NEBRASKA MUNICIPAL
NEBRASKA MUNICIPAL
Learn about funding opportunities from Nebraska Game and Parks
NE National Guard builds network of local partners with new program
REVIEW
REVIEW
The Civic and Community Center Financing Fund celebrates 25 years
Official Publication of the League of Nebraska Municipalities
FEBRUARY 2025
NEBRASKA MUNICIPAL REVIEW
Issue No. 1,198
The NEBRASKA MUNICIPAL REVIEW (ISSN 0028–1906) is published monthly and the official publication of the League of Nebraska Municipalities, an association of the cities and villages of Nebraska, published at 1335 L St., Lincoln, Nebraska 68508. Subscription rates are $5 per single copy — $50 plus tax for 12 issues. Periodicals postage paid at Lincoln, Nebraska. Views of contributors, solicited or unsolicited, are their own and not to be construed as having the endorsement of the League unless specifically and explicitly stated by the publisher
The NEBRASKA MUNICIPAL REVIEW is a nonprofit publication administered and supervised by the League of Nebraska Municipalities. All revenue derived from the publication is used by the association to defray publication costs.
League of NE Municipalities staff 402-476-2829 • www.lonm.org
L. Lynn Rex, Executive Director
Christy Abraham, Legal Counsel
Lash Chaffin, Utilities Section Director
Cherie DeFreece, Admin Assistant/ Membership Services Assistant
Brenda Henning, Membership Services Assistant
Ethan Nguyen, LNM/LARM Information Technology Manager
Shirley Riley, Membership Services Director
Jackson Sash, Utilities Field Representative/Training Coordinator
Ashley Wolfe, Marketing/Communications Director
LARM staff
Dave Bos, Executive Director
Tracy Juranek, Asst. Executive Director, Customer Service Specialist
Diane Becker, Communications/Marketing Director
Kyla Brockevelt, Executive Administrative Assistant
Drew Cook, Customer Service Specialist
John Hobbs, Loss Control Specialist
James Kelley, Loss Control Specialist
Fred Wiebelhaus, Loss Control/Claims Manager
What's inside?
Now starring: Scribner 66 Features
LWCF and RTP: Resources for cities and villages of ALL sizes
Building the network - National Guard working to build network of local partnerships across the state through new program
Headache for us all: Chemical reaction in concrete causing streets to self-destruct
CCCFF celebrates a quarter of a century of creating impact in Nebraska municipalities
USDA RD: Grant funds assist agricultural producers
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Have an idea, project or opinion to share? The League welcomes member articles, information, and op-eds.
Want to reach local decision makers? The League can help you get your message out to Nebraska’s 3,500+ municipal officials.To learn more, contact Ashley Wolfe at 402-476-2829 or ashleyw@lonm.org 19 30
President Marlin Seeman, Mayor, Aurora
President-Elect Bryan Bequette, Mayor, Nebraska City
Vice President Joey Spellerberg, Mayor, Fremont Past President Deb VanMatre, Former Mayor, Gibbon
Directors
Jean Stothert Mayor, Omaha
Leirion Gaylor Baird Mayor, Lincoln
Sharon Powell Village Board President, Utica
Jim Bulkley Mayor, Columbus
David Black Mayor, Papillion
Larry Evans Mayor, Minden
Rod Petersen Mayor, Louisville
David Scott City Manager, Sidney
Janine K. Schmidt CMC/Treasurer, Morrill
Layne Groseth City Administrator/Utilities Manager, North Platte
Affiliated Sections
City Managers
Eric Melcher, Aurora
Clerks Kellie Crowell, Ravenna
Munic. Accounting & Finance
Brandi Kloepping, Cozad Fire Chiefs Dennis Thompson, North Platte Utilities Pat Heath, Gering
22
Trailblazing in Valley - Cameron Gales becomes Nebraska’s first African American City Administrator
Heartland Basics Economic Development Course now open for registration
Scott Danigole is next head of NADC
The State of the City address held in Grand Island
Nebraska Infrastructure Hub – NDOT launches new grant resource for municipalities
Columns
4
The President’s Message - Aurora Mayor Marlin Seeman, LNM President - Feb. 24-25: Don’t miss the Midwinter Conference to network and be informed about key issues affecting your city or village!
LARM - Risk avoidance pertaining to workplace harassment
In each issue
On the cover
The new Hollywood-esque sign in Scribner is drawing a lot of attention and that is just what the sign committee was hoping for.
Photo by Elizabeth Valla.
Larger Cities Legislative Committee
John McGhehey, Mayor, Alliance
Seth Sorensen, City Manager, Alliance
Tobias Tempelmeyer, City Administrator, Beatrice
Rusty Hike, Mayor, Bellevue
Jim Ristow, City Administrator, Bellevue
Mindy Rump, Mayor, Blair
Phil Green, City Administrator, Blair
Tom Menke, City Manager, Chadron
Jim Bulkley, Mayor, Columbus
Tara Vasicek, City Administrator, Columbus
Dave Bauer, Mayor Crete
Tom Ourada, City Administrator, Crete
Joey Spellerberg, Mayor, Fremont
Jody Sanders, City Administrator, Fremont
Kent Ewing, Mayor, Gering
Pat Heath, City Administrator, Gering
Laura McAloon, City Administrator, Grand Island
Mike Evans, Mayor, Gretna
Paula Dennison, City Administrator, Gretna
Hastings
James Liffrig, Mayor, Holdrege
Chris Rector, City Administrator, Holdrege
Brenda Jensen, City Manager, Kearney
Brad DeMers, Asst. City Manager, Kearney
Doug Kindig, Mayor, La Vista
John Fagot, Mayor, Lexington
Joe Pepplitsch, City Manager, Lexington
Margaret Blatchford, Assistant City Attorney, Lincoln
Riley Slezak, Senior Advisor to the Mayor, Lincoln
Linda Taylor, Mayor, McCook
Nate Schneider, City Manager, McCook
Bryan Bequette, Mayor, Nebraska City
Perry Mader, City Administrator, Nebraska City
Andrew Colvin, City Administrator, Norfolk
Dani Myers-Noelle, City Attorney, Norfolk
Brandon Kelliher, Mayor, North Platte
Layne Groseth, City Admin./Utilities Manager, North Platte
Steve Krajewski, Mayor, Ogallala
Kevin Wilkins, City Manager, Ogallala
Thomas Warren, Chief of Staff, Omaha
David Black, Mayor, Papillion
Amber Powers, City Administrator, Papillion
R. Paul Lambert, Mayor, Plattsmouth
Emily Bausch, City Administrator, Plattsmouth
Don Groesser, Mayor, Ralston
Brian Kavanaugh, Council Member, Ralston
Art Lindberg, Mayor, Schuyler
Jeanne McKerrigan, Mayor, Scottsbluff
Kevin Spencer, City Manager/Police Chief, Scottsbluff
Joshua Eickmeier, Mayor, Seward
Greg Butcher, City Administrator, Seward
Brad Sherman, Mayor, Sidney
David Scott, City Manager, Sidney
Lance Hedquist, City Administrator, South Sioux City
Cale Giese, Mayor, Wayne
Jill Brodersen, Council President, Wayne
Wes Blecke, City Administrator, Wayne
Barry Redfern, Mayor, York
Dr. Sue Crawford, City Administrator, York
Smaller Cities Legislative Committee
Jessica Quady, City Administrator, Ashland
Marlin Seeman, Mayor, Aurora
Eric Melcher, City Administrator, Aurora
Chris Anderson, City Administrator, Central City
Andrew Lee, Admin/Clerk/Treasurer, Curtis
Alan Michl, Chairperson, Exeter
Becky Erdkamp, Clerk/Treasurer, Exeter
Kyle Svec, City Administrator, Geneva
Matt Smallcomb, City Administrator, Gibbon
Gary Greer, City Administrator, Gothenburg
Jana Tietjen, Clerk, Hebron
Barb Straub, Admin/Clerk/Treasurer, Hemingford
Kelly Oelke, City Administrator, Hickman
Janine K. Schmidt, CMC/Treasurer, Morrill
Sandra Schendt, Clerk/Treasurer, Nelson
David Russell, Director of Gov. Affairs, NMPP Energy
Mandy Hansen, Government Affairs Liason, NMPP Energy
Sandy Kruml, Clerk/Treasurer, Ord
Mike Feeken, Mayor, St. Paul
Sandra Foote, Council Member, Superior
Jeff Hofaker, City Administrator, Sutton
Jessica Meyer, City Administrator, Syracuse
Sharon Powell, Village Board President, Utica
Kyle Arganbright, Mayor, Valentine
Melissa Harrell, City Administrator, Wahoo
Desiree Soloman, City Attorney, Waterloo
Stephanie Fisher, City Administrator, Waverly
Tom Goulette, City Admin./Utility Superintendent, West Point
Randy Woldt, Utilities Superintendent, Wisner
Robert Costa, Community Engagement Coordinator, Yutan
Municipal Legal Calendar
(All statute citations to Revised Statutes of Nebraska)
APRIL 2025
CITIES OF THE FIRST CLASS
• Within 10 days following meeting or before next meeting (whichever is sooner) Clerk to have minutes available for public inspection. (84-1413)
• Within 15 days of Passage Clerk publishes ordinances passed. (16-405)
• Within 30 days following Council meeting Clerk publishes official proceedings of meeting. (19-1102)
• End of each quarter - Report from depository banks. (16-714)
• Semiannually - Mayor and Council publish a statement of receipts and expenditures (16-722)
• Within 20 days after end of month Treasurer files monthly financial report. (16-318)
• April 30 - Liquor licenses (other than Class C) expire unless renewed. (53-124)
