Despite severe weather in the area, the North Platte City Council meeting went on as planned Tuesday evening.

The agenda item that was on everyone’s mind was, of course, the project to renovate the former Cedar Bowl and how much funding, if any, the City Council would award the project from the city’s Quality Growth Fund.

Local businessmen, Lonnie Parsons and Gary Suhr, have plans to transform the Cedar Bowl into a high-quality family entertainment center, including a family-friendly restaurant.  The business closed its doors in May after nearly 36 years in business.

The facility is in need of major repairs and renovation, to the tune of nearly $3 million.  Suhr and Parsons’ ability to go through with the purchase of the building hinged on their ability to receive assistance from the QGF.

After receiving a recommendation that was lower than they had hoped for from the Quality Growth Fund Citizen Review Committee, they were hopeful that the Council would come through.

According to Parsons, after some negotiations, the Council approved a $100,000 grant and a $350,000 low-interest loan, with a 7-1 vote.  Councilman Jim Carman voted against the proposal.

Councilman Andrew Lee said said he felt the agreement was fair, and prevented the leakage of tax dollars to other cities, such as Kearney.

“The loan helps protect the risk, and it was the risk of betting on them,” Lee said.

There is no word yet on when renovations will get underway, but, as the Save Bowling in North Platte Facebook page says, “we’ll all be having a ball at the (former) Cedar Bowl soon.”

 

 

 

 

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — The Lincoln County highway superintendent says the frugality his department has been practicing is getting costly.

Superintendent Jerry Hitchcock asked the Board of Commissioners on Monday to keep his department in mind as budgeting begins.

He hasn’t been able to replace any old, worn-out equipment and says his aging trucks and graders need lots of maintenance to meet the work demands. Hitchcock told the commissioners that, “We’ve practiced frugality out of necessity, but now it’s leading us down the road of becoming more expensive.”

He estimates that by the end of the fiscal year, June 30, the repairs will total as much as $275,000.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Large hail has been reported in Nebraska as severe weather with a potential for tornadoes moves through a swath of Midwest states.

The National Weather Service says the highest risk for severe weather Tuesday is centered in parts of northern and eastern Nebraska, western and southern Iowa, and northeast Missouri. Officials say there’s the potential for a derecho system, which is a storm of strong straight-line winds spanning at least 240 miles.

An outbreak of severe thunderstorms also is expected in parts of Illinois, Kansas and South Dakota. Officials say baseball-size hail was reported Tuesday afternoon in northeast Nebraska.

The severe weather threat arrives amid an unusually quiet late spring, with far fewer documented tornados in May than in previous years.