North Platte, Neb. – The Miss Rodeo Nebraska Association is gearing up to kick off the 2024 Miss Rodeo Nebraska pageant which begins Sunday, May 9th and runs through Tuesday, May 12th. This year’s competition will feature three teens, three misses and three judges. This year Miss Rodeo Nebraska is JoSee Saults of Big Springs, Nebraska and Miss Teen Rodeo is Maci Cox of North Platte.   

Follow along with the POST throughout the next couple of days to learn more about the competitors and judges. This year judges welcomes Kristina Sigaty of Aberdeen, South Dakota, Codi Miller from southwestern North Dakota and Joni Heinisch of Nebraska. Too learn more about this year’s judges, check out their bios below.

Kristina Sigaty

Kristina Sigaty is from Aberdeen, SD. She has been involved in the rodeo queen world since entering her first contest in 2003. Since then, she has been honored to represent South Dakota as the 2006 and 2007 SDHSRA Queen, Jr. Miss Rodeo South Dakota 2008, 2009 South Dakota 4-H Rodeo Ambassador, and Miss Rodeo South Dakota 2013, finishing in the Top 10 at Miss Rodeo America and earning the Wrangler Jacket Award and High Ticket Sales.

Serving as Miss Rodeo South Dakota had a massive impact on her life and career trajectory, and she has remained involved as a board member for Miss Rodeo South Dakota, Inc. to continue to offer those opportunities to today’s cowgirls. Growing up on a family farm, Kristina has also remained heavily involved with agriculture as the merchandising/origination manager at Frederick Farmers Elevator and market analyst with Fiebiger Consulting.

She also serves as a board member for the Bear Creek Roughriders Saddle Club, producing their barrel racing series and coordinating a variety of clinics and programs for club members. In her spare time, she enjoys trail riding, knitting, embroidering, crocheting, reading, and spending time on the lake with her husband Brandon and daughter Kimber.

Codi Miller

Codi Miller was born and raised on a small grain and cattle ranch in southwestern North Dakota. As a child, she attended a one-room schoolhouse and participated in 4-H for 10 years. Her pageant and modeling career started when she was 15 when she competed in the Bahamas at Miss Teen USA as the youngest contestant. She also competed in San Antonio, TX at Miss Collegiate America, plus 6 years in the Miss USA System.

In between beauty pageants, Codi followed in her mother’s footsteps in the rodeo and rodeo queen world. She was the ND High School Rodeo Queen, 2-time State Champion in Pole Bending, and is now the State Director of the high school queens’ contest. Codi was Miss Rodeo North Dakota 2014, and placed Top 10 at Miss Rodeo America. She is currently the National Director of Miss Rodeo North Dakota Pageant Organization, where she has founded a new scholarship program. 

Codi enjoys spending her time helping young women in their personal and professional goals. She is a new homeowner and enjoys decorating and remodeling her little home, as well as owning and operating a western upholstery business. Codi believes her time in pageants and rodeo has helped her achieve career goals and building relationships all over the country. She hopes each woman her can see the benefits, win or lose! 

Joni Heinisch

Joni, originally from Nebraska, and now making her home in Florida, and former Miss Rodeo Nebraska 2015. Her early years were spent on her family’s working ranch in the Sandhills of Ericson, Nebraska, where she played an active role in raising Angus cattle and American Quarter Horses. In her free time, she loved being outdoors, engaging in activities like 4H, hunting, fishing and traveling to rodeos & pageants. 

Shortly after obtaining her nursing degree and working as a full-time nurse she met her husband, Ian Heinisch, a UCF Middleweight, and former All-American Wrestler. shortly after marriage, her life journey took her to the Sunshine State, Florida. Today, Joni co owns a functional medicine practice, treating patients all across the county. Her true passion lies in promoting health and wellness among individuals.

Even though she’s currently immersed in the south Florida lifestyle, Joni’s heart remains rooted in the charm of small-town agriculture, and the outdoor way of living, remaining as active as she can in her family’s ranch in Nebraska. Together with her husband, she cherishes the beauty of Florida’s outdoors, spending quality time exploring its natural wonders.

