This week's top stories

  • Sara Brown runs in The Blade 5K in Omaha in July
    Sara Brown runs in The Blade 5K in Omaha in July
  • Zion Lutheran Church near Hampton will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding on Sunday.
    Zion Lutheran Church near Hampton will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding on Sunday.
  • Barbie and Clint Mickey with their sons Creighton and Corbin and friend Emerson Myers discuss the process of wood carving with spoon carver Alex Brechbill on Sunday
    Barbie and Clint Mickey with their sons Creighton and Corbin and friend Emerson Myers discuss the process of wood carving with spoon carver Alex Brechbill on Sunday
  • The Aurora 4R School Board approved a $15.26 million budget for fiscal year 2023-24 Monday, which due to a $1.7 million increase in state aid and other factors will result in an estimated 8 percent decrease for local taxpayers.
    The Aurora 4R School Board approved a $15.26 million budget for fiscal year 2023-24 Monday, which due to a $1.7 million increase in state aid and other factors will result in an estimated 8 percent decrease for local taxpayers.
  • Nebraska Commissioner of Schools Brian Maher speaking in Aurora
    Nebraska Commissioner of Schools Brian Maher speaking in Aurora

    Sara Brown's world turned upside down

    “It literally just turned our lives upside down in a matter of minutes!” A car accident in 2008 flipped Sara Brown's life on end leading to years of surgeries and an eventual amputation, however, this single mom of three is now a runner and ambassador for the Blade 5K. Brown’s story of ups and downs is both tragic and inspirational, so we thought it would be perfect for ANR’s first-ever Topsy Turvey edition. 

     

    Zion Lutheran celebrates 150 years of faith

    When German Lutheran immigrants were homesteading in eastern Hamilton County in the late 1860s, they knew they needed two things — a place to worship and a place to educate their children. This Sunday, Sept. 17, Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, officially recognized by the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church in 1973, will be celebrating its sesquicentennial with a special 10 a.m. worship service.

     

    Day on Farm wet but well-attended

    Although much-needed rain showers brought dampness to the activities at the Plainsman Museum’s biennial Day on the Farm Sunday afternoon, it didn’t dampen the attitude of the dozens of people in attendance. 
     

    4R budget drops levy, tax asking

    The Aurora 4R School Board approved a $15.26 million budget for fiscal year 2023-24 Monday, which due to a $1.7 million increase in state aid and other factors will result in an estimated 8 percent decrease for local taxpayers.

     

    State Board of Education, new commissioner visit local schools

    The Nebraska State Board of Education and staff spent three days in Aurora last week, culminating Friday with the first public board meeting to be conducted in outstate Nebraska under newly-hired commissioner Brian Maher.
     

    To read any of this week's top stories, please see this week's print or e-edition.