Dakota Davis, co-owner and manager of Enid Livestock Market and Caldwell Livestock Market, in Kansas, said he sees a light at the end of the tunnel for area cattle producers, but it’s been a tough year for many.

 ❝Oklahoma is so strange. You can't get too far ahead of yourself and start counting your chickens before they hatch.❞ — Trent Milacek, northwest area ag economics specialist 

Sales during the COVID-19 pandemic were flat at New Holland Agriculture’s Enid and Arnett locations, said owner Jennifer Gantt, but the industry did well comparatively because, “Farmers do what they do.”

❝There’s gonna be a lot of changes. There’s going to be some winners, there’s going to be some losers. I just hope the oil and gas business wins because ... There’s a lot of people in Oklahoma that work off oil and gas, and we need it to stay going.❞ — John Donaldson, president of D&J Oil in Enid

❝We’re privileged to work with the landowners, local communities, organizations and government officials. It’s been a very positive experience.❞ — NextEra lead project manager Elinore Beitler

"It's a big risk. A lot of it is natural selection. We let Mother Nature determine what performs and what doesn't." — Joey Meibergen, Johnston Seed Co. president 

Wade Burleson is ready for another calling when he retires from the pulpit at Emmanuel Enid on Feb. 2, 2022, marking the end of a 30-year tenure at Enid's largest church.

Improving the lives of Catholic men and their communities is the goal of Knights of Columbus.

First Missionary Baptist and Grayson Missionary Baptist churches feed their parishioners with chicken and technology during pandemic.

Pastor Dewayne Schroeder said Redeemer Lutheran Church, 215 S. Cleveland, wants to have activities where people feel more comfortable in fellowship and coming in together.

His Quilters of Oakwood Christian Church is a group of women that make and donate quilts to various people, companies and organizations to provide warmth and extend their faith to others through servitude.

At Zoe Kids’ Café, after the children eat, there’s a theme-based lesson, mostly regarding social skills, moral behavior or values — the kinds of lessons you’d expect from a ministry to children, Pitts said. Praise and worship time is next, followed by outside activities, assuming the weather is cooperative.

Enid Welcome Table is a restaurant-style community meal served Sunday evenings at Central Christian Church for anyone who is hungry.

For 2021, the plan is to move the Mennonite relief sales back in person, and, in the case of Oklahoma, that means the Garfield County Fairgrounds on the first weekend in November.

More than 120 families came on a recent day to Shepherd’s Cupboard food pantry to pick up non-perishable items such as canned goods, cereal, rice and beans, as well as other assorted foods including cheese, milk and fruit.

❝Doctors want to fix things—it's how we are wired,” Petersen said. “Facing an illness that we can’t fix has been hard on all of us, but I'm proud of how we have adapted. We have learned to celebrate the victories, both large and small, and we have learned how to help families deal with the uncertainty.❞ — Dr. Kristy Petersen, St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center hospitalist program director 

❝I’ve driven home sometimes after losing another patient and looked around at everyone just going about their lives and wondered, ❛How is everyone so calm? Doesn’t everyone realize the world is ending?❜❞ — Louise Zecha surgical floor nurse who moved to the COVID unit and ICU 

Longtime health care worker and volunteer Janet Cordell said she never wanted to be anything but a nurse.

Once they get to school in the early morning, Wright and her custodial colleagues throughout Enid Public Schools are available all day long — whenever they’re needed by any classroom, any principal. Then they’re there after school until the evening, sanitizing the buildings and getting school ready for the next day.

Mark Hopping said he’s seen everything from a 2 a.m. call for a broken toe to serious trauma like cardiac arrest and car accidents. Much of the job is spent waiting for calls, but the company also offers interfacility transfers — transferring patients to facilities across town or out of state.

Enid's day care centers are living with the reality of a COVID-19 world and learning to adapt.

Enid police and firefighters continue to work and help the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the COVID-19 pandemic shows signs of easing and discussion and action to end year-long restrictions begin, stories of those who serve our most vulnerable populations are plentiful.

Like everything else in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the way people grieve and pay honor to their lost loved ones also has changed over the past year.

There will be a one-mile and two-mile run 2 p.m. Sunday, April 25, 2021, at Crosslin Park, 1520 W. Oxford. Three machines will be placed along the running trail for participants, covering the trail with bubbles and foam.

Northern Oklahoma College has transformed the way it provides education to ensure NOC nursing students graduate more competent and confident for practice in spite of pandemic-limited experience.

Northwestern Oklahoma State University-Enid Dean Wayne McMillin is hoping the future is a lot like the past.

❝Small schools like ours have to attract and retain students while fundraising, and then convince the parents that we are worth the investment, knowing that the competition does what we do for ❛free.❜❞ — Wade Laffey, principal of St. Joseph’s Catholic School

Waukomis Public Schools Superintendent Kelly Husted called the $7.4 million bond issue that passed Feb. 9 the school’s largest bond issue, and, he believes, the largest to ever pass in the town.

❝NOC is family, and it's difficult to leave, but I believe it is the right time for me and the right time for the college. An average college president stays about six years. I just wanted to leave on a high note.❞ — Cheryl Evans, Northern Oklahoma College president

Founded in 1911 by a group of Mennonite farm families in Meno, OBA was created to ensure children received a Bible-based education. The school relocated to 5913 W. Chestnut in Enid in 1983 to make a Christian education accessible to more families in Northwest Oklahoma.

❝Quiz Bowl made it OK to be smart and to be a nerd. It has provided opportunities to many who otherwise would not have had a meaningful outlet for their talents or interests.❞ — Adam Hughes, former player and son of longtime Drummond Quiz Bowl team coach Anita Hughes