For many of us, the COVID-19 pandemic can be described in a variety of ways, but one word I think we can all agree on is exhausting. Now, as we move further into winter with colder temps, isolation, and COVID-19 on the rise, it can be more and more difficult to find the positives around us, …

The Dawson County Extension Board members recently elected officers for 2021 during their annual meeting. Phillip Burkhalter of Elwood was elected president and Eric Ryan of Overton, vice president.

For the past five years two Gothenburg women have been spearheading a special project to offer compassion and love for area cancer patients. Mary Harbur and Lyndi Miller started the Chemo Comfort Tote project following Mary’s own experience with breast cancer and receiving a similar comfort …

It’s winter. You knew that. You probably also know that January is the coldest month of the year, but, this week in January is a special one! It was during this week in 1888 (Jan. 12 to be exact) that Nebraska was hit with the “Schoolhouse Blizzard”. This was a fast moving storm that entered…

In April 2018, Dawson Area Development completed an in-depth housing study for all of Dawson County. It confirmed what most in the county already knew - there is a significant shortage of housing. And in the nearly two years since the study was finished that has not changed.

Though the number of positive Covid cases in Gothenburg, and hospitalizations due to Covid across the Two Rivers Public Health District have slightly increased this past week, we continue to see positive movement on the district’s risk dial. This week we have dropped further down in the oran…

The Gothenburg Public Schools Board of Education swore in a new member at the Jan. 11 meeting, and elected officers for 2021. Kelly Terrell was elected to the board in November, filling the seat vacated by Jeremy Sitorius who opted to not run for re-election.

Thanks to improved Covid numbers due in large part to the compliance of the public, the high school winter sports season is underway. The decrease in the number of hospitalization cases of Covid in Nebraska has declined, moving the state to the blue tier on the risk dial. That means Directed…

The following death announcements appeared in the Gothenburg Leader between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020:

The following birth announcements appeared in the Gothenburg Leader between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020. All births listed were at Gothenburg Health unless otherwise noted:

was recently challenged by someone I respect to be solution minded rather than problem focused.

In 2019, the obstetrics/gynecology team at Gothenburg Health delivered a total of 52 babies. It’s not often the staff gets to welcome a true “New Year’s Baby” - but this year they did!

As of Jan. 1, Nebraskans have four new specialty license plates to choose from, all of which will benefit Nebraska Game and Parks.

Last week we finished out 2020 by taking a look back at some of the stories that made headlines in the Leader during the first half of the year. This week we bid farewell to 2020 for good, by reviewing the last half of the year’s headlines.

Most cities and municipalities operate under one of three forms of structure - the mayor-council, the commission and the city manager. The city of Gothenburg is represented by the mayor-council system, with the mayor being elected to four-year terms. The city is divided into two wards, east …

I watched as the quarterback threw the ball to an empty spot on the field. When the ball was released, no one was there to catch the ball. However, as the play unfolded, the receiver arrived with arms outstretched just in time to make the catch.

It seems the older we get the faster the years fly by. However, if you’re like me you may often find that when you look back at the year you are reminded of things that happened that you may have forgotten about. That is one reason we do a recap at the end of the year. We will be featuring t…

Each year Celebrating Art sponsors art contests for students in grades K-12, and have as many as 59,000 schools from across the nation participate. Generally teachers enter the artwork on behalf of their students. Educator judges then review each piece that is submitted and invite the top 35…

Starting a new life in a new town can be intimidating for anyone. Adding a pandemic into the mix makes it even more interesting. But that didn’t stop the Colwell’s from relocating to Gothenburg and settling in.

The Gothenburg High School FFA has been very busy this month. The FFA organized a money drive this year (instead of our normal food drive) and donated all proceeds to the Food Pantry. Our goal was to raise $1,600 during the week of Dec. 14 - 18. After all of the generous donations from staff…

The Two Rivers Public Health Department shared some good news this past week as the number of Covid cases has dropped significantly, moving the district from red to well into the orange on the risk dial. Positive cases in the community of Gothenburg have experienced a dramatic decrease from …

As we look to a new year, the Gothenburg Chamber of Commerce and Sun Theatre are preparing to launch a new partnership program. The noon hour Power Lunches will be designed to inspire and motivate and provide opportunities to network together as a business community.

Even though many events are not happening this Christmas season as they have in years past, the Gothenburg community still has opportunities to enjoy the festive season - and opportunities to help others who may be struggling this year.

With not all members able to be present for the Dec. 31 meeting, the Dawson County Board of Commissioners took the opportunity at the Dec. 15 meeting to acknowledge District Five Commissioner Everett “Butch” Hagan for his time on the board. Hagan will be leaving the board at the end of the y…