Nebraska
Sergeant Mad Bear Recreation Area opens in Gretna
GRETNA, Neb. (WOWT) – A new recreation area opened Thursday in Gretna, honoring a notable Nebraska Native American while reducing flooding risks.
The Sergeant Mad Bear Recreation Area, located just off 168th and Giles, was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The park is named after Sergeant Mad Bear, a Pawnee warrior who lived in the area during the 1860s. He was wounded in battle and became the first Native American in the country to receive the Medal of Honor.
“This lake that we’re here for is named after one of our soldiers. And a revered soldier,” said Pat Leading Fox, head chief of the Pawnee Nation Chiefs Council.
Honoring Pawnee heritage

Leading Fox said he was honored to see Mad Bear’s name live on at the site.
“He’s a Pawnee member. He’s a member of the band that I represent, Skidi Band, S-K-I-D-I. And to stand here, you know, where he could possibly have, you know, walked, you know, really is touching,” Leading Fox said.
For Leading Fox, the park represents more than a place to relax.
“This is our homeland here so you I always say home, we’re home,” he said.
Dual purpose: recreation and flood control
The park also serves as a flood reservoir, one of many managed by the Papio Missouri River NRD.
“This is part of a larger plan to control flows downstream. It works in conjunction with the levees and with the other reservoirs,” said Ian Ghanavati of the Papio Missouri River NRD.
The reservoir is currently empty but designed to fill with rainwater.
“Where the rock is, where you can kind of see the edge of the earth, that’s where the shoreline will come up to. We just need some rain to fill it,” Ghanavati said.
Community amenity
The empty reservoir has not deterred park visitors, who are already using the area’s other amenities.
Jen Boswell, a park visitor, said she uses the walking trail regularly.
“They just put in the trail from our street down to the path here. So yeah, I try to come down and walk at least three times around,” Boswell said.
Boswell said she is looking forward to using the park more as it develops.
“Walk, play, ride our bikes, scooters around here, fish. I think you could even put maybe like a kayak in here once it’s ready. So it’s going to be a great addition to the area for sure,” she said.
Sergeant Mad Bear is the second reservoir to open in the Papio NRD, following the Forest City Reservoir which opened last fall.
Copyright 2026 WOWT. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Nebraska lands commitment from three-star tight end Joey Hunter
Nebraska Football picked up a commitment from a class of 2027 prospect. Three-star tight end Joey Hunter made the announcement on Sunday afternoon.
Hunter hails from Grayson High School. North Carolina State and Georgia Tech also recruited the playmaker. He measures in at six-foot-six, 255 pounds.
As Rivals.com’s Tim Verghese notes, Hunter was a large part of the offensive line at the high school level last season, due to his frame. He recorded six receptions for 86 yards and two touchdowns in five games.
This marks another commitment for a Nebraska football program that has seen four commitments on the weekend overall. The class itself ranks 19th17th overall in the country, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings.
This is another strong commitment for a 2027 class that is really taking shape. It will be interesting to see how many more the program takes in this class overall.
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Nebraska
Nebraska Football Flips Minnesota Edge Commit, Adding to Stellar Recruiting Weekend
Nebraska football’s big weekend of official visits turned one edge rusher from a rival into a Cornhusker.
Ma’atoe Moe, a 6-3, 240-pound edge rusher from Utah, announced his commitment to Nebraska football on Sunday. Moe flipped his original verbal commitment from Minnesota after his official visit weekend in Lincoln, along with several other high-profile recruits. Moe becomes the fifth commit of the visit cycle, joining cornerback Bryce Williams, tight end Joey Hunter, linebacker Eli Harris, and defensive lineman Errol Demontagnac as commits for the Huskers over the weekend.
The pass rusher had been verbally committed to Minnesota since last Sunday during an official visit to the Golden Gophers in the final weekend of May, but took down his initial social media post later that same day. Moe confirmed to Rivals on Wednesday he was committed to Minnesota, but changed his status following the visit to Lincoln.
