Companies expanding in Nebraska now have more “advantages” to choose from

LB895, passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Dave Heineman earlier this year, adds another tier to the successful Nebraska Advantage package of incentives for businesses that relocate to or expand in the state. Businesses will qualify for the Super Advantage if they invest $10 million while creating 75 jobs paying either 200% of a county’s average wage or 150% of the state’s average wage, whichever is greater. Businesses also will qualify if they invest $100 million capital investment while creating 50 jobs at the thresholds stated above.

These wages range from $50,700 (160% of State’s average annual wage) to $91,972 (200% of Stanton County’s average annual wage). In return for a company’s investment and job creation, they would receive a 15% investment credit, 10% wage credit, tangible personal property exemption for 10 years, and a sales tax refund on all capital purchases. In addition, the company may use the credits to offset their real property taxes at the site of the project, as well as apply them to sales and income taxes, and employee withholding. The entitlement period is 10 years for these benefits as opposed to the next highest entitlement period of seven years.

Nebraska gas station owners make little profit from gasoline sales

Patricia Tillotson and her husband own a convenience store in Battle Creek. Tillotson said customers now understand the high pump prices at Tilly’s Gas & Shop and other gas stations around the country aren’t the fault of the station owners. Like most stores of its kind, Tilly’s makes a majority of its profit from grocery and other convenience items.

Tillotson said it’s difficult to keep a small business operating in a small town when the cost of everything is increasing. “I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘We’re not even bothering to get the camper out,’” she said.

Hal Seeley, who opened Four Seasons Mini Mart in Pierce with his wife, Mary, earlier in the year, said gas station merchants make very little - if anything - on the sale of gas. “Quite often, we’re making only three to five cents a gallon,” he said. But when customers use a credit card to purchase fuel, there are charges and fees that have to be paid that often subtract from what minuscule profit there is, he said.

Nebraska’s economy slows in May

Information businesses in Nebraska — such as publishing companies — struggled in May and inflation continued to be a concern. That’s according to a new survey of supply managers and business leaders in the state. Creighton University economics professor Ernie Goss oversees the monthly survey. The problems for information companies in the state offset strong performances other businesses reported.

Durable goods producers in the state — especially ones with strong ties to the farming — reported strong growth for May. The state’s overall economic index slipped in May to 50.3. The rating was 51 in April. Any score greater than 50 on the index indicates an expanding economy over the next three to six months.

Nebraska unemployment rate drops a tenth, to 3.1%

Nebraska officials estimate that the state unemployment rate increased slightly in April, to 3.1%. That’s a tenth of a point higher than the adjusted March figure of 3%. The February figure was 2.8%. The Labor Department says the national figure for April 2008 dropped a tenth of a point to 5%.

All contractors in Nebraska must register

An expanded state law that goes into effect July 18 requires contractors and subcontractors doing business in Nebraska to register with the state. The expanded law also increases the registration fee, from $25 to $40, said Bill Hetzler, director of safety and labor standards for Nebraska Workforce Development/Department of Labor in Omaha.

Failure to register can result in a fine up to $500 for a first violation and up to $5,000 for a subsequent violation, Hetzler said. A person who is self-employed and does not pay more than $3,000 annually to employ others in the business is exempt from the $40 fee, but must fill out an affidavit with an application.

Contractors can fill out the registration application under the “labor/safety laws” section at www.nebraskaworkforce.com, but the application must be printed out and mailed in with a check for the $40 fee, Hetzler said. More information is available by calling 402-595-3095.

State warns against Internet loan scheme

The Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance warned Thursday against dealing with a company calling itself Penbrook Financial Group and giving a fictitious Omaha address. The department said Penbrook offers personal loans over the Internet and requires upfront “collateral payments” before making loans, usually $2,460 in four monthly payments.

The company does not have an office at the address it lists, the department said, and Nebraska law prohibits lenders from requiring advance payments. The department said it is trying to shut down the company’s Web site, which does not list a telephone number. The company could not be contacted for comment.

People who have dealt with Penbrook should contact the department at 877-471-3445 or the Federal Trade Commission at 877-382-4357. Department analyst Karen Reynolds said people should be careful about making online loan applications that require personal information. Online lenders may try to bypass state law by claiming residence in a different state or may adopt the name of a legitimate business.

Lexington, Neb. gets 100-year rain

Lexington, Neb. Mayor John Fagot said the recent rain is one for the record books. He said according to statistics specific to Lexington, the downpour can officially be called a “100-year rain.” Taking the floodplain into consideration, the amount of rainfall is classified in this unusual category. Nearly every road in Dawson County became flood ground when this heavy rain descended upon the county Thursday night and didn’t let up until late Friday morning.

