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Nebraska Wesleyan University conferred degrees to nearly 400 students during its commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 10. In addition, honorary degrees were bestowed on Victoria Roche, Professor Emerita of Pharmacy Sciences at Creighton University.

A Clarks man and former High Plains Community Schools employee was arrested on May 27 following an investigation into alleged inappropriate conduct with a student. Jonathon T.

“But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go—for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!” Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. And she said, “Look, your sister-inlaw has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sisterin- law.” But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.” When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.”

Hastings College held its 139th Commencement on Saturday, May 17, 2025. During the ceremony, the College awarded degrees to 192 undergraduates and 10 Master of Arts in Teaching graduates. Graduates represented 19 states and 14 countries.

The University of Nebraska- Lincoln conferred 3,681 degrees during commencement exercises May 3, 16 and 17. The 3,591 graduates are from 57 countries, 46 U.S.

Concordia University, Nebraska recently named 241 students to its honors list for the spring 2025 semester. Students who earn a 3.90 GPA or higher while also completing at least 12 credit hours during the semester qualify for this list.

Morningside University Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Chris Spicer announced the 475 students named to the Dean’s List for the fall semester of the 2024-25 academic year. The Dean’s List recognizes Morningside students who achieve a 3.67-grade point average or better and complete at least 12 credits of coursework with no grade below a “C-.”

Diplomas and certificates were conferred on nearly 1,000 University of Nebraska Medical Center students during ceremonies held May 8 in Lincoln, Norfolk and Kearney and May 10 in Omaha and Scottsbluff.

The horn fly is one of the most damaging pests of pasture and rangeland cattle across the U.S. Adult horn flies are blood-feeding insects that take an average of 30 blood meals per day. Their populations can build rapidly and often exceed the Economic Injury Level (EIL) defined as 200 flies per animal. Once fly numbers surpass this threshold, cattle experience reduced weight gain and milk production due to fly-induced stress and altered grazing behavior.

A pine tree raining insects. This was an interesting, and legitimate question I had this past week. I was asked what insect with six legs would be dropping off of a pine tree. They could feel them dropping onto them and the picnic table near the pine tree was covered with masses of these insects. The concern was these were ticks, or would harm the tree. They couldn’t be ticks since they had six legs. Ticks have eight legs being in the arachnid family. Turns out, the insects dropping off the pine were aphids which are tiny tear drop shaped, soft bodied insects. They can develop into very high numbers, but fortunately their sap feeding rarely harms plants, especially pine. When they mass on plants, we recommend hosing them off to reduce numbers. I suspect our lack of spring rains to wash them off the pine led to the build-up of high population. With time the aphid population will decline. It would be best to just move the picnic table.