Sunday, February 28th the North Platte Catholic Schools will hold the 41st annual Irish Fest celebration at St. Patrick’s High School, 500 S. Silber, from 12:00 Noon to 3:00 p.m.

The entire community is invited to get into the Irish spirit with a day full of family fun! The event features a homemade turkey and noodles dinner served from 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., mini carnival games and prizes, Fun Jumpz, a silent auction, bake sale, and raffle.

This year’s Irish Fest Raffle offers a $1,000 cash prize, a 50” Smart HDTV, 5 – $100 cash prizes, and a $500 SCRIP certificate sponsored by Bill Summers Ford. Raffle tickets are $2.00 each (or 10 for $15) and are on sale now through Sunday. They can be purchased from any McDaid or St. Patrick’s student, at the North Platte Catholic Schools Endowment (601 S. Tabor), or at McDaid and St. Patrick’s schools.

Raffle tickets will also be sold at Irish Fest. The raffle drawing will take place at 2:50 p.m. on Sunday, the 28th. You do not have to be present to win.

The event originally called “Mardi Gras” was first celebrated by the North Platte Catholic Schools on Tuesday, February 11, 1975. In the early years, it was held on “Fat Tuesday” prior to the start of the Lenten season. Later it was changed to Sunday and has been a tradition since.

For the past 41 years, Irish Fest has involved hundreds of volunteers and proceeds have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to the operating budget of the North Platte Catholic School system.

A North Platte woman has been charged with a felony after she allegedly threatened an assault victim.

On February 15, at around 8:20 p.m., an officer with the North Platte Police Department responded to the 1000 block of North Cottonwood Avenue on the report of an assault.

The officer met with an adult male who alleged that he had been assaulted earlier by Michael Torres.

The victim claimed that there was an argument over the phone between him and Torres, which led to Torres showing up, tackling the man and punching him.  Police say the victim had injuries consistent with the allegations.

Torres was later contacted and cited for 3rd-degree assault.

On February 20, the victim again met with police to report that he was receiving text messages from Emily Lunkwitz.  According to Investigator John Deal, Lunkwitz has a child with the victim and is dating Torres.

It was reported that the texts encouraged the victim to drop the assault charges against Torres and said, if he didn’t, Lunkwitz would not allow him to see his child.

The officer met with Lunkwitz and was able to verify that she had sent the text messages.

Lunkwitz was placed under arrest and charged with felony witness tampering.

She was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

David Gale, Chief Executive Officer of Sandhills State Bank, and Randy Hendricks, Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Keystone, jointly announce the purchase of the Bank of Keystone by Sandhills State Bank.

“The opportunity to combine two Western Nebraska legacy banking operations is a win-win for our customers and the communities we serve. Sandhills State Bank is committed to serving ranchers, farmers and the main streets of our communities,” said Hendricks.

“It just makes sense that we would join with them to ensure that local control and sound banking judgement remains in place for our families.” Gale added, “We see this as an exciting opportunity for Sandhills State Bank to ensure the continuance of economic independence with local financial decision making for the Sandhills region, just as the Bank of Keystone has done since 1909. The similarities between the two organizations are many, this union is a perfect cultural and geographic fit.”

The purchase agreement between the two banks was completed on February 19, 2016. The next step towards completing the purchase is gaining regulatory approval. Upon approval, the Bank of Keystone customers will transition to Sandhills State Bank. Gale estimates the regulatory approval process will occur over the next 60 to 90 days.

During this time, operations at both banks will continue as usual.

“We expect to be ready to transition Bank of Keystone customers to Sandhills State Bank in late fall,” Gale said.

The Bank of Keystone operates four branches in Keystone, Hyannis, Arthur, and Elsie, Nebraska. All its branches will remain open and all employees will be retained, continuing to provide the same excellent service to the Bank of Keystone’s customers.

“The transition for customers will be simple and easy, they will continue to deal with their personal banker and have access to all their funds and branches during this time. In the future, they will also have access to all the products and services of Sandhills State Bank, such as mobile banking and online billpay,” Gale explained.

The purchase elevates Sandhills State Bank’stotal assets to over $230 million. Since 2010, Sandhills State Bank has grown nearly 600 percent, and it is now the largest bank headquartered and operating exclusively in the Nebraska Sandhills.

Sandhills State Bank is a locally owned and regionally focused financial institution committed to serving the Nebraska Sandhills’ ranching and farming community since 1902. It currently operates full-service branches in Bassett, Valentine, North Platte, Harrison, Alliance, and Hay Springs, Nebraska.

The Bank’s local ownership supports the region’s economic independence and sustains the quality of life for the communities it serves.

For more information about Sandhills State Bank, please visit www.SandhillsState.com.

A North Platte man is facing charges after authorities say he stole mail from numerous Lincoln County residents and broke into a vehicle.

In early February, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation after receiving numerous reports of someone going through mailboxes around the North Platte area and taking mail.

