Nebraska
Century-old Cass County schoolhouse gets new life in $16M project boosted by historic tax credits • Nebraska Examiner
PLATTSMOUTH, Nebraska — A basketball court was resurrected in this town’s old high school, though the hoop today is more for show than sport and is likely to become the backdrop for a trendy coffee bar.
Chalkboards remain in what once were the chemistry and math rooms, now apartments. Look-alike book lockers line the main hallway, along with a vintage trophy case stuffed with Plattsmouth Blue Devils athletic relics.
With a boost from public incentives, including state historic tax credits, the former Plattsmouth High School built more than a century ago is now fully transformed into an apartment building that has been brimming since March with residents.
On Thursday, History Nebraska’s historic preservation office welcomed local, state and federal officials to a “Rehab Roadshow” that celebrated the nearly $16 million project. In addition to the 25 units in the rehabbed schoolhouse, which were responsible for the bulk of the cost, the price tag includes a 15-unit, newly constructed apartment structure nearby.
The event was intended to highlight economic development tools that are available — and at least one that is at risk — to restore and reuse Nebraska landmarks.
Heart of the community
To the group of about two dozen, Plattsmouth Mayor Paul Lambert spoke about how important rescuing the 106-year-old school, now called the Lofts on Main, was to the small community of about 6,500.
The project not only fires up nostalgia, he said, but also adds workforce housing vital to new employers that have moved to the area in recent years.
“This building is in the heart of the community,” Lambert said, noting emotional ties to many, including his wife and siblings. “If I had torn this down, I would have had to leave home.”
He said the structure was falling apart after sitting vacant for numerous years. Another school facility had replaced it back in 1976, he said, and the property was used only off and on after that for a couple of decades.
It was at the point of demolition, Lambert said, when the RMDX development team came forward.
He said the city agreed to contribute about $1 million over a 10-year period in local incentives that typically go to encourage business development, not residential.
Filling gaps
RMDX’s Ryan Durant and Michael Sothan, historic tax credit coordinator at History Nebraska, said federal and state historic tax credit programs as well as a state tax abatement program and low-income housing tax credits filled financial gaps and made the project feasible.
But, said Sothan, the state historic tax credit program created in 2015 to incentivize the rehab and reuse of historic structures faces challenges.
The Nebraska Legislature, when reauthorizing the program last year, set the program’s annual allowable credits to offset tax liability at $2 million. It was once $15 million a year, said Sothan.
The good news, he said, is that the program has a reserve built up of about $55 million.
“It could be wiped out in one year, three years, it certainly won’t last more than five years,” Sothan said.
He said that without a change in legislation, the program in the long run would not be able to sustain the current demand for credits.
“It creates some uncertainty,” he said. “We do have some time.”
Sothan said the Legislature last year took positive steps in other aspects, including lifting the state income tax credit ceiling for a qualified rehab project from $1 million per project to $2 million.
Things you wouldn’t build today
The Rehab Roadshow, he said, is intended to encourage continuation of restoration projects boosted by state historic tax credits. Among the guests at the Lofts on Main event was Elmwood State Sen. Rob Clements, chair of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee.
History Nebraska plans to take its roadshow this year to Norfolk and Red Cloud, where it will feature restoration projects in those towns.
Participation in the historic tax credit program requires developers to preserve character-defining features — which was not easy with the decaying structure, said Abby Hegemann of Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture.
“It was a challenge,” she said, during a tour that highlighted restored features such as the lower floor basketball court, student locker rooms, a boiler room-turned apartment.
Each dwelling is unique, said Durant, and has a distinct personality. But pictures, tin ceilings and other decor tie together to provide the schoolhouse feel.
“There are some really neat things you wouldn’t build today,” he said. “It’s fun.”
In the backyard of the Lofts at Main are flower beds and a seating area for apartment-dwellers. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)
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OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – President Donald Trump’s executive order to reclassify marijuana at the federal level is reigniting debate in Nebraska, where voters approved medical marijuana in 2024.
