Nebraska
Nebraska is bordered by
South Dakota to the north;
Iowa and
Missouri to the east, across the
Missouri River;
Kansas to the south;
Colorado to the southwest; and
Wyoming to the west. Nebraska has
93 counties; it also occupies the central portion of the
Frontier Strip.
Nebraska is composed of two major land regions: the
Dissected Till Plains and the
Great Plains. The easternmost portion of the state was scoured by
Ice Age glaciers; the Dissected Till Plains were left behind after the glaciers retreated. The Dissected Till Plains is a region of gently rolling hills;
Omaha and
Lincoln are located within this region.
The Great Plains occupy the majority of western Nebraska. The Great Plains itself is comprised of several smaller, diverse land regions, including the
Sandhills, the
Pine Ridge, the
Rainwater Basin, the
High Plains and the
Wildcat Hills.
Panorama Point, at 5,424 feet (1,653 m), is the highest point in Nebraska; despite its name and elevation, it is merely a low rise near the Colorado and Wyoming borders.
A past Nebraska
tourism slogan was "Where the West Begins"; locations given for the beginning of the "West" include the Missouri River, the intersection of 13th and O Streets in Lincoln (where it is marked by a red brick star), the
100th meridian, and
Chimney Rock.
Areas under the management of the
National Park Service include:
*
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument near
Harrison*
California National Historic Trail*
Chimney Rock National Historic Site near
Bayard*
Homestead National Monument of America in
Beatrice*
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail*
Missouri National Recreational River near
Ponca*
Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail*
Niobrara National Scenic River near
Valentine*
Oregon National Historic Trail*
Pony Express National Historic Trail*
Scotts Bluff National Monument at
GeringClimate
Two major
climates are represented in Nebraska: the eastern two-thirds of the state has a
hot summer continental climate, and the western third of the state has a
semiarid steppe climate. The entire state experiences wide seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation. Average temperatures are fairly uniform across Nebraska, while average annual precipitation decreases from about 31.5
inches (800
mm) in the southeast corner of the state to about 13.8 inches (350 mm) in the
Panhandle. Snowfall across the state is fairly even, with most of Nebraska receiving between 25 and 35 inches (650 to 900 mm) of snow annually. [
1]
Nebraska is located in
Tornado Alley;
thunderstorms are common in the spring and summer months. The
chinook winds from the
Rocky Mountains provide a temporary moderating effect on temperatures in western Nebraska during the winter months. [
2], [
3]
The
Kansas-Nebraska Act became law on
May 28,
1854; it established the
U.S. territories of Nebraska and
Kansas. The territorial capital of Nebraska was
Omaha.
In the
1860s, the first great wave of
homesteaders poured into Nebraska to claim free land granted by the federal government.Many of the first farm settlers built their homes out of
sod because they found so few trees on the grassy land.
Nebraska became the 37th state in
1867, shortly after the
American Civil War. At that time, the capital was moved from
Omaha to Lancaster, later renamed
Lincoln after the recently assassinated
President of the United States Abraham Lincoln.
Arbor Day began in Nebraska, and the
National Arbor Day Foundation is still headquartered in
Nebraska City.
Prohibition in the U.S. was adopted in 1918, with Nebraska as the thirty-sixth state necessary to make the
Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution [
4].
|
Nebraska Population Density Map |
The five largest ancestry groups in Nebraska are
German (38.6%),
Irish (12.4%),
English (9.6%),
Swedish (4.9%), and
Czech (4.9%).
Nebraska has the largest Czech-American population (as a percentage of the total population) in the nation. German-Americans are the largest ancestry group in most of the state, particularly in the eastern counties. Thurston County (comprised entirely of the
Omaha and
Winnebago reservations) has a
Native American majority, and
Butler County is one of only two counties in the nation with a Czech-American plurality.
Rural flight
Nebraska, in common with five other Midwest states (
Kansas,
Oklahoma,
North and
South Dakota, and
Iowa), has experienced a decades-long population decline in rural areas, although Nebraska is the fastest declining of the six. Eighty-nine percent of the cities in those states have fewer than 3000 people; hundreds have fewer than 1000. Between 1996 and 2004, almost half a million people, nearly half with college degrees, left the six states.
"Rural flight", as it is called, has led to offers of free land and tax breaks as enticements to newcomers. As an example in Nebraska,
Monowi, which in the 1930s had a population of 150, now has a population of one (
as of 2006).