Chief Deputy Roland Kramer says, during the same time period, a vehicle was broken into at US Highway 83 and Garfield Table Road.

Deputies viewed security camera footage of a suspect attempting to use the proceeds from the thefts at several businesses.

On February 19, deputies were alerted that Richard “Brian” Valentine was attempting to cash a credit card check for $5,800.  Kramer says the check, from a Lincoln County resident, was made out to Valentine.  However, when the resident was contacted they stated that they did not know Valentine, nor did they issue the check.

Later that day, deputies made contact with Valentine in North Platte and placed him under arrest.  Kramer said Valentine had numerous stolen items in his possession at the time of his arrest.

Valentine was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center and charged with 2nd-degree forgery, theft, possession of stolen property and criminal mischief.  He also had an active warrant for possession of methamphetamine.

The investigation is ongoing.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Agriculture Department is offering $100,000 in grants to help Nebraska farmers create habitat for monarch butterflies.

Nebraska farmers and ranchers have until March 18 to apply for funding.

State Wildlife Biologist Ritch Nelson says monarch butterflies are becoming less common in Nebraska because their total population has declined significantly over the past 20 years.

The butterflies, like honey bees, play an important role in nature of helping pollinate plants.

In addition to the grants, experts will advise farmers on planting milkweed and nectar-rich plans in buffer areas between fields or around wetlands and in pastures.

NEW YORK (AP) — Labrador retrievers still reign supreme after a quarter century as America’s most prevalent purebred dog. But French bulldogs are riding their je ne sais quoi toward new heights, and some lesser-known breeds are climbing the popularity ladder.

That’s according to the American Kennel Club, which released its annual breed rankings Monday.

Labs have held the top spot for longer than any other breed since the AKC started counting in the 1880s.

German shepherds, golden retrievers, bulldogs and beagles fill out the top five. After that come French bulldogs, Yorkshire terriers, poodles, Rottweilers and boxers.

AKC Vice President Gina DiNardo says the list shows Americans “like easy-to-care-for, fun family dogs,” whether big or small.

The rankings reflect puppies and other newly registered dogs belonging to some 184 AKC-recognized breeds.

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks is changing the terms of its rewards program so that people who just get a regular cup of coffee will have to spend significantly more to earn a freebie.

The Seattle-based coffee chain says its loyalty program will award stars based on the dollars spent starting in April. Currently, people earn a star for each transaction, regardless of how much they spend, and get a free food or item of their choice after earning 12 stars.

People will now have to earn 125 stars for a free item, with each dollar spent being worth two stars — meaning they have to spend $62.50 to get their free item. That means that people who now spend around $5 or less per visit are losing out.

For instance, someone who regularly gets a $2 regular drip coffee would currently earn a free item after spending around $24 over 12 visits. Someone who gets a large latte for $4.45 currently spends around $53.40 over a dozen visits before getting a free item.

Still, Starbucks Corp. says the change is the No. 1 request among loyalty program members and predicts it will lead to higher spending by customers eager to earn more stars.

In a call with analysts, Starbucks Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ryan said the vast majority of customers will earn rewards at an equal or better rate with the change. Without providing details, he said a “small minority” of customers will earn rewards at a slower pace.

The change is not an opportunity to “opaquely reduce” the value of the program, Ryan said.

The current rewards system can also increase waiting times in store lines, Ryan said, because some people try to get additional stars by asking to ring up multiple items separately. Such instances account for 1 percent of all transactions, he said.

The change comes as Starbucks has been pushing to get more people signed up for its My Starbucks Rewards program. Loyalty members spend three times as much as non-members, and help push up profit, according to the company.

Last month, Starbucks said it had 11.1 million loyalty program members in the U.S., up 23 percent from the previous year.

The coming change will not benefit customers such as Vincent Fiorese, who works in construction management and spends less than $3 on a cup of coffee whenever he goes to work. But Fiorese said it wouldn’t deter him from getting his coffee.

“It sucks, but what am I going to do,” he said.

O’NEILL, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the fatal stabbing of a 37-year-old woman in O’Neill.

Officers were sent to an O’Neill residence around 9 p.m. Saturday to investigate a stabbing. The woman and a man found there were taken to Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital in O’Neill. The woman soon was pronounced dead at the hospital. Her name hasn’t been released. An autopsy has been ordered.

There’s been no word on the man’s injuries, and his name hasn’t been released.

No arrests have been reported.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Millions of gallons of water are being pumped into the Republican River again this year to ensure that Nebraska farms in the area can continue operating while Kansas gets the water it is entitled to.

This is the third year in a row that Nebraska pumped groundwater into the river to satisfy its obligations under its compact with Kansas and Colorado.

But the amount of water being pumped into the river this year is about 60 percent less than past years because the three states reached a new agreement on managing the river’s water.

The use of the river’s water is governed by an agreement that says Nebraska gets 49 percent of the river’s water, Kansas receives 40 percent and Colorado gets 11 percent