Jeannine Otto

After 10 years of business, Kunes RV in Sterling is closed.

The top item on the wishlist for Twin Cities Homeless Shelter is available just a few minutes’ drive from the shelter. “Right now, what I’d really like, and they are on sale at Menards, are those 27-gallon storage totes,” shelter director Myles Newberry said.

While the appearance of the Twin Cities Homeless Shelter could be a single-family home, the face of homelessness has been changing over recent years, creating challenges for Myles Newberry and his two-person staff. 

When most people have put away the Christmas decorations, wrapping paper and ribbons, the director of the Whiteside County Toys for Tots program already is thinking about Christmas shopping.

Sublette volunteers in 2025 handled 170 ambulance calls, 59 fire calls and 39 vehicle accident calls. For the 30 volunteers on the department, that adds up to thousands of hours of service.

A successful, regional program to attract and train teenagers in firefighting and emergency medical services is returning to Sublette for a second year.

Grain and fertilizer prices jumped Thursday, hours after Russian troops launched attacks on cities throughout Ukraine and Russian troops invaded the country.