• * * Clerk must prepare agenda prior to next Council meeting. (84-1411)
• On or before May 1- Annual report to governing bodies regarding redevelopment projects (TIF) (18-2117.02)
CITIES OF THE SECOND CLASS
• Within 10 days following meeting or before next meeting (whichever is sooner) Clerk to have minutes available for public inspection. (84-1413)
• Within 15 days of Passage Clerk publishes or posts ordinances passed. (17-613)
• Within 30 days following Council meeting Clerk publishes official proceedings of meeting. (19-1102)
• Within 20 days after end of month Treasurer files monthly financial report. (17-606)
• April 30 - Liquor licenses (other than Class C) expire unless renewed. (53-124)
• ** Clerk must prepare agenda prior to next Council meeting. (84-1411)
• On or before May 1- Annual report to governing bodies regarding redevelopment projects (TIF) (18-2117.02)
VILLAGES
• Within 10 working days following meeting or before next meeting (whichever is sooner) Clerk to have minutes available for public inspection. (84-1413)
• Within 15 days of Passage Clerk publishes or posts ordinances passed. (17-613)
• Within 30 days following Board meeting Clerk publishes official proceedings of meeting, including claims. (19-1102)
• Within 20 days after end of month Treasurer files monthly financial report. (17-606)
• * * Clerk must prepare agenda prior to next Board meeting. (84-1411)
• On or before May 1- Annual report to governing bodies regarding redevelopment projects (TIF) (18-2117.02)
Chaired by Mayor Don Groesser of Ralston
Chaired by Tom Goulette, City Administrator of West Point
Feb. 24-25: Don’t miss the Midwinter Conference to network and be informed about key issues affecting your city or village!
BY LEAGUE PRESIDENT MARLIN SEEMAN, MAYOR OF AURORA
Iencourage all elected and appointed officials, especially newly elected and appointed officials, to attend the League’s Midwinter Conference on February 24-25 at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln.
The Midwinter Conference features five sessions for newly elected and appointed officials. Of course, these sessions (listed below) also are a great review for experienced officials since laws are frequently changed by the Legislature.
• Legal Overview - Public Records Law and Transparency in Government: Learn how to limit your liability.
• Legal Overview - Budgeting: Better understanding the law and the process.
• Legal Overview - 1) Tort Claims Liability; 2) Recreational Liability; 3) Bidding and Purchasing
• Legal Overview - 1) Public Works/Utilities; 2) Environmental Requirements; 3) Code Enforcement
• Legal Overview - Open Meetings Act
A special thanks to the following State Senators who will discuss legislative issues of municipal importance at our opening session on Feb. 24: Omaha Sen. Terrell McKinney, Chair of the Urban Affairs Committee; Bellevue Sen. Rita Sanders, Chair of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee; and Elkhorn Sen. Brad von Gillern, Chair of the Revenue Committee. Although the League testifies before several other Standing Committees, these three committees have jurisdiction over some of our most significant issues and concerns.
Don’t miss our keynote address by Melissa Hinrichs of “Lightbox Coaching and Consulting” during the luncheon on Feb. 24; she undoubtedly will be inspiring and challenging us to be creative and courageous leaders. Another highlight will be the Senator Appreciation Luncheon on Tuesday affording us an opportunity to visit with our State Senators.
I also am looking forward to listening to our excellent speakers addressing topics such as zoning, emergency management, modernizing Nebraska’s workforce, flood risk awareness, and emotional support animals. Thanks to the city officials who agreed to serve on a panel outlining how cities and villages use local option sales tax to fund critically important projects and programs and finance infrastructure improvements. This session compliments another panel of representatives from the Federal Highway Administration and the Nebraska Department of Transportation. The League Legislative Update will underscore the most relevant bills for our consideration.
Attending this conference will help us be more effective in governing our municipality and serving our citizens. A lot of valuable information also can be gleaned from networking with colleagues to learn about best practices. There is no need to reinvent the wheel!
I look forward to seeing you on Monday, Feb. 24, at the Midwinter Conference!
LWCF and RTP : Resources for cities and villages of ALL sizes
BY HANNAH JONES, ASSISTANT DIVISION ADMINISTRATOR, NE GAME AND PARKS
Has your community ever benefited from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) program or the Recreational Trails Program (RTP)?
Eighty-nine of the 93 counties in Nebraska have benefited from LWCF to enhance their community parks, totaling over $64 million in federal funding since 1965. Funding comes from the Department of Interior, National Park Service and is administered by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. This program is known for helping replace outdated playground equipment, pool renovations, splashpads, and expanding sports courts, restrooms, trails, and dog parks, to name a few.
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$64 million in federal funding since 1965. totaling over of the 93 counties in the state have benefited from the Land and Water Conservation Fund–
A recently completed project in Lynch, a village home to 187 people, renovated a ballfield into a splashpad. LWCF funded the ballfield back in 1980 and Lynch reapplied for another grant in 2020 to renovate the space into a splashpad. They were awarded around $107,000 from LWCF to match their overall project cost of around $214,000. This included accessible walkways to the splashpad, electrical, and plumbing associated with the site. Since then, they’ve also added a playground, planted trees, and offer free meals in the summertime out of the old snack shack that was once used during ball games. This project has created a gathering space for the community once again and an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. The community champion on this project said, “we couldn’t have done this project without the LWCF program.” LWCF is a program that continues to help small communities across the state achieve their outdoor recreation goals as the community evolves and has different interests. The same rings true for our Recreational Trails Program (RTP). This program comes from the Federal Highway Administration and is administered by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. This program has been funding trail development across the state since 1995. Often, this program offers funding for the very first trail in a community. An example of this is underway currently with the recently awarded, Imperial, a city just shy of 2,000 people. Over the next two to three years, Imperial will construct its first trail around the hospital to provide accessibility for the hospital residents, retirement community, and families of Imperial. The impact is vast as this will be the only trail within several miles of the community. Longterm plans include expanding the trail to incorporate
the parks, schools, and other amenities in the community to provide safe transportation that encourages outdoor exercise and weaves together all parts of the community.
If you have an idea or started discussions in your community related to expanding outdoor recreation, please reach out to us at Nebraska Game and Parks to discuss your ideas. The LWCF and RTP teams are happy to engage early and often with you regarding your project needs and how these programs can assist you in making your project a reality.
If you would like to learn more, go to outdoornebraska.gov and search for “LWCF” or “RTP.” You also can sign up for our free webinar that will be taking place on March 27 at 11 a.m. CT to learn more and ask questions.
Photo provided by Nebraska Game and Parks, shared courtesy of Kelli Heiser, Village of Lynch.
NOW STARRING: Scribner
BY ELIZABETH VALLA, SCRIBNER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR,
It all started as a joke.
When the new Highway 275 bypass finally wrapped around Scribner at the end of 2023, the town of 857 found itself in a bit of a pickle. With the steady stream of daily commuters rerouted, Scribner wasn’t just a stop along the way anymore—it had to become a destination.
The people of Scribner knew they wanted a town sign, but not just any sign. It had to be bigger, better, and bolder than anything a small town had ever attempted.
