Stories from Thursday, July 15, 2010

David Koetter of McCook beats the storm on Don and Aggie Roberts wheat field north of McCook Saturday evening. Many area farmers are reaping 70 bushel an acre. Rains are hampering wheat harvest with 1.54" this month. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Capital improvements including a $200,000 elevator drove the majority of the Library Department's proposed $271,793 budget increase in its 2010-11 budget. The plan was reviewed by McCook City Council members Monday evening during their second of three budget workshops at council chambers...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- One hundred and nineteen Red Willow County, Nebraska, taxpayers are protesting increases in the tax valuation of their residential, commercial property or agriculture land. Sitting as a board of equalization, county commissioners listened Monday afternoon to the first round of protests from taxpayers unhappy with increases in the tax valuation of their homes and ag land...

Restrictions on drivers and teens are tightening up, but adults may have an extra hour in the bar, if their local city government decides to let them. Such is the variety of state laws that went into effect today. And those were only a few of the new laws. How well they work will help determine just much work is in store for the next session of the Legislature...

OK, you caught me. For all those sharp-eyed readers who caught it last week when I called the Lagoon Nebula M7 when, in fact, it should be called M8. All I can say in my defense is fat fingers, small keys, and bifocals. But, thanks for noticing. M7 is a small, rather delightful open star cluster just below and right of the M8/M20 pair. Locate Shaula, the "stinger" stars of Scorpius, and go left about five degrees (about the width of your fist held at arm's length)...

The 2010 Legion baseball season is hitting the homestretch. The McCook National Bank Seniors might deliver a very entertaining climax with the Area 6 District Tournament a week away. The Seniors entertained Colby, Kansas, Wednesday, July 14, for a pair of games at the Jaycees Sports Complex. McCook claimed a 3-1 victory in the opening game, then the Seniors rallied from a six-run deficit to place the winning run on base before Colby recorded the final out in a 12-11 decision in the nightcap...