Wednesday Jun 24 2026 - Scanner News

Our top story of the day comes from last night's Sidney City Council meeting. The Sidney Nebraska City Council voted to allow fireworks this year, from July 1st at 8am to July 5th at 1am.  However, the conversation got very heated and police were called to the scene, despite the fact that the police chief was on scene at the meeting. We were getting live updates when Mr. Balfour stopped by to speak with our reporter outside, to show his appreciation for coverage after the council meeting, when several police cars showed up. We didn't hear of any further action taken, but we'll let you know if anything serious came of it. It was a verbal argument over fireworks.    Subsequently, the Cheyenne County Commissions voted on Wednesday morning, to BAN fireworks in rural areas of the county, with fines of $250, $500, and $1,000 for first, second and third offense.   Speaking of fireworks, there is a discussion on venue change in Gering. The Allred display typically takes place at Five Rocks Amphitheater, but there is discussion this year about moving it to Oregon Trail Park in Gering. Find that post and be sure to comment on our Facebook page.    Little Lake Alice is back! The irrigation water has flowed in and refilled Little Lake Alice. There is a time-lapse video from Troy Bryan on our Facebook page at Panhandle Scanner.   And there'll be a planned outage for the Village of Morrill coming up on the 28th. That's a Sunday, so they wanted to be sure to put out that notice early, and they asked for our help. So, folks in Morrill, be ready for that short electrical outage on Sunday morning the 28th.   Several businesses took damage to their properties around the Panhandle, and one of those was Monument Shadows Golf Course. The storm damaged almost all of the greens. The grounds crew worked all day to repair as much damage as possible. The golf course will be closed at least until noon on Wednesday. The driving range is open, and they thank you for your patience while they get the greens back into shape.