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MPCC Rodeo Team ends season with three regional champions

Mid-Plains Community College will send seven members of its rodeo team to the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo. June 9-15.

The CNFR qualifiers are:

Men’s team:

§ Austin Madison, Whiting, Iowa

§ Clay Bauer, Arcadia

§ JD Draper, Oakley, Kan.

§ Koby Jacobson, Haiku, Hawaii

§ Marshall Still, Oconto

§ Wyatt Williams, Ord

§ Chance Williams, Ord (will serve as an alternate)

Women’s team:

§ Danielle Wray, Ord

The team ended its season in Dickinson, N.D. over the weekend. It took first place overall in the men’s team standings and claimed two individual wins by Jacobson, bull riding, and Madison, steer wrestling. Additionally, Madison and Draper tied for first in the steer wrestling in the regional standings.

“That’s pretty awesome to have two regional saddles come back to the college for one event,” said Garrett Nokes, MPCC Rodeo Team timed event coach. “JD stumbled a bit this weekend, but had a phenomenal fall and not a bad spring. That was enough to put him over the edge. Austin had a pretty rough fall, but all spring had gotten considerably better. He ropes well and steer wrestles well, but breaking barriers cost him. These last couple of weeks, he’s really turned it up a notch and did great.”

Danielle Wray, of Ord, came in fifth in the breakaway roping at Dickinson – helping the MPCC women’s team to finish fifth as well. Wray is currently the number one header in the Great Plains Region heading into nationals and will be the only woman representing Mid-Plains at the CNFR.

“Danielle is just a freshman, but she’s doing a great job,” said Nokes. “She stumbled a couple of times this spring, and it could have cost her the regional championship, so it’s great to see her go to nationals. She and her partner rope well enough that they could be contenders for the national title.”

Marshall Still, of Oconto, placed second in the steer wrestling at Dickinson. Nokes has been impressed with the progress Still has made this year.

“Marshall had a really tough fall and worked on a lot of things over the winter,” Nokes said. “No one has worked any harder than he has. To have three steer wrestlers from the same school make it to nationals – a person has to be proud of that, and I’m real proud of all of them. Any of them could be in contention for a national championship. They are good enough to do that. It wouldn’t surprise me if all three are top 10 finishers.”

Bauer and Draper joined forces to place second in the team roping at Dickinson. In addition to place third in the tie-down roping at Dickinson, Bauer is also sitting third in tie-down roping for the region.

“Clay had some horsepower problems early on,” said Nokes. “But, he borrowed a horse this spring and started roping smarter than he ever has. That new horse was the key factor in him getting the qualification for nationals.”

Jacobson’s bull riding win at Dickinson left him third in the region. Dustin Elliott, MPCC Rodeo Team rough stock coach, said the circumstances surrounding the competition in North Dakota made the win even more special.

“Koby was tied for third coming into the weekend,” Elliott said. “The kid that he tied with and the other that could have caught him both bucked off before him. So, all Koby had to do was ride his bull, and he had the college finals made. As a competitor, sometimes that’s the hardest situation to be in because of the pressure. I couldn’t be more proud of him based on what was on the line.”

Overall, MPCC will head to the CNFR second in the region in the men’s team standings and third in the women’s team standings.

“Six of the seven qualifiers will be coming back next year,” Nokes said. “Winning second as a team – we’ve got nowhere to go but up.”

It’s the third year in a row that MPCC has qualified for nationals and the second year in a row that it has finished second in the region with its men’s team.

“I thought we competed well all year on both ends of the arena,” Elliott said. “We didn’t quite pull it all together until Dickinson, but there we had a 790-point rodeo as a team, which was one of the higher points that any team got all year. Our guys really stepped up, and we were firing on all cylinders. We’re still riding that momentum. Who knows what will happen in Casper.”

Knights’ season ends in Region IX tourney

COLUMBUS – The North Platte Community College softball team put the tying run at third base Sunday but fell 4-3 to Central Community College as the season ends in the first round of the Region IX Division II tournament. Sunday was the third game of a best-of-three, first-round series. CCC won the first game Saturday 6-5 in eight innings. North Platte came back to win the second game Saturday 10-0 to set up Game 3 Sunday.

“We fought all the way to the end and never gave up,” said North Platte Coach Janelle Higgins. “We knew it was going to be a battle all the way to the end and it was.”

