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City of Lincoln, Nebraska turns to B20 biodiesel

The city of Lincoln, Nebraska will soon incorporate B20 biodiesel in its municipal fleet.

Wesley Wach, demand and utilization coordinator with the Nebraska Soybean Board, says the fuel transition will replace 215,000 gallons of petroleum diesel in nearly 130 fleet vehicles.

“The city has a lot of different sustainability goals,” he said, “including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. And also having their entire fleet be 100% electric or alternatively fueled by 2040.”

The city was awarded funding through NSB’s biodiesel incentive program. B20 refers to the 20% blended percentage of biodiesel in a gallon of fuel. As a drop-in replacement, B20 can be incorporated into the city fleet immediately without any changes to existing equipment or infrastructure.

Wach tells Brownfield the increase in biodiesel demand brings added value back to soy growers. “You’re seeing increased crush capacity across the nation and in Nebraska, which is leading to a better base for farmers and also a better overall price for soybeans.”

He says studies have shown that the lifecycle emissions of pure biodiesel are 74% lower than regular diesel.

Nebraska remains alive in the Big Ten title race, as the Huskers came away with a 4-2 win vs. Indiana on Sunday afternoon at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.

Nebraska (32-18, 14-7 Big Ten) scored four runs on eight hits and committed an error, while Indiana (28-21-1, 13-8 Big Ten) totaled two runs on six hits and three errors.

Jackson Brockett pitched five strong innings in his second start of the week, allowing just two runs across four hits while striking out three Hoosiers. Drew Christo tossed four shutout innings to move to 2-3 on the season. The junior surrendered just two singles and recorded a pair of strikeouts.

Case Sanderson was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Josh Caron picked up two hits and an RBI, while Cole Evans was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Tyler Stone recorded a double, and Rhett Stokes had a hit and team-high two runs on Sunday.

Stone began the bottom of the second drilling a 2-0 pitch off the top of the fence in center for his eighth double of the season. A nifty behind-the-back play from Indiana’s pitcher on a fielder’s choice in the next at-bat got Stone out in a rundown between second and third to keep the Huskers off the board in the second.

Brockett worked around a leadoff single in the top of the third, while the Husker offense broke through with two runs on a pair of hits and an error to take a 2-0 lead. Stokes reached on a one-out fielding error and moved to second on a balk for the Big Red.

Sanderson broke the scoreless tie with two outs, lifting a 1-2 pitch down the left-field line for an RBI ground-rule double to bring home Stokes from second. An infield single from Caron placed runners on first and third, before a wild pitch allowed Sanderson to jog down the third-base line for NU’s second run in the inning.

Indiana trimmed the deficit in half in the top of the fifth with Jasen Oliver’s solo homer to left. The Hoosiers locked the game at two in the sixth when Tyler Cerny sent a 1-2 pitch into the berm in left field for visitors’ second solo homer of the afternoon.

Christo replaced Brockett on the mound and retired the next three Hoosiers after giving up a single up the middle to the first batter he faced.

Nebraska capitalized on an error from the Hoosiers in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead back at 3-2. Caron reached on a throwing error from the Indiana pitcher, reaching second base on the play to put a runner on second with one out.

The Hoosiers elected to intentionally walk Stone with two outs to put runners on first and second with Saturday night’s hero in Evans at the plate. Evans made the Hoosiers pay for the second game in a row, lacing a 2-1 pitch into left field for an RBI double, scoring Caron and giving the Huskers a 3-2 advantage through six innings.

Christo stranded a pair of Hoosiers in the seventh after a two-out fielding error and single to center field.

Stokes reached on an infield single and later stole second with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Sanderson was plunked on a 1-2 pitch with two outs to put runners on first and second for the Big Red. Caron brought home Stokes from second after lining the first pitch he saw to left field for an RBI single to double the Husker lead to 4-2.

Christo retired the Hoosiers in order in the eighth and ninth innings to clinch the weekend series for the Huskers on Sunday afternoon.

Nebraska wraps up regular-season play next weekend, as the Huskers venture to East Lansing, Mich., for a three-game set at Michigan State on Thursday-Saturday, May 16-18.

Ananya Amarnath is ending her undergraduate career at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln on a high note.

She will be among the thousands of Huskers participating in commencement on May 18 and receive a degree in music education from the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. This crescendo has been building as Amarnath’s path to a degree came with numerous academic challenges — which she overcame by remembering that she had the opportunity to pursue two of her passions.

“Everybody has an origin story, why you love music, why you love teaching,” she said. “Taking a second to reconnect with that and not lose that idea is really important.”

Amarnath’s introduction to music education was at age 5 when she started learning Indian classical music. As a small child, she also took lessons in Indian classical dance. Her younger sister also participated in the lessons, and Amarnath realized then that she loved helping her sister learn.

“This is something that has always been present in my life, so why don’t I just combine the two things I love doing and keep rolling with that,” she said.

She started in group singing lessons, but in middle school, Amarnath started playing the flute, which continued through her years at Elkhorn South High School. Watching her own teachers helped inspire Amarnath to pursue this career.

“I was seeing these great music educators around me, really leaning into my love for music and seeing that there’s more to it than just singing in a choir,” she said.

Amarnath just completed her student teaching at Papillion La Vista South High School, where she had the opportunity to learn from two instructors. She said they have a wealth of experience so she was grateful for the opportunity to pick both of their brains and grow from observing them, as well as apply lessons from them and her classes to real instruction.

“The two of them have two very different approaches to teaching, so I’ve been trying to figure out, seeing both, what I want my approach to be,” Amarnath said. “I just love watching them teach and they have such good relationships with their students.”

Outside the classroom, her music education major required Amarnath to learn the basics of playing several instruments, and her favorite additions were the saxophone and the oboe. She also participated in multiple university choirs, including University Chorale, University Singers, Chamber Singers and i2 Choir.

“I really appreciate having those as a requirement, to take a break from the coursework aspect and just make music,” she said.

Although she enjoyed those opportunities, Amarnath has also had to push through failing and retaking classes, blocking off enough time to practice and other typical challenges students face. Leaning on peers and upperclassmen for advice and support was vital to making it through her time at Nebraska U, she said, as was reminding herself of her goals and reasons for continuing to work toward her degree.

“I think a lot of people get lost,” Amarnath said. “They think, ‘There’s a lot of coursework, this isn’t making sense, I’m not succeeding,’ because they’re not seeing their progress and they’re not thinking about the ‘why.’”

Now that she’s fought through the challenges and is preparing to receive her diploma, Amarnath wants students to remember they will face adversity, but it doesn’t mean they won’t succeed in the future. If she could speak to her past self as she was entering college, Amarnath would tell herself it’s OK to struggle.

“You are going to fall on your face, because everyone does,” Amarnath said. “At this point I’m more sure of who I am and I don’t think that would have happened if I had not done all the things I have done at UNL.”