For the last five winters, Hanover preteen Brett Becker has become "Santa Brett," taking Christmas wishes from kids and raising money to help locals in the area that are fighting serious illnesses or injuries.

A 17-year-old worker died at a Nebraska hog farm owned by the governor’s family. Two investigations later, the boy’s mother is still searching for answers.

Juniors Bergen Reilly and Andi Jackson were named AVCA Setter of the Year and AVCA Middle Blocker of the year. 

The Jefferson County board will meet every other week starting with their first meeting in January.
On the table in December, though: potential salary increases for all elected county officials.

The Beatrice Police Department is debuting a new way to keep the community safe, but recently, it led to some confusion.

Gusty conditions led to disruptions on Sixth Street in Beatrice after bricks and debris from the Dempster Building collapsed on to the roadway.

Midway between Christmas and Thanksgiving, we're spotlighting some Southeast Nebraska organizations who have worked to make a difference this year.

Firefighters from multiple departments responded Monday to a fully involved machine shed fire near Liberty. 

Every December for much of the last decade, Blue Valley Community Action has set up a makeshift store to make finding a perfect holiday present possible, even for Southeast Nebraska families under financial strain.

With the 2025 rifle deer season in the books, Nebraska Game and Parks is further examining the harvest numbers, to get a better sense of the deer population in Nebraska. 

After two seasons at Nebraska, quarterback Dylan Raiola plans to enter the transfer portal, per reports. 

The Beatrice Police Department is asking for the public help in a search for a missing teenage girl. 

The Huskers bid at a reverse sweep fell short on Sunday afternoon, falling to A&M in five sets, thus, the season ends at 33-1.

How can small and mid-sized communities in Nebraska not just stay afloat, but stand out?
Business development consultant Kelly Gewecke met with the Jefferson County Commissioners this month to chart a course.

Crews were dispatched just after 11:30 Thursday night and arrived to find smoke escaping from overhead doors in the shop area.

Last week the Fairbury city council appointed Rod Coil as a replacement member - but there were some other items on the agenda as well, including a consideration to remove a nuisance violation from a citizen's record.

The Lady Orange topped the Pioneers 45-35, while the Orangemen rolled to a 71-42 victory. 

Check out our coverage plans for the 2025-26 high school basketball season on Ol' Red and KWBE, plus area TV broadcasts from News Channel Nebraska!

The Nebraska Department of Transportation is holding a public meeting to discuss changes to Highway 136 Thursday night from 5 to 7 PM in the Fairbury community building.

Tri County boys basketball coach Jeremy Siems previews the 2025-26 season ahead of tipoff vs Wilber-Clatonia on Thursday night.
Watch the game live on NCN!

Wilber-Clatonia girls basketball coach Mason Pelchat previews the 2025-26 season ahead of tipoff vs. Tri County on Thursday night.
Watch the game live on NCN!

Wilber-Clatonia boys basketball coach Dan Conway previews the 2025-26 season ahead of tipoff vs. Tri County on Thursday night.
Watch the game live on NCN!

On the heels of a rare missed state tournament, Beatrice Lady Orange basketball is betting back into the swing of things for 2025-26 with a chip on their shoulder.

Falls City City Council authorizes community benefits agreement

While the Husker Football regular season is complete with a 7-5 record, work continues for the Big Red.

Beatrice's Jackson Weeks era officially begins this Thursday night in Nebraska City.

Nebraska Volleyball Head Coach Dani Busboom-Kelly has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. 

The annual lighted parade in Beatrice will be held this Saturday.

Southeast Nebraska and Northeast Kansas were hit fairly hard by the first snowfall of the season over the last couple of days.

Less than 72 hours after Nebraska fell to Iowa 40-16 to cap off a 7-5 regular season, the Huskers made significant coaching change. 

Hanover achieved its preseason expectations and returned to Kansas high school football excellence by defeating Victoria 28-20 in the 8-man DII title game.
It's the seventh football state title for the Wildcats since 2008.

Beatrice Fire Department responds to a fire in north Beatrice.

