Category Archives: Central Nebraska News
Miss USA 2025 Audrey Eckert to be Keynote Youth Leadership Summit Speaker
GRAND ISLAND - Leadership Unlimited's Youth Leadership Tomorrow program will host its annual Youth Leadership Summit on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Grand Island, Nebraska, featuring Miss USA 2025 Audre...
Apr 02, 2026 Hall County Leadership Unlimited, (Courtesy)
City of Kearney announces Cottonwood Fire fence drive to support affected families
KEARNEY - The City of Kearney, in partnership with the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department (KVFD), and Brady FFA chapter, is organizing the Cottonwood Fire Fence Drive to assist families and ranches imp...
Apr 02, 2026 The burn scar of the Cottonwood Fire near Road 754 north of Farnam in southwest Dawson County, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
Hastings Police Department's activity from April 1
HASTINGS - The Hastings Police Department released their daily activity from Wednesday, April 1. Reported Offenses: On April 1, 2026, a 71-year-old Hastings resident reported fraud in the 2400 block o...
Apr 02, 2026 Hastings Police Department, Courtesy
G.I. woman accused of slashing boyfriend in face with knife reaches plea agreement
GRAND ISLAND - A Grand Island woman accused of slashing her boyfriend in the face with a kitchen knife on Feb. 21 has reached a plea agreement. Alianah Utley, 21, of 509 E. 16th St. pleaded guilty or ...
Apr 01, 2026 Alianah Utley (Courtesy photo)
Spanish poet and teacher Juan Luis Calbarro to speak at Hastings College April 8
HASTINGS - The Hastings College Department of Languages and Literatures will host Spanish poet, teacher, publisher and politician Juan Luis Calbarro for a public lecture on Wednesday, April 8. The pre...
Apr 01, 2026 Juan Luis Calbarro (Courtesy photo)
Grand Island Utilities earns highest national designation as reliable public power provider
GRAND ISLAND - Grand Island Utilities has been recognized by the American Public Power Association with the Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) designation at the Diamond Level, marking the first tim...
Apr 01, 2026 (Courtesy)
Annual Bear Fair returns to Grand Island Public Library
GRAND ISLAND - The Grand Island Public Library will host its 23rd-Annual Bear Fair on Monday, April 13 at the library, which is located at 1124 West 2nd Street. The event, designed as a health and saf...
Apr 01, 2026 The annual Bear Fair is returning to the Grand Island Public Library. (Courtesy photo)
Lexington sees driest January-March in 78 years, lack of precipitation breaks records in region
LEXINGTON - Lexington recorded its driest start to a year in 78 years, while the severe lack of precipitation set records across central Nebraska. According to the National Weather Service - Hastings,...
Apr 01, 2026 Percent of normal precipitation from Jan. 1 through March 31, (NWS Hastings, Courtesy)
33-year-old man killed in pedestrian-train incident in Hastings
HASTINGS - On March 31, 2026, at approximately 8 p.m., the Hastings Police Department responded to a report of an individual struck by an eastbound Union Pacific train. Initial information provided to...
Apr 01, 2026 (Central Nebraska Today)
Suppression of Johnson Hills Fire near Bertrand continues
NEBRASKA - Suppression of the Johnson Hills Fire near Bertrand continued on Tuesday, March 31. Initial Attack (IA): IA activity across the state remains low. On Tuesday, IA Group 4 in Ogallala respond...
Apr 01, 2026 Nebraska Initial Attack Fire Map, (Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 2, Courtesy)