A hot air balloon water tower? Already claimed by York. A staged giant train? Omaha beat them to it. If Scribner wanted to stand out, they needed to think outside the box. And think, they did.
A committee of six residents was formed, diving headfirst into the search for the ultimate town sign. They scoured the internet, took notes on road trips, snapped photos while on vacation—the possibilities were endless. Some ideas were too bland, some too costly, some just plain unrealistic. Until one day, inspiration struck: a “Hollywood-esque” sign….But, you know… without the mountain.
Technically, the idea started as a joke. Did they actually think they could pull off a sign that even remotely resembled Hollywood? Maybe not at first—but then, something clicked. The more they considered it, the more doable it seemed. Of course, they didn’t just want to copy Hollywood; they wanted something classier.
Enter Banff, Canada.
Banff had a gorgeous, picturesque sign. Tourists flock to it for photos, and it oozed sophistication. That was the vibe Scribner wanted. But, wouldn’t ya know it—Banff’s sign wasn’t quite big enough. Scribner wanted bigger.
“Let the record show, I wanted 30-foot letters,” joked Elizabeth Valla, Scribner’s economic development director and sign committee member. “But the committee wouldn’t let me. Something about cost and our Midwest winds having a field day with them. So, we settled on a much more reasonable and affordable option: 8-foot letters, 1 foot off the ground. I wanted it to be seen from space, but I suppose being able to see it from the highway works, too.”
Mind you, those letters sit atop an 8-foot decommissioned dike, left useless after the elevated bypass filled its roll. The result? A sign that looks more like it’s towering 17 feet above the ground.
“The letters look way bigger than 8 feet. It’s hard to explain. When you’re next to them, they’re huge,” said Karleen Meyer, a sign committee member.
“We were shocked when we saw the letters,” added Laurie Helgenberger. “They were much bigger than we expected!” Turns out, the rest of the world took notice, too.
The sign committee figured people would like it—they had no idea people would love it.
Politicians were reposting about it. Social media influencers were showing up for photos. When the city’s Facebook page shared a picture of the sign being erected, the post went viral.
Okay, maybe baby viral.
But for Scribner? It was a big deal.
“We had no idea we’d get this kind of reaction,” said Valla. “It was amazing to see all the shares and posts—people bragging about their hometown. It was really special to witness.”
Of course, an iconic sign comes with an iconic price tag.
We know this is the part you’ve all been waiting for:
• The eight-foot letters, with shiny silver sides and patina fronts, welded to a sturdy stand and anchored six feet into the ground by Omaha Neon Sign - cost: $76,000.
• Extensive electrical work requiring boring under the road and through the dike by Indra Landscaping - cost: Another $3,000.
• Landscaping, set to be completed this spring, including a stone stage with stairs leading up to the sign - cost: $30,000.
• Work to connect the electricity to the spotlights done by the City of Scribner utilities - cost: Priceless.
A handful of the funds were raised through the Scribner Area Foundation during the Fremont Area Big Give in May 2024, with many generous donors—even former Scribner residents—pitching in thousands just to be part of something great. Any remaining costs were covered by grants written by Valla and funds from Scribner’s LB840, aimed at boosting tourism.
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE…
The landscaping was designed with visitors in mind.
“We want people to stop, take pictures, get up close and personal,” said Valla. “And after they see our sign, we hope they’ll explore our town, check out our restaurants and coffee shops. We have so much to offer. We’re a pretty big deal in a small package.”
Even the materials were chosen for their practicality.
“We didn’t want flowers or bushes—nothing that could die or needed watering,” said Anne
“This sign isn’t just a landmark—it’s a declaration. Our
town is not fading into the background just because the highway moved.
We’re here and we’re proud!”
- Ken Thomas Scribner Mayor
Just like the stone stage, the letters were built to last. The shiny edges symbolize Scribner’s bright future, while the patina fronts honor its rich past. And more importantly? They require zero maintenance. No painting, no rewiring and best of all, they were built for our relentless prairie gusts.
“We could have gone bigger, more extravagant,” Poppe said. “But sustainability was key. These letters will never need painting. They’ll never rust. And with simple spotlighting instead of internal lighting, there’s hardly any upkeep.”
That was the balance they needed—bold but manageable.
“We didn’t want to burden the city with a massive project they’d have to maintain forever,” said Helgenberger.
From here on out, the city will be responsible for the sign— covering the light bill, purchasing insurance, and managing upkeep. Since it sits on city property, land rent is a non-issue.
“We’re focused on projects that strengthen our community and set us up for long-term success,” said Elmer Armstrong, city administrator, who led the charge on behind-the-scenes work like securing NDOT sign permits and handling lighting details.
So, there it is. Every ounce of this sign had meaning—affordability, sustainability, belonging—all while keeping one thing in mind: Scribner’s spirit isn’t measured by its size, but by the unwavering pride of the people who call it home.
“This sign isn’t just a landmark—it’s a declaration,” said Mayor Ken Thomas. “Our town is not fading into the background just because the highway moved. We’re here and we’re proud!”
Poppe, sign committee member.
BUILDING NETWORK THE
National Guard working to build network of local partnerships across the state through its new Community Partnership Program
BY KEVIN HYNES, STATE PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER, NEBRASKA NATIONAL GUARD
The first signs of the approaching cold weather season hung over Grand Island Veterans Memorial Park, Oct. 16, 2024, as the sun began to rise above the surrounding trees, already tinged with colors of autumn.
The slight breeze fluttering through orange, red, and yellow leaves carried a chilly sharpness, not quite cold enough yet to turn the breaths of the assembling Veterans, families, and Nebraska National Guardsmen to steam, but cool enough to tinge exposed noses, cheeks, and fingers with a healthy shade of red.
“Whew… fall is definitely in the air,” said Nebraska National Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Krecklow, state command sergeant major, as he rubbed his hands together. “It’s really a beautiful morning out here today. Chilly, but definitely beautiful.”
Krecklow was one of several senior Nebraska Army and Air National Guard leaders who assembled that morning with several dozen Grand Island Veterans, families and community leaders for a wreath placing ceremony honoring local Grand Island area Veterans while also officially kicking
off a day-long series of engagements between Grand Island community leaders and members of the Nebraska National Guard.
The Nebraska National Guard’s Community Partnership Program (CPP) is a new initiative designed to formalize ties and create opportunities between local Nebraska communities and the Nebraska National Guard. Developed under the direction of Maj. Gen. Craig W. Strong, Nebraska National Guard adjutant general, the initiative aims to open lines of communication, build trust and encourage future collaboration between the Guard and Nebraska cities in the areas of emergency management, military and Veteran support, and military readiness.
Grand Island, which formally joined the program when Mayor Roger Steele and Strong signed a Community Partnership Agreement during a lunchtime ceremony at the local City Hall, joined Wahoo and Beatrice as official Nebraska National Guard Community Partners. Wahoo and Beatrice both joined during similar events held earlier in the 2024.
Top: Nebraska National Guard leaders honor a fallen Soldier during a memorial ceremony at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Grand Island, as part of the Nebraska National Guard’s Community Partnership Program. Photo provided by the Nebraska National Guard, photo taken by Staff Sgt. Gauret Stearns.
“Our overriding goal is to continue our long history of providing outstanding support to our area citizens and service members, both during normal times as well as during emergency situations, while also working together to find new ways in which we can assist each other even more effectively in the future,” said Strong.
Birth of the Nebraska National Guard Community Partnership Program
When Strong was selected by Governor Jim Pillen to lead the Nebraska National Guard in mid-2023, Strong identified recruiting as one of the Guard’s biggest challenges. As a community-based military organization harkening back to 1854, the Nebraska National Guard has long relied upon its connection to Nebraska communities to attract men and women into its ranks.
However, many of those ties have become less tight over the past several decades.
Beginning in the mid- to late-1990s, National Guard armories and readiness centers – often located on or near town squares where they served as both National Guard training spaces and community centers – were closed or consolidated. Of those that remained, many were later relocated away from town centers in the 2000s as part of the Nebraska Guard’s modernization efforts.
“These were all important changes that needed to be done to ensure that our National Guardsmen were able to train and maintain their readiness in modernized facilities, which the older, legacy armories just couldn’t provide,” Strong said. “However, when we constructed our new
readiness centers outside of the town squares, we lost a little bit of our connections to our communities because we weren’t located in places where we were visible to the citizens on an everyday basis.”
This problem was further complicated during the Coronavirus pandemic, which limited many of the ways that Nebraska Guard units connected with their communities.
