Nebraska
38,000 Sandhill Cranes Flock to Nebraska in a Record-Breaking Start to Spring Migration
/https%3A%2F%2Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffiler_public%2Fec%2Fef%2Fecefd7ba-c0e2-40c0-81b3-d83807cdda07%2F7084576035_d0e20a7bec_4k.jpg?ssl=1 "38,000 Sandhill Cranes Flock to Nebraska in a Record-Breaking Start to Spring Migration")
Sandhill cranes fly over Nebraska’s Platte River, where they gather each year during their spring migration, in 2009.
USFWS
A record number of sandhill cranes arrived in central Nebraska during the first week of their annual spring migration, likely lured by mild winter temperatures.
Each spring, hundreds of thousands of the tall, long-legged birds begin making their journey north to breeding grounds in Alaska, Canada and eastern Siberia. Out of all the worldâs sandhill cranes, 80 percent use Nebraskaâs Platte River as a pit stop, where they fatten up on corn kernels left over from the previous fallâs harvest.
Their yearly Nebraska stopover usually lasts from mid-February to mid-April, with individual birds staggering their arrivals and departures. Each bird spends about a month in the state, with their numbers typically peaking around mid-March at roughly 500,000 cranes.
Sandhill cranes can gain as much as 20 percent of their body weight during their stopover in Nebraska.
Frank Schulenburg via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0
Once migration begins, wildlife biologists at the Crane Trust in Wood River, Nebraska, conduct weekly aerial surveys to count the birds. This year, during their first count of the season on February 14, they recorded an estimated 38,000 sandhill cranesâthe highest first count on record since they began conducting the surveys in 1998. Most of the birds were found along an 80-mile stretch of the river between the towns of Chapman and Overton.
During a typical year, between 6,000 and 8,000 sandhill cranes have usually arrived by the first count. Last year at this time, biologists counted 6,400 cranes.
Scientists werenât surprised by the numbers, however, as they match up with patterns theyâve seen during previous mild winters.
âThe winter of 2021-2022 was also a fairly mild winter, and we had around 27,000 cranes on Valentineâs Day that year,â wrote Bethany Ostrom, a wildlife biologist who conducts the aerial counts, in a February 15 update posted on the Crane Trust website.
The Great Sandhill Crane Migration
Central Nebraska also saw a high number of sandhill cranes during the recent fall migration, with some birds even opting to spend much of the winter in the region. An estimated 14,000 to 15,000 sandhill cranesâand two rare, endangered whooping cranesâstuck around for the holidays.
âWe do have occasional small groups of cranes overwinter⦠but we have never before seen this large of a group stay here for so long,â wrote Ostrom in a preseason post on February 6.
Birders hoping to witness the annual congregation still have plenty of time to get to Nebraska to see the cranes. Though early counts can sometimes indicate when the birdsâ numbers will peak, their arrivals depend more on daily and weekly weather patterns. Cold fronts, for example, can delay the peak.
âThere are many factors that play into cranesâ decisions when to migrate, many of which we probably do not understand,â wrote Ostrom.
Sandhill cranes are one of the oldest bird species on the planet, according to the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon, Nebraska. Archaeologists at Ashfall Fossil Beds in northeast Nebraska unearthed the fossilized remains of a crowned craneâa close relative of the sandhill craneâthatâs estimated to be roughly ten million years old. The oldest sandhill crane fossil, found in the Macasphalt Shell Pit in Florida, is roughly 2.5 million years old.
The birds havenât been visiting Nebraskaâs Central Platte River Valley for quite that longâmillions of years ago, the river didnât exist. But, as soon as it formed near the end of the last ice age, around 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, sandhill cranes began stopping by, according to the center.
Birders from around the world often follow the cranes to Nebraska, waiting patiently at dawn and dusk in viewing blinds located along the river. The birds roost on the braided riverâs sandbars at night, then take to the skies at sunup and head toward neighboring corn fields. They return to the safety of the river at sunset.
The birds gather by the thousands along the Platte River.
Sarah Kuta
Sandhill cranes have a distinctive aesthetic: Standing three to four feet tall atop stick-thin legs, they have light gray feathers covering most of their bodies. Their crown is a deep crimson color, and they have white patches below their eyes.