While many areas of the state continue to suffer from
Rural flight, others have experienced substantial growth. The city of Omaha in 2000 had a population of 390,007 while is estimated today (2004) to contain 409,416 people, a change of +5% over only four years. The city of Lincoln had a population of 225,581 during 2000 and had a 2004 estimated population of 236,146, a +4.7% change. Indeed, the population of the state of Nebraska has increased by an estimated 35,951 persons from 2000 to 2004.
Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of Nebraska are:
*
Christian – 90%
**
Protestant – 61%
***
Lutheran – 16%
***
Methodist – 11%
***
Baptist – 9%
***
Presbyterian – 4%
***Other Protestant – 21%
**
Roman Catholic – 28%
**Other Christian – 1%
*Other religions – 1%
*Non-religious – 9%
The
Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates of Nebraska's gross state product in 2004 was $68 billion. Per capita personal income in 2004 was $31,339, 25th in the nation.
Once considered part of the
Great American Desert, it is now a leading
farming state. Nebraskans have practiced scientific farming to turn the Nebraska
prairie into a land of ranches and farms. Much of the history of the state is the story of the impact of the Nebraska farmer.
Nebraska has a large
agriculture sector, and is a national leader in the production of
beef,
pork,
corn (maize), and
soybeans. Other important economic sectors include
freight transport (by
rail and
truck),
manufacturing,
telecommunications,
information technology, and
insurance.
Nebraska has 4 personal
income tax brackets, ranging from 2.56 percent to 6.84 percent. Nebraska has a state
sales tax of 5.5 percent. In addition to the state tax, some Nebraska cities assess a city sales and use tax, up to a maximum of 1.5 percent. All
real property located within the state of Nebraska is taxable unless specifically exempted by statute. Since 1992, only depreciable personal property is subject to tax and all other personal property is exempt from tax.
Inheritance tax is collected at the county level.
Railroads
Nebraska has a rich railroad history. The
Union Pacific Railroad, headquartered in Omaha, was incorporated on
July 1,
1862, in the wake of the
Pacific Railway Act of 1862. The route of the
original transcontinental railroad runs through the state.
Other major railroads with operations in the state are:
Amtrak;
BNSF Railway;
Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad; and
Iowa Interstate Railroad.
Roads and highways
The
Interstate Highways in Nebraska are:
*
76,
80,
129,
180,
480,
680The
U.S. Routes in Nebraska are:
*
6,
20,
26,
30,
34,
73,
75,
77,
81,
83,
136,
138,
159,
183,
275,
281,
283,
385Nebraska's government operates under the framework of the Nebraska Constitution, adopted in 1875 and is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
Executive branch
The head of the executive branch is the
Governor; the current governor of Nebraska is
Dave Heineman. Other elected officials in the executive branch are the Lieutenant Governor (elected on the same ticket as the Governor), the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the State Treasurer, and the State Auditor. All elected officials in the executive branch serve four-year terms.
Legislative branch
Nebraska is the only state in the
United States with a
unicameral legislature; that is, a legislature with only one house. Although this house is officially known simply as the "
Legislature", and more commonly called the "Unicameral", its members still call themselves "senators". Nebraska's Legislature is also the only
state legislature in the United States that is
nonpartisan. The senators are elected with no party affiliation next to their names on the ballot, and the speaker and committee chairs are chosen at large, so that members of any party can be (and often are) chosen for these positions. The Nebraska Legislature can also override a governor's veto with a three-fifths majority, in contrast to the two-thirds majority required in some other states.
The
Nebraska Legislature meets in the third
Nebraska State Capitol building, built between 1922 and 1932.
The judicial system in Nebraska is unified, with the
Nebraska Supreme Court having administrative authority over all Nebraska courts. Nebraska uses the
Missouri Plan for the selection of judges at all levels. The lowest courts in Nebraska are the county courts, which are grouped into 12 districts (containing one or more counties); above those are 12 district courts. The
Court of Appeals hears appeals from the district courts, juvenile courts, and workers' compensation courts. The Nebraska Supreme Court is the final court of appeal.
Nebraska allows for
capital punishment; the sole method of execution is the
electric chair.
Federal government representation
Nebraska's two
U.S. senators are
Chuck Hagel (Republican) and
Ben Nelson (Democrat). Nebraska has three representatives in the
House are:
Jeff Fortenberry (R,
1st District);
Lee Terry (R,
2nd District); and
Tom Osborne (R,
3rd District).
