Well, it's fair season. The Scottsbluff County Fair just wrapped up, and it's time for two more.

The Kimball Banner County Fair begins August 9th and goes through the 15th, and it's the Box Butte County Fair starting tomorrow, August 4th through the 9th. And for our followers in the far northeastern portion of the Panhandle, a little bit outside the Panhandle is our Cherry County friends. They're also kicking off their County Fair this week. That started on Saturday and goes through the 9th.

Be sure to stay hydrated, as hot temps baked the region again this past week, with temperatures over 100 all over the Panhandle. 100 in Pine Bluffs, 102 in Alliance and Gordon, 103 in Bridgeport, 104 in Torrington and Scottsbluff, 105 in Gearing, and 106 degrees in Chadron.

There was a train delay yesterday that got some people hot. Multiple different crossings were closed, as 9th Avenue, 5th Avenue, Broadway, Avenue B, 20th Street, and Avenue I were all blocked due to a train that had broken down. BNSF sent a team to address the issue for the three-mile-long iron blockade, while the Nebraska State Patrol helped direct traffic.

The Sunday Scanner is out, and you'll catch all kinds of great stories in that weekly edition of our printable version, similar to a weekly newspaper. Catch it on Panhandlescanner.com or Panhandle Scanner on Facebook. It's the Sunday Scanner Weekly Edition in a newspaper format, complete with that late-night, last-minute, high-speed, well, slow-speed chase through town on Saturday night.

he two adults involved in the Wyatt Reeb murder case have been sentenced, each 16 to 20 years in prison, for their involvement in the death of the 15-year-old back in 2025. Ramon and Dimitri Enriquez each faced separate judges, but received similar sentences of 16 to 20 years in the Nebraska Department of Corrections.

Remember the Katana Wielder from 2024 who was arrested? In Chadron, police arrested 25-year-old Gary Schott following an alleged assault in the early hours of July 27th that left two victims injured and reportedly included threats against their lives. Two Chadron officers were dispatched to the community hospital in reference to a victim of an assault wanting to speak to an officer. They arrived and documented the injuries through photographs and their interview. The officers then left the hospital and interviewed the second assault victim at a residence. Suspect was identified and located in the area, and as a result, 25-year-old Gary Schott was arrested for two counts of terroristic threats and one count of third-degree assault. Schott was transported to the Dawes County Jail in Chadron. In that Katana Wielding incident, Schott was convicted and sentenced to six to eight years in prison in 2024 for his actions, but was released on parole in May.

The Western Nebraska Pioneers have announced that the team will cease operations with the end of the 2026 season. The Nebraska Outlaws will also be relocating to Johnstown, Colorado and remain in the Front Range League.

These stories and more including that land spout up in Mullen and the funny money shopper in Loop City all on panhandlescanner.com.

On Tuesday, July 28th, officers with the Scottsbluff Police Department received a report of a juvenile who had stolen a vehicle and was believed to be driving within the city. Officers confirmed the vehicle had been reported stolen and began searching for the suspect vehicle described as a silver 2011 Ford Fusion.

Officers located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop. The driver failed to yield to emergency lights and sirens and fled. Due to the driver's known identity, juvenile status, and the initial risk posed by a pursuit, officers elected not to pursue at that time.

Rather than engage in an immediate pursuit, officers established a perimeter around the area where the juvenile repeatedly returned and made several attempts to safely disable the vehicle using tire deflation devices known as stop sticks. During one stop stick deployment, the suspect intentionally drove directly toward a marked patrol vehicle occupied by an officer narrowly avoiding a head-on collision. Officers had strategically positioned additional stop stick deployments in the area, and the suspect vehicle successfully drove over multiple tire deflation devices.

The vehicle continued northbound on 1st Avenue at a high rate of speed. After the tires deflated, the vehicle came to a stop near East 23rd Street and 1st Avenue. The juvenile surrendered without further incident and was taken into custody.

The juvenile was then subsequently transported to a juvenile detention facility and booked on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges.

A lot more going on, including hot weather warnings, our public record, and more. Check our page at Panhandlescanner.com or on Facebook by the same name.

Yesterday, scanner traffic and local police reports indicated two elderly missing females. Thankfully, one has been found.

In Alliance, 71-year-old female was missing, but was safely located in less than 24 hours. The other elderly female we heard about did not provide much information, but we do know a 77-year-old female, white sweatshirt, blue sweatpants, 5 feet 6 inches tall, 120 pounds, is missing from Kimball. So in Kimball, a 77-year-old female, wearing sweats, white sweatshirt, blue sweatpants, 5'6", 120 pounds, beyond the lookout. That's in Kimball.

A rainstorm blew through the area, and several people submitted rain gauge photos to us, several different amounts from zero to several inches throughout the Panhandle. Storm spotters did report storm damage in the Broadwater area, and users sent in a couple of photos. You can see those on our Facebook page at Panhandle Scanner.

