Nebraska

Nebraska Broadband Office says providers on track to connect state by end of the decade

Published

1 year ago

December 5, 2024

Nebraska Broadband Office says providers on track to connect state by end of the decade

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The Nebraska Broadband Office painted a positive picture for the future of internet access in the state at a public hearing on Wednesday afternoon.

It can be hard to even get out to parts of Nebraska’s grassy hinterlands, so imagine the strain of stringing miles and miles of fiber optic cable into an underground web, building a bridge between distant ranchers and the online world.

“I’ve talked about that for about the past eight years,” Nebraska State Sen. Bruce Bostelman said. “There’s a a critical need.”

Bostelman knows the problem all too well.

“Where I live, 32 miles from here, in order to do business, we either have to have satellite or, you know, direct line, mobile hotspot,” Bostelman said. “We don’t have high speed Internet.”

The issue is fairly simple to diagnose.

“Cost, cost,” Patrick Haggerty, the Nebraska State Broadband director, said. “It always boils down to cost.”

The solution, Haggerty said, proved a little more elusive. That is, until a wave of federal dollars cascaded in, spurring the state to create the office Haggerty runs.

“You get into parts of Nebraska, and there, houses are 10 to 15 miles apart,” Haggerty said. “So you’re you’re you’re building 30 miles of network for two houses as opposed to three miles of network for 1000. So the cost basis for the private providers just isn’t there without subsidy.”

Haggerty’s office, administering more than $400 million in federal support through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, gives out that subsidy: 75% for projects where broadband providers expand access to unserved or underserved customers. Haggerty said that as of July of last year, 110,000 customers fell into those two categories. At Wednesday’s hearing in the Capitol, he said the number is down to 70,000.

Haggerty said, if cost and timeline projections hold, those 70,000 locations will be hooked up to high-speed internet by the 2029.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re on the eastern side of state or the western side of state. We have the same problem,” Bostelman said. “And if Nebraska is going to grow the economy, then it needs to grow. And if we want young people to stay, all across the state of Nebraska, we have to have high speed internet because that’s where things are in business.”

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Nebraska

NioCorp to start work on its minerals mine in southeast Nebraska

Published

1 hour ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

NioCorp to start work on its minerals mine in southeast Nebraska

NioCorp announced Monday that it plans to start work on its critical minerals mine in southeast Nebraska.

The project, which the company is calling its mine portal project, will involve building a main entrance to the Elk Creek underground mine and will serve as the primary access point for personnel, equipment, and materials for the underground mining operations. It also will include excavating bedrock, drilling and blasting to establish the twin mine ramps, on-site access road construction, and construction of on-site supporting infrastructure.

The project, which will cost nearly $45 million, is set to get underway before the end of the month. It marks the first time Colorado-based NioCorp will actually start any significant work on the main mine, from which the company hopes to extract niobium, scandium, titanium and other minerals.

“Given the size of this excavation work, the portal project really marks the beginning of a major pre-construction activity at the Elk Creek Project site and is an important step toward preparing for underground development,” Scott Honan, the company’s president and chief operating officer, said in a release.

Mark A. Smith, Niocorp’s chairman and CEO, called the project, “a significant milestone.”

Niocorp has spent more than 15 years trying to develop the mine on land in Johnson County, about 65 miles southeast of Lincoln.

The company still needs to raise a significant amount of money to make the $1.2 billion mine a reality, though. In December, NioCorp said it had raised about $360 million, or a little more than a quarter of the total cost. It is still waiting for approval of a $780 million debt financing application from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

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Nebraska

Nebraska Lottery results: See winning numbers for Pick 3, Pick 5 on March 1, 2026

Published

13 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Sunday, March 1, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 1.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 1 drawing

7-6-5

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 1 drawing

04-20-28-30-39

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning 2 By 2 numbers from March 1 drawing

Red Balls: 02-10, White Balls: 25-26

Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning MyDay numbers from March 1 drawing

Month: 11, Day: 28, Year: 38

Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 1 drawing

10-11-12-35-56, Bonus: 04

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Nebraska

Huskers/OSU game three canceled

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

The third matchup this weekend between No. 9 Nebraska and No. 21 Oklahoma State was canceled Sunday due to expected bad weather in the Stillwater, Okla., area. The Cowgirls won the first matchup Thursday, 2-1 in 11 innings, while the Cornhuskers won Saturday, 4-3. The game will not be made up.

Nebraska now prepares for its home opener Thursday at Bowlin Stadium as the Huskers take on South Dakota State in a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

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