Scanner FM

10/15/2026

There's a freeze watch in effect for the Nebraska Panhandle from late tonight through Friday morning. We can expect sub-freezing temperatures falling to 27 to 33 degrees Fahrenheit. Frost and freezing conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation, and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. Take steps to protect tender plants and plumbing from the cold.

Remember, if you need help with plumbing, you can call Oregon Trail Plumbing and Heating right here in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Snowy conditions throughout the early mornings in the high country, eventually reaching Cheyenne, Wyoming with accumulations of one inch of snow possible.

Several new stories from our courthouse reporter, Raul Fernandez, doing an excellent job reporting at the courthouse.

Here's one. Officer Safely Dodges Collision. A Scottsbluff man pled no contest to DUI after a traffic stop with sentencing set for November.

And DUI On The Tracks. The story of a Scottsbluff man who faces DUI charges after his vehicle got stuck on the railroad tracks had a blood alcohol content of .259. He was definitely off track.

Or Time Served For Park Incident, and that was drugs in the park. Scottsbluff woman received time served for pleading guilty to attempted possession of m**h from a July Park incident. I'm not sure what attempted possession is, but that's the charge.

These stories and more all on Panhandle Scanner on Facebook and Panhandlescanner.com on our news page right there at diggingdeeper.net.

And of course, don't forget our daily public record with the results of all of these stories from the courthouse.

That's going to do it for today's scanner news. Thanks again for listening and may God bless. I'm Brian Hale.

10/15/2026

10/15/2026

What is an athletic bull?

"That phrase comes from a customer of ours. He's an old longtime customer. He's passed away now, giving him a hard time one time about 35 years ago that he needed to take better care of his bulls, joking around. After he got through the breeding season, he just looked at me and said, you've never seen a fat athlete, have you? I have always used that quote. I thought that was a very interesting quote. Bulls need to be developed like athletes. They don't need a lot of fat on them to empower feet and legs and semen production and everything the rest of their lives. That was a quote from Andy Olson and we just kind of stick by that."

So how do you develop your bulls then?

"We're on a higher up each ration. Generally, after we wean them, our bulls are on a two pounds per day gain. So that's quite a bit less than what many folks do developing their bulls. We don't want fat bulls."

Galen Fink, Fink Beef Genetics at Randolph, Kansas.

10/15/2026

From Making Change by Michelle Van Loon
In the days before readily available GPS navigation on our cell phones, I told my kids we’d be taking a quick run to the post office in our new town. A glance at the map told me the address was directly at the center of a spaghetti-bowl of hilly one-way streets. I was a veteran big city driver and figured the small suburban downtown area wouldn’t be a major challenge.
After more than a half hour of driving in circles around that up-and-down tangle of streets, stopping to ask for directions twice, I gave up and returned home. I never found the post office that day, though later I discovered I’d driven by it several times.
I relied on my earlier experience as a city driver to help me navigate my strange new location. That experience actually got in the way of me being able to make sense of what my eyes were seeing that day. I was so disoriented that after a while, I forgot what I was searching for.
Understandably, we’re prone to rely on our previous experience to navigate change in our lives. While that previous experience may be of value, it can also hinder us from being able to assess and respond to what is happening right now. We need a guide who knows the terrain, especially when it is uncharted territory for us.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ”John 10:27 ESV
In John 10, Jesus told his followers that there would be unhelpful or destructive people presenting themselves as caring guides who would lead them astray. He urged his followers to learn to listen to his voice. We can do that by engaging in regular Bible reading so we can learn to discern who God is and what he says, and by simple, conversational prayer. He will guide us step by step, even when it seems as though we are traveling without a map.
Prayer: Good Shepherd Jesus, I am disoriented by this strange new place in which I find myself. Please protect me from the other voices who are not guiding me in the way I should travel. Please help me hear your voice clearly and follow you faithfully.

10/14/2026

HATE GROUP CAUSING DIVISION IN THE COMMUNITY

The Scottsbluff Police Department has put out an additional press release on the accident Friday night involving the pedestrian fatality near Scottsbluff High School. In every case of this nature, we remind everyone that those who could be or have been charged are innocent until proven guilty. At this point, no one has been charged.



We have been made aware of a Facebook group calling for the young man's imprisonment in the title of the group. The group's description itself calls for the justice system to work better and that's som**hing we can all relate to. However, their title has caused a high emotional response rather than a worthwhile debate on the need for more safety at that specific location.