Trump signed the executive order on Thursday, directing federal agencies to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III. The move does not legalize marijuana nationwide but opens the door for more medical research.
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers joined attorneys general from seven other states in releasing a statement saying they are “concerned” with the order. Hilgers said the science shows marijuana should remain a Schedule I drug.
Sen. Pete Ricketts also opposes the move. He signed a letter with 14 other Republican senators urging Trump not to reschedule marijuana. The letter argues marijuana is linked to mental health issues, impaired driving and workplace accidents.
Local medical marijuana advocate Lia Post disagreed with state leaders’ opposition.
“It just comes to the point, when is enough enough?” Post said.
Post said the argument from state leaders ignores what Nebraska voters decided in November 2024 when they overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana.
“It does open up the door for research, which really makes me happy, and the ability to speak to my doctor. It’s hard to be excited when you know you’re just a part of the big, giant grift that is going on,” Post said.
The federal change would allow the FDA to study marijuana’s medical uses. That could potentially help veterans, seniors, and people with chronic pain. Advocates said it also removes excuses for state leaders to delay implementation.
“I feel like we are in the exact same place we always are with the people wanting medical cannabis, the current law supporting medical cannabis, but the elected officials stopping medical cannabis,” Post said.
The federal rescheduling process could take several more months to finalize. The executive order does not legalize recreational marijuana. Trump made that clear Thursday, saying he is not open to that.
“It is a big deal, it is change, and change is always a big deal. Anything to do with medical cannabis and politics, I have to find the joy in whatever small wins there are, because there are so few,” Post said.
Copyright 2025 WOWT. All rights reserved.
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska football is bolstering its staff with the addition of a run game coordinator and a defensive edge coach.
On Friday, head coach Matt Rhule announced the hiring of run game coordinator Lonnie Teasley and defensive edge coach Roy Manning.
Teasley spent the last five seasons with South Carolina, serving as the Gamecocks’ offensive line coach for the last three years.
He was also an assistant offensive line coach on Rhule’s Temple staff in 2014. Teasley also had stints with the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Tech.
“Lonnie Teasley brings a wealth of offensive line coaching experience to our staff,” Rhule said in a press release. “Lonnie has had great success throughout his career and specifically has been one of the elite offensive tackle coaches in the country. He also has a proven track record as an excellent recruiter. Lonnie will make a positive impact on our coaching staff and the Nebraska Football program.”
Manning worked with new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich as a defensive edge coach at San Diego State in 2025. He helped the Aztecs rank among the nation’s top defenses.
Manning has also spent time coaching at USC, Michigan and Cincinnati.
“We are excited to add Roy Manning to our defensive staff,” Rhule said. “Along with Coach Aurich, he was a key part of the defensive transformation at San Diego State this past season. Roy has experience coaching defense from front to back and has coached at high-level programs throughout his career.”
Nebraska fired three assistant coaches following a lopsided loss to Iowa in November: defensive coordinator John Butler, offensive line coach Donovan Raiola and defensive line coach Terry Bradden.
Aurich has been hired to lead the defense and Geep Wade is Nebraska’s new offensive line coach.
SEE ALSO: Report: Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola to enter the transfer portal
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – With 2025 NCAA Volleyball Championships in Kansas City this season, many Nebraska fans made plans ahead time given the driving distance to Lincoln. The Huskers lost in the regional final at home yet many fans still attended the final four.
“We just want to watch high-quality volleyball, grow the sport, and it’s a competitive sport, and there’s still four very good teams here,” Elizabeth Wright, a life-long Nebraska Volleyball fan, said.
Hundreds of Husker faithful dawned their red Nebraska gear as they entered the T Mobile Center on Thursday night with their team not playing. When asked about which team Nebraska fans would support, the majority of interviewees said Texas A&M.
“Part of me wants to watch Texas A&M win just because they beat us, and if they win, it gives us a little validation that we lost to the best team,” Karla Huneke, a Grand Island native and Nebraska Volleyball fan, said.
Overall, the surprise of Nebraska not making the NCAA Volleyball Championship didn’t impact Nebraskans from attending the final four.
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