I-80 travelers, please be advised that both eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 80 at Potter will be closed Tuesday, June 16th, for bridge work. Traffic in both directions will be diverted onto the on and off ramps at the Potter Interchange throughout the day. Motorists should expect delays. Please reduce speeds in the work zone and use caution while traveling through the area. That's the Potter Exchange on I-80, closed in both directions Tuesday all day. Detours will be provided.

The winner has been announced for our second quarter 2026 Favorite Local Small Business in the Panhandle. And would you look at that, from the small town of Hay Springs, Nebraska, we present your choice for the second quarter award. Congratulations to Farm to Family Cooperative, a small hometown citizen-owned grocery store in Hay Springs.

On Saturday, Lyman-Kiowa Fire Department responded to a fire at County Road 10 and County Road F. In fact, that's where the scanner call came from originally, but there were multiple fires along the highway there, suspected to be caused by a chain that was dragging and improperly attached. Please remember, in any trailering situation, to secure your chain and your hitch properly.

Around 7.52 p.m., scanner traffic indicated a manhunt for an individual in a wooded area near Bushnell. 23 minutes later, scanner traffic indicated one individual, 10-15, in custody or under arrest.

For all these stories and more, be sure to visit our page at Panhandle Scanner on Facebook or our website by the same name, Panhandlescanner.com.

At 10 o'clock yesterday morning, Keith County was paged for two children in a raft that had gotten blown into Lake McConaughey between beach axis 13 and 14. Keystone-Lemoyne Fire, Ogallala Fire, Keith County Sheriff's Office, and Keith County EMS all responded. Keystone-Lemoyne Fire Department launched two marine craft and picked up both young men in the raft just southwest of Arthur Bay about the middle of the lake. They were both wearing life jackets and were very glad to see the rescue boat pull up. Both were exhausted and hypothermic.

We had a disturbing call come across scanner traffic yesterday afternoon in Alliance. Scanner traffic indicated a gunshot wound. And around that same time, eyewitnesses were reporting to us that several police vehicles were speeding down Mississippi Avenue. Eventually, they found the individual at 6th and Grand. And unfortunately, the self-inflicted wound was fatal. Our prayers for that situation in Alliance and for all mental health crisis.

Seems there have been quite a few mushroom busts lately. The drug known as psilocybin has been the talk of several departments lately. Lancaster County Sheriff's Deputy Houchin recently gave a press conference on the young man who took some illegally enhanced gummies and ended up in a coma for two days. He didn't say exactly what substance that was in the gummies, but it was likely psilocybin.

Recently, a Scottsbluff business was busted for selling illegal mushrooms. Read more about that story on our Facebook page at Panhandle Scanner or on our news page at PanhandleScanner.com.

And don't forget our brand new Morrill County Scanner page. If you're interested in news for Morrill County, Nebraska, be sure to follow it at Morrill County Scanner.

We do have a few decisions that have been finalized for the fireworks this year. Many people are concerned about that due to the wildfires that are currently raging across Nebraska. But in City Council news, we do know four decisions have been made so far for local towns. Scottsbluff, Gearing, and Morrill have said yes to fireworks, and Potter has said no.

Please see our Facebook page or our news page for those exact times and dates. As you all know, that South Fork fire is raging near Crawford and Harrison. As of this morning, the fire is at 23,000 acres, per the perimeter uploaded to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Evacuations are in order for Fort Robinson State Park in Dawes County and the area west of Dodd Road and south of Cottonwood Road. Those are evacuation orders, with evacuation warnings set for residences south of Highway 20 to Four Mile Road in Sioux County and residents in the city of Crawford. You are under evacuation warning. Be ready to leave at any moment. Evacuees are directed to Chadron, Alliance, and Scotts Bluff. Find more about this story on panhandlescanner.com.

And look for our new Morrill County Scanner. Special thanks to Bridget Lehman for taking over the reins there. Look forward to more uncontrolled media coverage from Morrill County on Morrill County Scanner. Website coming soon. In the meantime, be sure to follow that Facebook page, Morrill County Scanner.

And don't forget our public record every Monday through Friday, when available. All on Panhandle Scanner.