News

Homestead National Historical Park will be remembering the 1888 Children’s Blizzard with a ranger talk at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 9. The program will be given by Park Ranger Amber Kirkendall and will be held in the Education Center. The Children’s Blizzard occurred on Jan.12, 1888, when a massive snowstorm unexpectedly blew over the Great Plains. Temperatures dropped by dozens of degrees in a matter of minutes in some parts of the affected area, and hundreds of people were killed—many of them children. The blizzard got its name from the fact that it hit Nebraska and other parts of the Middle Plains right as schools were letting out for the afternoon. Tales of heroic teachers like Minnie Freeman were immortalized after the storm in song and story, and for years after the blizzard one could not say “Nebraska” in other parts of the country without someone connecting the state to the blizzard.

First Christian Church of Nebraska City, located at 114 N 8th St, Nebraska City, will host an Open Door Dinner on Tuesday, Jan. 11. The meal is free and all are welcome. The menu for the meal is various soups, grilled cheese sandwiches and cookies. It will be served from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Nebraska City Tourism and Commerce, Inc., announces “New Physicians at CHI-St. Mary’s Hospital” as the Wednesday, Jan.

The Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles is now offering a new specialty license plate. The new Josh the Otter, Be Safe Around Water specialty plate will be sold at the cost of $5 annually for an assigned alphanumeric plate number or $40 annually for a custom message.

According to AmeriCorps, Martin Luther King Day is the only federal holiday in the United States that is designated as a national day of service. Martin Luther King Day takes place each year on the third Monday in January. In 2021, Martin Luther King Day will be celebrated on January 18. The day honors Martin Luther King, Jr., an influential leader in the civil rights movement who embraced nonviolent activism. Despite his status as an advocate for nonviolence, Martin Luther King, Jr. was violently gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968. A campaign to declare his birthday a national holiday was started shortly after King’s assassination. However, the holiday was not officially observed until 1986, and that observation was not nationwide. It was not until 2000 that all 50 states observed Martin Luther King Day.

The springtime severe weather season is quickly approaching and that means it’s time for the annual 2022 Nebraska Severe Weather Awareness Poster Contest. The contest, sponsored by the Nebraska Association of Emergency Management, the National Weather Service the Nebraska National Guard and the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, is part of the annual Severe Weather Awareness Week effort produced by Emergency Management Directors/Coordinators across Nebraska.