So, while Strong initially thought the Nebraska Guard might be able to solve its recruiting problem through what he called a statewide “Recruiting Blitz,” he soon realized the organization needed to go back to its community-based roots by reintroducing itself to local communities.
Thus, the Nebraska National Guard’s Community Partnership Program – or CPP – was born.
1 st Lt. John Woruo, a Nebraska Army National Guard military police officer based in Omaha, serves as the fulltime CPP action officer. Woruo said the goal of the effort is straightforward.
“Where this may have initially started off as a recruiting effort, the program is now focused on developing partnerships and affirming the relationship between the Nebraska National Guard, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, and the communities within the state,” Woruo said. “Our goal is to become the community partner of choice in Nebraska.”
The Guard is working to make this a reality, he said, by engaging on a one-on-one basis with local civic leaders and speaking with them about a wide variety of subjects of importance to their local communities.
This includes conversations with local mayors and emergency response officials, learning about local capabilities and needs, meeting with local educators and school administrators to better understand their student populations and challenges they face, and speaking with local Veterans, business owners, civic leaders, and other citizens to learn more about the local community, Woruo said.
The goal, said Strong, is to build upon the
Continued on page 26 / See Community
Nebraska National Guard State Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Craig Strong and Grand Island Mayor Roger Steele pose with the signed Community Partnership Agreement during a ceremony at City Hall in Grand Island, as part of the Nebraska National Guard’s Community Partnership Program. Photo provided by the Nebraska National Guard; photo taken by Staff Sgt. Gauret Stearns.
'Headache for us all'
Chemical reaction in concrete causing streets to self-destruct
BY STEVE LIEWER, OMAHA WORLD-HERALD
Omaha’s streets are slowly killing themselves.
As if Nebraska’s extreme temperatures and liberal use of road salt weren’t hard enough on our highways and byways, the sand and gravel aggregate used to make concrete across the state carries in it the seeds of its own destruction.
Silica in the region’s gravel reacts badly with the alkali in Portland cement after they are combined to make concrete for paving. The chemical reaction creates a gel underneath the surface, which expands when it gets wet in summer thunderstorms or winter snows.
The mushrooming gel squeezes the pavement from inside and causes it to crack, especially at the joints.
The telltale signs are gray or black splotches emanating from those joints.
“They call it cancer inside concrete,” said Jiong Hu, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln engineering professor who studies the composition of concrete. “Eventually, the whole slab crumbles.”
Alkali-silica reaction (known in the industry as ASR) has been documented in a majority of states, but Nebraska — and especially Omaha — seems to be
ASR’s ground zero.
That’s because the Platte River gravel used for concrete in the most populated parts of the state, from Omaha to Scottsbluff, is especially high in silica, which is one of the most common minerals in the Earth’s crust. Glass, beach sand, silicone and granite are all silica materials.
“You don’t have this everywhere. Unfortunately, Nebraska is one of those places where you do,” Hu said.
Along the Platte River basin, the silica level gets higher as you move east toward the Missouri River, said Bruce Grupe, executive director of the Nebraska Concrete Paving Association, an industry group.
“Omaha’s about as reactive as it gets,” he said.
ASR has contributed “significantly” to the deterioration of the city’s streets, said Austin Rowser, Omaha’s deputy public works director. It can worsen seasonal potholes and
Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) has invaded pavement around road joints on 144th Street near Stony Brook Boulevard in southwest Omaha. Photo provided by the Omaha World-Herald.
lead to the collapse of entire sections of roadway.
The most notorious example happened in 2019 — which could be remembered as Omaha’s Pothole Year from Hell. A snowy and frigid February followed by a sudden March thaw (and the state’s worst-ever flood) led to the complete failure of 144th Street from Q Street to Millard Avenue.
The road was so bad, the city closed it completely and rebuilt it — only 13 years after it had last been paved.
Cutting fly ash out of road mix?
Big mistake
Rowser said the problem appears to be worse in roads paved between 2000 and 2015, for reasons that still aren’t completely clear — though it roughly coincides with the time that the city quit adding fly ash to its standard concrete mix.
Fly ash is the residue left over after coal is burned in coal-fired power plants. Since the 1980s, the federal government has encouraged its use in paving concrete in what seemed like a win-win: adding fly ash slowed the
progress of ASR in finished pavement, and it disposed of a messy byproduct of coal-burning that otherwise would be buried in landfills.
“We really kind of used that stuff pretty heavily with the understanding that it would mitigate (ASR),” said Grupe, formerly the city engineer in Kearney. “It helped in the short-term.”
But over time, some forms of fly ash seemed to actually make ASR worse. That prompted Omaha to eliminate fly ash from its concrete in 1996.
Big mistake.
“We saw (ASR) accelerated after we quit using fly ash,” Rowser said.
Douglas County Engineer Todd Pfitzer said much of the newer concrete is in worse shape than pavement poured decades earlier.
“Our concrete now is arguably worse than it was 50 years ago,” he said. “Concrete should last 25 to 50 years. We’ve got concrete that’s 10 years old that looks terrible already.”
Omaha did bring back fly ash in 2015, Rowser said, using a different kind (called Class F fly ash) that seems to work better.
Which Omaha roads have the worst damage?
Last year, the city surveyed 422 lanemiles of both major arteries and local streets paved between 2000 and 2015. All but 46 lane-miles had some signs of ASR-related cracking.
None were rated in “poor” condition, defined by extensive cracks and ruts and severe potholing. Rowser said the city takes corrective action before a road deteriorates that badly.
But 32 miles were rated only “fair.”
These are roads that show moderate to severe disintegration of the road surface (called raveling) and significant cracking with shallow ruts.
The lowest-rated roads were mostly smaller, local ones.
But several stretches of major roads rated only fair, too:
• Blondo Street from 132nd to 135th Street, paved in 2002.
• 72nd Street from Dodge Street to Cass Street, paved in 2001.
• Millard Avenue from 144th Street to Q Street, paved in 2006.
Continued on page 12 / See Roads
Graphic created by Nebraska Department of Transportation.
Continued from page 11
• Jefferson Street from 180th to 183rd Street, paved in 2002.
• L Street from 111th to 120th Street, paved in 2008.
The Millard Avenue segment is adjacent to the stretch of 144th Street that failed in 2019. It was poured at the same time. Now it is being replaced as part of a larger project to rebuild five miles of Nebraska Highway 50 from L Street to Nebraska Highway 370.
Rowser said some panels of the Blondo, 72nd and Fort Street segments have been replaced. The Fort stretch, now riddled with potholes, has a checkered history.
The original four-laning of Fort Street between 108th and 120th Streets in 2002 was plagued with delays and shoddy construction. Work stretched on for three years, and the contractor was forced to make repairs after sections of the road dipped and the
pavement cracked. The World-Herald described motorists’ “hubcap-rattling ride” over the then-new road.
A major overhaul of Fort Street is a priority for Omaha Public Works and City Council Member Aimee Melton, who represents the area. The street is expected to be a candidate for funding in the next year or two, Rowser said.
The concrete cancer is ‘a headache for us all’
Coming up with the right concrete formula is a tricky process, one the city and the Nebraska Department of Transportation have wrestled with for years.
Broadly speaking, Grupe said, concrete is made up of roughly equal parts aggregate (sand and gravel), powdery Portland cement, and limestone — which, along with fly ash, lessens the effects of ASR.
After several years of working with the Nebraska Concrete Paving Association, the road construction
industry and sand and gravel suppliers, the City of Omaha recently approved a new concrete formula that officials believe will boost the durability.
Grupe said the new formula uses less cement and aggregate while increasing limestone.
“We have very high hopes that this is going to perform better,” Pfitzer said.
Omaha’s problem is that, even with a new concrete formula, it is still stuck with at least 20 years’ worth of cancerous roads that will inevitably self-destruct.
The only way to prevent ASR completely is to use sand and gravel that is low in silica. Unfortunately, that is hard to find around here, since high silica levels are common in surrounding states, too.
“It becomes cost-prohibitive to truck it from someplace else,” Hu said.
The right maintenance can stretch the life of concrete. That means regularly sealing joints in the road. They are the weak link where water is most likely to penetrate — and the place where potholes generally form first.
“It’s awfully important to keep the joints sealed,” Grupe said.
Overlaying affected roads with asphalt smooths things over, but only for a while. The reaction still continues below the surface and will ultimately undermine the road.