Flooding Sinks in for Central Neb. Farmers

The sound of waves isn’t soothing to the ears of farmers. Not when the water is in their fields. “Oh my gosh, when’s it going to quit?” asked farmer Virgil Byerly, who grows corn and soybeans north of Grand Island. Farmers like Kenny Clausen and Larry Knuthe haven’t seen their fields this bad since 1967. The impact may hit Dawson County farmers the hardest.

Cozad received almost eight inches in two days. Randy Schneider of Cozad has some crops covered with up to two feet of water. “I haven’t seen this much rain in all my life,” he said. That’s almost 60 years.” He’ll have to replant. “That’s not going to be real good with the price of fuel,” he said.

Reinke a big part of Nebraska’s irrigation

Forty years ago last week, a Ruskin, Neb., farmer pushed the button to start up the first “Electrogator” center pivot irrigation rig built and sold by Reinke Manufacturing of Deshler, Neb. Over the years, the Reinke business grew to become one of four leading irrigation equipment manufacturers in the world. The company, still family-owned and based in Deshler, employs about 400 people. The other three leaders, Valmont Industries Inc., Lindsay Corp. and T-L Irrigation Co., also are based in Nebraska. Reinke, founded by farmer and self-taught engineer Richard Reinke, was not the first company to manufacture a center pivot.

Competitor Valmont Industries, now based in Omaha, bought the center pivot patent from Colorado inventor Frank Zybach and began manufacturing its version in 1954. But the Electrogator included two crucial innovations, according to Reinke CEO Chris Roth — who, at 39, is younger than the invention that launched the company’s irrigation business.

It was the first electric center pivot that was reversible, meaning it could be installed in a field too small to allow the pivot to turn a full circle. The 1960s were a crucial time of development for Nebraska’s center pivot industry, with the Lindsay Corp. of Omaha developing its “Zimmatic” system and T-L Irrigation Co. in Hastings developing its hydraulically powered pivot at about the same time Reinke developed the Electrogator.

In 1968, there were probably more than 100 companies seeking a foothold in manufacturing various center pivot irrigation mechanisms, industry leaders said. Only four major manufacturers survived and prospered, all in Nebraska, in part because the state’s semiarid climate creates a demand for irrigation in the area and in part because the Ogallala aquifer provides a ready water supply. The Nebraska Pivot Irrigation Manufacturers’ Association says that pivots now irrigate 4.6 million acres in Nebraska and that, based upon a study by Charles Lamphear of the Nebraska Policy Institute, each pivot results in $76,000 of economic benefit each year.

Roth and other pivot manufacturers said there’s room for growth in their industry, even though much of the state is more carefully managing water usage and many western areas have put moratoriums on additional wells, irrigated acres and new appropriations from streams, rivers and lakes. Pivots waste less water than “flood” methods of irrigation, in which water is delivered into fields via gated pipes and furrows in the crop rows.

Beef State no mere slogan

Historian John Carter has a beef with many Nebraskans. He says too few appreciate the role the cattle industry has played in the state’s history, its culture and its pocketbook. “It’s like growing up in East Lansing, attending Michigan State University and not knowing who Henry Ford is,” Carter said. Nebraska ranks first in the nation in commercial red meat production, second in cattle slaughter, second in cattle on feed and second in cash receipts from cattle and calves, according to the USDA.

Although Texas markets more cattle than Nebraska, Texas’ larger economy and population are less dependent on cattle. Carter, a senior research folklorist with the Nebraska State Historical Society, recently finished an eight-year project studying the history of beef in Nebraska. Along the way, he came to realize that the story of the cattle industry is also the story of Nebraska.

Some of the fruits of Carter’s research can be viewed June 1 when NET Television airs “The Beef State,” a documentary co-produced by the network and the State Historical Society. Two Web sites will offer more information on Carter’s project: www.nebraskastudies.org and www.netNebraska.org/beefstate, which offers additional video clips, still photographs and eyewitness commentary.

Gov. Dave Heineman will host a special premiere of the “Beef State” documentary Thursday at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel in downtown Lincoln. It will be a fundraiser for NET. Reservations can be made at 402-472-9333, ext. 556, or jherstein@netNebraska.org. “Beef State” will air statewide at 6 p.m. Sunday, repeating at 8 p.m. June 2 on NET1 and in high definition on NET-HD.