are struggling to keep the doors open while others continue thriving as a community's primary source of local news. Nebraskans look to local newspapers for information about their communities and increasingly, much of that information is delivered a-la-carte via online and social media platforms. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- With the county essentially borrowing money from itself to balance this year’s budget, and with unexpected expenses that could result from two murder trials, Red Willow County Commissioners declined Monday to commit $25,000 toward a low-interest workforce housing grant...