The last few weeks have seen fires raging across our beloved state. Farnam has been battling field fires, A home burned down in Brady, Cambridge was evacuated, a fire broke out near Cozad, and another fire blazed just east of Gothenburg. We at the Gothenburg Times contacted Fire Chief Mark Ballmer of the Gothenburg Volunteer Fire Department regarding information about these fires.
The 94th Nebraska State FFA Convention took place in Lincoln from April 6th to the 8th. The Gothenburg Chapter had a very successful trip. As soon as the members arrived, competitions started. The Chapter brought competitors in ten CDE and eight LDE events. The Biotechnology team placed 6th overall with Emaleigh Rosse leading the team with a purple ribbon and 3rd place finish, Katelyn Hetz was 10th earning a blue ribbon. Michael May also earned a blue ribbon in the event. Agronomy placed 10th and consisted of team members Jake Burge earning a purple, Carter Anderson with a blue, Braeden Anderson also with a blue, and Wes Geiken with a red. The Natural Resources team placed 7th and all members earned ribbons. Gage Andersen and Rye Tiller got purples and Preston Nichols and Katelyn Hetz got blues. Floriculture placed 4th with Arissa Ackerman earning a purple and Layla Healey earning a blue. The Ag Sales team was 8th overall. Emma Peterson placed 5th individually and earned a purple ribbon. Kara Waskowiak earned a red. The Agriscience team placed 11th with these members: Casey Wahlgren, blue; Madison Cornwell, blue; Rye Tiller, blue; Max Wyatt, white. Food Science saw two members ribbon. Sophia Aden earned a red and Alec Winney earned a white. The Poultry Evaluation team also placed 11th and had three ribboning members: Ty Kreis, blue; Kai Jorgenson, red; Elissa Foley, white. Jake Burge won a purple and Trevor David a red in the Ag Mechanics competition.