First baby of year Brayden Wade Sundheim was born Jan. 2 to proud parents, Lisa Lorenz and Faron Sundheim.

Richey native Max Milne was selected to the NAIA All-American football team for his play as offensive tackle for Minot State University, Minot, N.D. Milne was a 278-pound junior.

Sharon Rau, the executive director for the Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture from 1991-2005,was saluted at the chamber's annual banquet. Rau was forced to step down from the position due to health reasons. She collapsed in her office Oct. 8, 2004, and then underwent a series of operations because of a blood clot in her brain. Sidney Health Center and financial consultants met with the Richland County commissioners in February to discuss a revenue bond structure to fund Sidney Health Center's building project. The bond would be for more than $16 million and last 25 years with Sidney Health Center paying the county back.

The Sidney Eagles won six individual championships as they captured their fourth straight Class A team title at the state wrestling meet held in Billings.

County officials discussed future building projects in March, which include a new law enforcement center as well as a new community services building.

With a price tag of $800,000 per mile to reconstruct the badly worn 12-mile section of Highway 201, the county sought help funding the project because impact funds were not enough to cover the total project cost of $16 million.

Graduation of the eighth Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture's leadership class was held in April. The class project was the "Welcome to Sidney" signs.

The Savage School District hired Loren Dunk as the new superintendent. Dunk was the superintendent in Flaxville and Outlook.

Connie Newman was hired by the Lambert School District to be its new superintendent of schools in May. Newman was the superintendent of Pelican City School District in Pelican, Alaska.

A total of $7.751 million in oil impact funding came to Richland County for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2005. The city of Sidney received $137,817 for the same quarter.

The Women's Health Coalition hosted the Best Kept Secret Collection Auction, which raised $3,750 for the Montana Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program.

Surgeons separated twins Abbigail and Isabelle Carlsen, daughters of Sidney natives Jesse and Amy Carlsen. The twins, born conjoined Nov. 29, 2005, were separated at the Mayo Clinic.

In June the county faced low unemployment (3.4 percent) in the booming economy. The situation was at crisis level forcing many businesses to cut hours.

Richland County native Jamie Larson-Kuntz, a 1999 Sidney High School graduate, was hired to serve as the new manager for the Richland County Fair and Rodeo. She replaced Kris Weltikol, who resigned from the position in May.

Fairview celebrated its 100th anniversary during the Old Timer's Reunion and Festival held in July.

Area youth were encouraged to participate in the Montana Meth Project's "Paint the State" contest. Youth artists that participated in the "Paint the State" (with the theme Not Even Once to Meth) contest were eligible for cash rewards in both county and statewide categories of the public art display.

Josh King was hired as Richland County's new emergency medical services director, replacing Butch Renders in that capacity. Renders retained the duties of disaster and emergency services director.

The Corps of Discovery II Expedition made it to the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, northeast of Sidney, in August. Special displays were held at the fairgrounds in Sidney.

Taste of Home Cooking School was held at the Richland Youth Hockey facility in September, hosted by Richland Youth Hockey and the Sidney Herald.

In October, the Sidney Community Education Foundation provided the Sidney Middle School's music program with a $3,000 grant that bought the students a new baritone saxophone.

Alvin Nelson, Grassy Butte, N.D., was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame for the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Richland County voters decided to stay with their current sheriff during the November election. Sheriff Brad Baisch received 2,707 votes compared to challenger Marty Casey's total of 1,179 votes.

The new music department opened in December at the Sidney High School. The music department extension cost $1.4 million. Excess oil and gas revenue was used to fund the project.

Footnote: Information provided by the MonDak Heritage Center's archives. Previous years can be found on the Herald Web site www.sidneyherald.com/herald_facts