Since
1991, two of Nebraska's five
electoral votes are awarded based on the winner of the statewide election; the other three go to the highest vote-getter in each of the state's three congressional districts.
Nebraska politics
For most of its history, Nebraska has been a solidly
Republican state. Republicans have carried the state in all but one presidential election since
1940—the
1964 landslide election of
Lyndon Johnson. In the
2004 presidential election,
George W. Bush won the state's five electoral votes by a 33% margin of (the fourth-most Republican vote among states) with 65.9% of the overall vote; only
Thurston County, which includes two American
Indian reservations, voted for
John Kerry.
Despite the current Republican domination of Nebraska politics, the state has a long tradition of electing centrist members of both parties to state and federal office; examples include George Norris (who served his last few years in the Senate as an independent),
J. James Exon, and
Bob Kerrey. This tradition is illustrated by Nebraska's current U. S. senators:
Chuck Hagel is considered a maverick within his party, while
Ben Nelson is the most conservative member of his party in the Senate.
All population figures are 2004
Census Bureau estimates.
Largest cities
| 100,000+ population | 10,000+ population | *Omaha - 409,416
*Lincoln - 236,146 | *Bellevue - 47,347
*Grand Island - 44,287
*Kearney - 28,640
*Fremont - 25,272
*Norfolk - 24,072
*North Platte - 23,944
*Hastings - 23,404 | *Columbus - 20,881
*Papillion - 19,497
*Scottsbluff - 14,767
*La Vista - 14,685
*Beatrice - 12,963
*South Sioux City - 12,142
*Lexington - 10,056 |
Urban areas
| Metropolitan areas | Micropolitan areas | *Omaha-Council Bluffs - 683,705 (Nebraska portion), 813,170 (total for Nebraska and Iowa)
*Lincoln - 275,820
*Sioux City, Iowa - 26,722 (Nebraska portion) | *Grand Island - 69,685
*Kearney - 50,286
*Norfolk - 49,964
*Hastings - 37,691
*Scottsbluff - 37,393 | *North Platte - 36,213
*Fremont - 36,066
*Columbus - 31,245
*Lexington - 26,566
*Beatrice - 23,436 |
Other areas*Grand Island, Hastings and Kearney comprise the "Tri-Cities" area.
*The northeast corner of Nebraska is part of the
Siouxland region.
Colleges and universities
*
Professional sports**
Lincoln Capitols –
National Indoor Football League**
Lincoln Saltdogs –
American Association (independent
minor league baseball)
**
Lincoln Thunder –
American Basketball Association (suspended operations; plans to return for 2006-2007 season).
**
Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights –
American Hockey League (affiliate of the
Calgary Flames)
**
Omaha Beef –
United Indoor Football**
Omaha Royals –
Pacific Coast League (AAA
minor league baseball; affiliate of the
Kansas City Royals)
*
NCAA Division I college sports
**
Creighton Bluejays**
Nebraska Cornhuskers**
Nebraska at Omaha Mavericks –
ice hockey (in the
Central Collegiate Hockey Association) only
* Junior-level sports
**
Lincoln Stars –
United States Hockey League **
Omaha Lancers – United States Hockey League (home games played in
Council Bluffs, Iowa)
**
Tri-City Storm – United States Hockey League
Nebraska gets its name from a
Native American (
Oto) word meaning "flat water", after the
Platte River that flows through the state.
Nebraska claims to have more miles of river than any other state.
Nebraskans are called "Cornhuskers."
Kool-Aid was created in
1927 by
Edwin Perkins in the city of
Hastings.
The world's largest train yard,
Union Pacific's
Bailey Yard, is located in
North Platte.
The
Vise-Grip was invented and is still manufactured in
De Witt.
Arbor Day was founded by
J. Sterling Morton. The
National Arbor Day Foundation has its headquarters near his home in
Nebraska City.
The swing in the
Hebron, Nebraska city park at 5th and Jefferson streets is claimed to be the world's largest porch swing, long enough to fit 18 adults or 24 children.
Surveys
*
Olson James C. and Ronald C. Naugle History of Nebraska 2nd ed (1997)*
Andreas, Alfred T. History of the State of Nebraska (1882 highly detailed history
* Creigh, Dorothy Weyers.
