Local News
A total of 30 people participated in the second-annual Puzzle Race at Blair Public Library & Technology Center.

A puzzling competition

About 30 participants on eight teams took part in the second-annual Puzzle Race at the Blair Public Library & Technology Center on Jan. 31. Members of the Stangl family took home the …

Musk tweet casts doubt on Lutheran Family Services funding

Concerns are growing that federal funding for one of Nebraska’s largest social service organizations may be eliminated following two tweets last weekend by confidants of President Donald Trump. …
"When I talk with elementary kids it's just a lot different than the high school kids," says Dania Freudenburg, who took over as principal at Deerfield Elementary School in Blair in mid-December after spending her entire professional career at the high school level. She is shown visiting Maggie Reed's fourth-grade classroom.

Loving her new assignment

Dania Freudenburg started the school year teaching computer science and robotics at Blair High School. But just before the holiday break she took over as principal at Deerfield Elementary School …

U.S. Marshals take custody of Harrison County, Iowa, resident

Trevor John Collison of Harrison County, Iowa, who was recently detained in Indonesia and faces federal charges of alleged sexual exploitation of a child and alleged possession of child pornography, …

Veterans can get free rides to medical appointments

The Nebraska Disabled American Veterans delivered a van to Washington County last Friday that is designed to be used to provide free transportation to local veterans who need to get to certain …
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Fort Calhoun's Anna Rae Hartline pins her opponent near the boundry Friday during district competition in Falls City.
5 Pioneers become school's 1st state wrestling qualifiers
The Fort Calhoun High School girls wrestling team prepared all season for the Class B-2 District Tournament in Falls City. “We've been wrestling big tournaments with competition all …
Arlington Eagles Dianna Flores, from left, Callee Shearer, Caitlyn Camp, Addyson Beam and Rylie Kyllo qualified for the NSAA State Girls Wrestling Championships on Feb. 8 during a district tournament in Ord.
6 Eagles secure state-qualifying wins in Ord
Coach Layne Laaker and the Arlington High School girls wrestling team returned home Saturday night after a successful, two-day Class B-1 District Tournament trip to Ord. “I thought that the …
Eagles senior Britt Nielsen catches a pass inside Thursday against Fremont Bergan at Arlington High School.
Arlington girls bounce back after loss to Bergan
Arlington High School girls basketball coach Tashia Wolf told her team not to let Thursday's upset home loss to 8-11 Fremont Bergan fester. The Eagles needed to move on. “I'm hoping tomorrow …
Blair boys basketball drops Seward game
The Blair High School boys basketball team dropped to 9-9 Saturday with a 62-47 home loss to the Seward Bluejays. Coach Chris Whitwer's Bears fell behind 17-11 during the first period, were trailing …
Seward girls beat Bears in hoops
Still without injured standout senior Addie Sullivan, the Blair High School girls basketball team lost a 44-25 home game to Seward on Saturday. The loss dropped the Bears to 11-8 overall, while the …
High School Boys Wrestling (Feb. 11, 2025)
Calhoun earns 4th at Lincoln High Duals The Fort Calhoun High School boys wrestling team earned a 2-2 dual record Saturday, finishing fourth out of eight teams at Lincoln High's tournament. The …
Obituaries
Michael Edward Ellis, age 62 of Blair, passed away Sunday, February 9, 2025, at his home. Funeral services will be held Monday, February 17, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. at First Lutheran Church in Blair. Graveside services will follow in the Blair Cemetery. Visitation will be held Sunday, February 16, 2025, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Campbell Aman Funeral Home in Blair.  
Andrew “AJ” Klein, 38 years, of Fremont, NE, passed away Wednesday, January 22, 2025, with family by his side at Nye Legacy in Fremont. 
Fredrick Henry Heinssen Jr., age 59, passed away February 7, 2025, at his farm home near Blair, Nebraska. Funeral services will be held Thursday, February 13, at 1 p.m. at First Lutheran Church in Blair, Nebraska. Graveside services will follow in the Blair Cemetery. Visitation will be held Wednesday, February 12, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Campbell Aman Funeral Home.
Diane D. Konfrst, age 78 of Blair, Nebraska, passed away February 4, 2025. Visitation will be on Saturday, February 22nd, from 1-4 pm.
Robert Duane French, age 87 of Blair, NE, passed on Thursday, February 6th, 2025, at Nye Legacy. The Celebration of Life will be held on February 12th at 10:30 a.m. at Moser Funeral Home in Arlington, NE. 
From the Opinion page
Letters
Letter to the Editor: The Blair Community Schools Board of Education would like to address the concerns and comments raised at the October 14th Board Meeting, including those shared by Mr. Tim …
Imagine you are a parent struggling to make ends meet, to pay for housing, clothing and food for your family. We all know, first hand, how expensive groceries are these days. Putting food on the …
My letter is not written to address politics over the war between Israel and Palestine. This letter addresses gun ownership and the dangers of government gun control and gun confiscation. Prior to …
Gov. Pillen/Sen. Linehan pushed LB 753 through this spring — it provides tax credits to wealthy donors who give to private schools. While this sounds good, what the public needs to realize is …
Thank you so much for your story on the Cook Family and their legacy of service. My maiden name is Cook, so the story caught my eye. I did a little research on Family Search.org and found that …
Columnists
America has been rocked by an extraordinary number of devastating tornadoes and storms with hurricane-force wind gusts. This spring produced the second-most tornadoes to date since records began in …
Peat bogs are found mainly in the boreal and temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere.  They are especially found in Europe, Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia where there is a regular …
A few years ago on the TV show "Modern Family," a stepfather did something unexpected but kind in order to save the reputation of his stepson's biological father. Cancelling his own plans, he …
There have been at least two times in human history when toilet paper might have been a big topic of conversation at coffee gatherings. The first might have been when toilet paper first appeared …
Editorials