In Nebraska, the birds spend most of their time eatingâthey can put on as much as 20 percent of their body weight during their sojourn in the Cornhusker State. But they also use this time to strengthen their social bonds with one another, especially their mates. Sandhill cranes can be seen âdancingâ with each other in the fields, a behavior that involves jumping up and down, bobbing their heads and extending their wings. As Katie OâReilly wrote for Sierra last fall, the annual gathering is âpart family reunion, part singles dance, part interÂ-flock house party.â
Even when theyâre not visible, cranes announce their presence with a unique trilling sound called bugling. When tens of thousands of them bugle at the same time, âthe sound is deafening,â writes Amber Travsky for the Laramie Boomerang.
The Lincoln Marathon will bring street closures, parking restrictions and increased activity to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s City Campus this weekend, with events culminating May 3.
Portions of campus will be included in the race route, including start and finish lines, and faculty and staff should expect delays due to runners and spectators.
Closures will begin as early as 10 p.m. May 1 on parts of 14th Street, with additional restrictions May 2-3. Impacts on the morning and afternoon of May 3 will be the most significant.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to plan ahead, allow extra travel time and use alternate routes if coming to campus.
A detailed map and full list of closures is available from Parking and Transit Services.
Post Views: 74
KEARNEY – Successful and aspiring entrepreneurs were recognized April 21 during the annual Light It Up awards ceremony at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Hosted by UNK’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Rural Development, the event celebrates the vision, innovation and hard work of entrepreneurs and advocates who are making a difference in Kearney and throughout greater Nebraska.
The following awards were presented during the ceremony at Discovery Hall:
Student Entrepreneur Award
Fallon Wells, Flourish Floral Company
The winner of UNK’s Big Idea business pitch competition, Fallon Wells graduates next month with a degree in interior and product design and a minor in entrepreneurship. She’s returning to her hometown of Central City, where she’ll own and operate a flower shop.
“What truly sets Fallon apart is her commitment to her community. By choosing to invest in and sustain a local business in her hometown, she is helping preserve an important community staple. Her work ensures continued access to a service that brings people together during meaningful moments,” her nomination stated.
Emerging Entrepreneur Award
Connor Streit, PolyPath Med
Connor Streit, founder of PolyPath Med, earned the Emerging Entrepreneur Award for his efforts to reduce medical waste. His business focuses on repurposing unused sterile plastic from operating rooms, diverting thousands of pounds from landfills.
Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award
Cody Lawson, 1to1 Technologies
Cody Lawson started his business as a teenager and has grown it into a multistate technology support and repair company known for its customer-focused approach and community involvement. The business has seven full-time employees and a new facility in Central City.
“Cody is our poster child for the entrepreneurial spirit,” his nomination stated. “He inspires others to take the leap and mentors those who attempt it.”
Entrepreneurship Advocate Award
Caleb Pollard, Valley County Economic Development/Ord Area Chamber of Commerce
Caleb Pollard serves as executive director of Valley County Economic Development, an organization formed through an interlocal agreement between the city of Ord, Valley County, Ord Area Chamber of Commerce and Greater Loup Valley Activities. Through coaching and regional partnerships, he has supported business growth across the area, helping generate millions in revenue and expand employment opportunities. An entrepreneur himself, Pollard co-founded Scratchtown Brewing Company in Ord.
“Caleb’s commitment to Ord and the Sandhills spans more than 25 years, beginning as a college student, returning after stints in Lincoln and Omaha, and planting deep roots with his family in 2008,” his nomination stated. “He draws an explicit parallel between his personal philosophy and community building: ‘I love to garden … you plant seeds with intention, and with a lot of patience and hard work, you hope that you reap a harvest. … We’re very intentional in taking a much longer view on how to build community.’”
Alumni Entrepreneur Award
Noah Young, The Shiloh Farm
A 2018 UNK graduate, Noah Young has built a large online following while promoting agriculture and homesteading education, reaching audiences worldwide. His Shiloh Farm social media accounts have more than 2 million followers on Instagram and TikTok, making him one of the most-viewed ag influencers.
“Everyone who has ever met him will tell you that his love for agriculture is real and that he really does want everyone to experience it,” his nomination stated. “I had the opportunity to travel with Noah this summer across many different states and was able to see the impact he has on people thousands of miles away.”
Nebraska
Nebraska is becoming the first state to implement a Medicaid work requirement signed by Trump
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska on Friday will become the first state to enforce work, volunteer or education requirements for new Medicaid applicants, eight months before the federally mandated requirements kick in.
Advocates worry that the state is launching so rapidly that key details remain unresolved and some people who are eligible for coverage will lose it.