North Platte came out Sunday with a first-inning lead. After the game started on a Raider error, Emily Marsden (Papillion) singled and both runners moved up on a Willow Chitty (North Platte) sacrifice bunt and the Knights took a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Hallei Morales (North Platte).

Central tied the game in the bottom of the first and took a 2-1 lead with a run in the third, and added runs in the fifth and sixth innings to lead 4-1.

“We missed opportunities to score almost every inning and that was the difference in the game,” Higgins said.

In the North Platte seventh, Morales led off with a walk, but after a strikeout and a fielder’s choice the Knights got down to their last strike twice but didn’t fold. Megan Hernandez-Bellew (Broomfield, Colo.) singled to center. Maddie Liddell (Glenwood, Iowa) got down 0-2 but worked a walk to load the bases for Kayleigh Bucio (Rialto, Calif.) who singled on an 0-2 pitch to right field to drive home two runs and close the gap to 4-3, but the rally ended with runners on first and third.

Marsden pitched six innings and absorbed the loss, she allowed eight hits, and struck out four.

North Platte had seven hits in the game with two from Hernandez-Bellew and five singles.

With the win Central CC improves to 13-22 and advances to the Region IX Division II championship series at Beatrice against Southeast Community College – a best-of-three-game series.

North Platte finishes the season at 16-29.

“It’s always hard to lose but it’s harder when you know the season is over,” Higgins said. “This team left everything on the field today and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

GAME 1 (Saturday) – Central CC, 6, North Platte CC 5 (8 innings): The two teams traded leads five times before the Raiders scored the game winner in the bottom of the eighth inning.

North Platte took a 2-1 lead in the third inning on Emily Marsden’s two-run double. Central scored two in the third and one in the fifth to take a 4-2 lead.

The Knights responded with a run in the sixth on a single by Alea Binkly (Council Bluffs, Iowa) and a double by Ashylnn Krueger (Littleton, Colo.). With one out in the seventh, Mikayla Gibson (West Valley, Utah) and Marsden singled, then two outs Hallei Morales doubled to center to put North Platte in the lead 5-4.

Central scored a run in the seventh to tie and one in the eighth for the win.

Krueger pitched the first 6.1 innings, allowed five runs and six hits, one walk and she struck out one.

GAME 2 (Saturday) – North Platte CC 10, Central CC 0: The Knights rebounded from the walk-off loss by exploding for four runs in the first inning, two in the second, and finished out the game with three in the fourth and one in the fifth to polish off the Raiders in five innings.

Willow Chitty powered a two-run homer in the first and went four-for-four at the plate to drive in half of North Platte’s 10 runs.

Emily Marsden was the winning pitcher going four hitless, scoreless innings, striking out six. Hailey Wilkins (Tyler, Texas) recorded the last three outs to earn the save.

Hallei Morales went three-for-four and Kayleigh Bucio went two-for-two as North Platte outhit Central CC 11-1.

Hastings College JVs win twice against Knights

The North Platte Community College softball team lost a pair of games Monday against the Hastings College JVs, 15-0 and 9-1.

“It was a cold day for softball that’s for sure,” said North Platte Coach Janelle Higgins. “Mentally we struggled today, it got colder a lot faster than we were anticipating and didn’t adjust well.”

Early errors led to eight unearned runs in the first inning of Game 1 and North Platte was unable to get back on track.

“We fought and never gave up but we gave them too much too quick and couldn’t recover,” Higgins said.

North Platte goes to 14-26 on the season. The Knights close out the regular season Tuesday, weather permitting, with two games at McCook for the annual Purple Out games for epilepsy awareness.

“At the end of the day this team continues to push and get better — it might not show it in the win-loss columns — but they do and we know they are capable of greatness they just have to believe it,” Higgins said.

On Saturday, North Platte will go to Columbus to begin the Region IX Division II tournament against Central Community College. That is a best-of-three series with the winner advancing to the Region IX championship series the following weekend at Beatrice against Southeast Community College.

GAME 1 – Hastings College JV, 15, North Platte CC 0: The junior Broncos came out and scored eight runs in the top of the first and put the game away in five innings, added two runs in the second inning, one in the fourth and four in the fifth inning.

North Platte was out-hit 10-2 and the Knights committed four errors leading to 10 unearned runs.

Mikayla Gibson (West Valley, Utah) had a third inning double and Maddie Liddle had a fourth-inning single.

