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5 days ago | 
sandhills.newschannelnebraska.com | Casey Wonnenberg
VALENTINE, Neb. - PETA’s “Hell on Wheels” truck is making its way through Nebraska this week, aiming to get people to reconsider what’s on their plate—especially when it comes to pork. However, in Valentine on Sunday the animal rights group’s message might have backfired. Heath and Courtney Bristol, owners of Bulldogger’s BBQ in Valentine, said Sunday marked their busiest day ever—and it wasn’t because of a holiday rush.
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1 week ago | 
sandhills.newschannelnebraska.com | Casey Wonnenberg
MISSION, S.D. - On the Rosebud Reservation just north of Valentine, Nebraska, sirens have become an all-too-familiar sound. Amid a sharp rise in drug use and violence, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe has declared a state of emergency. But in the reservation's largest town, some residents are working to flip the narrative—with the help of skateboards, ramps, and community. “I’ve seen a lot of things,” said Dillon Two Eagle, who grew up in Mission.
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1 week ago | 
sandhills.newschannelnebraska.com | Casey Wonnenberg
VALENTINE, Neb. - The U.S. Forest Service is considering implementing Stage 1 fire restrictions on Nebraska’s National Forests and Grasslands, including in Cherry County. Tedd Teahon of the Forest Service met with the Cherry County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday to discuss the proposal. He also plans on discussing the plans with Blaine County commissioners this week. If approved, the restrictions would prohibit open campfires, though stove fires would still be allowed.
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1 week ago | 
sandhills.newschannelnebraska.com | Casey Wonnenberg
VALENTINE, Neb. - Wind and rain may have canceled this year’s Memorial Day ceremony in Valentine, but nothing could stop Kelly Hollopeter from remembering her son — or the sacrifice he made. “It was on a Wednesday,” she recalled. Her husband was out of town when the phone rang nearly 18 years ago. “I got a call from somebody who I couldn’t understand because they were crying. It was my daughter-in-law, Heather.
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1 week ago | 
sandhills.newschannelnebraska.com | Casey Wonnenberg
PIERRE, S.D. - A South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) review has determined that an Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety officer was justified in using force during a high-speed pursuit on May 2 in Fall River County, according to Attorney General Marty Jackley.
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2 weeks ago | 
sandhills.newschannelnebraska.com | Casey Wonnenberg
RUSHVILLE, Neb. - Two men are facing charges after a bar fight at the Rushville American Legion that allegedly involved a pool stick used as a weapon. Steven Shangreau Jr., 50, of Rushville, has been charged with second-degree assault, criminal mischief, and disturbing the peace. Jacob Brossard, 30, of Gordon, is facing a charge of attempt of a Class 2A felony. According to an arrest affidavit, law enforcement responded to the bar shortly before midnight on March 15.
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2 weeks ago | 
panhandle.newschannelnebraska.com | Casey Wonnenberg
MISSION, S.D. - A 19-year-old Parmelee man has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for shooting and injuring another man near Mission. Leonard Little Thunder III, also known as Yamni Little Thunder, pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon in connection to the Nov. 2023 incident on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. According to court documents, the victim was outside his home with several family members on Nov.
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2 weeks ago | 
sandhills.newschannelnebraska.com | Casey Wonnenberg
RAPID CITY, S.D. - A Kyle, South Dakota man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after prosecutors say he followed a 13-year-old girl while she was walking home, grabbed her, forced her to the ground, and then raped her. 22-year-old Louis James Swallow was convicted of Sexual Abuse this month. Swallow had also been charged in 2020 in Pennington County for raping and strangling a girlfriend.
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2 weeks ago | 
sandhills.newschannelnebraska.com | Casey Wonnenberg
VALENTINE, Neb. — A ranching family from the Valentine area is launching a beef stick brand built around American-raised, clean-ingredient meat snacks. Marshall and Shayna Simmons created Freedom Beef after struggling to find a sugar-free, nitrate-free beef stick made with exclusively U.S.-sourced meat—something their children love. “Freedom Beef was born to provide a healthy snack that’s American from birth to beef,” Shayna said.
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2 weeks ago | 
sandhills.newschannelnebraska.com | Casey Wonnenberg
VALENTINE, Neb. - The top Nebraska track and field athletes will compete for gold this week at the state track and field meet. That’s includes Valentine High School junior Isaac Cronin. The 6-foot-5 athlete has cleared 6 feet, 10 inches in the high jump this season, the best in his class statewide and tied for the top mark across all Nebraska high school divisions. Now, he’s aiming even higher. “My goal is 7 feet and a state championship,” Cronin said.
