Yankton Bridge load limits concern

A 10-ton limit on the Meridian Bridge over the Missouri River in northeast Nebraska has forced truckers to take long detours, and the entire span will be closed for several weeks so repairs can be finished. A Yankton, SD official says all of this is costing truckers money and hurting business. Acting city manager Al Viereck says it’s costly for truckers to have to go 30 to 40 miles out of their way and double that to come back again.

Last week, the Nebraska Department of Roads said Jensen Construction, contractor for the new bridge that will replace the Meridian Bridge, has declined to do repair work on the older span. The department says a new contractor is being sought for that work.

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.

Nebraska’s one-pharmacy towns seeking a remedy

Creutz Drug Store, which the same family has run in Wausa, Neb., for 113 years, is prepared to close this year. Norm Creutz, 73, has passed the word that he’s ready to retire. With no other Creutz (pronounced “Crootz”) to take over, the book will close on possibly the oldest drug store in the state run by a single family, according to state and Nebraska Pharmacist Association officials.

Although town leaders in Wausa are mounting a unique effort to keep a drug store in the community of 636, the end of Creutz Drug is a sign of the times for many small-town, mom-and-pop pharmacies. There are 499 licensed pharmacies in Nebraska. Each year a few more independent stores close or sell out to chains, said Joni Cover of the Pharmacist Association.

Norm Creutz doesn’t think pharmacy schools do enough to encourage graduates to buy their own main street stores. Alas, said both Creutz and Cover, the money is better, hours are shorter and responsibilities are fewer when you work for someone else. The two also said they think the advent of the federal government’s prescription drug plan for the elderly, known as Medicare Part D, has hastened the exodus of small-town druggists. Reimbursement rates are low and reimbursement checks are “painfully slow” to arrive, Cover said.

In Wausa, 40 miles north of Norfolk, a business group is exploring whether the drug store could fill prescriptions via e-mail for other pharmacies that are short-staffed. “We don’t want to lose any business on main street. That’s just one less reason to come to town,” said LaVonne Anderson, owner of Wausa Locker.

Nebraska foreclosure rate jumped in April

Nebraska’s foreclosure rate soared nearly 94% in April from the previous month, and the rate was nearly 95% higher than in April 2007. RealtyTrac says court records show one foreclosure-related filing for every 1,459 households in Nebraska during March.

Nebraska’s rate remains much lower in Nebraska than in many other states. But Nebraska’s foreclosure rate ranked 30th in April, up from 40th the previous month. Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate, with one foreclosure-related filing for every 146 households in the state.

Dude, d’you see Nebraska’s tourist ad?

The state’s newest pitchmen for tourism are two dweebish office workers who, in video skits available only on the Internet, plot pranks against coworkers who are off vacationing in Nebraska. The adventures of “Ben & Riley,” which debuted a month ago, are an edgy effort by the state tourism division to capture the imagination — and the travel dollar — of younger people who surf YouTube and other Web sites for entertainment and information.

So far, three installments of “Ben & Riley” have drawn mixed reviews from cybersurfers. Some call them an embarrassing waste of taxpayer money. Others praise them as “very funny” and a noble effort to attract today’s younger crowd. As of Friday, the videos had attracted about 16,000 views via YouTube and about 5,000 via www.seenebraska.org.

The state spends about $850,000 a year in lodging tax revenue on tourism promotion.

Gas prices have many Nebraska travelers thinking closer, cheaper

Memorial Day weekend is the start of the summer travel season, and Midlanders facing gas prices near $4 a gallon may be looking for destinations closer to home. In the early months of this year, traffic on Interstate 80 was thinner than at the same time last year, said Tom Doering, research coordinator of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

On the other hand, travel and tourism have steadily increased in Nebraska for years, and the urge to travel may still be strong enough to put people on the road this summer.

Nebraskans have an advantage over other travelers because the prices for meals, lodging and admission to attractions are generally lower in their state than elsewhere. Earlier this month, the AAA motor club reported that average travel expenses in Nebraska for a family of four were second-lowest in the nation. Nebraska’s lodging costs are seventh-lowest in the nation, Doering said.

Shannon Mullen, senior travel sales specialist for AAA Nebraska, said patrons often mention gas prices when planning. “They say if gas prices hit $4, they don’t know if they can take their family on an extended vacation,” she said.

AAA Nebraska: Expect $4 gas within the month

A Journal Star reporter asked Rose White, the eminent public affairs director of AAA Nebraska, to answer some questions regarding fuel supplies and prices. White predicted $4 regular-grade gasoline will be here soon. “Crude closed in the U.S. futures market above $133 a barrel (Wednesday) and processed unleaded closed at $3.40 a gallon,” White said in an e-mail.

“Add to that price state fuel taxes and federal gasoline taxes, plus retail operating costs and profit margins, and we are looking at averages that are expected to be near or above the $4 level for unleaded fuel.” When asked if the $4 gasoline would affect the driving habits of Americans, White said many motorists are already making minimal changes by combining errands and using alternate transportation if available. “Small car sales are up and large vehicle sales are down.

Some companies are allowing employees to work four 10-hour days. Doing so allows employees to save 15-20% of their fuel.” White said we are paying these prices due to an increase in global demand. “It is not the result of hurricanes in the Gulf, or an explosion at a refinery, or an increase in political tensions. If any of these issues occur, it could cause immediate spikes that would send prices soaring another 10-20 cents.”