The solution remains elusive. Scientists and engineers are likely to keep tweaking their formulas, grappling with self-destructive concrete far into the future.
“The silica stuff has been a headache for all of us,” Pfitzer said. “I wish I knew how to make it go away forever.”
- Reprinted with permission.
Omaha Public Works employees repair a pothole along West Center Road west of 120th Street in this 2016 file photo. The destructive cracking from alkali-silica reaction (ASR) is visible. Photo provided by the Omaha World-Herald.
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CCCFF celebrates a quarter of a century of creating impact in Nebraska municipalities
In 1999, the Nebraska Legislature enacted the Local, Civic, Cultural, and Convention Center Financing Act, establishing a source of funding for community development projects. Now in its 25th year, the fund—now known as the Civic and Community Center Financing Fund (CCCFF)—continues to have a positive impact throughout Nebraska.
Wood River Years
In 2019, Wood River was in the middle of a capital campaign to raise funds for a new childcare center when disastrous floods struck the community. Floodwaters caused the nursing home to be evacuated, and the nursing home residents were unable to return to the building.
City leaders turned the tragedy into opportunity. They purchased the former nursing home building at an affordable rate and chose to renovate it into the childcare facility. With 25,000 square feet, the building was much larger than needed for the childcare facility. Through a CCCFF planning grant, city leaders conducted a study that determined their local library and senior center could be moved into the building as well. Both needed
more space, and the recently purchased building provided the opportunity to grow. In 2023, Wood River received a $562,000 CCCFF grant, matched with over $1.5 million in local funding, to help construct Legacy Station. Sara Arnett, Compliance Officer for Heritage Bank in Wood River, worked on the city’s team to request the grant. “The CCCFF grant has been huge,” she said. “Once we earned the confidence and funding from something as substantial as CCCFF, it enabled us to bring on more private foundation funders.”
Stick Creek Kids Child Development Center, the first part of the project, opened in 2021. The rest of Legacy Station–which will include Maltman Memorial Library, Wood River Food Pantry, and Wood River Senior Center—is scheduled to open in 2025.
STORY PROVIDED BY NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Lexington Alliance
Sunken Gardens, in Alliance Central Park, serves as the principal outdoor venue for the community, hosting weddings, concerts, and community get-togethers. Built during the Great Depression, Sunken Gardens had begun to show its age by the 2010s. Its 86 wooden pillars had deteriorated to the point where they could no longer be maintained, marring the beauty and charm of the site.
The Alliance community started a grassroots campaign in 2017 to revitalize the park and replace the pillars. An anonymous donor even gave $250,000 to help the campaign. With growing momentum for the project, city leadership successfully applied for a CCCFF planning grant (awarded in 2019) and a CCCFF construction grant (awarded in 2020).
Randy Waggener, who was Finance Director for the City of Alliance at
the time, said the Sunken Gardens has resumed its status as a go-to gathering place for the community after being rebuilt. “It has become a central spot again for concerts, churches, weddings, and gatherings. Any kind of event has a trickle-down effect for businesses, and it has a positive impact when you bring people to town.”
The City of Lexington now has a fieldhouse (opened in 2016) and a racquet center (opened in 2024), both partially funded by the CCCFF program. These community centers are free to use and show the impact CCCFF grants can have. Lexington has seen approximately 1,500-2,000 people per week using the fieldhouse, and 500 people per week using the racquet center since
it opened this summer. The facility has hosted youth leagues, tennis and racquetball competitions, soccer leagues, and free tennis programs for anyone who wants to join.
Jake Saulsbury, Parks & Recreation Manager for the City of Lexington, said the racquet center has been a great recruiting tool for local businesses. “One of our largest employers is the Tyson beef packing plant, and they have many employees who participate in the adult soccer league. We see about 300-400 adult soccer players from Lexington. It’s a great recruiting tool for a facility when the employees participate, and for their kids and grandkids to take part as well.”
“I want to pass on my gratitude,” added Saulsbury. “Projects like this wouldn’t be possible without what [the Department of Economic Development] does and provides.”
Continued on page 20 / See CCCFF
Grant funds assist agricultural producers
Asmany small rural communities shrink across Nebraska, more residents are encountering the challenges of having access to healthy and affordable food. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a “food desert” is when a substantial number of residents lack access to a supermarket or large grocery store and have to travel more than 10 miles to provide food for their families.
It’s ironic,” Nebraska’s USDA Rural Development Acting State Director, Joan Scheel states, “in areas where farming is important to the local economy, transportation challenges, and residents moving to larger communities are creating situations where some of Nebraska’s rural communities are becoming food deserts.
Recently, a Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) was awarded to Upstream Farms to sell beef raised on their farm directly to consumers. Brothers Matt and Joe Brugger (www.upstreamfarms.com) received grant funds to assist them in reaching new markets for their beef products. The brothers raise beef cattle and with the grant, were able to start processing and packaging their beef in order to sell directly to consumers. The grant helped cover their expenses for marketing which helped expand their customer base. Matt reported that the help he received from the loan specialist, Dan Janke, at USDA Rural Development was awesome. Dan was able to walk them through the steps of applying for a grant and made the process much easier for a person who had never applied for a grant before. With the help of the grant funds, their project was able to move forward more quickly and enter new markets.
The purpose of the VAPG is to help agricultural producers enter valueadded activities to generate new products, create and expand marketing opportunities, and increase producer income. The VAPG grant is now accepting applications from agricultural producers for a 50% grant that can cover processing and marketing activities. The grant application is due April 17, 2025, and will be accepted through the application portal (https://vapg.rd.usda.gov/s/login/?ec=302&startURL=%2Fs%2F). The applicant needs to be involved in the growing of the raw commodity (at least 50% by weight) and maintain ownership through the value-added process. The applicant can be an individual or a business, as long as they meet the requirement of growing the raw commodity.
• A cattle producer who feeds cattle, owns the cattle through harvest and processing, and then sells the meat or jerky directly to consumers or grocery stores.
• Someone who makes and sells jams and uses the fruit from their farms for the end product.
• Locally owned ag products qualify such as fresh produce at farmers markets.
The VAPG program is designed to assist agricultural producers enter value-added activities. Grant funds can be used to conduct feasibility studies, develop business plans, develop new markets, processing cost, and overhead cost. In recent years, the VAPG program has been used to create new markets for beef and pork producers, making and selling products made from lavender, and selling local honey products.
Over the last four years, the VAPG program has provided over $4 million in capital investments in Nebraska. This support of agricultural producers in our rural communities is projected to create and/or save 400 jobs. The assistance provided by the VAPG funds and their ability to make an impact and reach many potential and existing entrepreneurs offer significant opportunities for our rural areas in the support of small business enterprises.
Eligible applicants include beginning farmers or ranchers, veteran farmers or ranchers, small or medium sized farm and ranch structured as family farms, and cooperatives. Scheel says, “any interested applicants should contact our team for more information. Our team is available to discuss your community’s needs for economic and business development.”
To discuss applicant and project eligibility or to request a project proposal form, please contact: Daniel Janke, daniel.janke@usda.gov or (402) 371-5350, ext 115.
Risk avoidance pertaining to workplace harassment
BY FRED WIEBELHAUS, LOSS CONTROL/CLAIMS MANAGER, LARM
Afederal law that doesn’t often come up often in public pooling loss control discussions is Title VII, 42 U.S.C. ss 2000e. Like most public pool loss control departments, the League Association of Risk Management (LARM) loss control division focuses primarily on safety, injury prevention, and law enforcement liability. So, what is the significance of this federal code? This code is commonly referred to as Title VII and resulted from the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on sex, race, color, national origin, religion, age, genetic predisposition, and pregnancy. This title was further strengthened in 1986 by a 9-0 decision by the Supreme Court in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986). This case was the first of its kind to reach the Supreme Court and redefined sexual harassment in the workplace.
In early 2022, LARM loss control staff were evaluating what more could be offered regarding risk management training, especially concerning liability issues. LARM is made up of member cities with populations of 30,000 to villages of less than 100 people. Many of the larger-sized members have robust human resources departments and legal staff, whereas the smaller members do not have access to such resources. In a review of liability loss claims, it was noted that there were a handful of harassment claims, as defined by Title VII. We also had a request from one
of our mid-sized members for harassment training for all their employees.
