The long-awaited 2023 Farm Bill is delayed. Some in Congress say it may get done, or at least get started by this spring, but others say it’s most likely to be held up until after the November election, meaning it would be completed during the lame duck session.

Jim Frank, manager of Silver Threads Assisted Living, announced Friday, January 26, that effective Monday, January 29, he will be the administrator with his wife Dulce as assistant administrator. This change will be in effect until they hire a new administrator.

Natalie Smith earned a $500 scholarship that will be paid to her school of choice. LifeServe awards up to $500 in scholarship funds to students who organize a successful blood drive during the summer (Memorial Day - Labor Day) or winter (December and January) scholarship periods. To be eligible for the scholarship award, students must recruit donors, act as the chairperson for the blood drive, and register 25 donors ($250 awarded) or 40 donors ($500 awarded). Individual scholarships are offered to any student seeking or currently achieving a higher level of education.

Harlan (Butch) Smizer retired from the United States Post Office on December 1, 2023, after 48 years of government service—44 as a mail carrier and four years in the United States Navy. Smizer graduated from Burke High School in 1974.

Coy Determan, a student at Northwestern College in Orange City, IA, earned a spot on the Academic Dean’s List for the fall 2023 semester. Determan, of Gregory, SD, is a sophomore majoring in exercise science.

Gregory County FFA members Aubree Miller and Avery Zeisler, as elected officers for District IV, attended District Officer Training and Legislative Breakfast in Pierre, South Dakota, January 1718. District IV includes FFA chapters from Wagner to Winner and Chamberlain to McCook Central.