Ashylnn Krueger (Littleton, Colo.) started in the pitching circle and went 2.2 innings. She allowed one earned run and five hits, one walk and three strikeouts. Hailey Wilkins (Tyler, Texas) went the final 2.1 innings allowing four earned runs on five hits, four walks and one strikeout.

GAME 2 – Hastings College JV 9, North Platte CC 1: While the Knights kept Hastings College JV off the scoreboard in the first inning of this game, the Broncos scored two in the second and scored in five straight innings.

After Hastings took a 2-0 lead in the second, North Platte got on the scoreboard for the first time on the day in the bottom of the inning. Megan Hernandez-Bellew (Broomfield, Colo.) led off with a bunt single, went to second on a bunt from Maddie Liddle and scored on a Bronco error.

The Hastings JV’s added three runs in the third, one in the fourth, two more in the fifth and a run in the sixth.

Emily Marsden (Papillion) went six innings for the Knights, allowed 12 hits, six earned runs, two walks and she struck out five.

NPCC had five hits in the game – all singles, from Mikayla Gibson, Willow Chitty (North Platte), Marsden, Hernandez-Bellew, and Kayleigh Bucio (Rialto, Calif.).

NP St Pats: Banquet Winners 2018-19

The following student-athletes were recognized as award winners at the annual St. Patrick High School All Sports Banquet, Monday at the

St. Patrick Parish Hall.

 

Football

Most Improved – Dolan Branch

The “Intensity” Award – Talan McGill

Most Valuable Teammate – Nick Niesen

 

Lifter of the Year – Justin Schroll

 

Volleyball

 

Hustle: Brooke McClellen

Most Improved: Kinsey Skillstad

Most Valuable Teammate:Kaleigh Kummer

Female Lifter: Calli Groseth

 

Wrestling

 

Outstanding Wrestler- Talan McGill

Outstanding Underclassman – Landon Klasna

The Pinner – Hunter Deeds

The Takedown- Talan McGill

 

Golf

Msgr. L.A. Portrey Outstanding Golfer: Jacob Swift

 

Girls Basketball

 

Most Improved – Calli Groseth

Hustle Award – Abbi Allberry

Most Valuable Teammate – Kaleigh Kummer

Rebounder – Jocylin Sellers

 

Girls and Boys Track & Field

Outstanding Female Track Athlete – Too close to call!

Outstanding Male Track Athlete – Tyler Ferguson

 

Outstanding Cross Country

Female Athlete: Kelsie Folchert

Male Athlete: Logan O’Malley

 

Boys Basketball

 

MVT (Most Valuable Teammate): Nick Niesen

Most Improved:Tyler Ferguson

Hustle Award: James Roberts

Rebounder: Nick Niesen

 

Special Recognitions:

 

Dan Steffes Memorial Sportsmanship Awards: Gracie Rippen & Patrick O’Neill

North Platte softball sweeps doubleheader with NWKT

GOODLAND, Kan. — The North Platte Community College softball team swept a pair of games Saturday against Northwest Kansas Technical College, 7-5 and 11-2.

The Knights came out with an early lead in Game 1 and rode the offensive momentum of Willow Chitty’s three doubles to win the first game. In Game 2, NPCC trailed 2-0 in the third inning but scored 11 unanswered runs to put the game away in five innings.

“We played solid all the way around today,” said North Platte Coach Janelle Higgins. “Our pitchers spun the ball well with the wind blowing out.”

Kayleigh Bucio (Rialto, Calif.) enjoyed a five-for-seven day at the plate.

“Defensively we stepped up and made some great plays and didn’t play on our heels,” Higgins said. “I am proud of the fight we continue to show.”

Northwest Kansas Tech finishes the season 1-46.

North Platte is 13-23 with two regular season doubleheader dates remaining – Monday at home against Hastings College JV at 4 and 6 p.m. and Tuesday at McCook at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The Knights are the No. 3 seed in the Region IX, and will travel to Columbus Saturday to take on No. 2 seed Central Community College starting at 1 p.m., in a best-of-three series. The winner will play at Southeast Community College the following weekend in the regional championship series.

You can follow homes games broadcast on 98.1 FM / 1410 AM or on the Internet at www.northplattepost.com.

Game 1 – North Platte CC 7, Northwest Kansas Tech 5: The Knights came out with a pair of runs in both the first and second inning to take a 4-0 lead.