COMMITTED! to THE University of Nebraska! #AGTG #GBR #BLKSHRTS❤️🖤 pic.twitter.com/NvjchUf9YR
— Ma’atoe Moe (@maatoe_moe0) June 7, 2026
“When in doubt, wear Red,” Moe reposted to his social media pages Sunday morning.
Nebraska had originally offered on May 5, becoming the latest of several Division I offers for the pass rusher since the spring. The Huskers earned Moe’s commitment over other offers from Utah Tech, BYU, Boise State, Washington State, UNLV, Utah State, Colorado State, and San Diego State.
Moe has transferred to Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, for his junior season in 2025, but was held out for five contests due to transfer eligibility rules in the state. The three-star prospect recorded 17 tackles, one sack, and 10 quarterback hurries in six games.
Moe is rated as a top-100 edge rusher prospect in the country and the No. 15 rated prospect in Utah, earning an 86 overall rating from 247Sports. Moe becomes the 10th three-star prospect to commit to Nebraska and bumps the Huskers’ 247Sports recruiting ranking to No. 17 in the country. Nebraska still trails fellow Big Ten programs Penn State (No. 7), UCLA (No. 8), USC (No. 10), Ohio State (No. 11), Oregon (No. 12), Minnesota (No. 13), Michigan (No. 14), and Washington (No. 16).
Nebraska continues to add commits from its new coaching staff additions, as Moe becomes another addition for assistant coaches Roy Manning and Corey Brown, as well as defensive coordinator Rob Aurich. Moe’s commitment becomes the third defensive line or edge rusher commitment of Nebraska’s 2027 Class, as St. Frances Academy’s Jayden Travers committed back in Dec. 2025, joining Moe and Demontagnac’s verbal commitments this weekend.
Moe fits a critical need for Nebraska as well, with the Huskers rostering nine current edge rushers for the 2026 season. Nebraska will graduate two at season’s end in Cameron Lendhart and UCLA transfer Anthony Jones Jr. The Huskers have five sophomores and two juniors on this year’s roster, including converted tight end Mac Markway, who will be playing as an edge rusher for the first time in his college football tenure.
Since the 2026 cycle began, Nebraska’s defensive priorities have adjusted under new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich. Moe’s flip marks the 10th defensive commit or signee for the Huskers, including four-star safety Corey Hadley Jr. and Omaha athlete Tory Pittman. The 2026 cycle wrapped with high-profile additions of defensive lineman Dylan Berymon, cornerback Danny Odem, and three-star Elkhorn North grad Jase Reynolds.
After limiting the program’s signees for the 2026 class to only 12 commits, Nebraska has surpassed last year’s total with the official visit haul from this weekend. The Huskers are now up to 16 hard commits, as several more high-profile targets could still be up for grabs.
Nebraska football was able to bring LSU commit and five-star tight end target Ahmad Hudson on an official visit this weekend as well, marking Hudson’s fourth visit to Lincoln overall. The Louisiana product is also a dominant force on the hardwood, as Hudson had been in Lincoln to visit Fred Hoiberg and Nebraska basketball as a potential addition to play two sports for the Huskers.
Hudson would tell Rivals on Sunday that Nebraska is “close” and added that the program would “change the whole offense for me.” Hudson has created a new budding relationship with now in-state Nebraska commits Trae Taylor and Tay Ellis, as the Millard South pair connected with the five-star prospect since the ‘Battle at the Boneyard’ event last summer.
“I don’t talk to a lot of quarterbacks. I’m more of a receiver guy,” Hudson told 247Sports last summer. “So the fact that we just clicked instantly that could possibly mean that if I do come here, we could possibly just click just like that. It wouldn’t be we have to go out and throw every day. Just click. So being able to click with him like that helps with my recruitment.”
If Nebraska paired Moe’s flip with a Hudson commitment, the weekend could go down as one of coach Matt Rhule’s and the Huskers’ most important – and successful – recruiting weekends in the program’s history.
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