Well, back in January on the 16th, you may remember a situation where a police officer had to fire a service weapon and struck a fleeing subject in the face. That happened to Mitchell police officer Logan Weiss. He was immediately put on leave pending the investigation and coincidentally went to work for the city of Minatare in the meantime, but now that the investigation has been concluded, we have learned that the city of Mitchell, chief of police, planned to terminate the officer, but Weiss resigned in lieu of the termination.

Road construction is set to begin on the 13th of April for a section of road between Mitchell and Scottsbluff, as well as some handicap accessible, or ADA ramps that are to be installed in Mitchell. The construction could last some time and drivers are cautioned to please be aware.

We like to feature the good news about our fire departments and police departments whenever possible. Scottsbluff Fire Department posted yesterday that Frost Wallace has been doing an internship with C-shift over the last several months, and he's a very driven individual. Frost is also a cadet with the Gering fire department and his mom and dad both served on the city of Scottsbluff Fire Department for several years before retiring. Frost enjoys the comradery with the guys and the coolest thing that he's learned is how an intubation is done. Frost will complete his senior year at Gering High School this year, will wrestle at Concordia University while studying nursing. Frost will graduate with his associate degree in technical arts from WNCC and hopefully will earn his EMS certification by the end of the school year as well.

Way to go Frost Wallace, from Gering High School!

(HARRISBURG, Neb.) -- First of all, we want to tell you about that road closure that's going on this morning actually right afternoon at 12.45 p.m. today. According to the Banner County Sheriff's Office, Road 33 and 28 going north of Harrisburg will be closed for approximately one hour starting at 12.45 p.m. today. The closure is for the dedication of a new memorial in honor of Jacque Larson. The public is invited to attend, however we will have some students on site, so please drive carefully. That's according to the Sheriff's Office in Banner County. A dedication of the new memorial in honor of Jacque Larson today.

(GERING, Neb.) -- The Oregon Trail Day's headliner has been announced. Was your guess right? Well last year there was a tribute band and they're going along with the same theme this year. A tribute band. It's the Eagles tribute band Hotel California. That concert is set for July 11th, 2026 at Five Rocks Amphitheater.

(SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb.) -- Our Arthur's Pizza Sweet 16 March Madness photo contest is wrapping up and we are down to our final four. Check Panhandle Scanner to see who's in the running. Also a big congratulations to three Panhandle Scanner advertisers and sponsors who renewed their contract yesterday. Congratulations to Susie's Sweets, Treats & Eats, High Plains Market and Ron's Towing. We appreciate their sponsorship and reward those three businesses with a full free year for paying annually. If you're interested in advertising on Panhandle Scanner, give us a call or contact the page. We also highly recommend advertising on the station you heard this on.

Our crazy Spring Sale ends today at 4:00 pm. Call or text Brian Hale at 940-224-6315 or Andi Hale at 940-224-6211.

(GERING, Neb.) -- There was another Power outage yesterday in Gering. Roosevelt Public Power District wrote, "We are aware of the large Power outage in Gering Valley and are currently working with our power providers to find the cause. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working hard to get it restored." Nearly one hundred comments piled in when we ask folks in the area in a Facebook post if they had power outages in their area. One user wrote, "We need to spend some of our tax money on infrastructure." Another user wrote, "The company that Gering gets their power from is out and they don't have an ETA when it will be back up." Perhaps Gering should find a different Power provider, says another. We still do not know the cause. (Update; see facebook page)

Oregon Trail Days is just around the corner. This year's theme for the Oregon Trail Days has been announced. Stars, Stripes and Cornfields as a tribute to the 250th anniversary of the founding of our great nation. The announcement on the headlining band is coming today and as of just before 7am has not been made public. We'll have that for you on Panhandle Scanner on our Facebook page and on our news page at PanhandleScanner.com. It's July 9th through the 12th, 2026 Oregon Trail Days.

Hey everyone, if you've heard this program before, you know I have been offering website help for many years. In fact, we've been in the business for over 20 and we'd love to help you for anything website related even if you just need some advice. It's free. Email support @ HaleMultimedia.com or call 940-224-6315 for more information. Portfolio, pricing and contacts all on Halemultimedia.com.

Well over 10,000 people have seen our post that we shared from the Panhandle Humane Society about the low-cost vaccine and Microchip Clinic being held April 18th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Carpenter Center in Terrytown. That's April 18th. Go take care of your pets there with low cost vaccines and microchips.

There was a hit and run yesterday in Scottsbluff on the corner of 16th Avenue and Erin Lane. An eyewitness reported to us that a car had a gas line and took off. The police said the road blocked off and Black Hills energy was on site. There was a gas leak but that had been cleaned up. The hit and run driver also caused some electrical damage.

The Nebraska State Patrol says that scammers were added this weekend with an official looking fraudulent document labeled final notice court enforcement action. The document lists failure to pay electronic tolls and gives a strange authority and a North Carolina address. Always be on the lookout for scammers. If you think you're a victim of a scam please contact the Nebraska State Patrol.

We'd like to say a prayer for our Lyman-Kiowa Volunteer Fire Department brothers and sisters. They're hurting after they lost one of their own. They wrote yesterday that it is with heavy hearts we inform you that firefighter Rocky Robinson has passed away. Rocky joined the department in 2018 and served many roles during his years as a member. His loss is deeply felt not only within our department but throughout the community he's so proudly protected. That was from the Lyman-Kiowa Volunteer Fire Department. Rest in Peace, Rocky Robinson.