In the NPCC first, Willow Chitty (North Platte) started things off with an RBI-double and Alea Binkly (Council Bluffs, Iowa) followed with a run-scoring single to make it a 2-0 game. Kayleigh Bucio (Rialto, Calif.) led off the North Platte second with a single and later came in to make it 3-0 on a Maverick error. Chitty doubled in the fourth run.

After Northwest Kansas Tech scored three runs in the third inning, the Knights responded getting those three runs back in the top of the fourth. Bucio led things off with a single and scored on an RBI-single by Emily Marsden (Papillion). With two outs, Chitty banged out her third straight double to give the Knights a 6-3 lead and Binkly singled home Chitty to put North Platte up 7-3. NWKT scored two unearned runs in the seventh inning.

“We did a good job adjusting to their pitchers and hitting every inning,” Higgins said.

Hailey Wilkins (Tyler, Texas) went six innings, she allowed one earned run on nine hits, one walk and seven strikeouts. Masden pitched the final inning and allowed two hits and no earned runs.

Game 2 – North Platte CC 11, Northwest Kansas Tech 2: Trailing 2-0 in the third inning Mikayla Gibson (West Valley, Utah) got the Knights on the scoreboard with an RBI double and a Maverick led to another run to tie the game 2-2.

Megan Hernandez-Bellew (Broomfield, Colo.) and Sienna Pfaff (Salem, Utah) had singles in the fourth inning when the Knights scored three unearned runs.

Hernandez-Bellew tripled in the fifth-inning to give North Platte a 7-2 lead and the Knights “kept the line moving” in the six-run fifth that included seven hits.

“Our offense came alive in Game 2 when we executed the circus play,” Higgins said.

Emily Marsden twirled a three-hitter allowing two runs and striking out three in five innings of work to pick up the win.

Hernandez-Bellew led the offense with three hits. The Knights also got two-hit games from Gibson, Pfaff, Marsden, and Kayleigh Bucio.

Drivers reminded to stay alert as ag implements hit the roads

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

As Nebraska’s agriculture producers ramp up their work to feed America, the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) is advising drivers to keep an eye out for agricultural implements working near and traveling on Nebraska’s roads.

“Ag producers throughout Nebraska have had to deal with quite a lot as they prepared to start the planting season,” said Colonel John Bolduc, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “As these dedicated men and women are now out in the field working, we encourage drivers to be mindful that there will be more equipment on the roads for the next several months.”

Nebraska drivers are reminded that it is legal for farm machinery to travel from field to field on public roads other than Nebraska’s interstates. Drivers should remember that this equipment often travels at slow speeds and the implement’s size may limit the operator’s ability to see other vehicles. Motorists should only pass in legal passing zones and when safe to do so.

Drivers should be alert and use extra caution on roads that may be routes of travel for this machinery. With the potential combination of fast-moving vehicles and slow-moving farm equipment, it is critical that drivers avoid distractions.

“We have tremendous respect for ag producers across our state,” said Captain Gerry Krolikowski, Commander of NSP Carrier Enforcement. “We have worked closely with these partners before and will continue throughout this production season. Farmers, ranchers, motorists, and law enforcement agencies can all work together to keep Nebraska roads safe while Nebraska’s number-one industry continues to thrive.”

Ag producers are also encouraged to voluntarily comply with traffic safety laws, display warning signs on machinery, use flashing yellow caution lights when traveling, and be aware of vehicles that may be attempting to pass.

Sandhills State Bank gifts $50,000 to Prairie Arts Center

Holly Carlini, Executive Director of the Prairie Arts Center, receives a gift of $50,000 from Sandhills State Bank

Sandhills State Bank has announced a $50,000 donation to the Prairie Arts Center.

Kim Steger, President of Sandhills Private Banking, will present the check at 2:30 pm Thursday, April 25th at The Prairie Arts Center during Sandhills State Bank’s Annual Shareholder meeting.

The Prairie Arts Center and The Creativity Unlimited Arts Council are thrilled to add Sandhills State Bank as a partner as they donate $50,000 as a naming opportunity for the Art Library on the second floor at PAC.

Holly Carlini, Executive Director at Prairie Arts Center says, “The Bank’s willingness to support the arts in our community is beyond measure and we’re excited to move forward with the naming of the library. This space is a treasure here at PAC…it’s filled with art books, sculptures and character…as it holds the only original wood floors in this 1913 building. The support we are receiving from Sandhills State Bank showcases the need and love of art in this community.”