The loss control team met and designed an hour-long presentation on risk avoidance pertaining to workplace harassment. As with most harassment training that team members had attended in the past, the training had a heavy focus on the issues in the Meritor case. We realized those issues are serious and unacceptable in the workplace, or anywhere else for that matter, but in reviewing our claims, we also focused on age discrimination, hiring practices, out-of-office work events, and social media.
Once the presentation was put together, it was presented in three different sessions for the member who had requested it. What was unique about the presentation was that two different team members gave the same material in separate sessions. LARM loss control staff is intentional about designing presentations that any member of our team can present. We have had other members request the training and have since had the opportunity to present it to members across the state.
As with any risk management training, it takes a while to obtain data to determine if it has been effective in reducing liability claims. Ultimately, we would hope that, as a result of the training, there would be improved compliance with Title VII, zero tolerance for harassment in the workplace, and an open dialogue about these issues in the members’ workplaces.
Trailblazing in Valley
Cameron Gales becomes Nebraska’s first African American City Administrator
BY TIM TRUDELL VALLEY ENTERPRISE/WATERLOO GAZETTE
WhenCameron Gales played professional indoor football for the Iowa Blackhawks, it never dawned on him that he’d go on to make Nebraska history.
At the time, he was focused on making the next play.
However, with the hiring of Gales as Valley’s City Administrator last August, he became the first African American to serve as a city administrator in Nebraska.
While Valley may not have considered the historical significance, Gales joined a pool of about 250 African Americans serving as city administrators or city managers across the country.
Gales, who has long been interested in politics and government service, doesn’t seek out the attention that usually comes with being the first African American to hold the position.
But he doesn’t shy away, either.
“Everything I’ve always done, I’ve wanted it to be something that a kid who looks like me or looks similar to me or from a different culture can look and say, ‘Hey, if this guy did it, I can do it, right?’” Gales said. “And so with my own kids, I’ve told them all their life, you can be pretty much whatever you put your mind to. And so I’ve patterned my career to making sure I remove barriers.”
Continued on page 28 / See Valley
Cameron Gales was hired as the City Administrator for the City of Valley in August 2024. Gales is currently one of about 250 African American City Administrators/City Managers nationwide, but was the first known African American in the history of Nebraska to hold such a position. Photo provided.
CCCFF
McCook
Continued from page 15
The City of McCook built its first public pool in 1937. Encompassing six city blocks, it was a central piece of the community for decades. However, a study conducted in 2013 to determine the pool’s viability found that it had too many deficiencies to be operable long-term. Plans were made to build a new pool, but before they could be completed the existing pool had to be closed in 2022 for safety reasons. Nate Schneider, City Manager for McCook, had seen many other Nebraska communities make great use of CCCFF grants. These examples inspired him to help McCook apply for funds to support construction of a new pool. The city received a CCCFF award of $562,000 in 2023, and the community generously provided $5.85 million of local matching funds. Construction on the McCook Aquatic Park was completed in July 2024. After opening this summer, the pool
Roseland
The Village of Roseland celebrated its 125th year in 2012 with a summertime gathering and parade. Afterward, organizers of the festivities formed the Roseland Community Club, investing surplus anniversary event funds into the community. They donated a refrigerator to their senior citizens group, installed Christmas lights downtown, and built signs welcoming visitors to Roseland. These updates inspired them to consider what else could be done to improve their community.
averaged about 300 people per day, compared to about 100 per day at the old pool.
Schneider said he can see the positive impacts on the surrounding community as well. “When I drive around town and look at the restaurants, I see cars from Kansas and from counties other than Red Willow. I know people are sticking around to shop and eat. It’s a huge draw for the community. It doesn’t just benefit McCook. It benefits the entire Southwestern region of the state.”
“We were on a roll, and we thought, well, we don’t have a community center. Let’s just go for it!” said Kim Bonifas, a teacher at Silver Lake High School in Roseland. The group met with the South Central Economic Development District, where they learned about the CCCFF grant.
In 2014, they began hosting fundraisers, meeting with residents, holding town hall meetings, and getting public input about the proposed community center. “It took us five years of fundraising to do it—being dedicated and sticking it out,” said Bonifas. Fundraisers included speaking events, concerts, meals, dances, and more. “We had fun while we were doing it,” said Bonifas. “It took an army of people to put these [fundraisers] on—with the planning and coordination and cleanup. We had a lot of support from the community.”
They received their grant approval in 2020 and completed the Roseland Community Center in 2022. “We finally have a place where people can gather. People rent it for so many things: birthday parties, anniversaries, weddings, family gatherings, holidays. Our senior citizens use it weekly as their place to get together. It’s just so important to have that sort of social place for people to meet and be able to have events.”
Norfolk
The Illuminate Norfolk Project is the most recent CCCFF grant awarded to the City of Norfolk. The $1.125 million grant, awarded in 2024, will build on the success of the recently completed Johnson Park and Riverfront improvements, which also received support from CCCFF.
Revitalizations to the riverfront and Johnson Park included a bridge restoration, riverbank updates, adding river access points and trails, building an amphitheater and playground, and even creating a whitewater rafting area in the North Fork Whitewater Park.
Melissa Figueroa, who is Business Resource Specialist for the City of Norfolk, said the community played a central role in the projects, ensuring the city had enough funds to move them forward. “You have to have a community that’s willing to come together. Partners like Nebraska Department of Economic Development are crucial in keeping the momentum going.”
This momentum has led to the Illuminate Norfolk Project, which will build on the success of Johnson Park. This project will install intersection lighting in the Norfolk Creative District, signage, and a pathway to Johnson Park. The corridor will connect the business district with Johnson Park, encouraging further business and housing development in Norfolk.
Engineering a world where everyone thrives.
Heartland Basics Economic Development Course now open for registration
Multiple League members have attended the training and tout the benefits
The Heartland Basics Economic Development Course, scheduled for April 29 - May 2, 2025, in Blue Springs, MO, is now open for registration. Thank you to Trevor Lee, President & CEO of the Development Council for Buffalo County, for the information. This course is a unique opportunity for municipal leaders to gain invaluable insights
and skills in economic development.
Traditionally attended by rank-and-file economic developers, the Heartland Basics Course has proven to be equally beneficial for a wide range of municipal leaders, including city clerks, city administrators, city managers, utility directors, and planning administrators. All local officials play a role in economic development in their municipality and can gain knowledge at this training. The course offers a comprehensive overview of key economic development strategies and concepts, making it a valuable training for anyone involved in municipal governance.
Here are a couple of testimonials from current League members who have taken the course:
“Heartland Training is a valuable tool and a critical first step for understanding the foundational elements of economic development. This initial training allowed me to start to comprehend the many complexities, commitments, and challenges within the economic development realm. As a city administrator for a Nebraska community which utilizes the LB840 program tool, it is important to continually provide networking between economic development activities and local government planning.”
Jeff Hofaker Sutton City Administrator
The Heartland Basics Economic Development Course is presented with the Institute for Decision Making at the University of Northern Iowa, in partnership with the Kansas Economic Development Alliance, Professional Developers of Iowa, Missouri Economic Development Council, Nebraska Economic Developers Association, Select Oklahoma and South Dakota Governor's Office of Economic Development.
Learn more
“The Heartland basic economic development course provides an intense overview of key economic development strategies and concepts. I found it useful as a city administrator to learn more about recruitment and retention and how to collaborate with my county economic development director. It also provided an opportunity to network with leaders across the region and hear about their successes and challenges in economic development.”
Sue Crawford York City Administrator
This event is more than just a training program; it is a platform for networking, learning, and collaboration. By attending, you will join a community of leaders dedicated to fostering economic growth and development in their municipalities. The knowledge and connections gained from this course will empower you to drive positive change and make informed decisions in your municipality.
For more information about the course and visit the Heartland website: https://heartland.uni.edu/
Scott Danigole is next head of NADC
BY PAUL HAMMEL, NEBRASKA EXAMINER
Astatehouse veteran, Scott Danigole, has been tapped to lead the agency that enforces political campaign finance laws and lobbying statutes.
Danigole, 58, was selected as the next executive director of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission (NADC) on a 6-0 vote at the Commission’s meeting in January.
“I’m very excited about moving forward with the commission and continuing to expand on the work that’s been done there,” he said.
Danigole, who has served as a fiscal analyst for the Nebraska Legislature for the past 27 years, said he sought the position to continue to serve the state and due to a commitment to ensure “doing the right thing.”
Nearly 70 people applied for the position, and four finalists were interviewed by a search committee, which pared the field of candidates to two.
