Omaha World Herald. October 18, 2019
Iowa provides a needed solution to Interstate 680 confusion
Sometimes the Nebraska-western Iowa relationship can be a bit confusing.
More than a few out-of-towners fly into Eppley Airfield - a part of Omaha - and then scratch their heads in puzzlement when they find themselves driving (briefly) through Iowa in order to reach downtown Omaha.
And then there’s the Interstate 680 confusion. Essentially, “there are two 680s, 10 miles apart,” says Scott Suhr, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Transportation.
He’s talking about the Nebraska-based I-680 that hugs Omaha, including a three-mile stretch in Iowa connecting the Mormon Bridge with I-29. But 10 miles north on I-29, just south of Missouri Valley, Iowa, I-680 reappears in a 10-mile stretch connecting I-29 and I-80.
Iowa transportation authorities are commendably offering help on the 680 conundrum. That easternmost 10-mile stretch will get a new name: Interstate 880.
It’s a welcome dose of clarity for travelers.
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The Grand island Independent. October 17, 2019
Making our state vibrant will take work
Blueprint Nebraska, a statewide initiative built on the vision of former University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds and Gov. Pete Ricketts, has set some lofty goals.
It’s led by a 21-member steering committee, but the project has involved close to 350 people, all with the ultimate goal of building economic growth in Nebraska for decades to come.
Getting down to specifics, it has the goal of creating 25,000 jobs and adding $15,000 to the annual income of every Nebraskan by 2030. To do that, it seeks to bring 43,000 new 18- to 34-year-old residents to the state and secure additional annual investment in research and development of $200 million.
The steering committee has developed 15 initiatives to accomplish on the way to reaching these goals. They are specific steps to power the state’s economy with 18- to 34-year-olds, reimagine and connect the state with vibrant rural communities and metropolitan areas, build a simpler, more efficient and effective government, and grow the state’s most promising industry sectors.
When former Sen. Jim Smith spoke to the Noon Rotary Club recently about Blueprint Nebraska, he emphasized the focus on bringing more young adults into the state.
“For those that have made those bad choices and have left our state - maybe gone to college somewhere else - we need to give them every reason under the sun as to why they should return here,” said Smith, who is the Blueprint Nebraska executive director. “For those folks who haven’t had a chance to experience the good life of Nebraska, we need to build a case for them as well.”
Blueprint Nebraska doesn’t believe the state’s best days “are behind us,” he said.
It’s heartening that he emphasized that improving broadband coverage is a foundational point. We in rural Nebraska have recognized that internet connectivity is the key to returning growth to our state’s smaller communities.
For decades, the Omaha-Lincoln area, and to a lesser extent Grand Island, have been growing while the rest of the state’s population and business community have been dwindling. Blueprint Nebraska is seeking to take concrete steps to change that with a focus on economic growth throughout the state.
Public transit, recreation, entertainment, small business, agriculture and technology are all part of improving the quality of life in our state and returning the entire state to a growth mode.
This initiative’s goals can’t be achieved overnight and they will require investment from our state’s businesses, government and public and private institutions. But we in Nebraska who have seen the value in raising our families in this state understand that they are important and they are achievable.
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Lincoln Journal Star. October 18, 2019
Out-of-state recruitment vital for UNL
As the number of college-aged Nebraskans has dwindled in recent years, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has seen in-state enrollment climb.
In this swim upstream, though, students from outside the state - and country, in many cases - have powered a far larger share of the university’s growth. Between 2013 and 2017, those increases are 4% and 23%, respectively, as the Journal Star’s Chris Dunker documented Sunday.
With the demographic and workforce challenges facing Nebraska in the coming years, the need to attract students from outside the Cornhusker State will only rise in importance. The investment being made by UNL on that front, even as its overall enrollment has dipped slightly, will pay dividends both now and long into the future.
Despite the boom in nonresident enrollment, UNL hasn’t forgotten its roots as a land-grant university.
A University of California, Los Angeles survey found that UNL representatives physically visited a far higher percentage - 88% of high schools and all community colleges within the state in 2017 - of institutions in the state than peer institutions studied. That dedication to Nebraska must never waver.
But projections don’t indicate the number of high school diplomas awarded to grow substantially in the coming years. In its 2018 report, Nebraska’s Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education estimates increases that average less than 1% per year between 2016-17 and 2026-27.
Future Huskers will have to come from somewhere. And with population declining in many rural counties, that somewhere often lies beyond Nebraska’s borders.
Growth in out-of-state and international students, in particular - who face a higher per-credit-hour price for tuition before factoring for scholarships - helps keep tuition rates low for in-state students. That helps to preserve access and affordability to higher education for Nebraskans that compares very favorably to UNL’s compatriots in the Big Ten Conference.
Given ambitious growth plans at UNL - particularly in high-demand fields, such as engineering, which is undergoing $160 million in expansions - and the looming workforce shortage facing the state, Nebraska’s future will hinge upon the graduates of its colleges and universities.
If these students matriculate at UNL or another Nebraska institution, they’re more likely to stay in the Good Life after graduation. Business and elected leaders alike know we need more young talent in this state, hence the variety of plans and programs being unveiled to curb brain drain and attract workers.
Nebraska must play the long game as it seeks to avoid being overwhelmed by a wave of retirements - particularly its rural areas - in the next decade-plus. Getting students, regardless of their hometown, to attend college in the state is a sound start in that regard.
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