David Gale, Sandhills State Bank CEO said, “The Prairie Arts Center is an important project for North Platte. It is encouraging community creativity, celebrating local culture, and energizing a beautiful and historic building. We’re proud to be a partner in this signature community project.”

PAC is a non-profit and opened its doors with the studio level in 2013, first floor in 2015, the second floor in 2017 and finally the third floor by the end of 2019.

Carlini says, ” We have operated in the black on our construction so far and we’re hoping to finish our race to the top by early fall…we’re about 3/4th of the way finished…but we still need funds to help us reach the final goal… as each floor has taken about $1 million dollars to complete.”

Contributions can be sent to the Prairie Arts Center, 416 N. Jeffers St., North Platte, NE, 69101. Sandhills State Bank is a locally owned and regionally focused financial institution committed to serving the greater North Platte area.

In addition to the North Platte location, the Bank operates 11 full-service branches throughout Western Nebraska. Sandhills State Bank’s local ownership supports the region’s economic independence and sustains the quality of life for the communities it serves. For more information about Sandhills State Bank, please visit www.SandhillsState.com.

Central Community College takes two from North Platte

The Central Community College softball team took a pair of games from North Platte Tuesday by the scores of 18-3 and 18-14.

“We never gave up, we dug ourselves into big holes both games and had opportunities in almost every inning to help ourselves out and just fell short,” said North Platte Coach Janelle Higgins.

The Raiders opened up the day with an eight-run first inning and cruised to the win in the first game and had three big innings in the second game to account for 15 runs.

“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves today and played not to lose instead of playing our game,” Higgins said.

Willow Chitty (North Platte) had a home run and two of the RBIs in Game 1 and went three-for-five in Game 2 with three more RBIs. The Knights were held to four hits in the first game but banged out eight extra-base hits in Game 2.

“We have to continue to trust each other and execute our individual roles,” Higgins said.

Central Improves to 10-20 on the season and 5-5 in Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference play.

North Platte is 11-23 and after winning the first conference game of the year in Columbus fall to 1-7 in the NCCAC.

The Knights are right back at in at home Wednesday with Northeastern Junior College starting at 4 p.m.

“We have a lot of games left and can still have an opportunity to win a lot of games,” Higgins said.

You can follow homes games broadcast on 98.1 FM / 1410 AM or on the Internet at www.northplattepost.com.

Game 1 – Central CC 18, North Platte 3: The Raiders launched a couple first-inning home runs and never looked back scoring eight times in the first, four in the second, and six more in the fourth inning.

North Platte’s offense was limited to a Kayleigh Bucio (Rialto, Calif.) double in the second, a Willow Chitty homer run in the third inning accounting for two runs, a third-inning single from Megan Hernandez-Bellew (Broomfield, Colo.) and a Mikayla Gibson (West Valley, Utah) solo home run in the fourth inning.

Hailey Wilkins (Tyler, Texas) started the game but only lasted two-third of an inning. Emily Marsden (Papillion) went 4.1 innings.

Game 2 – Central CC 18, North Platte 14: The team from Columbus scored four times in the first inning, but North Platte responded with three runs in the bottom of the first and scored five times in the second to take an 8-4 lead.

“In Game 2, we adjusted to their pitching changes well but we got caught on our heels when we took a lead and then had to battle back again and we ran out of steam,” Higgins said.

The Knights scored in the first, keyed by a Hallei Morales (North Platte) double, a Willow Chitty single and a Megan Hernandez-Bellew double. In the second inning, Kayleigh Bucio (Rialto, Calif.) delivered an RBI single to tie the game. Emily Marsden doubled in two runs to give the Knights a 6-4 lead. Chitty and Alea Binkly (Council Bluffs, Iowa) doubled back-to-back to put North Platte up 8-4.

A pair of Central errors to start the third inning set the table for Morales to single in one run with another run scoring on a passed ball to put the Knights in front 10-4.

Central scored six runs in the fourth inning with four straight singles, a hit batter and another single to make it 10-8 then a North Platte error led to two more Central runs and a tie game. The Knights got two runs back in the bottom of the fourth on a Central error, a Bucio double and a Marsden to take back the lead 12-10.

The Raiders scored once in the fifth and five times in the sixth to lead. 16-12 lead and maintained the margin through the seventh for the win.

North Platte had 12 hits in the game with Chitty leading the way with three. Marsden, Morales and Bucio each had two hits.