Danigole was the only person interviewed on Friday after the other finalist found a different job and dropped out. The position, subject to negotiations, pays between $110,000 and $115,000 a year.
Danigole, as a fiscal analyst, monitors spending by several state agencies, including the Accountability and Disclosure Commission. The job of analyzing the Commission’s spending was shifted to another analyst due to his appointment.
A self-described “military brat,” Danigole graduated from Bellevue East High School after his father retired from Offutt Air Force Base. He earned a history and political science degree from Creighton University and a master of public administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Danigole assumes his new post on July 1, after the Legislature completes its 2025 session in June, which includes crafting a new, two-year state budget. He will replace David Hunter as executive director. Hunter, the agency’s long-
time deputy director, was promoted to executive director in 2023, replacing long-time Commission head Frank Daley Jr. However, Hunter had asked in June to return to his deputy director role.
State of the City Address
Grand Island Mayor Roger Steele addressed more than 100 attendees at this year’s State of the City address held Feb. 7. The event was hosted by the Grand Island Young Professionals group, an organization catering toward developing leadership in the city’s youth. There were a total of six speakers at the event, with each highlighting the hard work and successes of the municipality.
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF GRAND ISLAND
Community
Continued from page 9
Guard’s long ties to its local communities to solve some of the challenges both entities face.
“Our collective goal as the Nebraska Military Department is to use this Community Partnership Program to help us build a network of relationships between the Nebraska National Guard and our local Nebraska communities and citizens who we have taken an oath to defend,” said Strong.
Grand Island Partnership
Following successful CPP events in Wahoo and Beatrice, the Oct. 16, 2024, effort in Grand Island was a significant next step in the ongoing development of the program, said Woruo.
Woruo said Grand Island was initially identified as a potential participant by a board of Nebraska National Guard officers and NEMA officials, who looked at the city’s history of military support, past emergency support missions, Veteran populations, recruiting demographics, and potential willingness to engage with Nebraska National Guard and NEMA leaders.
Grand Island officials were then officially asked, by letter, if they had any interest in participation in the CPP.
“The response was overwhelmingly positive,” said Woruo. “They were very interested in becoming a partner and developing a closer relationship with us.”
Because of the distance involved, the Grand Island CPP event involved two days of engagements spread over Oct. 15-16. It included a visit by the adjutant general, senior Guard leaders and members of the NEMA senior staff to a Nebraska Public Power District master switching station in Doniphan, as well as a rose placing ceremony honoring a fallen Nebraska Army National Guard Soldier – Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Hansen who died in 2002 during a deployment to Iraq – at the Grand Island VA Medical Center. The Guard leaders then visited with Veteran inpatients and VA staff members.
The evening concluded with a tour of downtown Grand Island conducted by members of the Grand Island Visitors Bureau and local business leaders, who discussed the many ongoing renovation projects taking place, followed by a dinner with Grand Island school administrators.
The next morning, the CPP formally kicked off at sunrise during the Wreath Placing ceremony at
I am simply thankful that we have this opportunity to express our profound appreciation to the Nebraska National Guard. Thank you for choosing Grand Island to be your partner so that we are prepared before emergencies strike.”
- Roger Steele, Mayor of Grand Island
Grand Island’s Veterans Memorial Park. Along with Strong and Mayor Steele, the event was attended by a Veterans Color Guard, a combined choir from local high schools and members of the community.
New Milestone in Long History of Partnerships
Standing among numerous memorials honoring Grand Island and Hall County Veterans, Strong said the wreath placing ceremony was designed with important purposes in mind.
“What we do here today is not a beginning, but rather a milestone in what been a long history of partnerships between Grand Island and Hall County, and those community members who have served – or are currently serving – in the armed forces of the United States,” said Strong.
“Today, we come together… at this place… at this time… to both honor those who have worn – or continue to wear – our nation’s uniforms while also thanking those families and this community for their enormous support of those who bear the greatest burdens of defending our state and nation,” Strong said. “Defending our state and nation takes the combined work of an entire community to be successful. Each one of us has a role to play.”
The second major event of the day, following a meeting and tour of the Stuhr Museum, involved the formal Community Partnership signing ceremony at the Grand Island City Hall.
“The signing ceremony that we will complete demonstrates the community pride that we have in partnering with the Nebraska National Guard,” said Grand Island Mayor Roger Steele.
Acknowledging past roles the Guard has played in Grand Island – including the support Grand Island residents received during the devastating 1980 tornadoes – Steele said the partnership will open new lines of communication and collaboration that will help both entities be better prepared to support each other in the future.
“I am simply thankful that we have this opportunity to express our profound appreciation to the Nebraska National Guard,” Steele said. “Thank you for choosing Grand Island to be your partner so that we are prepared before emergencies strike.”
Strong said the Nebraska National Guard is equally proud to join into what he believes will be a mutually beneficial and long-term partnership.
“One of the core tenets of emergency management is the development of relationships and trust. That’s because you don’t want to wait for an emergency to strike before you first meet and talk with each other,” Strong said. “True readiness comes from the development of a high level of trust between organizations built up over time through ongoing communications, realistic training, and understanding of each other’s capabilities and strengths.”
“Today, as Mayor Steele and I sign this Community Partnership agreement, we are in essence making an important vow to continue to meet and overcome the challenges we both face to ensure that we are ready and able to respond to our citizens’ needs when they need us the most.”
Following the signing ceremony, the Guard group visited local emergency response systems and capabilities including Grand Island’s Police Department and Fire Department.
At the same time, the Nebraska Army National Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility No. 2 hosted a “Guard for a Day” recruiting event for students of Grand Island’s four high schools, which enabled the students to learn more about local Guard Soldiers, their missions and skills, and the equipment they use in support of their missions.
The final event of the day was a round table discussion between the Nebraska adjutant general and several Grand Island Veterans Service Organizations at the local All Services club. There, Strong
answered numerous questions about the Nebraska National Guard as well as how the Veterans Service Organizations could better assist local National Guard Soldiers.
Setting the Stage for Future Partnerships and Collaboration
According to Woruo, the Grand Island CPP event was a good demonstration of what a typical CPP event will look like: One-on-one engagements with Veterans, governmental, educational and business leaders; opportunities to honor a community for its support of Veterans and current military service members; sessions designed to help Guard leaders learn more about a community’s history and local civic efforts; and recruiting events to give people a chance to learn more about local units, missions, and opportunities.
“The CPP events allow us to learn more about the communities… what their histories are… what their challenges are… what makes them unique… because every community is different,” he said. “We want to design our engagements so that they meet the needs of the community.”
Woruo said work is already going on to identify and communicate with additional communities for future CPP events in 2025. “Overall, I think we’re off to a great start. I am learning so much about each community every time we work on one of these events. And I am really looking to learning about additional communities this coming year.”
“I am really excited to see how this program develops in the years to come.”
Above left: Nebraska National Guard State Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Krecklow salutes during the national anthem before a wreath laying ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Park in Grand Island, as part of the Nebraska National Guard’s Community Partnership Program. Photo provided by the Nebraska National Guard, photo taken by Staff Sgt. Gauret Stearns. Above right: Maj. Gen. Craig Strong, Nebraska National Guard Adjutant General (left) speaks with Carol Vance, Grand Island VA medical center site manager (right), and retired Nebraska Air National Guard Col. Kathleen Amyot, VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System deputy chief of staff (center), before an Oct. 15 memorial ceremony honoring a fallen Nebraska Army National Guard Soldier and former Grand Island VA Medical Center police officer. Photo provided by the Nebraska National Guard, photo taken by Kevin Hynes.
Continued from page 19
While Gales may not want the attention, his hiring was a groundbreaking moment for a city with an African American population of about 1 percent, said a representative for the National Forum of Black Public Administrators.
“We certainly want to celebrate the historic hiring of the first African American as a city administrator in Valley,” said Marsha Conner, NFBPA executive director. “I believe that the city has recognized the vital contributions of an African American...”
Like with Gales in Valley, communities across the United States benefit from hiring minority administrators, she said.
As they shape their communities and govern communities in these cities across the country, I think that what is valuable is that the African American managers come with a diverse perspective,” Conner said. “They truly have the experience. Not only do they enrich public policy, but they also inspire, I think, the next generations to actually consider public service as a career and to pursue these leadership roles in communities across this country.”
Gales said he understands some people will point to his achievement as a major step in ethnic relations.
