Monday Feb 16 2026 - Scanner News

It's a President's Day reminder, an observation of President's Day. Many government offices will be closed for administrative services. Yes, Abraham, Lincoln and George Washington both had February birthdays. Lincoln was February 12th and Washington's February 22nd. Your calendar, like mine, may say President's Day, but in actuality, this federal holiday is officially called Washington's Birthday. Which again doesn't make sense since Washington's Birthday is on the 22nd. An interesting fact on how the celebration has changed over the years. As always, local police, deputies and state troopers remain on duty and available for emergencies. Remember that red flag warning yesterday? Well, yesterday at approximately 4.40 pm, Scottsbliff Rural Fire was dispatched to a report of a grass fire on Sugar Factory Road. This fire was reported by multiple individuals and forward progression was stopped very quickly with five units responding to the scene. Remember, when you can burn, you must obtain a burn permit before burning and the burn permit must be called in. The High Wind Watch has been upgraded to a High Wind Warning for portions of southeast Wyoming and the High Wind Watch has been extended eastward to include the rest of the plains of eastern Wyoming and a few counties inside western Nebraska. Peak gusts between 65 and 75 miles an hour are expected in the warned areas with gusts around 60 miles an hour in the Watch area. Be careful on the roads there in Wyoming and Nebraska today. And I know it might be hard to believe, but there's a word that there may be a winter storm coming. More on that tomorrow.