We understand that the young man is remorseful and wants to apologize to the family. It sounds like he very well understands the impact of the incident and is ready to face the consequences in a court of law if he is charged. Let's all have some respect and courtesy and let law enforcement sort things out.


The concept behind forming a group for justice in the court is a good idea, but calling for a young man's imprisonment before any evidence has been revealed is grossly immature. We ask the community to think before they start som**hing that they could later regret. Keep in mind that we have to continue to live and work together in this community.


We believe good will come out of this in the end. Our prayers for everyone involved. For more on this community controversy, see our page or our website at panhandlescanner.com. But please don't feed into it.


Just be aware that it could happen to anyone. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. That's going to do it for today's Scanner News.


Thanks again for listening and may God bless. I'm Brian Hale.

10/14/2026

10/14/2026

10/14/2026

From Making Change by Michelle Van Loon
When I was fired from a job I’d fought hard to keep, a friend reminded me that I should be prepared for grief to present itself as I processed the loss. And she was right. I spent some time telling myself it was all for the best. I found myself dealing with eruptions of frustration and anger as I replayed months of difficult inter-office politics where it seemed I lost too many hyper-political interoffice skirmishes with a difficult coworker. I grew depressed, and days of initial shock became weeks blanketed by a wooly, gray emotional fog. The rejections I received as I dutifully searched for a new job amplified my sadness.
While a job loss might be an easily-identifiable source of grief, I have discovered that every change – even a welcome one – carries with it some form of grief. For example, when a young adult child marries, you may love the partner they’ve chosen, and be overjoyed about the new family they’re forming, but find yourself unexpectedly aching with nostalgia as you come to terms with the reality that you’ve come to the end of an era in your family’s story.
For more than 10 years, I have walked alongside many who are moving into midlife. Many are caught off guard by the endings that often come at this time of life – empty nest, career shifts, changes in family life and status. It has been a privilege to help others recognize that our souls process change in much the same way we experience grief.
“ Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face.”Job 13:15 ESV
When Job dealt with a breathtaking pile-up of loss, his confession of hope in God contained a frank acknowledgement that he was actively grieving all the ways his life had changed.
Reflect today on how changes you’ve experienced recently have elicited some form of grief response in your soul. These responses can include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
Prayer: Unchanging Father, as I navigate this time of transition in my life, I am grieving a past I can not reclaim. Kindle within me a spark of hope as I continue to process these changes. I ask this in the name of your always faithful Son, Jesus.

10/14/2026

From Making Change by Michelle Van Loon
“I’m so sorry to hear about your cancer diagnosis. How are you holding up?” I was grateful to have a moment of conversation with Tonya, a popular leader at church.
Tonya smiled a 1000-watt smile. “Praise the Lord! God is good!” She then told me about how she’d had an opportunity to share her faith with a radiologist tech at the hospital earlier that week.
I’d recently received a different, serious medical diagnosis, and had not responded with a 1000-watt smile like Tonya had. Frankly, I didn’t feel amazing. I’d logged some long, sleepless nights wrestling with God about what my future held and walked away from the conversation with Tonya wondering if there was som**hing deficient in my faith.
While each of us responds to bad news differently, God is not looking for a spiritual performance from any of us. This is the antithesis of what God already knows is true about us. 2 Samuel 11-12 details King David’s sin against God, Bathsheba, her husband Uriah, and his people. Psalm 51 captures his prayer of confession. It also offers us a reminder that to stay connected to God in relationship, He requires complete honesty from us.
“Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.”Psalm 51:6 ESV
These words were spoken in the context of confession of sin, but they apply just as powerfully to every aspect of our lives.
When we face the challenge of unwelcome change in the form of a scary diagnosis, a lost job, broken relationship, or anything that sends our lives in a difficult new direction, it takes real faith to tell the truth. If you are brimming with trust, rest in that confidence. And if you are shaken and shaky, offer yourself just as you are to God, and know that the truth is all he asks of you in that moment – and every moment.
Prayer: Lord, in this time of challenge in my life, I am disoriented and afraid. And by speaking that truth to you about myself, I recognize that I am taking a step toward learning to trust you as I am now in this difficult place. Please help me to grow in that trust, I pray, in the name of the One who made me and knows me better than I know myself.

10/14/2026