Have you visited our website recently, Panhandlescanner.com? Do it via your mobile phone, and you'll get our instant mobile app, that now has a new feature called the Scanner Traffic Logger. If you're a scanner listener, and you want to record what you hear over the scanner to help us out, go to Panhandlescanner.com, click on the red button called Scanner Traffic Logger, and submit anything you hear over scanner traffic. It'd be greatly appreciated. That's Panhandlescanner.com.

And if you want more of the story, it's the Sunday Scanner, every weekend, Sunday morning, by the crack of dawn. Our print formatted recap of the week's events.

Yesterday, scanner traffic indicated a medical situation in the Lyman area. Trooper 300 from the Nebraska State Patrol had requested an ambulance to meet a patient traveling in a private vehicle on the road on the way to the hospital. The patient and the ambulance met up on South Morrill Road, where they were transferred and transported to Regional West Medical Center.

And speaking of Morrill, there was also a car fire in Morrill last evening. Scanner traffic indicated that the reporting party was complaining of asthma and could not breathe, and the pickup was engulfed in flames. Much thanks to the local fire departments for their response.

Speaking of fire response, the Alliance Nebraska Fire Department is looking for a new fire chief. If you are experienced and have what it takes, apply with the City of Alliance to be the new fire chief.

Two major overnight weather stories, at least an F2, possibly an F3, tornado ripped through Wisconsin causing major damage, and a 7.1 earthquake in Japan has hundreds of people currently trapped inside of a mall, and fears are there will be many deaths.

For the best in breaking local news, follow PanhandleScanner.com or Panhandle Scanner on social media. And don't forget our public record, every Monday through Friday whenever available, now covering over 20 counties in the state of Nebraska.

Speaking of the state of Nebraska, Greater Nebraska Scanner is our scanner page that covers the entire state. Go follow it now, Greater Nebraska Scanner, part of the Panhandle Scanner News Network.

Well, yesterday must have been our day for hitchhiker alerts.

People listening to Panhandle Scanner Traffic may wonder why we put out an alert that there's a hitchhiker on the highway. These are for safety purposes. We're not trying to get anyone in trouble. In fact, hitchhiking is not illegal in Nebraska unless you're standing in the middle of the roadway, or if there's a city ordinance.

Hitchhikers are fairly common in Nebraska and Wyoming, and we had three last night. Always remember to use caution out on the roadways at night, especially looking for wildlife, livestock, and hitchhikers.

The Sunday Scanner News is out.

It's our weekly printable production. Looks and reads just like the Sunday paper, the Sunday Scanner, with several of those top stories that you heard about this past week, including the WNCC rooftop rescue, Mr. Moose cooling down in the canal, several scattered thunderstorms bringing rain, power outages, and fires, county fairs across Nebraska, a rattlesnake on Omaha Beach, the lettuce recall, several grass fires and car accidents, our ongoing Arthur's Pizza photo contest, a construction update from Torrington along with the pickleball court's notice, an upcoming fire apparatus training, a shout out to all of our newest business followers, and unfortunately, the horrific accident that happened last Thursday night that took the lives of two young people from Bayard, Nebraska. Our prayers and condolences continue for those families.

For all of these stories and more, check out our Sunday Scanner News, available now on Panhandlescanner.com or Panhandle Scanner on Facebook.

That's going to do it for today's Scanner News. Thanks again for listening, and may God bless.

I'm Brian Hale.

Watch out for the rattlesnake on Omaha Beach if you're out at Lake McConaughey. At 5 p.m. last night on July 23rd, there was a snake spotted. Pretty good size. Please be aware of your surroundings while enjoying the lake. They're out and this heat will have them looking for water and cool places as the summer continues.

Muhammad Ali once said, service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth. The Hershey Volunteer Fire Department posted that meaningful and timeless message yesterday as a reminder that the recent fires highlights the amazing communities we serve. If you want to give back, contact your local fire department.

There is a construction update in Torrington. The East D Street construction project is in its final stages and there will be some closure changes over the next few days. If you haven't driven through the area lately, East D Street is now open to East 28th Avenue, which provides an easy connection to Main Street.

The Chadron Area 9-1-1 lines were down yesterday. They have been restored after they learned that a fiber optic had been cut at an unknown location. The Mitchell Volunteer Fire Department recently posted that they responded to a grass fire on July 20th in the area of Murphy Road and Highway 29 north of Mitchell and Sioux County. It was likely started from a lightning strike as thunderstorms moved through the area. Luckily, the rain from those storms put out the fire before it could get very big. They did respond with eight trucks and multiple personnel.

The Alliance Fire Department project is complete. They wrote, "she's a beaut, Clark. After a six-month refurbishment project, we're happy to welcome number 342 home." Thank you to Frytech Inc. for all your hard work and taking our vision and making it a reality.