Nebraska: A Bicentennial History (1977)
* Faulkner, Virginia, ed.
Roundup: A Nebraska Reader (1957)
* Hickey, Donald R.
Nebraska Moments: Glimpses of Nebraska's Past (1992).
*
Miewald, Robert D. Nebraska Government & Politics (1984)* Luebke Frederick C.
Nebraska: An Illustrated History (1995)
* Morton, J. Sterling, ed.
Illustrated History of Nebraska: A History of Nebraska from the Earliest Explorations of the Trans-Mississippi Region. 3 vols. (1905-13)
* Wishart, David J. ed.
Encyclopedia of the Great Plains (2004), 900 pages of scholarly articles
Scholarly special studies
* Barnhart, John D. "Rainfall and the Populist Party in Nebraska."
American Political Science Review 19 (1925): 527-40. in JSTOR
* Beezley, William H. "Homesteading in Nebraska, 1862-1872,"
Nebraska History 53 (spring 1972): 59-75.
* Bentley, Arthur F. "The Condition of the Western Farmer as Illustrated by the Economic History of a Nebraska Township."
Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science 11 (1893): 285-370.
*
Cherny, Robert W. Populism, Progressivism, and the Transformation of Nebraska Politics, 1885-1915 (1981)* Bogue Allen G.
Money at Interest: The Farm Mortgage on the Middle Border (1955)
* Brunner, Edmund de S.
Immigrant Farmers and Their Children (1929)
* Chudacoff, Howard P.
Mobile Americans: Residential and Social Mobility in Omaha, 1880-1920 (1972)
** Chudacoff, Howard P. "A New Look at Ethnic Neighborhoods: Residential Dispersion and the Concept of Visibility in a Medium-sized City."
Journal of American History 60 (1973): 76-93. about Omaha; in JSTOR
*
Coletta, Paolo E. William Jennings Bryan. 3 vols. 1964-69.
* Dick, Everett.
The Sod-House Frontier: 1854-1890 (1937)
* Farragher, John Mack.
Women and Men on the Overland Trail (1979)
* Fuller, Wayne E.
The Old Country School: The Story of Rural Education in the Midwest (1982)
* Grant, Michael Johnston. "Down and Out on the Family Farm" (2002)
* Harper, Ivy.
Walzing Matilda: Life and Times of Nebraska Senator Robert Kerrey (1992).
* Holter, Don W.
Flames on the Plains: A History of United Methodism in Nebraska (1983).
* Jeffrey, Julie Roy.
Frontier Women: The Trans-Mississippi West, 1840-1880 (1979)
* Klein, Maury.
Union Pacific: The Birth of a Railroad, 1862-1893 (1986)
* Klein, Maury.
Union Pacific: The Rebirth, 1894-1969 (1989).
* Larsen, Lawrence H.
The Gate City: A History of Omaha (1982)
* Lowitt, Richard.
George W. Norris 3 vols. 1971.
* Luebke, Frederick C.
Immigrants and Politics: The Germans of Nebraska, 1880-1900 (1969)
* Luebke, Frederick C. "The German-American Alliance in Nebraska, 1910-1917."
Nebraska History 49 (1969): 165-85.
* Olson, James C.
J. Sterling Morton (1942)
* Overton, Richard C.
Burlington West: A Colonization History of the Burlington Railroad (1941)
* Parsons Stanley B. "Who Were the Nebraska Populists?"
Nebraska History 44 (1963): 83-99.
* Pierce, Neal.
The Great Plains States (1973)
* Pederson, James F., and Kenneth D. Wald.
Shall the People Rule? A History of the Democratic Party in Nebraska Politics (1972)
* Riley, Glenda.
The Female Frontier. A Comparative View of Women on the Prairie and the Plains (1978)
* Wenger, Robert W. "The Anti-Saloon League in Nebraska Politics, 1898-1910."
Nebraska History 52 (1971): 267-92.
Websites
* Unknown, City-Data.com http://www.city-data.com/city/Nebraska.html (2006)
*
Chokecherry Places, Essays from the High Plains, Merrill Gilfillan, Johnson Press, Boulder, Colorado, trade paperback, ISBN 1-55566-227-7.
*
List of Nebraska-related topics*
List of people from Nebraska*
Scouting in Nebraska*
Nebraska state government*
U.S. Census Bureau*
Nebraska State Facts