Ashylnn Krueger (Littleton, Colo.) pitched the first four innings, Hailey Wilkins and Marsden both threw one inning.

North Platte’s “Shot in the Arm” housing impacted 80 local businesses

Workforce housing development continues to dominate the discussion in economic and community development circles throughout Nebraska and in most of rural America.

It impacts a community’s ability to sustain itself, grow its economy, recruit new employers, increase its population and help fill empty jobs that existing employers have created.   Many believe, how a community addresses its housing situation and the challenges that go with it, will determine its long term future.

Current economies are also often measured by “housing starts” because of the immediate impact it has on local purchasing and local businesses being impacted by those developments.  The North Platte Area Chamber and Development Corporation’s “Shot in the Arm” housing incentive program has impacted an impressive list of 80 local businesses.

That impact has been just through the construction stage of the program.  Once houses are sold, then another level of local businesses are impacted by purchasing of the furnishings, amenities and services, which makes the program even more meaningful to the local business community.

The local economic impact is then enhanced even further by those additional new families that join the community.

North Platte Chamber and Development leaders a few years ago began brainstorming about the issue and why the community was lagging behind its peer communities in building new houses. Speculative housing (not custom pre-sold) was almost non-existent.  There were numerous reasons that were identified as part of the housing problem.  This led to the creation of the “Shot in the Arm” housing incentive program.

Most state or federal housing programs in recent years enticed developers by offering grant funding and tax credits for the construction of “low income” and “low and moderate income” restricted housing.   Only the speculative market (not pre-sold custom homes) was dealing with market rate “work force” housing needs and it was getting increasingly more challenging for developers to make the numbers work to match up with a home purchasers ability to pay.

“Shot in the Arm” brought North Platte a lot of positive publicity throughout Nebraska and local Chamber Devco leaders have been asked to do numerous local, regional and state presentations on how the program works.  North Platte has been lauded for its innovative and creative way to tackle the problem by providing an incentive directly to the developer for each housing unit built.

“Shot in the Arm” – Phase 1 – ran from 2015-2017.  There were 48 new homes constructed and all have been sold, creating an estimated $11 million in new valuation, approximately $125,000 in retail sales from purchases of materials, generates $227,000 in annual property taxes and brought over 100 new residents into the community either through direct sales, or step up sales that opened up older housing for other residents.

The original incentive investment was $350,000 – half from Chamber Devco and half from the City of North Platte’s Quality Growth Fund.

Phase 2 launched in 2018 with commitments of $1,183,400 in incentives pledged by the State of Nebraska’s Rural Workforce Housing Fund, Union Pacific Foundation, Great Plains Health, City of North Platte’s Quality Growth Funds and Chamber Devco incentive partners.   There are 118 housing units committed in the program right now with many more on the waiting list.

Program guidelines require houses to be 1,400 square feet minimum with two car garage.  The incentive is $12,000 for a single family; $6,000 per unit for multi-family built to city standards.  Each developer had to commit to at least two and no “pre-sold” are allowed.

Even with much of 2018 dedicated to getting construction plans and developments in place, still, 9 new houses were constructed by five different developers, creating another $2.5 million in new valuation.  Anticipated additional valuation being created by Phase 2 is expected to exceed $25 million.  That does not include several other housing projects being proposed that were attracted to North Platte because of the statewide publicity of the program.

Chamber Devco has approved 79 single family houses with 39 multi-family units for a total approval of 118.  Those units have to be constructed by 2020 to receive the incentive.     There are over 300 additional housing units proposed on the pending project list that have been in contact with Chamber Development officials.

Total participants of “Shot in Arm 1 & 2” include nine different developers and six others are on the waiting list.   The majority on the waiting list are multi-unit developments primarily targeting the rental market.  Of course, the market itself will dictate if and when those additional housing developments happen.

Chamber Devco officials contacted each of the developers in “Shot in the Arm – Phase 1” and the 9 houses constructed thus far in “Shot in the Arm – Phase 2” to find out which local businesses were involved in their projects.   Thus far 80 have been identified and it’s very likely some may have been overlooked.   That list is likely to grow considerably once Phase 2 is completed.

