News

A crew works on pouring concrete at the Special Ag Formulations plant under construction in Aurora.

A crew works on pouring concrete at the Special Ag Formulations plant under construction in Aurora.

Specialty Ag Formulations update

Kurt Johnson
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
The 100,000 sq. ft. production facility going up on Highway 14 is making steady progress, Illinois-based BRANDT company officials reported this week.
Hampton’s Neveah Lukassen will continue her education and basketball career at Manhattan Christian College. She signed March 22 with her family, Heaven Hall and Randy Maahs as well as Hawk coaches Margo LaBrie and Teya Mason with new MCC coach Dalton Miller.

Hampton’s Neveah Lukassen will continue her education and basketball career at Manhattan Christian College. She signed March 22 with her family, Heaven Hall and Randy Maahs as well as Hawk coaches Margo LaBrie and Teya Mason with new MCC coach Dalton Miller.

Lukassen to continue basketball career at MCC

Richard Rhoden
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Neveah Lukassen had a goal to play college basketball and as it turned out, her new coach had a front row seat to most of her senior year.The do-it-all Hampton senior signed a letter of intent with Manhattan Christian College March 22 in front of friends and family.
Seven students of Aurora’s ATA Martial Arts got off on the right foot in their first competition, placing and medaling at the Lincoln Gold Star Martial Arts Class C Tournament. From left, Master Vern Larson and students Jonah Sigears, Adrik Diaz and Gage Bright kick up their heels as they celebrate their first successful competition.

Seven students of Aurora’s ATA Martial Arts got off on the right foot in their first competition, placing and medaling at the Lincoln Gold Star Martial Arts Class C Tournament. From left, Master Vern Larson and students Jonah Sigears, Adrik Diaz and Gage Bright kick up their heels as they celebrate their first successful competition.

Aurora Taekwondo goes gold in Lincoln

Elizabeth Hunter
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Students of Aurora’s American Taekwondo Association (ATA) Martial Arts have started off on the right foot in their competitive season as seven students between the ages of 6 and 15 years excelled in various events at the Lincoln Gold Star ATA Class C tournament on Saturday, Feb. 17.
German exchange student Emma Heckmann said she appreciates the array of science classes offered at AHS. She hopes to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a surgeon back home in Germany.

German exchange student Emma Heckmann said she appreciates the array of science classes offered at AHS. She hopes to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a surgeon back home in Germany.

German exchange student says she’s ‘mesmerized’ by U.S. education

Elizabeth Hunter
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Having an unforgettable cultural exchange was a paramount goal for German foreign exchange student, Emma    Heckmann when she arrived in Aurora from Hanover, Germany last summer. Now, as she approaches the end of her adventure the Aurora High School senior says she has achieved that goal.
Aided by family members, youngsters in Giltner were off and running after the green light was given.

Aided by family members, youngsters in Giltner were off and running after the green light was given.

Kids egg-cited about Easter hunt

Kurt Johnson
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
The temperature was low but the excitement level was high Saturday morning as Giltner area youngsters scrambled through the park in search of colorful Easter eggs and the tasty treats inside.
Hamilton County resident Tina Oswald, center, testifies before the county’s Joint Planning & Zoning Commission last Tuesday night in opposition to the granting of a conditional use permit for the building of a Synergen Green Energy ammonia production plant west of Aurora. Oswald and others said they were concerned about the plant’s impact on domestic water wells in the area.

Hamilton County resident Tina Oswald, center, testifies before the county’s Joint Planning & Zoning Commission last Tuesday night in opposition to the granting of a conditional use permit for the building of a Synergen Green Energy ammonia production plant west of Aurora. Oswald and others said they were concerned about the plant’s impact on domestic water wells in the area.

Proposed Synergen ammonia plant hits roadblock

Ron Burtz
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Only eight weeks after the proposed Synergen Green Energy ammonia plant first came to the attention of the general public in Hamilton County, the project has hit a regulatory snag.
A crane lifts Immanuel Lutheran Church's new steeple atop the new bell tower on March 19.

A crane lifts Immanuel Lutheran Church's new steeple atop the new bell tower on March 19.

New steeple points to the heavens (VIDEO)

Ron Burtz
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
More than 50 years after the destruction of the original structure and another year of waiting for it to be installed, Immanuel Lutheran Church in northeastern Hamilton County near Polk finally has a proper steeple again. And, as an added blessing, it was installed just in time for Easter Sunday!
Aspyn Knapp runs into the Discover-It Zone to collect as many eggs as she can.

Aspyn Knapp runs into the Discover-It Zone to collect as many eggs as she can.

An Egg-citing afternoon at Explorit Center

Elizabeth Hunter
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
More than 200 children and their families from around the area participated in the Edgerton Explorit Center’s Eggstravaganza Sunday afternoon. Despite the weather moving the majority of the event’s activities indoors, it was Edgerton’s largest turnout for the event in recent years.  
Public speaker and author Barry Adkins spoke March 13-14 to parents and students at Aurora High School about the dangers of alcohol poisoning and the story of his son, Kevin.

Public speaker and author Barry Adkins spoke March 13-14 to parents and students at Aurora High School about the dangers of alcohol poisoning and the story of his son, Kevin.

Telling the story of ‘Kevin’s Last Walk’

Elizabeth Hunter
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Presenting to the students of Aurora High School during the morning of March 14, public speaker Barry Adkins walked out onto the theater stage as high school principal read the introduction to Adkin’s book, “Kevin’s Last Walk: A Father’s Final Journey With His Son,” to the students.