The annual Ol' Red Thanksgiving meal has been helping feed people in Fairbury and beyond for the last 25 years.
Now, they're hoping someone else steps up to help keep it going for another quarter century.

A pair of volleyball coaches from Southeast Nebraska high schools who helped steer their teams to state championships this year have been recognized by the AVCA.

It’s become a Thanksgiving weekend tradition unlike any other - close games between Nebraska and Iowa.

Hiring two new healthcare providers, investing in robot surgery technologies, and breaking ground on a physical expansion: Fairbury’s hospital has a lot in store for 2026. 

Sen. Pete Ricketts will headline a town hall in southeast Nebraska next month. 

19 seniors will put on the pads at Memorial Stadium one final time when the Huskers take on Iowa on Black Friday. 

A fire that took close to five hours to fully extinguish Wednesday night in Fairbury destroyed a home - but fortunately, no one was injured. 
Now, many locals have created plans to help the victim move forward.

Arraignment on habitual criminal charge set Nov. 26

Residents in southeast Nebraska gathered at the Gage County courthouse to continue an annual holiday tradition. 

To try and develop some solutions to challenges small childcare centers are facing, this week the Nebraska DHHS joined forces with a small daycare in Diller.  

Low participation numbers forced Fairbury to forgo playing junior varsity football this fall, and those low numbers will likely be what prompts the Jeffs to move from 11-man to 8-man football starting next year.

Hanover outlasted Axtell 34-24 in the sub-state round of the Kansas 8-man football postseason, ending the Eagles' streak of four straight state championships and sending the Wildcats to the title game for the first time since 2020. 

A Beatrice woman was taken into custody Friday morning after police say she was found on the property of two hotels from which she had previously trespassed.

Facing opposition from the public, the Wymore city council voted against proposed ordinance changes that would have paved the way for a group home for young girls to begin operation in an abandoned building in town.

National Rural Health Day shines a light on the work that rural healthcare orgs - like Crete Area Medical Center - must do for their communities every day.

Nebraska went into Thursday nights contest with Iowa with no losses on the season and no losses, ever, to the Iowa Hawkeyes - both of those stats would hold up.

Doane head football coach Jonathan Johnson recaps his team's victory over Waldorf, highlights the four players who were named All-GPAC, and outlines what's up next as the offseason begins.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is releasing adult rooster pheasants in eighteen Wildlife Management Areas across Nebraska, seven in the southeast region. 

The Nebraska Department of Transportation will host a public information open house next month to share improvement plans for U.S. Highway 136 in Fairbury.

Penn State enters Saturday’s contest averaging 160 rushing yards per game.

Work has begun on what many believe will become a true southeast Nebraska gem.

The format of the fourth annual Big Give Thayer County fundraiser looks a little different than the first three, but the goal remains the same: to support organizations inside the county's community.

Beatrice High School will hold their Winter Sports Tip-off event this Friday.

The annual Christmas lighting of the Gage County Courthouse is scheduled for this Sunday.

Bev and Ron Puhalla came out of retirement 18 months ago to save their local paper, the Pawnee Republican, from closing down.

Community helps Syracuse woman expand to a licensed daycare

The Emmett Johnson for Heisman campaign has taken center stage.

Sheriff says cocaine bricks found in Highway 2 traffic stop

COOK – Fire destroyed a family farmhouse southwest of Cook Monday afternoon. Shelley Dorn said her son returned home around 12:30 p.m. to find the 108-year-old house on fire. No one was injured and the family pet was with her son. By the time she ar

If there's any other Big Ten atmosphere to rival Memorial, it's probably a white out night game at Beaver Stadium - where the Huskers will head this weekend to take on Penn State. 

Trailing at halftime against a winless team, Doane scored touchdowns on three straight possessions in the second half to rally past Waldorf 27-17 in the final game of the 2025 season.

Hanover dominated school district rivals Linn 50-0 in the sectional round on Friday night, setting up a rematch with Axtell next week with a trip to the state championship game at stake.