The program has helped North Platte play catch up on the housing market as its construction has lagged behind peer communities such as Hastings, Kearney, Columbus, Norfolk and Fremont.  This decade North Platte has averaged 35 new housing units per year.  In previous decades those numbers were: (52 per year) 2000-2009; (79 per year) 1990’s; (64 per year) 1980’s; (284 per year) 1970’s; (158 per year) 1960’s; (134 per year) 1950’s; (115 per year) – 1940’s.

The recently completed 2018 North Platte / Lincoln County Housing study documented the various housing needs and demands both in new units estimated at an immediate need of 523 additional to have a healthy housing market, and the rehabilitation of older and substandard housing being another critical point of emphasis.  Approximately 75 percent of North Platte’s housing stock is a half-century or older.  That aging housing structure percentage is even greater in the villages of Lincoln County.

Local entities involved in “Shot in the Arm” project:

Wilk Builders

Sandoval Concrete

Dancer Properties

Valley Lawn and Grass

Lincoln County Com Dev Corp

Norman’s Plumbing

Batt Construction

Albrecht Masonry

Roethemeyer Development

Stone Creek Landscaping & Design

Keith Hinrichsen Construction

Hamilton Roofing & Contracting

Grizzly J’s Woodworking

Paulsen Redi-Mix

RCR Properties

Front Street Framing

Great Plains Health

Demoude Concrete Pumping

Union Pacific Railroad

S & S Electric

Brady Community Foundation

Winn Supply

Eickhoff Construction

John Cummings Construction

KJ Construction

Sitorius Painting

Pagel Electric

Bloedorn Lumber

Franzen Plumbing

Curt Nichols, GC

A J Heating & Air

Down & Dirty Cleaning

Holcomb Heating

IC Quality Painting

Country Side Concrete

Karl’s Appliance

Hamilton Builders

Pro-Rolloff

First National Bank

Western Materials Inc.

Nebraskaland National Bank

Halls Electric

Adams State Bank

LLR & J Inc.

Hershey State Bank

Denny Hansen Construction

Great Western Bank`

Weathercraft Companies of North Platte

Aupperlee Plumbing

Sherwin Williams Paint Store

Platte Valley Electric

Wall Doctor

Bruce’s Furniture

Coldwell Bankers

Carhart Lumber

Gateway Realty

Menards

Lashley Land & Realty

Beveridge Inc.

Great Plains Realty

(John) Lee’s Good Life Construction

Scott Abstract

Al’s Electric

Western Abstract & Title

Lusk Heating and Air

Re/Max Realty

Hazen Sprinklers

Condon Signs

Bloedorn Lumber

Western Insurers /Adams Ins. Advisor

Wall Doctor

Commercial Investment Services

Mead Lumber

Wal-Mart

Knobel Refrigeration

Franzen Plumbing

John Cummings Construction

Arnold Insurance Company

Select Abbey Tile & Carpet

Creative Interiors

City of NP, KNPLCB get big grant for ‘Tree Shredder’ project

The City of North Platte announced today that it will receive $635,000 from the Nebraska Environmental Trust for the “North Platte Tree Shredder” project.  The Trust Board announced funding for the project at its April 4th meeting in Lincoln.

Keep North Platte and Lincoln County Beautiful helped the City secure the grant through the proposal process.  The Tree Shredder Project permits funds to spend on a tree shredder to be placed at the transfer station that will allow trees to be mulched into compostable material.  Currently, yard waste collected is turned into compost through Bio-Ag Solutions and used as a soil amendment for farm and home gardens.

The tree grinder is needed to keep up with current demand.  With the threat of Emerald Ash Borer upon us, this will give an outlet to process the excess tree stock that will be created from this threat.  A total average of 180 tons per month is being ground for compost and this project will provide for an added 50 tons per month.   Additionally, mulch will be provided for individual use for Lincoln County residents free of charge at the transfer station as supplies are available.

“I’m thrilled that we were able to assist in this process,” said Mona Anderson, Executive Director for Keep North Platte and Lincoln County Beautiful.  “It’s a win, win situation for our community – we are helping the environment, the City will save time and energy, and a product is being created that will help farmers in our area.”

The Nebraska Legislature created the Nebraska Environmental Trust in 1992.  Using revenue from the Nebraska Lottery, the Trust has provided over $305 million in grants to over 2,200 projects across the state.  Anyone – citizens, organizations, communities, farmers, and businesses – can apply for funding to protect habitat, improve water quality and establish recycling programs in Nebraska.  The Nebraska Environmental Trust works to preserve, protect and restore our natural resources for future generations.

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