Joni’s genuine interests include agriculture, preserving the traditions of family ranches, rodeo queen pageants, and advocating for the conversation of the outdoors. Through their ministry, she and Ian share the gospel message on a global scale, a testament to the significant impact of faith in their lives.

Shes wishes good luck too all the contestants in the Miss Rodeo Nebraska pageant

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A University of Nebraska–Lincoln survey shows a majority of Nebraskans report mostly or very dependable internet access, but disparities persist between urban and rural residents.

In the latest Nebraska Snapshot from the Bureau of Sociological Research, 45% of statewide respondents said they have very dependable internet, with 41% of Nebraskans reporting mostly dependable access. Only 14% said their internet was somewhat dependable to not dependable at all. The Nebraska Snapshot is released every other month and shares data from the most recent Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey, conducted by the bureau.

When accounting for place of residence, only 26% of Nebraskans living on a farm or in open country each reported having very dependable internet. Further, 46% of those living on a farm reported mostly dependable internet, and 28% reported having somewhat to not dependable internet. For those in open country, 52% reported mostly dependable internet, compared to 22% reporting somewhat to not dependable internet.

In contrast, 50% of those who lived in a town or city reported having very dependable internet, with 39% rating their internet mostly dependable and only 11% reporting somewhat to not dependable internet.

Internet speed also varied by place of residence. Statewide, 33% reported very fast internet, and 56% reported somewhat fast internet. In towns and cities, 37% said they had very fast internet, in contrast to only 16% of those living on a farm and 17% of those in open country. Additionally, 37% of those living on farms reported having somewhat or very slow internet, compared to 20% living in open country and only 8% of those living in a city or town. A majority of those living in towns and cities, on farms and in open country reported having somewhat fast internet — 55%, 48% and 64%, respectively.

Noteworthy differences among age groups, income levels and education level were also found.

Internet access, and specifically broadband, has been a priority in Nebraska for several years, and gains are being made to connect more of the state’s residents. Among the efforts is the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program, created by the Legislature in 2021. It allocated $20 million to be distributed as grants to telecommunications companies for expansion of broadband service to areas of Nebraska that were unserved or underserved by slower internet speeds. The state also received federal funding for increasing broadband access through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the bipartisan infrastructure act passed in 2023. In the last quarter of 2023, the Nebraska Broadband Office estimated there was $1.9 billion in funding to expand access across the state.

The Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey is used by researchers, state entities and policymakers, but also includes a core questionnaire that delves into demographics, quality of life measures, educational attainment and community satisfaction, among other variables. These core questions will inform most of the Nebraska Snapshot series.

All Nebraska Snapshots are available online. To include research questions on the next NASIS administration, email bosr@unl.edu.

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) – Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen announced his next two town hall meetings to rally public support for proposals to offset up to 40% of property taxes by eliminating some sales tax exemptions and/or increasing sales tax rates.

Pillen is hosting a town hall at 2 p.m. Friday in Fremont, at Midland University’s Dining Hall,  Ninth and Pebble Streets.

He also is hosting a meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday in Scottsbluff, in the Platte Valley Bank, 1106 Platte Valley Drive.

The governor has pledged to call a special session this year to address property tax relief, with some speculating that call could come as early as late July or early August. Others have said it might wait until after the November election.

He has held similar property tax town halls in Bellevue, Grand Island, Plattsmouth, Seward, York and Beatrice. He has also been meeting in Lincoln with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and others about potential changes.

His initial proposals to increase sales taxes and use that money to offset up to $2 billion in property taxes faced some opposition in the Legislature. But the pace of property valuation increases has ramped up some interest.

“Nebraskans … expect state leaders to solve the property tax crisis,” Pillen said in a press release. “While we are counting on the Legislature to develop the right solution, all Nebraskans must be part of this conversation.”

Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.

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