Nebraska

Two lawmakers want Nebraska to have less control of North Omaha economic development | Nebraska Examiner

Published

10 months ago

December 13, 2023

Two lawmakers want Nebraska to have less control of North Omaha economic development | Nebraska Examiner

OMAHA — More than 300 acres near Omaha’s airport would be designated an inland port district and led by a new body of mayoral appointees with powers to acquire, develop and manage property for economic development.

Put forth by Mayor Jean Stothert’s administration and backed by two North Omaha lawmakers, the plan showed up as the last of 98 items on this week’s City Council agenda.

Its first public airing will be next Tuesday.

State Sen. Terrell McKinney of North Omaha. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

If green-lighted by the council, State Sens. Terrell McKinney and Justin Wayne said they’ll ask the Legislature to redirect at least $120 million of funds from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development to the governing board selected to oversee the new inland port district.

Both lawmakers have expressed frustration with DED’s attention to delivering economic recovery funds to North Omaha projects.

They believe that the proposed inland port district, to be governed by a nine-member board of Omaha residents, would be more effective in offering local control and spurring business and job growth.

“We just need more focus right now,” said Wayne. “DED is all over the state. We’ve got to focus.”

Said McKinney: “North Omaha deserves an entity that is dedicated to steering its future forward and entirely focused on maximizing the impact of these once-in-a-lifetime dollars.”

‘Critical for the future of North Omaha’

The $120 million that Wayne and McKinney want redirected includes the already earmarked $90 million for a business park and $30 million for an innovation hub, both of which are to be within the district boundaries but have yet to materialize.

Another state-funded project planned within that area is a $35 million multipurpose facility. McKinney said he and Wayne would like to see that under the management of the new entity as well.

State Sen. Justin Wayne of North Omaha. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska News Service)

“These investments are critical for the future of North Omaha and cannot fail,” Wayne said. “DED’s approach to programming in the area has not been coordinated, and currently there is no requirement that any proceeds of the funds be reinvested into North Omaha.”

Among the inland port authority powers are the ability to issue and sell revenue bonds to construct buildings and infrastructure within the zone. The board can pledge revenue derived from the sale or lease of property within the district to pay off the bond debt.

It also can acquire rights-of-way, employ people and is expected to recruit businesses to build up the district.

Separate from the inland port process, McKinney said, is the roughly $225 million in state grants that has yet to be distributed to North and South Omaha for economic development projects.

DED has said that it hopes, by the year’s end, to announce most of those North and South Omaha grant recipients, which will come from a pool of about 365 groups that applied for funding under the Nebraska Economic Recovery Act of 2022.

As for the proposed inland port district, City Council President Pete Festersen said he is supportive. He sees it as a mechanism that can help secure state appropriations and create industrial sites and jobs in the target area within a few miles of the airport.

City Councilwoman Juanita Johnson, who represents North Omaha, said she was not provided information beyond the proposal submitted to the council, and is looking forward to collecting more. She said she is wary that the governing board is to be appointed by the mayor, subject to council approval. To date, she said, many city boards lack diversity.

“Given the fact this is in my district, I am very much concerned about that,” said Johnson.

A span of more than 300 acres

According to City Council documents, the proposed inland port district would cover more than 300 acres around Eppley Airfield.

Red area is proposed North Omaha inland port boundaries. (City of Omaha)

The creation of such a district and governing board is guided by the Municipal Inland Port Authority Act, which was led by Wayne and passed by the Legislature in 2021.

As many as five inland port authorities are allowed across the state under the law. Fremont and Hershey have already designated inland ports.

A twist: The DED must endorse the Omaha designation, said McKinney and Wayne.

Said McKinney of DED: “If they’re feeling like they’re overwhelmed, why not relieve some of the burden?”

When contacted Wednesday for comment, DED officials referred a reporter’s questions to Gov. Jim Pillen’s office.

Wayne and McKinney have called on Pillen to support the reappropriation of funds from DED to the City of Omaha’s inland port district and its board. Wayne said he met with the governor’s staff Tuesday and was told the governor would get back to him.

Pillen’s office did not respond Wednesday to a reporter’s questions.

Tools to spur growth

McKinney and Wayne noted that inland port authorities have access to economic development tools and resources that can leverage further investment.

Indeed, part of their purpose, according to the council documents, is to provide tools to acquire and develop large shovel-ready commercial and industrial sites, and to provide a location for major companies wanting to locate or expand.

The proposal before the council lays out other various responsibilities and powers. Among them is the ability of the inland port authority to establish and charge fees to businesses and customers that use services offered by the district.

The board can acquire, own and lease real estate in the district. But it does not have the power of eminent domain.

Wayne said he foresees a key benefit of an inland port board to be as a central organizer of multiple projects coming down the pike.

“We’ve got the business park, I-Hub … we can’t have six different organizations trying to do it. It needs to be coordinated.”

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Nebraska

No. 2 Nebraska volleyball beats UCLA to start conference season

Published

4 hours ago

September 28, 2024

Press Room

No. 2 Nebraska volleyball beats UCLA to start conference season

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — No. 2 Nebraska volleyball welcomed UCLA to the Big Ten on Friday night by defeating the Bruins in four sets.

The Huskers won their first conference match 25-22, 25-10, 23-15, 25-22 at the Devaney Center.

Nebraska outhit UCLA 0.246% to 0.153%.

Andi Jackson and Taylor Landfair each made 13 kills to lead the Huskers.

On defense, Lexi Rodriguez racked up 20 digs, followed by Bergen Reilly with 13.

