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.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (Valley News Live) — The U.S. Space Force wants to build a $250 million space operations center at Grand Forks Air Force Base as part of President Trump’s 2027 defense budget request.

The facility would be about 180,000 square feet and built as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF, designed to handle top-secret information. It would house highly classified missile-warning and missile-tracking operations, as well as the space data network.

The project would bring more than 100 Space Force and National Reconnaissance Office personnel to the base across two to three fully manned squadrons, according to North Dakota Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer.

“This new project puts Grand Forks right at the center of what’s next in space operations,” Cramer said in a statement. “It speaks to the depth of our Airmen and Guardians’ expertise and why this base keeps getting tapped for the most important and modern missions.”

The facility builds on the low-Earth orbit satellite mission already at Grand Forks, which serves as the backbone of U.S. military communications. Hoeven worked to establish that mission and has been pushing to add missile-tracking and advanced fire-control capabilities.

The three-story facility will include a 500-person auditorium for secure briefings and conferences, as well as a dining area to support 24/7 operations, according to the Space Force.

Hoeven, a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, said he spoke with Space Force Chief of Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman about the proposal this week. He said he will work to secure funding through the annual appropriations process.

Design is expected to start later this year if Congress approves the funding.