This week's top stories

Goal is to sell gym facility to buyer who will maintain use

  • Signs went up in front of Penner Athletic Courts on Highway 34 last week, signifying a pending change in ownership. The PAC was built by the Penner Family, making its debut in October of 2010 with a large Spikefest tournament.
    Signs went up in front of Penner Athletic Courts on Highway 34 last week, signifying a pending change in ownership. The PAC was built by the Penner Family, making its debut in October of 2010 with a large Spikefest tournament.
  • Courtesy photo Shorty Hahn, Nebraska’s Oldest Hunter, poses with the buck he shot a few weeks ago from his homemade deer stand on Prairie Island north of Hordville.
    Courtesy photo Shorty Hahn, Nebraska’s Oldest Hunter, poses with the buck he shot a few weeks ago from his homemade deer stand on Prairie Island north of Hordville.
  • Auctioneer Kelly Kliewer takes bids on a football jersey once worn by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes Saturday at the Edgerton Explorit Center’s annual Holiday Hoopla fundraiser. The winning bid on the jersey was $2,000.
    Auctioneer Kelly Kliewer takes bids on a football jersey once worn by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes Saturday at the Edgerton Explorit Center’s annual Holiday Hoopla fundraiser. The winning bid on the jersey was $2,000.

    Penner family puts PAC up for sale

    A competition gymnasium built in 2010 to provide more local gym space and host youth basketball and volleyball tournaments is for sale. Kirk Penner announced this week that the facility which bears his family’s name — Penner Athletic Courts (or the PAC, as it’s more commonly known) — is officially on the market, though the family is looking for a buyer that shares a vision announced 13 years ago.

    State’s oldest hunter driven by love of outdoors

    The first time Shorty Hahn pulled the trigger on his trusty Winchester Model 70 to bring down a white-tail buck on Prairie Island on the Platte River, John F. Kennedy was president of the United States, gasoline was 31 cents a gallon and “The Beverly Hillbillies” was the hottest show on TV. Since bagging that first deer in 1962, Hahn has gone on to harvest dozens more and today, at age 95, he owns the title of “Oldest Deer Hunter in Nebraska.” 

    Edgerton Center gala raises $122,000

    Quirky holiday costumes, lavish (and pricey) desserts, festive foods and loads of laughter were all in style at the Edgerton Explorit Center’s annual fundraising Holiday Hoopla Saturday night. Dozens of items were up for bid in the silent and live auctions and, when the bidding was all done, the center had raised more than $122,000 to fund its operations throughout 2024.