Nebraska

In a remote town in the heartland of the American Midwest, a 90-year-old resident named Elsie Eiler serves as the location’s mayor, clerk, treasurer, bartender, and librarian

A town that once buzzed with life now holds the title of the world’s smallest by population – with just one person calling it home. Nestled in America’s heartland, in the ‘Cornhusker State’, sits Monowi, which boasts the remarkable status of being the least populated incorporated village in the US.

Tucked away in northern Nebraska, merely five miles from the South Dakota border, Monowi’s sole inhabitant is 90-year-old Elsie Eiler, who juggles roles as mayor, clerk, treasurer, bartender, and librarian.

Back in its heyday, Monowi was what the BBC called a “bustling stop on the Elkhorn Railroad” and was home to 150 residents, complete with eateries and even a prison.

Following World War II, though, farming conditions worsened and rural economies took a battering, with American communities disappearing – a fate Monowi seemingly couldn’t avoid.

Over time, local amenities closed down, including grocery stores, the post office, and the school. By 1980, the population had dwindled to just 18 people and, 20 years on, only two remained – Elsie and her husband Rudy, who ran the local tavern.

Tragically, Rudy passed away in 2004, leaving Elsie as the town’s sole resident. The settlement now features in the Guinness World Records as the word’s least populated town.

In a clip shared on Instagram, user Seph Lawless dropped in on Elsie and captured a brief chat for his channel. In the caption, he penned: “In a town with a population of one, I stood face to face with Elsie Eiler – the last resident of Monowi, Nebraska.

“She lives alone in a town that once thrived – now a ghost echoing her memories. Meeting Elsie reminded me that sometimes, the strongest souls dwell in the quietest places.

“This is the story of the last heartbeat of America’s smallest town. One woman. One town. A thousand stories.”

A magnet for curious visitors, the sole establishments still operating are the Monowi Tavern and the poignantly named Rudy Eiler Memorial Library.

Back in 2020, when Elsie was 84, the BBC disclosed that she would put up a notice in the tavern calling for mayoral elections, then simply cast her ballot for herself.

At the time, it was noted that despite the town’s emptiness, folk would still come to her tavern, including her loyal patrons who travelled from 20 to 30 miles away. She told the broadcaster: “It’s like one big family.

“There are fourth and fifth-generation customers coming in. It’s pretty neat when the people you remember as babies are now bringing their babies in to show me.”

When Seph enquired whether she was actually the town mayor, a bemused Elsie highlighted that there was “no one else” and she had to “account for budget”, though she admitted it “doesn’t amount to much”.

In more poignant remarks, she explained that she’d likely remain in the town until they “carry me out”, and once the population dwindles to zero, Monowi would become just “another little place” on the road.

LINCOLN, Neb. — Lauren Betts scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds to help No. 4 UCLA to an 83-61 win over No. 25 Nebraska on Sunday.

Betts also added four blocks and five steals for the Bruins (15-1, 5-0 Big Ten).

UCLA used an 11-2 first quarter run to take control of the game and stretched its lead to 35-20 on Gianna Kneepkens’ three-pointer with 2:21 remaining in the first half.

Nebraska (14-3, 3-3) cut the deficit to 10 on Jessie Petrie’s layup that opened the second half scoring. But the Huskers could get no closer the rest of the way.

Sienna Betts’ layup with 4:03 left in the third period pushed the lead to 52-32. UCLA’s largest lead was 27 late in the game.

Five other Bruins joined Lauren Betts in double figures: Kneepkens finished with 16 points, Charlisse Leger-Walker had 14 points, Sienna Betts and Kiki Rice had 12 points each, and Gabriela Jaquez had 11.

The taller, more physical Bruins dominated Nebraska defensively and on the boards. The Bruins stifled Nebraska’s shooters, who hit just 38% of their shots and 33% from three, and held the Huskers 24 points below their 85 points per game season average.

UCLA outrebounded 43-28 and turned 16 offensive rebounds into 17 second chance points.

Amilia Hargrove scored 12 points to lead Nebraska. Logan Nissey had 11 for the Huskers, and Jessica Petrie, Callin Hake and Eliza Maupin had 10 points each.

Former Nebraska U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, a conservative who rebuked political tribalism and stood out as a longtime critic of President Trump, announced Tuesday he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Sasse, 53, made the announcement on social media, saying he learned of the disease last week and is “now marching to the beat of a faster drummer.”

“This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch of you have started to suspect something, I’ll cut to the chase,” Sasse wrote. “Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.”

Sasse was first elected to the Senate in 2014. He comfortably won reelection in 2020 after fending off a pro-Trump primary challenger. Sasse drew the ire of GOP activists for his vocal criticism of Trump’s character and policies, including questioning his moral values and saying he cozied up to adversarial foreign leaders.

Sasse was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict the former president of “ incitement of insurrection ” after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. After threats of a public censure back home, he extended his critique to party loyalists who blindly worship one man and rejected him for his refusal to bend the knee.

He resigned from the Senate in 2023 to serve as the 13th president of the University of Florida after a contentious approval process. He left that post the following year after his wife was diagnosed with epilepsy.

Sasse, who has degrees from Harvard, St. John’s College and Yale, worked as an assistant secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush. He served as president of Midland University, a small Christian university in eastern Nebraska, before he ran for the Senate.

Sasse and his wife have three children.

“I’m not going down without a fight. One sub-part of God’s grace is found in the jawdropping advances science has made the past few years in immunotherapy and more,” Sasse wrote. “Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived.”