State officials say they’re prepared, training staff and sending letters, emails and texts to people who could be impacted.
Health policy experts, advocates and other states will be watching closely.
“It can be used as a lesson for other states, both where things go well and where things don’t go well,” said Jennifer Tolbert, deputy director of KFF’s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured.
The law is expected to leave some without insurance
The work requirement is part of a broad tax and policy law that President Donald Trump signed last year. Nebraska Republican Gov. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen announced in December that the state would implement it eight months before it was required, saying the aim was “making sure we get every able-bodied Nebraskan to be a part of our community.”
The state had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S. in February: 3.1%
The federal policy won’t apply to all Medicaid beneficiaries, just those who are enrolled under an expansion that most states chose to make to allow more low-income people to get healthcare coverage.
Under the change, many Medicaid participants ages 19 through 64 will have to show that they work or do community service at least 80 hours a month, or are enrolled in school at least half-time. They’ll also have their eligibility reviewed every six months rather than annually, so they could lose coverage faster if their circumstances change.
Exceptions will be made for people who are too medically frail to work or in addiction treatment programs, among others.
An Urban Institute report from March estimated that the changes would mean about 5 million to 10 million people fewer people nationally would be enrolled in Medicaid than would have been otherwise.
Choices states make about how to run their programs are expected to be a major factor in exactly how many people lose coverage.
“The higher the administrative burden, the more likely people are found noncompliant and disenrolled,” said Michael Karpman, who researches health policy at Urban.
Nebraska plans to use data to help determine who qualifies
Not everyone who has coverage will need to submit proof that they’re working.
The state says it will first match enrollees with other data it has to see if participants are working or exempt. The state says it has that information for most of the roughly 70,000 people enrolled in Medicaid through the expansion.
That leaves between 20,000 and 28,000 who would have to provide more information, plus an average of 3,000 to 4,000 new enrollees each month.
At first, they will just need to show that they met the requirements in just one month of the previous 12. The time frame will shift to six months in 2027.
There’s some flexibility. For instance, instead of showing they work 80 hours in a month, someone could instead provide records that demonstrate they earned at least $580, the amount someone earning minimum wage would make in 80 hours.
People who don’t submit requested information within 30 days of being asked could have their applications denied or lose coverage they already have.
The change is causing worry and confusion
Bridgette Annable, who lives in southwest Nebraska, received a letter saying she must meet the work requirements or lose the benefits that pay for her insulin and diabetic supplies.
The 21-year-old mother now has a part-time job, despite being advised against it to protect her mental health. She’s worried about her ability to keep working.
“I am working 30 to 25 hours a week — as much as my employer can provide,” Annable said. “Although I call out of work often due to fibromyalgia pain and bipolar episodes that leave me too tired to leave the house. I have enough energy to take care of my daughter and do some cleaning, but that’s about it.”
Amy Behnke, the CEO of the Health Center Association of Nebraska, said that staff members who help people enroll with Medicaid and their clients have a lot of questions, including some that the state hasn’t yet answered.
Some examples: Apprenticeship programs are supposed to count for work requirements, but does that apply only to those certified by the state’s labor department? There’s an exemption for people who travel to a hospital for care, but there’s not clarity on how far the journey must be.
KFF’s Tolbert noted that the state issued its 295-page list last week of conditions that could qualify someone as medically frail. “We don’t know if it’s a comprehensive list,” she said.
“The speed at which we are choosing to implement work requirements hasn’t left a lot of space for really meaningful communication,” Behnke said.
And Nebraska could have to make changes after the federal government provides guidance that is expected in June.
___
Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey.
-
Detroit, MI24 minutes agoAtlanta 5, Detroit 2: Adding injuries to insult
-
San Francisco, CA36 minutes agoNew cell tower being built in San Francisco neighborhood despite pushback
-
Dallas, TX42 minutes agoMIN@DAL Postgame: Miro Heiskanen | Dallas Stars
-
Miami, FL48 minutes agoHighway 41 fire burns thousands of acres, threatens structures in west Miami-Dade
-
Boston, MA54 minutes agoFancy Hats Can Be Cool
-
Denver, CO60 minutes agoDaily Horoscope for April 29, 2026
-
Seattle, WA1 hour agoWEST SEATTLE ART: Pre-World Cup mural
-
San Diego, CA1 hour agoMachado out of lineup day after early exit; Cronenworth gets first career start at third base