Dangerous fire conditions continue again today and despite the fact that the Governor has lifted the burn ban, there are very few, if no, fire chiefs willing to issue burn permits at this time. Most of the excess rain fell in the central and eastern part of the state, leaving western Nebraska still dries a bone.

On Thursday, Scanners traffic indicated a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in Northeast Scottsbluff. Our prayers for this situation, as no transport was required to the hospital for this patient, that could mean one of two things. The call was not what it was thought to be in the beginning, or the patient was deceased. Again, our prayers for that situation with the self-inflicted gunshot wound yesterday.

And in other Scanner traffic, a male was reportedly hit over the head with a bottle on East 8th Street in Scottsbluff. That happened around 2:40 in the afternoon yesterday.

There have been several power outages lately. Typically, there are several scheduled power outages in Gering, but beyond that, in Sidney, on Wednesday, intermittent power issues were reported. And then yesterday, the Torrington Police Department posted a photo. We have that for you on our Facebook page of a broken crossbar holding three large transformers. That was the reason for the power issues in Torrington. We have been told that is now fixed.

Also look for our post from the City of Terrytown. They are joining other cities around western Nebraska in cleaning up their act. Let's make western Nebraska beautiful.

Do you know about the QPR Institute?

Question, Persuade, Refer.

Learn how to respond when someone you know shows signs of struggling. Join Panhandle Public Health District for a QPR session to learn how to have the important but difficult conversation. Upcoming dates for the QPR Institute are April 8, May 13, June 10, and August 12. Find that information on Panhandle Scanner. Just look for the Panhandle Public Health District post.

In case you missed it or you're hearing the buzz about something called Artemis, NASA launched four astronauts into space yesterday for a trip around the moon. It's a data gathering session. You'll notice in our news we always say 'possible', 'potential', and 'there might be'. We also say all subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. In Scotts Bluff County Court, Justin Ruiz has been found not guilty. Back in June, we reported on a possible sexual assault where a man reportedly threatened a woman at knife point. Well, Justin Ruiz of Scottsbluff was found not guilty on three felony charges. He was, however, convicted on a lesser charge of third degree domestic assault. He'll learn his fate on that lesser charge May 15 in Scotts Bluff County Court.

To listen to the area police and fire scanner, you do not have to own a scanner, simply visit PanhandleScanner.com and click on listen. Made possible by Hale Multimedia, feed provided by Broadcastify.

Be sure to check out our public record every Monday through Friday on Panhandle Scanner, court rosters and court activity sent directly to us from Scotts Bluff County Court.

(ALLIANCE, Neb.) --The Alliance Police Department is issuing a public safety alert to inform parents, guardians, and young people about the increasing threat of sextorsion. Sextorsion occurs when an individual, often posing as a peer on social media, manipulates a juvenile into sharing explicit photos or videos. Once those images are obtained, the offender threatens to distribute them unless the victim provides money, gift cards, or additional content. Law enforcement has recently observed a rise in cases where artificial intelligence is being used to generate or manipulate images that falsely depict victims in explicit situations, meaning a juvenile does not need to have to have shared any real images to become a target.

We have several tips posted from the Alliance Police Department, on our Facebook page and our news page, on what parents and guardians should know.

Speaking of Alliance, there's a soda shop in Alliance that's very popular, and they are expanding into Scottsbluff in the near future. Dirty Pop Soda Shop made an announcement recently that they will be expanding into Scottsbluff. Stay tuned for that announcement coming soon.

(HARRISON, Neb.) -- Some friends and website customers of ours up in Harrison, Nebraska, Gray's Angus Ranch, offered a free heifer for auction at their recent bull sale. With the proceeds going to the Nebraska Sandhills Fire Relief Fund, incredibly, Gray's Angus Ranch raised $14,000 on the one heifer to go towards the fund. Congratulations and thank you to the folks up there. They had their annual sale on Monday.

For more on what we're doing here at Hale Broadcasting, visit our website at halebroadcasting.com for all of our daily and weekly radio programs.

Kimball I-80 exit is still under construction and will be for quite some time, and the road outside of Minatare, that's County Road P that links to 79E link, will be closed for several weeks. That's the road that leaves Minatare to the south, that will be closed for the next few weeks.

Yesterday, the Sidney School District partnered with local law enforcement and emergency responders for a full day of safety training following the swatting call incident you may remember on March 2nd. Sydney Schools writes that they have a strong sense of urgency to work closely with local first responders to expand their knowledge and deepen their understanding of area safety protocols as they apply to school emergencies. Local first responders worked alongside teachers, staff and administrators walking through a variety of scenarios that schools across the country may face, and discussed how to respond effectively in each situation.

For those not familiar with what swatting is, it's the action or practice of making a prank call to emergency services and an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to a particular address. For more information on the Sidney response and swatting in general, see our news page at Panhandle Scanner.

There was a motorcycle accident on Sunday at the monument in Gering that happened on Summit Road right before tunnel number one. We heard from the victim and received a photo of the large pothole in the road that the gentleman hit before crashing. He informed us that authorities were told about the pothole and were aware of it, and he reported to us that other motorcycles have crashed there as well. We're hoping that pothole on Summit Road gets fixed soon. If you're a motorcycle rider, please use caution while driving the monument road.