Amanda Tafolla-Sutton

It was story that remained buried until 1992, when a couple of joggers spotted the skull of an old skeleton while out on their morning jog.

According to the Nebraska Historical Society, the discovery and preservation are credited to Jim and Becky Haddix of Sidney.

After finding the bones, the Haddixes notified authorities and an archeologist was called in to identify and exhume the body, Kathy Wilson with the Boothill Committee said.

Upon further investigation it was determined that the bones of an adult male and an infant were interred in a single grave, covered in a natural earth pigment called red ocher.

"The remains were sent off to the University of Nebraska,Omaha Sociology & Anthropology department," Cemetery Sexton, Don Gehrig said.

According to Archeologist Kevin Hammond, the bones themselves were more than five thousand years old, and were from the prehistoric hunter-gatherers known as the Oxbow Complex, who once occupied the northern High Plains from western Nebraska to southern Canada. The skeletal remains, found eroding from a road cut, represent Nebraska's earliest documented burial.

It was a Lakota prophecy that prompted Sidney's Rebecca Faustino to travel to the Sacred Stone Camp and stand with the people who have gathered against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in North Dakota.

"For Lakota people there is a prophecy that the seventh generation, which is my generation, will rise up and fight the black snake that envelops the country," Faustino said. "The black snake will bring an end to the human race."

There is more than prophecy, however, that has thousands of people standing together against the pipeline.The people that have gathered to stand with the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, argue that DAPL threatens not only the water to the tribe but anyone downstream from the pipeline. The group also argues that DAPL violates Native American Treaties that have been in place since 1889.

Corn, barley, edible beans, millet, oats, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa and other forages are grown and marketed organically in Nebraska.

Organic production is a form of agriculture that relies on ecosystem management and attempts to reduce or eliminate external agricultural contributors, especially synthetic ones.

Choosing to grow crops organically is not an easy choice. Keeping non-organic materials from the soil is an ongoing battle. One grower tells the Sidney Sun-Telegraph why she chose to go organic and what it takes to maintain it.

History lies just beneath the surface of the ever-changing landscape in Sidney. Prehistoric nomads, indigenous tribes and soldiers have camped and lived along Lodgepole creek, for where there is water there are signs of life.

Lodgepole Creek played a big role in the development of the area. The once-thriving creek bed played a pivotal role in the lives of people spanning back thousands of years.

The creek, which once ran deep, has since diminished. Part of what is left now runs through culverts under the Prairie Winds housing development.

In the mid 1800's residents of what was then the Sidney Barracks, consisted mainly of soldiers and their families who made Camp Conrad, along the banks of creek.

In 2008, efforts were made by Sidney's Boot Hill Committee to salvage as much of the artifacts that time buried in the area that was once Camp Conrad.

Lodgepole Creek is a approximately 278 miles long, stretching from Wyoming to Colorado, the Lodgepole creek lies on top of much of the Ogallala Aquifer.

Underneath Nebraska and seven other states is a precious natural resource that sustains life not only in Sidney, but in the areas that surround us and across the country.

"It's said that Nebraska floats on water," Don Davis, information and education coordinator with the South Platte Natural Resource District (NRD) said.

In 1972 the Nebraska Legislature combined 154 special purpose entities into twenty-three NRDs. Unique to Nebraska, NRDs are local government entities that protect natural resources.

One of those resources is the Ogallala Aquifer, underlying approximately 174,000 square miles of the Great Plains, the aquifer is over one-million years old.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) the aquifer is being depleted at an unsustainable rate.

A long awaited announcement was made Monday, validating some of the speculation that has been circulating about Bass Pro Shops purchasing Cabela’s. However, the announcement still leaves questions to be answered.

A press release sent out by the two companies Monday stated they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Bass Pro Shops will acquire Cabela’s for $65.50 per share in cash, representing an aggregate transaction value of approximately $5.5 billion.

According to the press release, following the closing of the transaction, Bass Pro Shops “intends to celebrate and grow the Cabela’s brand and will build on qualities that respective customers love most about Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops. In addition, Bass Pro Shops recognizes the strength of Cabela’s CLUB Loyalty program and intends to honor Cabela’s customer rewards and sees potential over time to expand the program in the combined company.”

What all of this means to Sidney is still unclear, however in the press release Bass Pro made this statement, “Bass Pro Shops appreciates and understands the deep ties between Cabela’s and the community of Sidney, Nebraska. Dick, Mary and Jim Cabela founded their company in Sidney in 1961, and the company has flourished with its base of operations there ever since. Bass Pro Shops intends to continue to maintain important bases of operations in Sidney and Lincoln and hopes to continue the very favorable connections to those communities and the Cabela’s team members residing there.”

"I've got friends I don't need anything else" is a lyric from one of Leftmore's songs and the mantra the band's tour is centered around.

Leftmore's singer/songwriter Joe Ziegler has made Sidney a staple when out on tour, a habit he says is due to the people and friendships established here.

"I do not do as much touring as I used to, but when I do I make sure to get to Sidney," Ziegler said. "Sometimes people ask why I play such a small venue and I tell them it's because I enjoy the people. There is also something magical about the acoustics at the Shelter House."