“Speaking of firsts, you know, President Obama being the first African American President, that’s something I’ve always respected,” he said. “For him to be in that position, and to be the first, it still gives me goosebumps that my kids were able to see that, that my mother was able to see that.”
For Gales, his job is to manage the day-to-day activities of Valley’s municipal government.
“I had to hit the ground running,” Gales said. “I came in right after a windstorm.”
As Valley continues to grow from a small rural community to a vibrant city, Gales seeks to bridge the community from the past to its future.
“I get how culture and history are a part of the fabric of a community and so being able to preserve that as much as possible, while building up around it, that’s the ideal situation,” Gales said.
The city is experiencing major growth and development, such as the Catalina development east of town, which will add about 1,000 people to Valley’s population. Despite its growth, the city’s size allows Gales to be personally involved with daily operations, he said.
“What I like about this opportunity is we don’t have the bells and whistles that larger cities have, departments that handle every single thing under the sun, and so it gives me an opportunity to kind of have my hands in all those different pieces,” Gales said. “And it’s definitely a learning experience, too. And I’ve shared with our staff that, you know, we’re going through this together.”
While the previous city administrator was a “walking statute” and people relied on him for information, employees now do their own research, Gales said.
“I encourage them to make mistakes,” he said. “If you don’t make a mistake, you’re not learning, right? And so, you know, I tried to find mentors for our department heads, to kind of help them grow and develop. And I’ve done the same for myself.”
Gales developed his passion for mentorship while working at Jacobs Engineering, a solutions firm that handled everything from “sewers to space shuttles.”
He counts Nebraska Representative Don Bacon and former Omaha Mayor Hal Daub as mentors, Gales said.
From his first mentor, who took Gales under his wing and helped set career goals and relationships, to considering each supervisor a mentor in their relationships, Gales said he believes mentorship drove his professional development.
As his mentor, Willie Franklin grew tired of traveling from Omaha to Denver for meetings, so he encouraged Gales to assume the role.
What I like about this opportunity is we don’t have the bells and whistles that larger cities have, departments that handle every single thing under the sun, and so it gives me an opportunity to kind of have my hands in all those different pieces."
- Cameron Gales Valley City Administrator
While at Jacobs, Gales was involved with Omaha’s sewer replacement project and managed a bond issue for Omaha Public Schools, he said.
The projects sparked his professional growth at Jacobs, eventually leading the supplier diversity program, Gales said.
“You have federal requirements to have a certain percentage of small business inclusion, and so developing relationships with those small businesses, creating opportunities through inclusive design, develop programs that focused on contractors community, and then also student engagement,” he said.
After seven years with Jacobs, Gales found himself unemployed in the spring of 2024 following company layoffs.
Before joining Jacobs in 2016, Gales cut his teeth in public service as the assistant director of community relations for Omaha during Mayor Jean Stothert’s first term.
“I worked a lot with the (Omaha Police Department) northeast precinct on crime prevention and intervention, and led a few national initiatives around community disparities, and so it kind of gave me that lens of city administration,” Gales said.
It was a mutual love for volleyball that led to a meeting with Valley Mayor Cindy Grove, Gales said. A friend recommended him to the mayor.
After months of relationship building and interviews with city leaders, Gales was hired as Valley’s city administrator. A native of Tyler, Texas, Gales began his college football
career at Texas A&M-Kingsville before transferring to Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, known as “Little Sweden USA.”
“The first time I went there to visit, by the time we got there, it was dark outside, and so we’re riding around the town. And I’m like, ‘It’s a pretty big campus,” Gales said of Bethany. “The next day, when I come back, I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, that was the entire town. That wasn’t the campus.’ But it’s a beautiful town. A beautiful campus.”
Following college, Gales launched his professional football career with the Topeka indoor team.
He eventually signed with the Iowa Blackhawks, an indoor team then based in Council Bluffs.
“It was a time when Kurt Warner had just gone from Arena to the NFL, so everyone thought that if you didn’t go Division I (college football), here’s your opportunity, right?” Gales said. “But then I grew up. I had to feed my kids.”
Pursuing a master’s degree in public administration at Bellevue University, a city administrator internship with Salina, Kansas, solidified his professional aspirations, Gales said.
While Gales credits mentorship with his professional development, creating his own business taught him about managing a budget.
Rolling the dice, Gales created Gala Painting in 2014, much to the surprise of his family, he said.
“I was sitting at the dinner table, and I told my family, ‘I’m going to start a paint business,’” Gales said. “The questions that were thrown back at me: You don’t even own a truck.
I’ve never even seen you hold a paintbrush.”
Two years later, the business had a $100,000 contract and handled painting for a North Omaha housing project.
Gala Painting couldn’t recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, closing in 2022, Gales said.
“No one wanted you in their house,” he said.
While most entrepreneurs enjoy the challenge of creating a new business, Gales has channeled his energy into managing the daily operations of Valley’s municipal government.
“If you like people, if you like a challenge, every single day makes it worth it,” Gales said.
Reprinted with permission.
Aday in the life of anyone working in municipal government is anything but predictable! Perhaps one thing that would benefit us all is a few more hours in the day, or just a couple more people to help get everything on the to-do list accomplished.
In 2024, the Nebraska Department of Transportation showed they understood this struggle and aimed to help out by providing a new grant assistance program designed specifically for empowering municipalities in competing for federal discretionary grants.
NDOT’s Infrastructure Hub officially launched in August 2024 is transforming how local agencies access funding and offer tailored guidance for bringing important projects to life—thus helping Nebraska municipalities grow and thrive.
The development of the Hub aligns with Governor Pillen’s vision of increasing Nebraska’s
NDOT launches new grant resource for municipalities
competitiveness for federal funding with providing support to state and local partners to, more confidently, navigate the challenges of the application and administration process, according to the NDOT press release.
The Hub offers a plethora of resources and expert guidance to help local officials navigate the sometimes-daunting competitive grant application process.
Through the Infrastructure Hub, NDOT offers technical support throughout the entire grant process—from initial application through project administration—helping ensure all the federal requirements are met.
The Hub also includes a Grant Pairing Portal to match municipal transportation projects with suitable grants and a Project
Development Support team, consisting of two full-time employees, who can provide personalized feedback on draft proposals.
Additionally, the program also offers partnering and networking opportunities by identifying other municipal and county projects to help make a grant application more attractive.
Ongoing grant monitoring also is available so NDOT can help with grant management and administration.
Since launching in August 2024
16 Hub-managed projects, securing $109 million in grants and congressional delegations including:
• City of Beatrice - $21 million in RAISE and SS4A grants
• Platte County - $12 million for Loup Canal Bridges and $3 million in congressional funds
• Lincoln County - $750k RAISE grant covering 100% of planning costs for intermodal mobility projects
2024 funding awards
Announced 27 awards across 18 counties, totaling over $56 million in discretionary transportation grants and $98 million in congressional delegations.
Source: Nebraska Department of Transportation
Contact Jenna Habegger at jenna.habegger@nebraska.gov or Dina Harris at Dina.Harris@nebraska.gov for more information.
State and federal organizations partner to host webinar on brownfield clean-up and community redevelopment opportunities
The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE), U.S. EPA - Region 7, and KSU TAB are partnering to present a webinar called, “Spring Cleaning! Tips and Resources for Nebraska Communities to Revitalize Those Eyesore Properties!” The webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, from 2-3 p.m.
The training will focus on understanding what brownfields are and how their redevelopment can kick-start community revitalization. Additionally, this opportunity will allow municipalities to meet the brownfield partners
and hear about free resources they offer. Attendees also will be able to learn about upcoming in-person workshops that will build on the topics introduced in this webinar, facilitate networking, and help form new partnerships with peers.
This training is ideal for local government officials, key community stakeholders, economic and community development organizations, not-for-profit entities, community groups, private citizens, and others working to promote revitalization in Nebraska municipalities.
here!
Schedule your free community visit bit.ly/3EvAq2R
Do you have specific brownfields in your community you’d like to address? Are you interested in learning more about resources to do so and developing a “plan of attack”? NDEE, KSU TAB and EPA are planning community visits between June 2 and June 11. If you’d like to set up a visit to your municipality, contact Taryn Horn, NDEE, at Taryn.Horn@nebraska.gov or (402) 471-6411.
Information provided by Taryn Horn - Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
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P.O. Box 164, Neligh, NE 68756 Phone 402.887.5022 leagle@mcnallylaw.net www.mcodeservices.com