Nebraska plays another new Big Ten member, No. 20 USC, on Sunday. The match will air on the Big Ten Network at 6:30 p.m.

Categories: Husker Sports, Sports

Tags: andi jackson, bergen reilly, Big Ten, bruins, devaney center, Huskers, Huskers Volleyball, Lexi Rodriguez, Nebraska, Nebraska Volleyball, taylor landfair, ucla, Volleyball

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Nebraska

Nebraska high school football computer rankings (9/27/2024)

Published

14 hours ago

September 27, 2024

Press Room

Nebraska high school football computer rankings (9/27/2024)

Week 5 of the 2024 Nebraska high school football season is here and High School on SI is debuting the first computer rankings in Nebsraka this season.

There is a three-team battle for the Class A leaderboard between Elkhorn South, Papillion-Lavista, and Omaha Westside. See if these heavyweights continue their unbeaten streaks this Friday, September 27 on our Nebraska football scoreboard.

SBLive’s formula was created using its own linear algebra-based ranking algorithm inspired by the Colley Bias-Free Ranking Method. Colley’s Method was created by Wes Colley, Ph.D., an astrophysicist at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He devised his algorithm in order to help address the subjectivity and controversy regarding BCS college football selections in the 1990s and early 2000s, using a method that used no subjective variables.

Here are SBLive’s latest Nebraska football computer rankings, as of September 25, 2024:

NEBRASKA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COMPUTER RANKINGS

CLASS A | CLASS B

CLASS C1 | CLASS C2

CLASS D1 | CLASS D2

CLASS D6

SBLIVE SPORTS LAUNCHES HIGH SCHOOL ON SI

High School On SI will serve as the premier destination for high school sports fans, delivering unparalleled coverage of high school athletics nationwide through in-depth stories, recruiting coverage, rankings, highlights and much more. The launch of a dedicated high school experience expands Sports Illustrated’s reach to even more local communities as fans can now truly follow athletes from “preps to the pros” on a single platform, bringing them closer to the action than ever before.

For more information, visit si.com/high-school.

— Ben Dagg | @sblivesports

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Nebraska

Can Purdue football get back on track against Nebraska? Scouting the Cornhuskers

Published

22 hours ago

September 27, 2024

Press Room

Can Purdue football get back on track against Nebraska? Scouting the Cornhuskers

WEST LAFAYETTE − Nebraska was once the hated rival for Ryan Walters.

The Purdue football coach grew up in Colorado and in the 1990s, Colorado and Nebraska was must see TV. Then Walters went on to play for Colorado, like his father.

Now it’s Nebraska that Walters needs to beat to stop a sinking ship.

Purdue is trying to avoid a third straight loss and also hoping to resurrect an offense and defense that have drifted into the Big Ten abyss the past two games.

The Huskers visit Ross-Ade Stadium for their first road game of the season and the Boilermakers hope that a raucous Homecoming environment can help rattle Nebraska and freshman sensation quarterback Dylan Raiola.

More: BoilersXtra Podcast: Nebraska preview and preseason basketball buzz

Raiola was one of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 recruiting class and he’s shown why. The Nebraska signal caller is second in the Big Ten with eight touchdown passes and has thrown for almost 1,000 yards in four games.

Nebraska won its first three games with relative ease before losing to Illinois in overtime last week.

More: His dad was Super Bowl MVP, now Purdue football receiver adding knowledge for Boilermakers

Raiola’s top target has been Isaiah Neyor, a transfer from Texas and a former teammate of Purdue QB Hudson Card with the Longhorns. Neyor’s four touchdown receptions are fourth most in the league. How much does the return of Nyland Green help Purdue’s defense?

Nebraska’s defense averages six tackles for loss and 2.8 sacks per game, led by senior linebacker John Bullock (25 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks).

Purdue football QB Hudson Card, ‘Still a lot of belief in this team’

Heard what Boilermaker quarterback Hudson Card said about Purdue’s 1-2 start and Saturday’s game vs. Nebraska.

How does Purdue’s offense match up with Blackshirts

Nebraska’s defense, known as the Blackshirts, will be a tough unit for the Boilermakers to try to rectify a struggling passing attack.

Purdue did run the ball well at Oregon State, which has proven struggles against the run this season. Devin Mockobee did become the 12th player to join Purdue’s 2,000-yard club after rushing for 168 yards last Saturday. He needs 40 yards to pass Purdue legend Leroy Keyes for 11th most in school history.

It’ll be tough to do that against the Cornhuskers, who are allowing just 94.3 rushing yards per game and just 12.8 points per game. Purdue averages 354.7 yards of offense, which ranks 95th in the country and 13th in the Big Ten, with 583 yards against Indiana State doing the heavy lifting to support that average. Over the last two weeks, that average is 240.5 yards.

“After the Notre Dame game, I think that Notre Dame was extremely physical, played really, really hard and we challenged our guys as a team and obviously as an offensive unit, the physicality has to be there,” offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said. “If we’re going to be successful, then we have to be physical.”

Prediction: Nebraska 30, Purdue football 20

The Boilermakers bounce back in terms of competitiveness, but there’s three games of data (or four in Nebraska’s case) saying these teams are not playing at the same level right now.

Until Purdue’s defense shows it can set the edge and not get gashed for chunk plays running outside the tackles, it’s hard to believe the Boilers will beat anyone. If it’s more of the same Saturday, Nebraska’s run game, which isn’t a strength, could get a boost.

The Boilermakers also need to show some semblance of a passing game against a secondary that’s been pretty good against. Purdue’s best bet is to keep it close and hope for a chance at the end. That starts with not falling behind early, which has happened the past two weeks.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.

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