Coordinator JoAnne Jones keeps the dessert table filled with wide selection of pie slices during the Blair Community Thanksgiving Dinner, where more than 800 meals were served.

Sharing a Thanksgiving Day meal

Karaoke was one of the fun-filled activities available to students attending the recent Pioneers Overcoming Peer Pressure lock-in at Fort Calhoun High School.

POPP: Having fun while overcoming peer pressure

Kids love to toss snowballs during the annual Tannenbaum Festival, which was held last Thursday in Blair..

The festiveness of the Blair Tannenbaum

Reach Church bringing Toys for Tots to Washington County

Melaini Sturm will start on the Blair Community Schools Board of Education in January.

First interviews with Blair schools’ new board members

Local News

Washington County Food Pantry Strategic Director Denise Cada, middle, speaks to the gathered Otte Blair Middle School students Tuesday afternoon. Will Filows, left, and teacher Kristi Rasmussen hold up the check presented to Cada.

'Doing things for others'

The Otte Blair Middle School students committed their trash talk to poster paper for the annual staff-versus-students volleyball game, so teacher Kristi Rasmussen felt it was only fair to get her …

Blair Family Y enters management agreement with Y of Greater Omaha

The Blair Family YMCA’s board of directors has authorized a management agreement with the YMCA of Greater Omaha that will allow the two organizations to work together strategically through next …

The Blair Public Library's exhibit for Veterans Day.

Blair Public Library honors veterans with current exhibit

Blair Public Library honors veterans with current exhibit Walking into the Blair Public Library & Technology Center’s exhibit space, the walls are covered with information and maps, …

City Council OKs redevelopment plan for Blair Crossing project

The Blair City Council approved a redevelopment plan for the proposed Blair Crossing apartment project at last week’s meeting. That is the first of two steps needed for the project to qualify …

Arrest made in Enterprise parking lot; Trooper’s car towed

State Troopers arrested a man in the Enterprise Media Group parking lot in Blair on Friday afternoon because of a warrant that was allegedly out for his arrest. State Trooper Brett Evans told …

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Weekly poll

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Athlete of the Week: Kade Foy (Nov. 6, 2024)

Athlete of the Week: Trent Koger (Oct. 30, 2024)

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The Pioneers' Blake Welchert drives baseline Monday against Oakland-Craig at Fort Calhoun High School. FCHS won the exhibition game against the Knights.

Local sports

Exhibition victors

A referee's whistle stopped play Monday night during a boys basketball exhibition game at Fort Calhoun High School. Pioneers senior Travis Skelton looked like he heard it, but fired a 3-pointer up …

The Pioneers' Ansley Elofson, left, dribbles into traffic as Oakland-Craig's Carolyn Magnusson defends Monday at Fort Calhoun High School. The exhibition game was a warmup for the Pioneers' official season-opener.

FCHS girls drop exhibition game, 47-25

The Fort Calhoun High School girls basketball team lost its Monday night exhibition game against Oakland-Craig, 47-25. First-year head coach Eric Jones pointed to one fourth-period instance to …

Eagles junior Jake Flesner, top, works to turn Haydn Hegemann as Hegemann works to break loose Nov. 26 during a intrasquad scrimmage at Arlington High School. The Eagles start wrestling season today at Columbus Lakeview.

Eagles say 'practice makes permanent'

Junior Arlington High School wrestler Jake Flesner earned a 7-1 decision Nov. 26 during the Eagles' preseason scrimmage. “I felt strong,” the 120-pounder said. “Felt pretty quick, …

The Pioneers' Fred Altstadt, left, grapples with Seth Waters on Tuesday during an intrasquad scrimmage at Fort Calhoun High School. Coach Drew Welchert's boys wrestling team officially starts the season Saturday in Bennington.

Fort Calhoun Wrestling Photo Gallery (Dec. 3, 2024)

Washington County's Harper Tjardes competes in Las Vegas last month with her horse, Scrappy.

Zam Driver Turned Writer: Washington County kids compete in equestrian and rodeo

You know, it really felt like a rant was in store. No matter how slighted they felt, I believe the Nebraska Cornhuskers' captains should have shook Iowa's football players' hands to, you know, lose …

Blair Unified bowlers cap 1st season at districts

The Blair High School Unified bowling team capped its inaugural season Monday during the Class B District 4 Tournament at Wildcat Lanes in Wayne. The Bears finished third out of eight teams, …

As a high school junior, Grant Hansen was the voice of Fort Calhoun High School athletics. Now, he's the voice of the Omaha Supernovas.

Sports in brief: FCHS grad to call Supernovas matches

Class of 2020 Fort Calhoun High School graduate Grant Hansen will be the radio voice of the Omaha Supernovas volleyball team this upcoming season. The Professional Volleyball Federation champion …

Obituaries

Patty Lou Farrens Hancock, 93

Patty Lou Farrens Hancock was born February 15, 1931, to Henry Miller Farrens and Maxine Carol Abbott Farrens in rural Burt County. She passed away peacefully at Crowell Memorial Home in Blair on December 4, 2024, at the age of 93. Services will be held at a later date.

Darrel Alan Madsen Sr., 88

Darrel Alan Madsen Sr., 88, of Wahoo (formerly from Fremont) was called to Heaven by our Lord on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024.

Patricia Ann McKinnis Williby, 77

Patricia was born March 20, 1947, in Blair, NE, to Ivan “Ike” and Lorene (McKee) McKinnis. She died Nov. 28, 2024, at Methodist Hospital, Omaha, NE.

Barbara Jean Cameron, 88

Barbara Jean Cameron, age 88 of Tekamah, passed away on Friday, Nov. 29th, 2024, at the Memorial Community Hospital & Health System in Blair, Nebraska. Funeral Services will be held Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, at 10 a.m. at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Tekamah, Nebraska. Visitation with the family will be held on Friday, Dec. 6, at Emmanuel Lutheran beginning at 5 p.m. An Eastern Star Memorial service will follow visitation at 7:30 p.m.

Timothy Edward Young, 66

Timothy Edward Young, age 66, passed away Nov. 27, 2024, at his home in Blair. Memorial services will be held Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at First Lutheran Church in Blair.

Pauline Ann Alter, 89

Pauline Ann Alter, 89, of Blair, died Nov. 18, 2024, at her home, surrounded by family.

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Letters

Blair BOE responds to comments at Oct. 14 board meetimg

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 …

Letter to the editor

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 …

Letter to the editor

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 …

Letter to the editor

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 …

Letter to the editor

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 …

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Columnists

He stills the storms

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 …

All about peat bogs

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 …

Appreciate Dad for showing up

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 …

The history of toilet paper

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 …

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Editorials

- Editorial: Sad day for Blair following rejection of sales-tax increase
  
  Gateway Development Corp. tried to tie together the fate of the two ballot questions facing Blair voters in Tuesday’s statewide primary …
- Editorial: Washington County’s recovery ultimately will come down to neighbors helping neighbors
  
  In the days to come, more and more data related to last Friday’s tornado outbreak will become available. But consider these numbers for …
- Editorial: Post-prom parties alive and well in Washington County
  
  In some parts of the country, the high school rite of passage known as the post-prom party is no more. A victim of the COVID closure culture and …
- Editorial: Park supporters can’t lose focus before Blair’s crown jewel is finished
  
  The recreational opportunities soon to be available in the city of Blair took a big step forward last week when the Blair City Council …
- Editorial: Eppley Airfield project is important for Wash. Co.
  
  So Eppley Airfield is getting a $950 million renovation. That’s Omaha. Why should we care? For starters, most of us fly. And many of …

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